Samson Motors e-Newsletter -
Update 07-16-2009
We promised a summary of the engineering that is just being finished by Willem Anemaat and crew at Design, Analysis & Research (DAR Corp), which has gone into depth to check stability, control effectiveness, a further review of drag/thrust/lift/weight, the wing swing mechanism, and generally to flesh out any ‘gotchas’ on the Switchblade design as shown at Sun-n-Fun 2009. We anticipated some fair sized obstacles to overcome, and were sadly disappointed. There were none! We are handling a few minor obstacles, but nothing major.
There are basically two things we would like to handle to improve the design. The first is that the relatively high wing loading is causing a fairly fast stall speed of 60 kts with flaps. Part of the problem is the low wing location won’t allow maximum Fowler flap deflection.
One solution is to put a flap on the canard, which we could also use to counter the nose pitching moment often found in canard designs. Quite separate from that, we recently came up with a new flap arrangement that may be suitable for other designs beyond our own, and it looks like it would overcome this handicap. Analysis on this is forthcoming, and we will see how this goes.
The second thing we would like to handle is to improve longitudinal stability. While a canard helps with wing loading, stall characteristics, and can be used to keep the nose down on the ground while driving, it reduces stability overall. The handle for this is to sweep the main wings back 12 degrees. Yes, it is that simple. Look at the LongEze, Beech Starship - most other canard designs. All of them have swept back wings to some degree. So while more work is still to be done, the basics have been reviewed and we are go for lift-off!
Ground handling review is up next. The weight and balance is still very much to the rear with cg, and that helps with ground handling. We may be able to use a lighter engine than the ones used in calculating cornering, and that would help as well. I don’t believe anyone will be disappointed, as it is looking better than anticipated.
We will have a major announcement just before AirVenture, so look for it next week. I think this will be the news that many have been waiting for. Thanks again for all of your help and interest!
Safe Flying!
Samson Motors Team
We promised a summary of the engineering that is just being finished by Willem Anemaat and crew at Design, Analysis & Research (DAR Corp), which has gone into depth to check stability, control effectiveness, a further review of drag/thrust/lift/weight, the wing swing mechanism, and generally to flesh out any ‘gotchas’ on the Switchblade design as shown at Sun-n-Fun 2009. We anticipated some fair sized obstacles to overcome, and were sadly disappointed. There were none! We are handling a few minor obstacles, but nothing major.
There are basically two things we would like to handle to improve the design. The first is that the relatively high wing loading is causing a fairly fast stall speed of 60 kts with flaps. Part of the problem is the low wing location won’t allow maximum Fowler flap deflection.
One solution is to put a flap on the canard, which we could also use to counter the nose pitching moment often found in canard designs. Quite separate from that, we recently came up with a new flap arrangement that may be suitable for other designs beyond our own, and it looks like it would overcome this handicap. Analysis on this is forthcoming, and we will see how this goes.
The second thing we would like to handle is to improve longitudinal stability. While a canard helps with wing loading, stall characteristics, and can be used to keep the nose down on the ground while driving, it reduces stability overall. The handle for this is to sweep the main wings back 12 degrees. Yes, it is that simple. Look at the LongEze, Beech Starship - most other canard designs. All of them have swept back wings to some degree. So while more work is still to be done, the basics have been reviewed and we are go for lift-off!
Ground handling review is up next. The weight and balance is still very much to the rear with cg, and that helps with ground handling. We may be able to use a lighter engine than the ones used in calculating cornering, and that would help as well. I don’t believe anyone will be disappointed, as it is looking better than anticipated.
We will have a major announcement just before AirVenture, so look for it next week. I think this will be the news that many have been waiting for. Thanks again for all of your help and interest!
Safe Flying!
Samson Motors Team
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