Submission of offers for BH Airlines start today
Jat’s fleet shortage headache
HS748 ZK-MCB
A bit of grotty weather web site browsing found that the ex Mt Cook HS748 ZK-MCB/2 has found another home.
Try looking (if you have a lot of time to spare) at http://www.ruudleeuw.com/index.html
To find the MCB ref; click on "Photos by friends & guests" then click on page 13 and drill your way down until you find a pic of it in its new identity of S2-AAX.
It started life as G-BGMO (c/n 1767) on 09-03-1779 and went to Trinidad as 9V-TGI, then off to Antigua as V2-LDB in December of 1985 on lease. It returned briefly to its Trinidad registration before returning to the UK as G-BGMO on 08-04-1986. It served with EuroAir, British Airways and Jersey European Airways and arrived in NZ on 04-12-1993. On the 10th of December it became ZK-MCB/2 (MCB/1 was an Islander c/n C336), and was named "Te Anau". Its last service for Mt Cook was on 31-12-1995 with it departing Christchurch for Norfolk Island & Brisbane on 09-02-1996. It took up its old G-BGMO registration again with Emerald Airways. After a period of storage it was cancelled on 18-03-2008 and is now S2-AAX with Bismillah Airlines in Bangladesh.
easyJet starts new flights to Croatia today
What is this ?
Air-96 is on the panel below the engine.
Reputed to have done about 1000 hours cattle mustering in Australia.
From what I observed it did not seem to have the grunt to lift off its trolley on a cool Rangiora day - let alone from a hot Aussie outback paddock !.
Engine on arrival was a Rotax 618 of around 70hp and a Rabe exhaust.
I believe it has been re-engined since but appears to have gone off the scene.
Anybody any clues as to what it is ?
Stewart Kerr Stuker
Instrument Flying Fundamental Skills
During attitude instrument training, you must develop three fundamental skills involved in all instrument flight maneuvers: instrument cross-check, instrument interpretation, and aircraft control. Although you learn these skills separately and in deliberate sequence, a measure of your proficiency in precision flying will be your ability to integrate these skills into unified, smooth, positive control responses to maintain any prescribed flight path.
Tag: Flying instrument, instrument flight, aviation, piloting, instrument rating, instrument flying training, instrument flight rating, instrument rating requirement, instrument rating regulation, aircraft, aero plane, airplane, and aeronautical knowledge.
Cross-Check
The first fundamental skill is cross-checking (also called "scanning" or "instrument coverage"). Cross-checking is the continuous and logical observation of instruments for attitude and performance information. In attitude instrument flying, the pilot maintains an attitude by reference to instruments that will produce the desired result in performance. Due to human error, instrument error, and airplane performance differences in various atmospheric and loading conditions, it is impossible to establish an attitude and have performance remain constant for a long period of time. These variables make it necessary for the pilot to constantly check the instruments and make appropriate changes in airplane attitude.
Tag: Flying instrument, instrument flight, aviation, piloting, instrument rating, instrument flying training, instrument flight rating, instrument rating requirement, instrument rating regulation, aircraft, aero plane, airplane, and aeronautical knowledge.
Jat Airways warns of slump in profit
Twin engine training.
Good financial results for Adria
Works of Art #7
Question time #11 winner
SAS Scandinavian Airlines expanding network throughout Croatia
Recent register changes
Westland Scout AH/1 ZK-HVD/2 (c/n F.9704) of Heli-Logging was revoked on 16-04-2008. First registered in NZ on 21-10-1999 to Metro Air in Christchurch and first flown here on 07-11-1999. It moved over to the Ford Family Trust on 09-08-2001. This is the last of six such machines on our register.
Both pics at Wanaka airshow 2004.
The Westland Wessex HC Mk2 ZK-HBE/3 (c/n WA196) also from Heli-Logging, was listed to The Wessex Trust c/- Mark Ford on 11-06-2008. This ex RAF helicopter joined the NZ register with Wessex Air Ltd (Metro Air) on 11-12-2001 before relisting to Helilogging on 21-02-2003.
Its close cousin Wessex ZK-HBF/3 (c/n WA533) was revoked on 16-04-2008.
The third Wessex ZK-HVK/2 (c/n WA178) was a HC Mk5C model. It was lost in an accident on 11-02-2001 in the Little Pokororo Valley.
There are several (up to seven) other airframes in country but they have not reached the civil register.
