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Community Built Canard Aircraft

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Royal

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2020
Messages
72
Hello! I'm John Royal. I'm new here and I have been reading a lot of the threads. I see lots of engineers and great minds in here. I have had this idea since I was a child like most. Designing a simple homebuilt airplane. I'm 36 now. Have ADHD and have a thirst to knowledge. I have always researched anything I became interested in to death. Airplanes have always been apart of my life. I grew up living right in front of Vance Air Force base watching T-38s land and take off every 20 min or so. My Dad said I use to just stand on the fence and watch them fly by. So yes, I have been obsessed my entire life.

Now hear me out. Many people have tried and failed on their own. What I want to do is bring like minded people to the table who share the same ideas in designing a canard aircraft that is the easiest, fastest and sexiest to build. I didn't put cheapest in there because it just won't be. There are very cheap planes out there. Only a few I would want to build like the Baby bullet but we live in 2020 and I have kids and a wife.

I'm sure lots of people have gone over this but here it is again.

Reasons kit Planes Fail:
To complicated
To expensive
Ugly
Takes way to long to finish
Space
They really don't want to build the plane they just want to fly it.
To many parts to source

My Vision:
Limit parts count.
How? With 3D printing now cheap and CAD programs that are free we can bring High quality parts with the end builder in mind. All parts should be assessed to see if they can pull double or triple duty. Intergrading bracket holes, reinforcements, seats, hold downs, access panels and whatever else can be made into a mold out of fiberglass or carbon fiber. This would eliminate weight, confusion on placement, alignment and chances of more parts or glue joints to fail.

Use techniques that are proven.
I have followed many designers and engineers. Some were pioneers and had great vision. Some lacked the skills to get people together and build their idea which may just be a communication issue. Who knows. What I have found is they usually start out with someone that has done the research and listened to that person as the expert. They see the genius in their ideas. Most lack funding, some lack marketing and people skills or some other issue. I like to use Elon Musk as an example. He knows he is just an engineer. He isn't a material scientist. He hires them. Reads enough about material science to talk to them about issues the builders are having and be that missing link in communication. He loves crazy ideas because he knows he has some of the smartest people out there to pull it off.

Use Parts That Already Exist.
This is one that people lose sight of. It cost more and takes much longer to design a part than find one that you can design your bracket to fit. If people have to build each component like a set of rudder pedals that are unique or hard to build it makes the build that much more daunting. Does someone supply that part? What's already proven reliable? Is there a simpler way to do it? Can it be smaller?

Feel Free to leave some constructive criticism. The plane below is one I am working on and isn't finished. Based on Gliders, Burt Rutan, Saab Gripen and a few other things. I built a balsa glider of it before 3d modeling. I have a CFD program I'm learning to use at the moment to test out my Aerodynamic ideas to use smaller engines to keep cost down and be more efficient.

Thank You for your time!





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