OTOH I am an engineering science graduate of technical department from the Oulu University. I majored in architecture back in the eighties when Finland was in the strong shadow of USSR. Our AF was flying Mig-21s and Saad J-35 Drakens and Fouga Magisters those times with high rates of accidents too ( normal back then ). I was too tall to be a fighter pilot at 6 th 4 in lenght ( I would still be ) also I used to suffer from migrene headaches ( gone now ). All this made decide that I have to forget aviation, but I choosed architecture to be able to maintain touch with drawing and designing. I used to draw planes already at age 5 or 6 and fly all kinda glider of my own design. One particular R/C plane of totally my own design was flying with .01 sized engine with normal sized servos back in 1978. Later in 1990 I was the first to fly a scale 1/12 sized Me-109G of my plans naturally ( it was possible due to the small servos that became available in late eighties ). It was a centerfold in R/C mag in USA in 1991 or 1992. Some point I built 50 drones for the AAA corps.
I have been since collected a lot of info on flying on various internet sites like http://www.aafo.com/ , http://www.rcscalebuilder.com/ and http://www.twitt.org/ etc. Also http://www.luft46.com/ opened new eyes to new thinking too. As you have seen I am a keen history fan too. You don't have to invent everything new every morning...many things just have to be seen in new light to make it "new".
In a way MAX III is new. It can hold 6 ft 4 in pilot with helmet and utilises only 50 hp engine. It is the smallest plane with retracts ever. Some of its other features are new too like fowler flaps and few yet secret features that are common in bigger successful planes.
I spent a whole year developing a ground effect utilising partially lifting body AC and and realised I entered a field where I have no means to achieve anything practical during my lifetime to be used by me personally in my AC ( I did one major aviation invention that is yet to be patented ). Drawings of it can be seen in http://www.aafo.com/. Also I was attacked heavily from my countrymen by claims that my designs are of no practical value and bear no aerodynamical hall marks. I dare to be of different opinion.
I think my best feature as aviation designer is the ability to see forest for the trees. I don't start wasting my time in aerodynamical finetuning when there is no use of it. I develop the concept ready...and then if God allows I start to grind the details. I have to say more strongly than Salvador Dali who said "that only thing that differs me from a lunatic is that I know I am not one" I claim that I am very practical thinker, but my concerns are hard for some lunatics to see. I was born in a fighter town in Finland and my godfathers daddy teached pilots to the Winterwar and suffered a nervous brakedown due to immense amount of flying ( there were only 2 "unteroffizier" instructors ). My daddy has flown jets and gliders and I had one of highest decorated aviator in family of the frontline duties in WW II and several less decorated ( one ace with 5 kills ). One of my uncles who still lives was commander of the Blenheim squadron and flew also with Me-109 and Fiat G-50. This does not make me instantly a good designer, but gives me rare insight.
Ok here are the developement phases of MAX III so far:
You can clearly see that cockpit size has increased in height. This has been done in order to fit the pilot with a helmet in nicely and see forward despite the safety arch. Plane has less lenght to save weight. It does look slightly stubby now in profile, but I am afraid I increase the induced drag if lengtening it too much.
This for instance is one aspect to be solved with a model that I am going to build pretty soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment