DaveD
Well-Known Member
Life's been getting in the way for the last few years which has slowed work on my Project-Ex idea to less than a crawl... but the dream of a composite pusher has still been bubbling away.
After some napkin doodling I've been toying with the idea of a single seat, mostly Carbon Fibre craft that will meet the Australian 95.10 category (Single seat, <30km/m2 wing loading, 320kg MTOW - with chute and 90kg pilot). I'm sure it's do-able, although a Rotax 582 may be a bit optimistic from a weight point of view.
I've got a few areas I'd like to "think out loud" with all you knowledgeable folks:
1) What's the best way to break this down into sub-assemblies. It's composite, so hard points and mechanical fastenings are bad, but my build space is limited to a double garage sized shed and I want it to be trailerable. My main sticking points are the attachment of the booms to the wing centre section, and the fuselage pod to the wing
2) Fuel in the wing roots or a separate tank low behind the pilot
3) Horizontal tail secondary bonded to the booms, or rotatable for trim, or all flying
Probably the most controversial is the configuration itself. I do understand that history heavily suggest tractors are better, and if you have to go pusher, a single tail boom will be lighter. But at the end of the day this is a one-off vanity project! I am willing to sacrifice some lightness and performance for the twin boom pusher config... this is a hobby not a business and the usual destination when I fly is the same airstrip I took off from!
With that said... let the discussion begin:
After some napkin doodling I've been toying with the idea of a single seat, mostly Carbon Fibre craft that will meet the Australian 95.10 category (Single seat, <30km/m2 wing loading, 320kg MTOW - with chute and 90kg pilot). I'm sure it's do-able, although a Rotax 582 may be a bit optimistic from a weight point of view.
I've got a few areas I'd like to "think out loud" with all you knowledgeable folks:
1) What's the best way to break this down into sub-assemblies. It's composite, so hard points and mechanical fastenings are bad, but my build space is limited to a double garage sized shed and I want it to be trailerable. My main sticking points are the attachment of the booms to the wing centre section, and the fuselage pod to the wing
2) Fuel in the wing roots or a separate tank low behind the pilot
3) Horizontal tail secondary bonded to the booms, or rotatable for trim, or all flying
Probably the most controversial is the configuration itself. I do understand that history heavily suggest tractors are better, and if you have to go pusher, a single tail boom will be lighter. But at the end of the day this is a one-off vanity project! I am willing to sacrifice some lightness and performance for the twin boom pusher config... this is a hobby not a business and the usual destination when I fly is the same airstrip I took off from!
With that said... let the discussion begin:
