GESchwarz
Well-Known Member
I am currently 15 months into the build of my own design. I started with the tail section pretty much for the traditional reason…because the assemblies are relatively small and easier to learn on than the larger assemblies. Another reason is that as an assembly, the tail section has a relatively small interface with the rest of the plane, the aft fuselage. This small interface places little demand on the young grasshopper/designer/builder.
By comparison, the forward fuselage is like Grand Central Station for just about every other part of the airplane. All other parts of the airplane have a claim on the forward fuselage for their own particular needs or constraints.
A good design is accomplished when all of the parts work in harmony with each other. An elegant design is accomplished when the sum is much greater than its parts; its part count is low, it’s robust, highly functional, and its general appearance and arrangement inspires great confidence in the beholder and for good reason.
A design begins as a thumbnail sketch and is developed as the many constraints, specifications, preferences, regulations, priorities, clearances, etcetera replace vague, arbitrary lines with lines of greater definition and permanence. Lesser priorities give way to greater priorities.
So after I built my tail section I thought I would go right into the adjacent assembly, the aft fuselage. Then I ran into a problem. To design the aft fuselage, I first had to know exactly what the forward fuselage looked like. Well I had already completed a somewhat detailed three view drawing of the entire airframe, but the rear seat was not well defined. Nothing like it had ever been designed or built before. It’s a 360 degree swivel seat. I just have to have it…I don’t want my passenger to be stuck staring at the back of my head and the wings below. So the rear seat assembly will have to be designed and built first and the cockpit must be designed specifically to accommodate the constraints imposed by the seat design. So I wound up having to build the forward fuselage and seat concurrently. Now that’s done. But I can’t build the aft fuselage because it’s going to be built off of the aft fuselage, and that would result in a 20’ assembly in my 25’ shop. So now I think I’ll spend a bit of time working on the details of the cockpit: canopy frame, instrument panel, controls… The aft fuselage can wait until the end of the build, right before we take it to the airport.
At this point I am at a cross roads. What assembly to build next? I’m thinking that the engine mount and nose gear followed by the wing center section and main gears, then this creature of the wild blue yonder can move around on its own legs, not mine. How’s that for a priority?
So I’ve started this thread to solicit the wisdom and experience of those who have trod down the prototype path before me.
By comparison, the forward fuselage is like Grand Central Station for just about every other part of the airplane. All other parts of the airplane have a claim on the forward fuselage for their own particular needs or constraints.
A good design is accomplished when all of the parts work in harmony with each other. An elegant design is accomplished when the sum is much greater than its parts; its part count is low, it’s robust, highly functional, and its general appearance and arrangement inspires great confidence in the beholder and for good reason.
A design begins as a thumbnail sketch and is developed as the many constraints, specifications, preferences, regulations, priorities, clearances, etcetera replace vague, arbitrary lines with lines of greater definition and permanence. Lesser priorities give way to greater priorities.
So after I built my tail section I thought I would go right into the adjacent assembly, the aft fuselage. Then I ran into a problem. To design the aft fuselage, I first had to know exactly what the forward fuselage looked like. Well I had already completed a somewhat detailed three view drawing of the entire airframe, but the rear seat was not well defined. Nothing like it had ever been designed or built before. It’s a 360 degree swivel seat. I just have to have it…I don’t want my passenger to be stuck staring at the back of my head and the wings below. So the rear seat assembly will have to be designed and built first and the cockpit must be designed specifically to accommodate the constraints imposed by the seat design. So I wound up having to build the forward fuselage and seat concurrently. Now that’s done. But I can’t build the aft fuselage because it’s going to be built off of the aft fuselage, and that would result in a 20’ assembly in my 25’ shop. So now I think I’ll spend a bit of time working on the details of the cockpit: canopy frame, instrument panel, controls… The aft fuselage can wait until the end of the build, right before we take it to the airport.
At this point I am at a cross roads. What assembly to build next? I’m thinking that the engine mount and nose gear followed by the wing center section and main gears, then this creature of the wild blue yonder can move around on its own legs, not mine. How’s that for a priority?
So I’ve started this thread to solicit the wisdom and experience of those who have trod down the prototype path before me.
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