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MasterOkiAkai [2012-06-11 10:20:26 +0000 UTC]

Ya know, i really think you have enough material here to design or scrap together your own plastic model kit. And I already see evidence that you could nail the colors and textures too. The wing and engine housing designs along with the wheel concept and construction

AFter looking the design over and given what i know of aircraft in metal and plastic, I am of the opinion that this thing would not fly safely or for long. Wish my grandfather was still alive, he'd be able to tell ya just by looking, and if it couldn't then why and what it would take to get it flying. Cuz i feel like this is just so very close to plausible. BUT regardless, it's cool as hell! And i think it deserves more attention.

The only thing that really messes with me on this design is the moving wing design. I mean it needs to be there in some way in order for the craft to operate on the ground, sure.

Balance: in terms of standing physics i think the design is solidly balanced and would sit on the ground and roll along just fine inside a hangar. But those stabilizers would surely need to click down in the wind. Having a 150-200lb rider on the front initially struck me as a major potential problem, but after some relative assessments it now strikes me as maybe being a necessity to hold the front in flight.
Roll: easy, plenty of control surface area
Pitch: easy but not as stable, without any additional canards or elevators
Yaw: i get that this is controlled by the foot pedals, but i'm not seeing any kind of stabilizers to really help with this. Turning by using drag differential will make the thing tricky enough, but with the angled wings it would be even more destabilizing.

This baby is gonna be as hard to control as a delta style craft with the instability of the reverse wing design. Add that to the motorcycle style fuel tank and the turbo prop becomes the natural choice over a jet. Also should theoretically keep it operating just a bit over minimal airspeed, allowing it to take advantage of the reverse wing design. Theoretically it would give it superior lift, range, maneuverability, shorter take off and landing distance, a lower minimum flight speed, along with superior stall and spin resistance. And that's all from the reverse wing design, which would require the use of reinforced frame and geometrically counter twisting skin. Well, that or ya don't slap any kind of additional weight onto the thing.

The stabilizer extensions seem to take advantage of the maximum drag off the angled forward wing design. can't think of any time when i've seen a stabilizer design like that, but if i had to equate it to something, i would image it functioning more like an air brake using split-ailerons.
Though the steep negative dihedral angle of the wings ought to theoretically help make it a smooth ride while cruising straight and steady.

I imagine riding this baby to be like a dirt bike possessed by a bucking bronco at the X-games. A lot of dips, flips, spinning twists and sharp maneuvers. That's just based on the air frame design. I would think with the small contra rotating turbo prop running off what looks to maybe be the equivalent of a V8 or V10 engine you'll get more efficient thrust for the same amount of fuel power with the cost of being extra noisy and complex.

Probably the thing that still bugs me most is the moving wing part. If it wasn't for the fact that the wings carry the load bearing wheels AND rely on high stress forward style wings. But also using an angled frame of a static axis, as well as a shifting fuselage skirt just strikes me as really loving of jamming and stress failure. Of coarse, having said that, I can only think of two alternatives to the current moving airframe design and neither one of them is any better and trying to "solve" the problem would be getting too serious and require a major redesign.

Having sai all that I'll say what i probably should have started this whole thing with. No recanting or criticizing or disrespect of the design or its intention. This is just me thinking out loud, trying to deduce how it rides and works and feels from the information available. That way I can take further inspiration and gain greater understanding of the designs "character" through its uniqueness, flaws, strengths and weaknesses.

I would like to compare it to actual ultralight aircraft, especially since we apparently get close and closer to designs similar to these, but i'm even less familiar with these types and their unique handling and features as compared to "vintage" and modern warbirds.

I imagine myself trying designs that are close to the family, but i think the best choice to go along with this baby would be the OV-10 Bronco, V-22 Osprey or maybe the more massive and venerable B-52.

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LupusNinja [2007-07-27 15:47:49 +0000 UTC]

Hehe good luck trying to bail out of that. Pilot mince meat... I'd still fly it though, cause its just that cool.

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Shizuma-sama [2007-07-06 02:44:26 +0000 UTC]

nice! Its daring, being that it is forward-swept and the engine is mid-mounted rear. Awsome design! You should check out an anime called "Yukikaze" theres an air craft of similar design, but at a larger scale though!

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2XVISION [2007-07-05 21:32:59 +0000 UTC]

Let's get it ON!!!

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RODCOM1000 [2007-07-05 18:06:16 +0000 UTC]

I'm beginning to believe you can draw anything! The ultra light is one of my favorites.
...um, The Vindicators could use some tech stuff when you find the time

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CursedChimera [2007-07-05 15:50:31 +0000 UTC]

Awesome! Can't wait till I see it in actual production phase ^^

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