What is wrong with sailplane airfoils for powered planes
A known thing is that the more efficient the airfoil the higher L/D ratio it has and vice versa. So one could go and find that sailplane airfoils produce very high L/D ratios. There is a little but on that though: Sailplane airfoils commonly achieve the best L/D ratio at higher Cl than what is optimal for a powered aircraft with reasonable wing loading where the cruise Cl is between 0.15 and 0.20. E.g. NLF 215F seems to achieve its L/D max at around Cl 0.5 which is unusually low compared to some other airfoils that require Cl being close to 1.0. That is acceptable for a sailplane that is thermalling at close to the stall speed. However, that is not where one wants to cruise with a powered aircraft, there is usually a requirement to get somewhere in a reasonable time, thus speed has some importance.
I have previously mentioned that the wing loading and cruise Cl has direct relation. The higher the wing loading, the higher the cruise Cl vice versa. Then the speed where the best L/D ratio occurs has a relation to the previous and it also tends to have relation to the top speed.
Diamond DA40 uses Wortmann FX 63-137 airfoil. It has best L/D ratio higher than the optimal < 0.2 (for light wing loading). Therefore the best L/D speed is the same as the approach speed on the aircraft. Similarly on Diamond DA42 Twin Star the same airfoil was used but the wing loading is as high as it is on Cirrus SR20. The result is that the best L/D speed is higher than on DA40, the top speed is higher (it is not only because of the two engines, the two engines produce also more drag than one). Because of the substantially heavier wing loading, the DA42 cruises at higher Cl than the DA40 and it gets closer to the airfoil optimum resulting better aerodynamic efficiency.
Cirrus SR20 is very similar to the DA40 but it has a different airfoil and higher wing loading. That results best L/D ratio speed being 96 kts. SR22 has that value even higher, it is over 100 kts, but it can be misleading that the best glide speed mentioned in the operating handbook is lower than on SR20. That is the best glide speed, it is not the best L/D ratio speed of the airfoil, it is a compromise of the airfoil + fuselage + propeller and in the SR22 the propeller is braking a lot more than on SR20, which alone is enough to explain the lower best glide speed - because of the propeller braking, the SR22 sinks faster, but if there was no propeller, SR22 could have higher glide speed than the SR20. But what this has to do with the topic? The interesting thing is that the Cirrus has different airfoil and higher wing loading and the optimum glide speed is higher than on DA40 which results potential to faster cruise speed than DA40 (whereas it is not exactly the airfoil's best L/D speed because of the mentioned reasons). Providing that there is enough power available, the Cirrus airframe is faster although the larger fuselage cross section and wetted area most likely pretty much diminishes the benefit from the wing, that is also partly a reason why the best cruise speed performance of DA40-180/XL and SR20 is not that much different, SR20 is just slightly faster - the Diamond has better fuselage shape and it simply is a lot smaller aircraft than the Cirrus and size does not tend to come without penalty when it comes to aerodynamic drag.
However, it would be beneficial for efficiency to have an airfoil which could achieve higher L/D ratio at the cruise Cl of the DA40 already. It does not come without penalties of course, the airfoils which have high L/D ratio at low Cl don't necessarily always produce optimal Clmax (which then has also relation to the required wing area which gets back to the stall speed and wing loading).
And it is not all in that, Daniel Raymer notes in his book that usually only 90% of the theoretical Clmax of the airfoil gets realized in practice. Therefore it is a interesting compromise between the wing sizing, and the best L/D at cruise Cl. Daniel Raymer notes in high book that the Cl is one of the hardest things to estimate without experimental data from test flights, and often test flights result in the need of modifications (e.g. if the Clmax in practise is not as good as was predicted, a larger wing is required to meet the maximum stall speed criteria, which is for single engine aircraft 61 kts).
It would be really interesting if someone would have a batch processing functionality in a airfoil program that would ingest the UIUC airfoil database data and simulate through all airfoils and put them into a correct order for the given specification (cruise Cl below 0.2), as high L/D at cruise Cl for a low wing loading, and at the same time, as high Clmax as possible, and at the same time, gentle stall charasteristics at low Reynolds number. And of course, the pitching moment also has some importance, high pitching moment tends to cause more trim drag which reduces the achievable Clmax (of the total airframe) considerably - if the wing can achieve e.g. Clmax 2.2, the airframe may be left to below 1.5 in total because of the download in the tail that is negative lift.
