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[P51vsFw190]

Dear SAS Community, Airplane Lovers, and Wasters of Time,


I have finally realized my dream of becoming an aircraft designer. After many years of devoting the little free time I have to the time consuming art of aircraft design and development, I will finally start the development of my own homebuilt ultralight aircraft. I will include my designs, calculations, and documents pertaining to my aircraft here to allow others to help me correct and solve problems as I make my way towards flight readiness or the inevitability of failure resulting in my complete and utter demise. I would appreciate feedback from the community and glean knowledge from the unprecedented masses of aircraft enthusiasts that call this forum home. Feel free to PM me about things you may know or about ways I can improve my design, I am a big people person and always accept feedback and criticism alike so don't hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

P51vsFw190/PvF/James

So without further ado, onto the development process! 

[asheshouse]

I have cut the personal contact info from your post.
Its probably not a good idea to post all that in public on the net.
Maybe not all those who read it are your friends and may misuse the information.

Anyone who wants to can send you a PM and you can reply to that with further contact details.

Ashe

[P51vsFw190]

Thank you for that. I must admit, I may have gotten a little carried away when I was writing this. However, I still want the communities help on this project.

Sincerely,

PvF

[Catahoulak9]

This is exciting news PvF! I look forward to following your project.

[Ghost129er]

...I will include my designs, calculations, and documents pertaining to my aircraft here...

Careful.

[P51vsFw190]

Hello SAS Friends,

Prelude

Today is the start of the project and, as people look at this thread, I would like to see feedback about my design and how I could make it better.

In order for me to eventually fly this aircraft it will have to fully comply with the rules and regulations set by the FAA. These rules are listed here: http://www.usua.org/Rules/ruleandregs.htm and here: http://www.usua.org/Rules/faa103.htm.

The Idea

My design is for a single engine, low wing monoplane made of inexpensive materials commonly found at many stores specializing in home improvement and construction. The construction of the aircraft will utilize simplistic build techniques for ease of assembly.

I would like to ask the community for their input on the kinds of materials and hardware I will need.

I already have some sort of idea about the materials needed, such as, but not limited to:

• Aluminum Tubing (of various lengths and diameters)
• Plywood
• Aeronautical Grade Fabric

As well as assorted nuts and bolts
and so on.....

Design

My first design for the aircraft was this:

(Disregard the apparent installation of a Continental flat four. The actual craft will be powered by an inverted single cylinder Rotax engine.)


The wing will be a simple rounded rectangular shape. There will be almost full span ailerons but no flaps. The wing ribs will keep the same airfoil shape right up to the tips and will be supported internally by a large tubular spar and a small secondary spar farther aft. The wing will be braced externally by two struts mounted directly above the main spar connecting directly to the fuselage.

Here's the wing in relation to the fuse:

(Remember, these are just the first drafts of the designs, not the final product)


I still am not exactly sure how big the thing is going to be. All I know is that it must be able to lift itself and me, all the while providing me enough room in the cockpit. I am currently 6 foot 4 inches and 145 pounds.

I must also mention at this point that I will be capable of building this thing from scratch, provided I have all the right components. I have never actually built a real aircraft before, unless you count large scale Radio Control aircraft as real.

I will let this post sit for a few days to allow community members to take it in and give whatever feedback they can. I will be happy to answer questions and glean whatever knowledge the community has to offer.

That's all for now,

Sincerely,

P51vsFw190/PvF/James

[rockdoon]

First thing I would recommend... do not buy anything structural at a home improvement store... better to look at aircraft spruce first...

[HansHansen]

I hope you planned on some kind of structural washout / wing twist since you apparently choose not to use the aerodynamic solution (probably simpler with twin spars). Otherwise there might be quite challenging stall characteristics not commonly sought after in ultralight aircraft.

Unless you want to go aerobatic anyway, in that case never mind. 

What's the deal with the vertical stabilizer/rudder design? Something special you had in mind with that angular gap?

Anyhow, great project. Tube and fabric should be relatively easy to use, a good choice for the first project.
I like the vintage design very much, so keep the updates coming 

[rockdoon]

Also I'm assuming you know how to weld... anyways make sure you find an A&P or even better an IA to check your work 

[P51vsFw190]

Dear SAS'ers,

Thank you for your feedback so far.

The first thing is: Yes, Anthony I do know how to weld

And Two: Hans, I will include structural washout, however I am not sure what you mean by the angular gap in the fin and rudder area. Could you possibly explain further?

That's all for now.

Sincerely,

PvF

[Fresco23]

Very cool plan and idea! I also hope to build my own aircraft one day, so i will follow this project with great interest!

I also love the design!

[Ghost129er]

...I also hope to build my own aircraft one day...

Don't we all? And when we've all made ours, we'll all have a SAS UltraLight 4 Group meet.