*Info* requires on Homebuilt Lifting Body
C:WINSOCKKA9QSPOOLMAIL
Read recently about a guy out in Californa who had designed a Homebuilt
lifting body aircraft which had facets and looked like a minature
F117A painted white.
I believe it paid an appearance at Oshkosh 94.
Can anyone provide me with any other info on this aircraft, or where I
can find any published material on it.
Thanks in advance,
Chris Butterfield.
Live from Lincolnshire, England.
Dave Musgrave
says...
>
>Read recently about a guy out in Californa who had designed a Homebuilt
>lifting body aircraft which had facets and looked like a minature
>F117A painted white. I believe it paid an appearance at Oshkosh 94.
>
Greetings to our friends in the UK! The Facetmobile (FMX-4) is the creation
of Barnaby and Lynne Wainfan in Santa Paula, CA. It was featured in the
October 1994 Sport Aviation, and in Kitplanes in the Spring of 1995 (I think
these dates are correct - don't have the mags with me.) Both articles have
lots of details.
Barnaby took a look at the low aspect ratio research from the 1930s
(Zimmerman) and updated it into a single seat, proof-of-concept aircraft.
Unlike so many, he flew it to Oshkosh BEFORE he announced it to the world.
A truly innovative piece of work.
The FMX-5 is under development, hopefully to be kitted within the next two
years. It is a two-place, larger and faster Facetmobile. There is a short
mention in the latest (Sept?) Sport Aviation.
The low-aspect-ratio airplane has some very interesting characteristics that
make it attractive to the sport pilot and homebuilder. It is forgiving,
easy to construct, and fast. Stay tuned for more developments in the FMX
world. Hats off to Barnaby and Lynne for innovation!!!!
--
========================================================================
Dave Musgrave
Southwest Research Institute
(210) 522-3321
PP-SEL Cessna 172G N3671L
========================================================================
Ronald James Wanttaja
C:WINSOCKKA9QSPOOLMAIL <Ch...@freareng.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>Read recently about a guy out in Californa who had designed a Homebuilt
>lifting body aircraft which had facets and looked like a minature
>F117A painted white.
>
>can find any published material on it.
Barnaby Wainfan's "Facetmobile". Most recent coverage is in the newest
SPORT AVIATION, talking about Barnaby's planned multiseat version.
KITPLANES had a two-parter starting in February '95 about his trip to
Oshkosh in '94. An earlier article on development and flight testing
was in the Sept '93 issue... Peter Lert, you did the flight testing.
How 'bout a couple words?
Wainfan is an interesting character. Aviation's answer to Harlan
Ellison, for those SF'ers out there....
Ron Wanttaja
want...@halcyon.com
Kelly McArthur
>
> In article <449474...@freareng.demon.co.uk>, Ch...@freareng.demon.co.uk
> says...
> >
>
> >lifting body aircraft which had facets and looked like a minature
> Barnaby took a look at the low aspect ratio research from the 1930s
> (Zimmerman) and updated it into a single seat, proof-of-concept aircraft.
> Unlike so many, he flew it to Oshkosh BEFORE he announced it to the world.
>
> ... Hats off to Barnaby and Lynne for innovation!!!!
>
Not to mention Zimmerman, as well. I recently posted a request to
sci.aeronautics for more information on Charles Zimmerman's
work at NACA, and later Chance Vought, but to no avail. Can any of
you r.a.h. folks suggest any books that cover his work, or specific
titles of NACA papers, and such?
And for extra credit: as a starting point to understanding stability
and performance criterion of these craft, do you analyze them as you
would a conventional wing section, albeit of very low aspect ratio,
or are lifting bodies such as the Facetmobile (or the earlier
'Zimmerskimmer') entirely different sorts of beasts?
Thanks! Kelly_M...@ccm.jf.intel.com
Kevin Riley
and Space Museum. The have a fantastic reserach department and archive.
They will be more tham happy to help you.
Kevin
Dave Musgrave
says...
I recently posted a request to
>sci.aeronautics for more information on Charles Zimmerman's
>work at NACA, and later Chance Vought, but to no avail. Can any of
>you r.a.h. folks suggest any books that cover his work, or specific
>titles of NACA papers, and such?
>
>And for extra credit: as a starting point to understanding stability
>and performance criterion of these craft, do you analyze them as you
>would a conventional wing section, albeit of very low aspect ratio,
>or are lifting bodies such as the Facetmobile (or the earlier
>'Zimmerskimmer') entirely different sorts of beasts?
I have a booklet titled simply "Naval Fighters Number Twenty One", Chance
Vought V-173 ad XF5U-1 Flying Pancakes. ISBN 0-942612-21-3, Steve Gintner.
It's a good history of both aircraft, but no real aero theory. Don't have
my Zimmerman references handy, but several NACA papers were published in the
1930s.
Recalling the lift-drag curves from the papers, Zimmerman noticed that the
Max lift to Max drag ratio did a wierd thing at aspect ratios close to one:
it got much better! So much of our airfoil information is based on
two-dimensional theory and wind tunnel tests of "infinite" wing sections,
the low aspect ratio stuff sort of gets lost. NASA's lifting body research
notwithstanding, lightly loaded low aspect ratio research virtually ended
with Zimmerman/Vought in the early 1940s. Until Barnaby Wainfan built the
Facetmobile, that is!
van...@delphi.com
>Not to mention Zimmerman, as well. I recently posted a request to
>work at NACA, and later Chance Vought, but to no avail. Can any of
>you r.a.h. folks suggest any books that cover his work, or specific
>titles of NACA papers, and such?
>
>And for extra credit: as a starting point to understanding stability
>and performance criterion of these craft, do you analyze them as you
>would a conventional wing section, albeit of very low aspect ratio,
>or are lifting bodies such as the Facetmobile (or the earlier
on about page 97 he has a nice chapter on the V-173. This book was published
in 1978 by Historical Aviation Album P.O. Box 33 Temple City, Calif. Try to
get it from an aviation Library on Inter library loan. Here's a blurb,
"After the flight Guyton [the test pilot] noted that the airplane showed promise
of fufilling its design concept of a vertical takeoff and landing airplane.
To a pilot being able to apply full power, raise the nose as
high as it could be held, have control of the airplane about all axis
without stalling was a fascinating event. The V-173 became airborne in about
20 feet and landed as slow as 15 mph in about 50 feet. Its 45 degree landing
angle of attack , though not vertical was definitely STOL."
The airplane is currently in the Smithsonian collection at Silver Hill. Power
was two Continental A-80's turning two helicopter style counter rotating
props. Top speed 150 mph, landing speeds as above noted.
You won't find much stuff on how to control this kind of plane in textbooks.
The Facetmobile gets decent performance without the slow turning helicopter
style prop. If he could figure out how to get the ground clearance and
put a long slow prop on it at as well it would be a great stol plane.
It may be possible to build a light plane that can hover!
Brent H. Van Arsdell