Hi,
I have researched the Ibis - great little plane. As is the Onyx. The problem I have with the Onyx is that the fore wing is dumping a significant amount of downwash directly onto the main wing - significantly reducing it's ability to produce lift. I'm struggling to understand why the designer would have made this decision. While this is the preferred configuration for Flying Fleas, it isn't exactly perfect for them either, for the same reason.
The Ibis is another great little plane. Rather high stall speed, in spite of it's use of flaps.
In both cases, however, I think a better job can be done:
The Onxy: swap the configuration of the wings, as mentioned.
The Ibis: Too square (could be better aesthetically), landing speed too high, despite the flaps.
Both of them (and all other canards): To build one, I'd have to invest in plans, and then follow them.
My little canard (which has the working name of DMC-01) will (hopefully) improve on these by:
- No additional cost for plans, and no need to follow its construction methods. The DMC-01 will be built using Western Red Cedar strip planking over formers - exactly the way they build strip planking canoes. At only 2.1kg/m^2 fuselage area, I'm expecting a completed fuselage weight of 15kg (and that's with a solid 6mm skin). Why? Well, for one thing, it's light, it's strong, and best of all, it can be used to produce complex curves - just like composite fuselages.
- Incorporating a superior wing layout (as mentioned above)
- (Hopefully) have a stall speed of 35kts, and a cruise speed of 100kts+
- Folding wings (exactly like a Flying Flea)
- (Still considering this one...) Incorporate flaps. The problem with flaps is that they cause a strong nose-down moment, which in the landing configuration is the opposite of what one wants. So to balance this, my fore wing will have both the usual elevators, but also be able to pivot as though it were an all-flying wing. However, this pivoting action will only be linked to the flap lever. Drop the flaps, and the fore wing increases pitch to match the nose-down tendency. Obviously, some experimentation will be required in order to get this right.
Good looks a deal-breaker? Absolutely!
This is my first rough sketch of the DMC-01. I'm hoping to significantly refine this in X-Plane, so that I can show you some different angles. I'll also be using X-Plane to model its flying characteristics.

Duncan