highspeed
Well-Known Member
Greetings all! My name is Chris, and after lurking here for a month or so I finally decided to register and make my first post. I've been a huge aviation nut for all my life. Through serendipity and some careful planning I have gotten to experience many coo things from up-close tours of the B-17 Texas Raiders to getting to fuel Thunderbirds 4, 5, and 6 at the airshow when I worked the flightline at the local FBO. I've sketched airplanes for years, often to the dismay of my teachers, dreaming up airplanes that ranged from the fantastic to the mundane. I think that now I would like to try my hand at bringing those designs into the real world. My background is not engineering, but I have begun the long journey of designing and constructing an airplane of my own. I look forward to growing my skills and knowledge base as a member of this community.
I know a good bit of study is in order, so I'm looking at getting Raymer's Simplified Aircraft Design for Homebuilders or Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach to start off with. From what I've read here, those are probably a good place to begin. I have given a bit of thought to what sort of airplane to design. To satisfy my inner fighter pilot I would love to have a fast and fun little single seater. Taking inspiration from great designs like Mike Arnold's AR-5 and the Midget Mustang, I envision a single seat monoplane of 60-100hp, a cruising speed of at least 130 Knots with about 3 hours of endurance plus reserves, and capable of "gentleman's aerobatics" at a gross weight of around 800 pounds. I think these are very reasonable numbers to start out with. I'm trying to take baby steps with learning all this stuff, so bear with me. I've found out airplane design can be quite overwhelming if you try to take it all in too fast. Wish me luck.
I know a good bit of study is in order, so I'm looking at getting Raymer's Simplified Aircraft Design for Homebuilders or Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach to start off with. From what I've read here, those are probably a good place to begin. I have given a bit of thought to what sort of airplane to design. To satisfy my inner fighter pilot I would love to have a fast and fun little single seater. Taking inspiration from great designs like Mike Arnold's AR-5 and the Midget Mustang, I envision a single seat monoplane of 60-100hp, a cruising speed of at least 130 Knots with about 3 hours of endurance plus reserves, and capable of "gentleman's aerobatics" at a gross weight of around 800 pounds. I think these are very reasonable numbers to start out with. I'm trying to take baby steps with learning all this stuff, so bear with me. I've found out airplane design can be quite overwhelming if you try to take it all in too fast. Wish me luck.