Jat hits 500.000 passenger mark
On Monday, June 16, 2008, Jat Airways carried its 500,000th passenger. This is more than ever before. Last year, Jat carried its 500,000th passenger on June 25, in 2006 – on June 30, in 2005 – on July 24, in 2004 – on July 2 and in 2003 – on July 8. Jat Airways expects to have carried one and a half million passengers by the end of the year. This would have been a new record compared to the last year's figure when it carried one million 300,000 passengers. Also, this would see Jat well on its way toward definitely achieving one of its strategic goals – that of regaining the position of regional leader in commercial air traffic.
Bad news for passengers
Due to the global increase in oil prices, like many other airlines, Jat Airways will increase its ticket prices on charter flights and select scheduled services. Ticket prices on charter flights will increase somewhere in the range of 8 to 14 Euros and select regular service charges will increase somewhere in the range of 1 to 7 Euros.
A winner for Question time #10
Grey Beard wins the elusive (fictional) chocolate fish.
The aircraft is indeed the Beechcraft 65-B80 Queen Air ZK-CIA/2 which is enduring gentle decay at Bridge Pa airfield, Hastings.
This aircraft flew into Auckland as N640K on 27-12-1988 to become ZK-CIA/2 for Chathams Air and served for some ten years before being parked up at Hastings.
4th civilian airport for Bosnia and Herzegovina
Trebinje is located in the Serb entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina called Republika Srpska. If built it would become the fourth international airport in the country, following Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar while it would be the second in Republika Srpska after Banja Luka.
New plane arrivals for Montenegro Airlines
Winner for Question Time #9
The above shot shows ZK-CAW at McDonalds in Taupo.
ZK-CAW (18923) started life with the USAAF serialled 42-100460 and joined the civil ranks as VH-ANM with Australian National Airways in February 1947. Its final Australian operator was Airlines of NSW from February 1961.
It was modified to "Viewmaster" status (Lengthened cabin windows) before arriving in NZ on 23-10-1961 to become ZK-CAW with South Pacific Airways of NZ Ltd and was named "George Bolt".
It joined NZNAC in March 1966 and was leased to Fiji Airways as VQ-FAI, returning to NZNAC in August 1969.
It the briefly served with Mount CookAirlines and then South Seas Airways before it went to Fieldair in May of 1971 in the agricultural role..
Its last flight was on 29-10-1984 bringing its total airframe time to 56,282 hours
By November 1990 it was at McDonalds.
Nice to see the B170 stuph on your blog.
Unidentified Hughes 369
In memorium
Jat Tehnika now servicing Sterling Airlines
The new deal may boost interest for the purchase of the company as it is currently in the processes of privatisation which should be complete by the end of October this year. Approximate seven world-wide companies are interested in becoming the majority owners of Jat Tehnika.
Oh ! The things we do.
Swine of a job, but I suppose somebody had to do it.
Medical Factors
A "go/no-go" decision is made before each flight. The pilot should not only preflight check the aircraft, but also his/ herself before every flight. As a pilot you should ask yourself, "Could I pass my medical examination right now?" If you cannot answer with an absolute "yes," then you should not fly. This is especially true for pilots embarking on flights in IMC. Instrument flying can be much more demanding than flying in VMC, and peak performance is critical for the safety of flight.
Pilot performance can be seriously degraded by both prescribed and over-the-counter medications, as well as by the medical conditions for which they are taken. Many medications, such as tranquilizers, sedatives, strong pain relievers, and cough-suppressants, have primary effects that may impair judgment, memory, alertness, coordination, vision, and the ability to make calculations. Others, such as antihistamines, blood pressure drugs, muscle relaxants, and agents to control diarrhea and motion sickness, have side effects that may impair the same critical functions. Any medication that depresses the nervous system, such as a sedative, tranquilizer, or antihistamine, can make a pilot much more susceptible to hypoxia.
Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) prohibits pilots from performing crewmember duties while using any medication that affects the faculties in any way contrary to safety. The safest rule is not to fly as a crewmember while taking any medication, unless approved to do so by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If there is any doubt regarding the effects of any medication, consult an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) before flying.
Alcohol
14 CFR part 91 prohibits pilots from performing crewmember duties within 8 hours after drinking any alcoholic beverage or while under the influence. Extensive research has provided a number of facts about the hazards of alcohol consumption and flying. As little as one ounce of liquor, one bottle of beer, or four ounces of wine can impair flying skills and render a pilot much more susceptible to disorientation and hypoxia. Even after the body completely metabolizes a moderate amount of alcohol, a pilot can still be impaired for many hours. There is simply no way of increasing the metabolism of alcohol or alleviating a hangover.
