alexkmmll
Active Member
Hello everyone,
Recently, my interest in ultralight aircraft has resurfaced. (A bit of backround knowledge: I spent about two years researching different aircraft and ultralight designs before moving away from the topic, and into model airplanes. I flew, and still fly RC planes, as well as design and build my own.) So, of course, I had to pick up a pencil and good straightedge and get to work on a design. When I first designed ultralights, I always went for a high-wing approach, and although it's more stable, you run into issues involving the attachment of the wing to the fuselage safely while still allowing room for the pilot underneath. So, I decided to design a mid-wing ultralight. In my opinion, this allows for a safer attachment point for the wings, but, as the wing is still slightly above the CG, gives the aircraft stability.
Obviously, this plan is just getting started. For some reason, I even forgot to include a fuel tank when I drew them up, but it would be placed in the storage compartment located behind the pilot's seat.
Now, I was unsure about a few things. The total wing's sq. footage is 120ft, which shouldn't be too big of an issue, but would it be a good idea to droop the ailerons a few degrees just for some added lift?
Also, the aircraft has a basic aluminum structure. I was thinking 1/4" aluminum shouldn't be an issue with how the fuselage is designed, but, to save weight, I decided 1/4" plywood would be used to create the top surface of the fuselage, from the end of the cockpit to the tip of the tail. Is there a lighter/cheaper material than dacron that could be used to cover the fuselage of an ultralight like this? I would plan on dacron for the actual wing surfaces, but I would like to see the fuselage covered as well.
I apoligize for the quality of those scans, by the way.
Please leave your comments and opinions!
Alex
Recently, my interest in ultralight aircraft has resurfaced. (A bit of backround knowledge: I spent about two years researching different aircraft and ultralight designs before moving away from the topic, and into model airplanes. I flew, and still fly RC planes, as well as design and build my own.) So, of course, I had to pick up a pencil and good straightedge and get to work on a design. When I first designed ultralights, I always went for a high-wing approach, and although it's more stable, you run into issues involving the attachment of the wing to the fuselage safely while still allowing room for the pilot underneath. So, I decided to design a mid-wing ultralight. In my opinion, this allows for a safer attachment point for the wings, but, as the wing is still slightly above the CG, gives the aircraft stability.
Obviously, this plan is just getting started. For some reason, I even forgot to include a fuel tank when I drew them up, but it would be placed in the storage compartment located behind the pilot's seat.
Now, I was unsure about a few things. The total wing's sq. footage is 120ft, which shouldn't be too big of an issue, but would it be a good idea to droop the ailerons a few degrees just for some added lift?
Also, the aircraft has a basic aluminum structure. I was thinking 1/4" aluminum shouldn't be an issue with how the fuselage is designed, but, to save weight, I decided 1/4" plywood would be used to create the top surface of the fuselage, from the end of the cockpit to the tip of the tail. Is there a lighter/cheaper material than dacron that could be used to cover the fuselage of an ultralight like this? I would plan on dacron for the actual wing surfaces, but I would like to see the fuselage covered as well.
I apoligize for the quality of those scans, by the way.
Please leave your comments and opinions!
Alex
