VAPORTRAIL
Well-Known Member
First, a little background...
The project started out as a twin boom pusher, that many of you provided some excellent ideas for. Things were moving along nicely at the speed of government when, WHAM! "Malish" appears on the scene with that fantastic design of his.
OK, So while looking (drooling) over the pictures of his build, the wife walks by, stops, turns around and says...THATS what you need to build! I never liked that towel rack thing you were working on anyway.
Alright, months down the tubes, lets start again.
Wife signs off on ducted fan idea AND gives the go ahead to increase budget!!! Hard part over.
So, as my requirements are way less ambitious than the Malish design, maybe it is possible.
Here is what I have come up with so far:
2 Passenger tandem
28 foot span
26 foot long
1,200 pound empty
1,800 pound gross
240-260HP range/500 pound powerplant
1:2 redrive for Two 36" fans 5,400 RPMs (expensive)
55kt stall
80kt rotation (fair bit of runway)
150kt cruise (hopefully)
retractable gear (another expensive option) maybe worth it
Not expecting super performance to match the looks, this is where the "Angry Air" part comes in. A lot of power is wasted just to get the fans beat the air into submission.
It will be loud. It will be inefficient. It will be expensive for the performance attained. It will use a lot of runway. It will land relatively flat and fast like an EZ.
All known facts that will not change. Now, can it be done?
The project started out as a twin boom pusher, that many of you provided some excellent ideas for. Things were moving along nicely at the speed of government when, WHAM! "Malish" appears on the scene with that fantastic design of his.
OK, So while looking (drooling) over the pictures of his build, the wife walks by, stops, turns around and says...THATS what you need to build! I never liked that towel rack thing you were working on anyway.
Alright, months down the tubes, lets start again.
Wife signs off on ducted fan idea AND gives the go ahead to increase budget!!! Hard part over.
So, as my requirements are way less ambitious than the Malish design, maybe it is possible.
Here is what I have come up with so far:
2 Passenger tandem
28 foot span
26 foot long
1,200 pound empty
1,800 pound gross
240-260HP range/500 pound powerplant
1:2 redrive for Two 36" fans 5,400 RPMs (expensive)
55kt stall
80kt rotation (fair bit of runway)
150kt cruise (hopefully)
retractable gear (another expensive option) maybe worth it
Not expecting super performance to match the looks, this is where the "Angry Air" part comes in. A lot of power is wasted just to get the fans beat the air into submission.
It will be loud. It will be inefficient. It will be expensive for the performance attained. It will use a lot of runway. It will land relatively flat and fast like an EZ.
All known facts that will not change. Now, can it be done?