Fatigue
Fatigue is one of the most treacherous hazards to flight safety, as it may not be apparent to a pilot until serious errors are made. Fatigue can be either acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term). A normal occurrence of everyday living, acute fatigue is the tiredness felt after long periods of physical and mental strain, including strenuous muscular effort, immobility, heavy mental workload, strong emotional pressure, monotony, and lack of sleep. Acute fatigue is prevented by adequate rest, regular exercise, and proper nutrition. Chronic fatigue occurs when there is not enough time for a full recovery from repeated episodes of acute fatigue. Recovery from chronic fatigue requires a prolonged period of rest. In either case, unless adequate precautions are taken, personal performance could be impaired and adversely affect pilot judgment and decision making.
IMSAFE Checklist
The following checklist, IMSAFE, is intended for a pilot's personal preflight use. A quick check of the items on this list can help the pilot make a good self-evaluation prior to any flight. If the answer to any of the checklist questions is yes, then the pilot should consider not flying.
Illness—Do I have any symptoms?
Medication—Have I been taking prescription or over-the-counter drugs?
Stress—Am I under psychological pressure from the job? Do I have money, health, or family problems?
Alcohol—Have I been drinking within 8 hours? Within 24 hours?
Fatigue—Am I tired and not adequately rested?
Eating—Have I eaten enough of the proper foods to keep adequately nourished during the entire flight?
Hypoxia: A state of oxygen deficiency in the body sufficient to impair functions of the brain and other organs.
First person view for RC aircraft - FPV links
Hobby wireless - a shop where you can buy FPV stuff
Youtube video about FPV in operation:
Croatia Airlines lands in Podgorica
Physiological and Psychological Factors
Several factors can affect the pilot, either physiologically or psychologically, to the point where the safety of a flight can be severely compromised. These factors are stress, medical, alcohol, and fatigue. Any of these factors, individually or in combination, can significantly degrade the pilot's decision making or flying abilities, both in the flight planning phase and in flight.
Stress
Stress is the body's response to demands placed upon it. These demands can be either pleasant or unpleasant in nature. The causes of stress for a pilot can range from unexpected weather or mechanical problems while in flight, to personal issues totally unrelated to flying. Stress is an inevitable and necessary part of life; it adds motivation to life and heightens a pilot's response to meet any challenge. The effects of stress are cumulative, and there is a limit to a pilot's adaptive nature. This limit, the stress tolerance level, is based on a pilot's ability to cope with the situation.
At first, some amount of stress can be desirable and can actually improve performance. Higher stress levels, particularly over long periods of time, can adversely affect performance. Performance will generally increase with the onset of stress, but will peak and then begin to fall off rapidly as stress levels exceed the ability to cope.
At the lower stress levels, boredom is followed by optimal performance at the moderate stress levels, then followed ultimately by overload and panic at the highest stress levels. At this point, a pilot's performance begins to decline and judgment deteriorates. Complex or unfamiliar tasks require higher levels of performance than simple or over learned tasks. Complex or unfamiliar tasks are also more subject to the adverse effects of increasing stress than simple or familiar tasks.
The indicators of excessive stress often show as three types of symptoms: (1) emotional, (2) physical, and (3) behavioral. These symptoms depend upon whether aggression is focused inward or outward. Individuals who typically turn their aggressive feelings inward often demonstrate the emotional symptoms of depression, preoccupation, sadness, and withdrawal. Individuals who typically take out their frustration on other people or objects exhibit few physical symptoms. Emotional symptoms may surface as overcompensation, denial, suspicion, paranoia, agitation, restlessness, defensiveness, excess sensitivity to criticism, argumentative-ness, arrogance, and hostility. Pilots need to learn to recognize the symptoms of stress as they begin to occur within themselves.
Stress: The body's response to demands placed upon it.
There are many techniques available that can help reduce stress in life or help people cope with it better. Not all of the following ideas may be the solution, but some of them should be effective.
1. Become knowledgeable about stress.
2. Take a realistic self-assessment.
3. Take a systematic approach to problem solving.
4. Develop a lifestyle that will buffer against the effects of stress.
5. Practice behavior management techniques.
6. Establish and maintain a strong support network.
Good cockpit stress management begins with good life stress management. Many of the stress-coping techniques practiced for life stress management are not usually practical in flight. Rather, pilots must condition themselves to relax and think rationally when stress appears. The following checklist outlines some methods of cockpit stress management.
1. Avoid situations that distract from flying the aircraft.
2. Reduce workload to reduce stress levels. This will create a proper environment in which to make good decisions.
3. If an emergency does occur, be calm. Think for a moment, weigh the alternatives, then act.
4. Become thoroughly familiar with the aircraft, its operation, and emergency procedures. Also, maintain flight proficiency to build confidence.
