I talked to Elliott about it... He seems to think it will do ok. I hope it does for Elliott and Justin's sake.

photo car/motorcycle

I'm guessing that this thing will be similar to a Velocity with regards to opening a door in flight. Meaning that once it is unlatched, there will be NO problem opening it.

Maintaining control of the aircraft will be the challenge, assuming the door stays attached and doesn't go through the prop.

Perhaps the higher speed is necessary to provide the canard with enough authority to get the nose off the ground, after which the main wing begins producing lift. That would allow it to continue flight and climb at a lower speed than rotation.

Don, what is it like on the Velocity?

Maybe the solution to the prop issue would be to add removable hinges on the door plus a tether on the door that would insure it engaged with the prop enough to break all the blades off at the hub?

He assumed that the gas shock would open the door just like it does on the ground. I think my eyes rolled a full 180 to the back of my head when he said that one. Remember, this is an experimental plane designed by a guy who didn’t understand the concept of balancing control surfaces and doesn’t understand that airflow will have an impact on the forces needed to open a door.

If the door is openable in whatever form of uncontrollable flight/descent condition the taxicraft (hard to call it an aircraft) is in, and the left wing is still attached, the wing strake comes all the way to the door. The lucky pilot has a shot of using their left hand to grab the strake and guide themselves either above or below the wing. I wouldn’t bet on it, but perhaps the mere possibility of such a maneuver is comforting.

As for the spinning meat grinder, I would not agree to test fly that thing without a prop break or release. Maybe shoot a rod through the reduction gear, or use explosive bolts to jettison the prop before attempting to bail out. I would also insist on quick pull hinge pins on the door. Actually, never mind, I would just insist that the plane be redesigned by someone who understands things like aerodynamics, structures and power plants.

I won't argue in favor of this aircraft but in general I'd rather be a couple thousand feet in the air ASAP assuming it's generally controllable than I would be barreling along at 100+ mph in ground effect. At least up higher you've got some time to work out a problem. Close to the ground at high speed is where things can go very bad very quickly.

That said it may be prudent to perform some "hops" on a long runway before actually climbing into the sky, to determine if there are any serious controllabilty issues but that's not the same as covering miles close to the ground.

I won't argue in favor of this aircraft but in general I'd rather be a couple thousand feet in the air ASAP assuming it's generally controllable than I would be barreling along at 100+ mph in ground effect. At least up higher you've got some time to work out a problem. Close to the ground at high speed is where things can go very bad very quickly.

That said it may be prudent to perform some "hops" on a long runway before actually climbing into the sky, to determine if there are any serious controllabilty issues but that's not the same as covering miles close to the ground.

Check the price of a brand new Lycoming vs a brand new Audi Diesel

own an audi past the warranty period plus 10 years and compare to the same for a lycoming. See which costs you more.

It looks like testing starts next week. Why no polar graphs?

https://youtu.be/BVNu94s8Mbw

He calculated a prop strike with the nose gear only 17" in the air. No adjustment for any main gear compression.....

The mains probably won't flex much. And I don't think the nose wheel would ever be 17" off the ground with the mains still on the ground. Canards takeoff and land pretty flat compared to a normal airplane.

Now the weight up front is a whole different story! I think he said 390 lbs on the nose wheel empty. His canard doesn't look much different than mine and I've only got 100lbs on my nose wheel. So I'm wondering how fast he's going to have to go to get that thing in the air.

The mains probably won't flex much. And I don't think the nose wheel would ever be 17" off the ground with the mains still on the ground. Canards takeoff and land pretty flat compared to a normal airplane.

Now the weight up front is a whole different story! I think he said 390 lbs on the nose wheel empty. His canard doesn't look much different than mine and I've only got 100lbs on my nose wheel. So I'm wondering how fast he's going to have to go to get that thing in the air.

He will need to share a plan for dropping a lot of weight in the production version or next prototype in order for it to have any viability, assuming you are right and it flies.