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  1. L

    EAA 106 Northeast Experimental Fly-In

    This was not a huge event, but I think it was worth attending. The weather was about as good as you could ask for in August. Sunny, and not hot enough to notice much, though I admit I felt a bit wilted by the time I got home. The aircraft included 4 or so LongEZ's and Marc Zeitlin's Cozy. I...
  2. L

    Thick, high lift airfoils with wide speed range?

    I've been looking at airfoils. Imagine a 1-26 that's been on a diet and has magically lost 75 lbs. It has a d-tube wing now. Goal is have a very slow stall speed (i.e. high Cl) (or to use a smaller chord) with a reasonable speed range. Needs to be quite thick. 20 percent would be nice. The...
  3. L

    Speed limiting ultralight props?

    I don't know if I trust the software, because it barfs with some airfoils. If we can believe it, with a relatively large prop, but at a constant 2,500 rpm, it might be possible to keep the plane under 63 mph without limiting the throttle. This would work for a relatively clean ultralight with a...
  4. L

    Stan Hall's spar sizing nomograph

    PROBABLY A FALSE ALARM! Stan Hall had an article in the July-August 1999 Sailplane Builder called How to Size the Caps in a Wooden Box Spar-WITHOUT MATH. It also shows up on page 457 in the second volume of his collected works. Just for fun, I tried to evaluate the Sky Pup. However, when I got...
  5. L

    total lunar eclipse starting 11:41 p.m. EST(January 20, 2019) partial already visible

    If it's visible from where you are, definitely worth stepping outside for a minute to see this. from: https://earthsky.org/tonight/supermoon-lunar-eclipse-january-20-21 Eastern Time Partial umbral eclipse begins: 10:34 p.m. (January 20, 2019) Total lunar eclipse begins: 11:41 p.m. (January 20...
  6. L

    Low Flight

    I don't like helicopters much, but this is a hoot: https://images.dailykos.com/images/629287/large/lowflite.jpg?1546726318
  7. L

    composite skins vs ply for ultralight

    Was just looking at 1/32" ply prices vs carbon fiber. Seems like carbon fiber that was as stiff in bending would be cheaper, though something lighter in between two layers would be needed to make it lighter for the stiffness. I neglected the price of the epoxy, because I figured that would be a...
  8. L

    electric powered paraglider cart

    I didn't get to see it fly, or even see the flying surface, but I thought some of you guys might be interested to see this ultralight. The designer/builder says, as I recall, it's about 170 lbs as shown, with enough batteries to fly for 15 minutes, but without the canopy, or whatever you call...
  9. L

    inexpensive but good alternatives to graphlite carbon pultrusions?

    I'd capitalize it, but apparently everyone and his brother have used the name for completely different things. Like sneakers! It appears the stuff is amazing, but the cost builds up if you want to make a long skinny wing. Has graphlite become a generic term? Are there cheaper ways to get it...
  10. L

    streamlining flying wires?

    I know there are fantastically expensive solid flying "wires" with elongated cross sections, but they would make me nervous unless somehow protected from bumping into anything and getting kinked. Anyone ever try a slip-on fairing for wires? It ought to make a big difference in drag and cut down...
  11. L

    junkers flaps info after 1930's?

    I've been looking around for info on Junkers flaps, but everything I've found so far is from the 1930's and isn't necessarily all that precise. Plus I'm thinking with CFD and all, there might be foils especially designed for it. For Part 103, they are flaps that the will be recognised as such...
  12. L

    NACA tn-323 too good to be true? fairly simple blown slot for large increase in lift

    http://www.abbottaerospace.com/wpdm-package/naca-tn-323-wind-tunnel-tests-on-airfoil-boundary-layer-control-using-a-backward-opening-slot Also to be found, possibly, at Magic NACA Archive or NASA's technical report server...
  13. L

    riveted aluminum tube design resources?

    Anyone know some good design resources for riveted aluminum tube construction? (Preferably pop rivets, if that's not horribly sleazy). Wouldn't want to have to reinvent the wheel. Preferably more discussion than just copying plans. Thanks
  14. L

    stupid question about aircraft fabric

    I've seen seats made with aircraft fabric before. I just made one and, even with two layers which appeared to be shrunk up tight, it sags badly, and stays stretched. Any way to get it not to sag? Maybe I have to secure all 4 sides, but I'd rather not, as that will leave hard spots. It's kind of...
  15. L

    another low aspect ratio idea

    I don't know whether this belongs here or in the ultralight area, but it does involve design. Have been thinking about a part 103 ultralight that might put some structure between pilot and whatever he's crashing into. Also, something with relatively benign stall. And something to make fun of the...
  16. L

    outboard horizontal stabilizer?

    Anyone know much about the outboard horizontal stabilizer configuration? I can't find a lot of papers that I don't have to pay for, but it seems very interesting. Not so easy to quantify without some of them colorful fluid dynamics, though. (aka CFD) Seems like it would be great for a...
  17. L

    simplest/easiest two place?

    Mostly as a hypothetical matter of curiousity, what's the simplest/easiest to build design that: -has 500 lbs useful load plus fuel (or maybe 475 min.) with two seats -engine not too expensive, materials not too expensive -relatively low stall speed and good handling, and generally relatively...
  18. L

    interesting fence

    Maybe everyone else already knows about these, but while I was hanging around the airport today, a guy flew in with a 152 which had low fences from the wing l.e. over the top to the aileron/flap t.e.. It lined up with the joint between the ailerons and flaps. Might have been an inch or two high...
  19. L

    dynamic similarity

    Was reading Stan Hall's article on dynamic modelling today. As in making a scaled flying model to evaluate handling. He wrote that there's a particular speed associated with a particular scale. I'm not sure I understand that. I'd have thought that if the radius of gyration for each axis was to...
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