5. Know and respect personal limits.
6. Do not allow small mistakes to be distractions during flight; rather, review and analyze them after landing.
7. If flying adds stress, either stop flying or seek professional help to manage stress within acceptable limits.
Celebrating 81 years of service
Jat Airways marks the 2008 anniversary with the best financial and passenger result since 1991. From January to May 2008 it transported 437.862 passengers which is a 9% increase compared to last year. Jat is awaiting an extremely important as it will be privatised. Currently Aeroflot, Island Air, Air Berlin, Air One and Aegean Airlines are interested to purchase the national carrier.
Aeroput (1927-1943) – National airline of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
JAT Yugoslav Airlines (1943-1992) – National airline of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Yugoslav Airlines (1992-2003) – National airline of Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia
Jat Airways (2003-2006) – National airline of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro
Jat Airways (2006- ) - National airline of the Republic of Serbia
Ardmore 17Jun
Jat Tehnika privatisation deadline September 26
Jat Airways deadline in September
Meanwhile the Serbian privatisation agency will call companies to submit their offers for Jat Airways on July 15 with the final deadline for submission of offers being in September. The Serbian finance minister said that whoever buys the airline must follow the terms of the agreement which specify Jat will remain Serbia’s national airline, the flagship will not change and that the government has its own appointed members to the Jat Airways board.
Montenegro Airlines and Jat Airwaysstart new flights
Vision Under Dim and Bright Illumination
Under conditions of dim illumination, aeronautical charts and aircraft instruments can become unreadable unless adequate cockpit lighting is available. In darkness, vision becomes more sensitive to light; this process is called dark adaptation. Although exposure to total darkness for at least 30 minutes is required for complete dark adaptation, a pilot can achieve a moderate degree of dark adaptation within 20 minutes under dim red cockpit lighting. Red light distorts colors, especially on aeronautical charts, and makes it very difficult for the eyes to focus on objects inside the aircraft. Pilots should use it only where optimum outside night vision capability is necessary. White cockpit lighting should be available when needed for map and instrument reading, especially under IMC conditions.
Dark adaptation is impaired by exposure to cabin pressure altitudes above 5,000 feet, carbon monoxide inhaled through smoking and from exhaust fumes, deficiency of Vitamin A in the diet, and by prolonged exposure to bright sunlight. Since any degree of dark adaptation is lost within a few seconds of viewing a bright light, pilots should close one eye when using a light to preserve some degree of night vision. During night flights in the vicinity of lightning, cockpit lights should be turned up to help prevent loss of night vision due to the bright flashes.
Dark adaptation: Physical and chemical adjustments of the eye that make vision possible in relative darkness.
Jat Airways hopes to regain market dominance
B&H Airlines opens Tuzla International Airport
Jat Airways privatisation: Starting price 150 million Euros
Jat Airways has ownership of 16 aircraft. Furthermore it has 30 offices outside of Serbia (including New York, Toronto, Sydney and Beijing) and 10 offices inside Serbia. It also owns the pilot academy in the Serbian town of Vršac and buildings and storage areas at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport. It is estimated that Jat’s assets in Croatia are worth at least 12.5 million Euros. On the negative side Jat owes the Paris and London investors club 209 million Euros. The airline has 1.811 employees. Until recently it also owned 3 hotels in Belgrade, hotel in Vršac and a hotel in the Serbian mountain town of Kopaonik together with its catering provider Jat Catering although these were made independent a few months ago following the decision on behalf of the Government of Serbia.
Wing structural considerations
However, it would be interesting to know how much weight penalty comes from high aspect ratio. I am particularly interested in AR higher than 10 where around 14 would be great, because I am interested in high flight efficiency. However, my structural needs would be for a lot higher speeds than used on gliders, so it would be interesting to know how feasible it is to achieve a structure for AR=14 that can have Va >= 200 mph without adverse effects e.g. like aileron reversal and flutter.
I wrote a review in Finnish about Diamond DA40D handling qualities
How to Prevent Landing Errors Due to Visual Illusions
Pilots can take action to prevent these illusions and their potentially hazardous consequences if they:
1. Anticipate the possibility of visual illusions during approaches to unfamiliar airports, particularly at night or in adverse weather conditions. Consult airport diagrams and the Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD) for information on runway slope, terrain, and lighting.
