Looking for an experimental aircraft...?

Question

ok, trying to find out about the possibilities of an aircraft design, i'm certain someone's thought of it before i'd just like to know what happened with testing etcetera.

from the top it would look like an Isosceles triangle with the "tip" being the back. the nose would be flat, the whole bottom side likely flat, like you were flying just one wing. was an x-plane like this ever developed? or was this a totally original idea i just published on the internet without any hopes of patent?:)

Answer 1

I would suggest that you start with the EAA https://www.eaa.org/

they are one of the leading organizations for experimental and homebuilt type aircraft. I am sure someone there would be able to help you.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Daniel -

It sounds like your idea is great in the looks department, but may be a little lacking technically. After all, the first requirement of an aircraft must be that it is capable of flight. Based on a few things I know in that area, I don't think that this would be a design that could fly safely. In fact, I think it is probably inherently unstable. Now, granted, there are fighter aircraft that use fly-by-wire to control aircraft that are otherwise unstable at certain flight conditions. But they are designed that way to reduce drag and increase performance; your configuration would have the opposite effect.

Don't get discouraged, but you should buy a book on basic aerodynamics, then - back to the drawing board!

ADDED: A brief note - I am not laughing at nor belittling your idea. But the Wright Brothers did A LOT of HARD work before they got to a real design. People laughed even after they had done all the work - in fact they laughed after they had flown. All I am saying is to do the homework. Aerodynamics is not art, it's physics. And physics has rules that cannot be violated just because you want something to look a certain way. Best of Luck - don't stop dreaming.

Answer 3

Your design sounds similar to a bakwards F-117 which is now retired.  The largest problem you would have is stability with that design.  You would need a flight controll computer to have stable flight.  A blunt front end would creat quite a bit of lift so I bet it would get off the ground fast.  There could be some drag issues with that since the front of the plane would be a long flat surface like an air dam.  Good luck with it and don't listen to some of the people that answered on here.  A lot of people laughed at the Wright Brothers and look what they did.

Answer 4

AND... just HOW do you plan to get that design approved for flying?  Any new or radical design must go through THOUSANDS of hours of actual flight time before getting an air worthiness certificate... even if it IS just an Experimental Aircraft.

Answer 5

The stealth planes follow similar lines. See if you can establish a link with any of their design teams, who, I am sure will at least guide you properly.

Answer 6

One question: why?

When aircraft are designed, their form follows the required function. Want to go long on minimum power? Long and slender wings (we call that a wing aspect ratio). Want to go super fast? Very thin wings or pronounced sweepback. And so on.

So what is the advantage of your isosceles platform, blunt side forward?