Here I go, the aircraft building from start to finish- the poor man style. This will be a lengthy thread, for two reasons. First one is that it is a summer here and it is a vacation season, so materials might be a problem if the shop folks are on holiday. Yesterday I went to buy balsa and glue and I found doors closed, but without notices, so I will check tomorrow again. Second reason would be the actual knowledge, since I am learning aerodynamics and fluid dynamic on my own, as well as other things that tag along in standard aircraft building, like static and dynamic in constructions (the part that deals with physical things, like making wing strong and light, but also elastic so that it can withstand forces and moments during all phases of flight), fabrication, materials etc. The idea is to mix theory and practice in order to get solid knowledge about this matter trough trial and error method. In order to make it interesting, I will try to describe this process with great deal of humor but also in a way like I am some sort of serious company, so all phases will be covered, regardless if they are actually important or not for the project.
So without further due, lets start.
Aircraft are very complex machines and it is very important to set the foundation right when attempting to make one. But before continuing, I have to make a small digression.
During my college days, we had drafting classes which created a sort of trauma for me, due to following reasons. First of all, any technical drawing, absolutely depends on coordinate system, meaning that in order to get translations and projections right, the coordinate system must be at 0, at all times. You can do it with rulers and compass, but the best way to set the coordinate system is to actually buy a drafting board, that has fixed sliding rulers. Like this one : http://southeasttrumpet.com/wp-conte...ting-board.jpg. However, at those times (the age before CAD) these drafting boards were too expensive for me, so my drafting was very painful, since I had to manually draw the coordinate system and than proceed with actual drafting, constantly checking if the lines are parallel. It is needles to say that I spent a lot more time and paper, doing the draft like that and lost a lots of nerves, getting the drawing right. Actually I lost so many nerves that the drafting board became my life nightmare. However, doing those drawings, I've noticed one thing. In case that the coordinate system is set up wrong, if x,y and z are not under 90 degrees (zeroed in), that small error, that is barley noticeable with naked eye, has the tendency to progress trough the drawing and as it progresses it multiplies, leading to the completely messed up result after hours and hours of drawing. Back than, in 1995 I gave it a name : the systemic error. While sobbing over messed up drawing,at late hours, my favorite masochistic exercise was to trace it trough every translation, rotation and projection and each time I've punished myself like that, the cause was always the same, the badly drawn coordinate system, the 90 degrees nightmare. As a mean of compensation, I used thicker lines, so at the end I've managed to pass exams, using my glasses as an excuse for thicker lines. So my technical drawings were accurate but they were never as elegant as ones drawn by wealthier students with drafting boards. Later on, this zero trauma, played the crucial role in shaping up my views at the world and I've found out that, it exists outside the pens and paper world. It exists in real life and it causes the same problems.
So in order to avoid it in this project, initial foundations must be set right.
Aircraft is a product and that product exists because the need for it exists. So an aircraft comes into the physical existence in order to fulfill the needs that created it. Those needs are its reason for existence and they are its purpose.
So what is the purpose of this particular aircraft? Well, since I am learning new things the purpose of this aircraft is to be a trainer and since this is not a copy, yet it is a original design, it is an experimental aircraft.
According to this, it follows that the type of this aircraft is a trainer and that its class is experimental.
So as a trainer and as experimental aircraft, produced by a man with very limited funds and knowledge, its design needs to stress safety that translates to its structural integrity meaning that it has to be durable and easily maintained. Also, since its primary role is to train aka it is used for practice of knowledge, it has to be easily adjustable and upgradable. This means that its construction will be modular. Since the airfield is far away, this aircraft must be hand launched which means that it will be small. When boiled down to actual requirements this means that, structure wise it has to full fill the following characteristics :
1. Low cost
2. Durability
3. Ease of maintenance
4. Modular design
5. Small dimensions
In terms of flight characteristics, if the design succeeds, it is a sail plane, with no control so pretty much all it has to do is to fly stable in one direction and land (preferably in one piece). So the flight requirements would be :
1. Stability in flight.
I've sketched up the initial idea ( this is a very general and rough sketch, dimensions are irrelevant at this stage but they will become more important later on).
See you soon...
So without further due, lets start.
Aircraft are very complex machines and it is very important to set the foundation right when attempting to make one. But before continuing, I have to make a small digression.
During my college days, we had drafting classes which created a sort of trauma for me, due to following reasons. First of all, any technical drawing, absolutely depends on coordinate system, meaning that in order to get translations and projections right, the coordinate system must be at 0, at all times. You can do it with rulers and compass, but the best way to set the coordinate system is to actually buy a drafting board, that has fixed sliding rulers. Like this one : http://southeasttrumpet.com/wp-conte...ting-board.jpg. However, at those times (the age before CAD) these drafting boards were too expensive for me, so my drafting was very painful, since I had to manually draw the coordinate system and than proceed with actual drafting, constantly checking if the lines are parallel. It is needles to say that I spent a lot more time and paper, doing the draft like that and lost a lots of nerves, getting the drawing right. Actually I lost so many nerves that the drafting board became my life nightmare. However, doing those drawings, I've noticed one thing. In case that the coordinate system is set up wrong, if x,y and z are not under 90 degrees (zeroed in), that small error, that is barley noticeable with naked eye, has the tendency to progress trough the drawing and as it progresses it multiplies, leading to the completely messed up result after hours and hours of drawing. Back than, in 1995 I gave it a name : the systemic error. While sobbing over messed up drawing,at late hours, my favorite masochistic exercise was to trace it trough every translation, rotation and projection and each time I've punished myself like that, the cause was always the same, the badly drawn coordinate system, the 90 degrees nightmare. As a mean of compensation, I used thicker lines, so at the end I've managed to pass exams, using my glasses as an excuse for thicker lines. So my technical drawings were accurate but they were never as elegant as ones drawn by wealthier students with drafting boards. Later on, this zero trauma, played the crucial role in shaping up my views at the world and I've found out that, it exists outside the pens and paper world. It exists in real life and it causes the same problems.
So in order to avoid it in this project, initial foundations must be set right.
Aircraft is a product and that product exists because the need for it exists. So an aircraft comes into the physical existence in order to fulfill the needs that created it. Those needs are its reason for existence and they are its purpose.
So what is the purpose of this particular aircraft? Well, since I am learning new things the purpose of this aircraft is to be a trainer and since this is not a copy, yet it is a original design, it is an experimental aircraft.
According to this, it follows that the type of this aircraft is a trainer and that its class is experimental.
So as a trainer and as experimental aircraft, produced by a man with very limited funds and knowledge, its design needs to stress safety that translates to its structural integrity meaning that it has to be durable and easily maintained. Also, since its primary role is to train aka it is used for practice of knowledge, it has to be easily adjustable and upgradable. This means that its construction will be modular. Since the airfield is far away, this aircraft must be hand launched which means that it will be small. When boiled down to actual requirements this means that, structure wise it has to full fill the following characteristics :
1. Low cost
2. Durability
3. Ease of maintenance
4. Modular design
5. Small dimensions
In terms of flight characteristics, if the design succeeds, it is a sail plane, with no control so pretty much all it has to do is to fly stable in one direction and land (preferably in one piece). So the flight requirements would be :
1. Stability in flight.
I've sketched up the initial idea ( this is a very general and rough sketch, dimensions are irrelevant at this stage but they will become more important later on).
See you soon...
Comment