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Lifting body discussion

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Jeremy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2003
Messages
75
Location
Salisbury, England
I'm sitting at home with a nasty cold, so have been catching up on a pile of stuff I've printed out over the last year or so, meaning to study again one day. I have just re-read Barnaby Wainfan's papers on the Facetmobile, and as usual it's sparked my curiosity as to just why this design (or any other similar lifting body) hasn't been taken up.

From the performance data it would seem to be quite a good solution to a narrow/single design point aircraft, not dissimilar in many ways to the plank type flying wing I've been working on for a while now.

Try as I might I'm finding it hard to see just where the downside is to such a design. For an ultralight (under the new UK rules) it's got a lot going for it; light weight, structural design efficiency, good performance on modest power, loads of wing area for it's span, safe handling and relatively simple construction.

What the heck am I missing here? There must be some really big downside that I haven't spotted, or else our skies would be littered with them. Maybe it's just conservatism that's stopped people following in his footsteps.

I'd welcome any views you guys may have, as it might prove to be an interesting and educational debate.

Jeremy
 
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