[Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles by Dick and his collaborators on the construction of each major component of the Concordia. There’s much more to come. Watch this space!] The man-hours required to build a prototype sailplane with the level of complexity of Concordia is staggering. Like most large prototype … Read more
As noted earlier in the design section when discussing handling qualities, the horizontal stabilizer was sized using criteria involving a dimensionless coefficient known as the horizontal tail volume coefficient. Based on known good handling qualities of other sailplanes and the value of their tail volume coefficients, one can size the horizontal tail for Concordia. With … Read more
The design of an open class sailplane from a competition pilot’s viewpoint is relatively simple. Such a glider should have outstanding straight line and thermaling performance, good handling qualities, and a comfortable cockpit. The pilot may also want an engine since outlanding a 28 to 31 meter span ship can often get very interesting as well as putting himself and his placing in the competition at risk. Unfortunately each of these criteria is normally compromised in the end when designing a sailplane for production or, to put it more directly, when the business side of the equation is considered.
In the year 2002, sailplane designer Gerhard Waibel and competition sailplane pilot Dick Butler formed a pact to design an FAI Open Class sailplane. Their vision was to design an Open Class sailplane with maximum performance from a pure competition standpoint with no intent to go into serial production. The design of a sailplane always involves compromises … Read more