2. Make frequent reference to the altimeter, especially during all approaches, day and night.
3. If possible, conduct aerial visual inspection of unfamiliar airports before landing.
4. Use Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) or Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) systems for a visual reference, or an electronic glide slope, whenever they are available.
5. Utilize the visual descent point (VDP) found on many non-precision instrument approach procedure charts.
6. Recognize that the chances of being involved in an approach accident increase when some emergency or other activity distracts from usual procedures.
7. Maintain optimum proficiency in landing procedures.
Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI): A system of lights arranged to provide visual descent guidance information during the approach to the runway. A pilot on the correct glide slope will see red lights over white lights.
Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI): Similar to the VASI but consisting of one row of lights in two or four-light systems. A pilot on the correct glide slope will see two white lights and two red lights.
What Reynolds number fits into my car
MAT – Greece crisis deepens
I remember when
If you were in the know, it was possible to cadge a ride for the day (or longer) on what were classed as Famil Flights.
You had to pick your day with care as the continual turning combined with other meteorological phenomena could lead to periods of unwellness.
Here we are at Invercargill on 23rd April 1968 in ZK-AUJ c/n 26651/15206.
It was delivered to the RNZAF on 30-12-1944 and became NZ3530.
It joined the ZK register on 18-04-1952 with CAA, then relisted to DCA and finally to MOT CAD Division after departmental reorganisations.
It was sold in 1973 having been replaced by Fokker F27's.
It departed Auckland on 20-06-1973 and spent about six weeks in Australia before moving to Cambodia to become XW-TFJ.
I heard that it "escaped" from the Pol Pot clutches and flew into Don Muang in April of 1975 for storage and was broken up in the mid 80's.
The original B & W photograph was re-photographed with my digital camera and appears above unedited.
Dark corners.
Comparing different configurations and plotting fuselage cross sections
1. Laminar body fuselage with prop in rear. Boom tail. Front free of protruding elements until the laminar-turbulent transition point. Rotax 914 might fit into the rear of a rotated NACA 66-030 with no (or at least not long) extension shaft needed.
2. Laminar body fuselage shape with prop in the front, potential for laminar flow lost because of the prop disturbing air in the front. Like Stemme S6.
3. Laminar body fuselage with prop in the rear of the tail. Requires extension shaft which is structurally challenging.
Each design would need to be identical (fuselage pod length in Reynolds number should be equal) and the objective would be to investigate which one produces best compromise for low drag and is structurally the best solution (without unacceptable risk of in-flight failing parts (extension shaft in any circumstances must not fail)).
Measuring the difference actually is quite difficult because of the difference in the Reynolds number of a model aircraft and a full size aircraft because it affects quite heavily the laminar low drag area and where the transition to turbulent flow occurs. Also airfoil which is proper for full size aircraft would not work on a model. The NLF414F I discovered earlier does not work with low Reynolds number, it has nasty stall characteristics with low Reynolds number.
What interests me most in this is that how much drag the two tail booms would add. Would the penalty be more than the benefit of achieving laminar flow in the forward fuselage? Is the extension shaft the only way to achieve laminar flow without sacrificing the benefit?
I have been thinking possible concept for a model: try out the boom tail configuration as specified above. Fuselage would be rotated NACA 66-030 with propeller in the rear. Wortmann FX38-153 profile might work with the target Reynolds number range (the wing span and fuselage length would be determined by the interior size of our car, must be able to be disassembled to a size that fits inside for transportation, using a trailer for moving a model aircraft would be overkill). Target aspect ratio could be around 12-14 for main wing. I haven't done any calculations yet though.
I want to also create a plotting program for the fuselage. Martin Hollman's book has a Basic language program listing for a such thing. I am not sure if it is useful actually, I have been thinking how to parametrize a fuselage cross section (often it is not circular but rather boxy with rounded corners or it might have entirely different airfoil shape in horizontal and vertical axis), how to modify the shape of the centerline where the fuselage cross sections are referenced to and how to make the cross section follow a airfoil coordinates, possibly using the same data files that work with X-foil. Making circular or elliptical (LH-10 cross section for example seems to be elliptical) cross section plots from nose to tail for a rotated airfoil wouldn't be that impossible task to do and visualization could be even quite reasonable to do with OpenGL. Before doing the visualization, I however, need to determine how to parametrize it, in other words, how to make it easy to produce differently shaped fuselages. Rhino3D does all this, but I don't have Rhino3D, and this task is not that complicated, it should be doable with some little C++ work.
Any advise on the math and how to make the fuselage design easy would be great, feel free to add comments if you invent something or know something already.