BASICS OF | R/C MODEL AIRCRAFT DESIGN ed Nt er ae | CHOOSING AIRFOILS * WING LOADING ¢ CG LOCATION BASIC PROPORTIONS ¢ AEROBATIC DESIGN —and much more! , < a ' BY ANDY LENNON From the publishers of Airplaneongtime modeler Andy Lennon I has been involved in aviation since the age of 1S, when he went for a short ride in a Curtis Robin. He soon joined the Montreal Flying Club and began flying D. H. Gypsy Moths and early two-place Aeronca cabin monoplanes. He was educated in Canada at Edward VII School, Strathcona ‘Academy, Montreal Technical School, McGill University and the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. Andy entered the Canadian aircraft manufacturing industry and later moved to general manufacturing as an industrial engineer. ‘Throughout his career, he continued to study all things aeronauti- cal, particularly aircraft design, aviation texts, NACA and NASA reports and aviation periodicals. He has tested many aeronautics theories by designing, building and flying nearly 25 experimental R/C models—miniatures of potential light aircraft. His favorite ‘model, Seagull Ill, isa flying boat with wide aerobatic capabilities. Andy is a valued contributing editor to Model Airplane News, and he has written for Model Aviation, Model Builder, RC Modeler and RC Models and Electronics. His two other books are “R/C Model Airplane Design” and “Canard: A Revolution in Flight.” He continues to fly full-size airplanes and is licensed in both Canada and the U.S. And when he isn’t at his drawing board or in his workshop, he’s likely to be at the flying field testing yet another model aircraft design. A. Copyright® 1996 by Air Age Media Inc. ISBN: 0-911295-40-2, Reprinted in 2002; 2005, Al rights reserved, incucing the right of eprodution in whole (rin part in any form. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced without the publisher's writen permission, Published by Air Age Media Inc. 4100 East Ridge Ridgefield, CT 06877-4068 A AirAGE meOTR ‘modelairplanenews.com PRINTED IN THE USA 2 THEBASICS OF RIC MODEL ARCRAFT DESIGNIntroduction .. Chapter 1 Airfoil Selection .... Chapter 2 Understanding Airfoils ..9 Chapter 3 Understanding ‘Aerodynamic Formulas..13 Chapter 4 Wing Loading Design Chapter 5 Wing Design Chapter 6 €G Location and the Balancing Act .. Chapter 7 Horizontal Tail Design ..32 Chapter 8 Horizontal Tail Incidence 2037 Chapter 9 Vertical Tail Design and Spiral Stability .. Chapter 10 Roll Control Design .. Chapter 11 Weight Distribution in Design Chapter 12 Improve Performance by Reducing Drag. ..s.ssss..-52 Chapter 13 Stressed-Skin Design and Chapter 14 Design for Flaps Chapter 15 NASA “Safe Wing” Chapter 16 Landing-Gear Design ....72 Chapter 17 Ducted-Cowl Design. Chapter 18 77 Propeller Selection and Chapter 19 Design for Aerobatics ..90 Chapter 20 High-Lift Devices and Drag Reduction . Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Canards, Tandem-Wing and Three-Surface Design. Chapter 23 Tailless Airplane Design .. Chapter 24 Hull and Float Design Chapter 25 Basic Proportions for R/C Aircraft Design ....125 e019 Chapter 26 Construction Designs 129 woe 34 THE BASICS OF RC MODEL AIRCRAFT DESIGN