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  1. M

    3D Printing - The Future of Aircraft Design?

    If you are good with wood working you can build a water tunnel for less then $1000 in the US. A large swimming pool pump and a couple sheets of plywood is about all it takes. Water does not have to move near as fast as air to get good data. Mark
  2. M

    My new Ducted Fan design...THE AIR WILL BE ANGRY.

    If you are not stuck on a twin duct configuration for reasons of appearance might I suggest a single fan with more blades to increase efficiency. You could increase the diameter to more closely match the cockpit diameter and design a diverging inlet to recover pressure with a converging exit...
  3. M

    Research into increasing lift without increasing wing dimensions?

    we added a row of pizo electric crystals like tiny speakers about 20% chord. when actuated they would vibrate the skin and cause the boundry layer to mix with the free stream and delay separation and increase max cl. when off the skin was smooth to allow for laminar flow. It was on a wind...
  4. M

    Research into increasing lift without increasing wing dimensions?

    This looks a lot like the work we did with ultrasonic actuators in the wind tunnels in the early 90s. Worked ok but took an incredible amount of power. Was not very practical. Mark
  5. M

    Shock absorber question

    Take a look at the gear on an older Mooney. Rubber pucks for spring trailing link an a small shock to dampen Mark
  6. M

    Symmetric airfoils?

    Probably have to go back to the 50s and 60s for the old diamond shaped supersonic airfoils. Have not seen them in use for a long time. That is about the only ones I know of. Mark
  7. M

    Electric Flying Car

    Probably around 750 c or more on startup Mark
  8. M

    Ethanol proof tank sealent

    I have used fuel tank sloshing on my wet wing Mooney for many years. I use a product called Red Kote. I have not had a problem with it flaking off but I do reseal every 5 years or so. It is not an adhesive to will not work to build the tank or wings. I thin it with mek enough to spray...
  9. M

    How to gather data on a flying wing?

    You can use a system such as national instruments DAQ system to gather data on a laptop. You will probably have several thousand dollars in it but will serve you well with your wind tunnel. Make a differential pressure aoa gage to determine angle of attack. Mark
  10. M

    Divergent Duct/Plenum for Maximum Manifold Pressure

    Not sure how it is set up but from the picture in the first post it looks like the intake is just a straight tube into the plenum. If so there is a lot of loss as the air goes around that sharp corner. You might want to consider a bellmouth on the inlet tube. Mark
  11. M

    Torpedos with Wings - race plane

    The shrouded propeller is low speed system. It does not have a choked exit duct. It also does not have the long inlet duct to recover the pressure in the free stream to the inlet. A ducted fan is a high pressure system where a shrouded prop is a low pressure system. At the speeds the...
  12. M

    Torpedos with Wings - race plane

    They make max horsepower about 8 or 9k. Use a direct drive to the fan. You are correct in that static thrust would not be good. Since the races are from a running start the inlet would be designed for that speed range. A variable area nozzle would help a lot in that regard. Mark
  13. M

    Torpedos with Wings - race plane

    I like the design with a pair of small block 431s putting out about 900 or 1000 hp each like any top of the line dirt late model stock car. weigh less then 400 lbs each and run a good ducted fan from each one. The ducted fan is not a shrouded propeller like a lot of them I have seen. It...
  14. M

    Ducted fan aircraft

    If I remember correctly the 185 would make a hellatious racket on take off because with the prop flattened out it would run a bit over 3000 rpm and the blade tips would hit the vortex from the preceding blade. It would make a popping sound like a A10 firing the 30 mm gun. When the airspeed...
  15. M

    Holes in Sandwich with Wood Core: Before or After?

    I would install a bushing after layup. The bushing should be 2 to 3 times the diameter of the fastener making sure there is at least 2 diameters of edge distance and a few thousandths shorter then the thickness of the layup. The axle should cover the entire area of the end of the leg and the...
  16. M

    Where to build. New guy looking for guidance.

    A midget mustang will have lo of small parts to be made before you have to make any thing big. You can spend the first half of your project with simple hand tools that don't make a lot of noise. When you have all the small stuff built share some workspace with a fellow builder and make the...
  17. M

    NCSA No Control Surfaces Aircraft, just been doing some thinking...

    well I guess I cant argue with that logic.... Mark
  18. M

    NCSA No Control Surfaces Aircraft, just been doing some thinking...

    What if you used small hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders to change the shape of the wing? Maybe a little more camber or make it a little more thick in the middle or bend the nose or trailing edge up or down. Make the bendable area out of a laminated fiberglass similar to a bow. Something to...
  19. M

    Carbon fiber, do you think this could be done?

    Perhaps take a look at the super cars. Make a full monocoque fuselage with carbon fiber and the same with the wing structure. Lots of homework first though..... Mark
  20. M

    Stacking Compression Springs

    We use stacked springs on stock cars all the time. The right front and the left rear get a different stack up depending on the condition of the track. The spring stack up is easier to change then bar angles, and there is a tube with a washer around the middle of it to keep them concentric...
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