own design sportster

well i have decided to design and build my own low wing sportster.

i am thinking of a 60" wingspan, with swept back wings and a flying tail. ( i like to make things difficult)
tricycle under carriage.
electric with the prop at the front.
so any ideas or tips would be appreciated.

sen the chevron.
i fancy something more jet like in style.

constant chord wing.
easier to build.
flying tail will be interesting to build.
basic box fuselage with maybe a curved top, nothing fancy.

done a rough sketch and will start drawing some plans tomorrow evening.

naaaaaaaaaaaaa be fine.
need it to be simple if i plan to make a couple of them.

Tony B. AKA Blooper wrote: constant chord wing.
easier to build.
flying tail will be interesting to build.
basic box fuselage with maybe a curved top, nothing fancy.

done a rough sketch and will start drawing some plans tomorrow evening.

And set the CG by throwing a dart at the plan????

Just for the benefit of anyone who doesn't know what a "flying tail" is, ... it's where the whole horizontal stabilizer, or tailplane, moves, instead of it having an elevator attached to a fixed surface.
It can also be called a "Stabilator"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabilator

Should be interesting coming from you Tony, look forward to it.

Pol

tailplane will be positioned about half way up the fin.
looking at sketches at the mo.

Eric wrote: As the Aussies say - no worries mite! A tailplane incidence is reversed from that of a mainplane, because it works in the other direction, if you think about it!
Mainplane leading edge up is positive, tailplane leading edge down is positive, because they both cause an upward pitch moment!

Theoretically your argument sounds reasonably firm Eric but design convention still calls leading edge down NEGATIVE incidence. There are a number of other variables to be taken into account as well - is the tailplane a flat plane airfoil or does it have a flat bottomed or even symetrical airfoil section and the tailplane's position on the fin also needs to be taken into account. If you have a copy of Martin Simon's book -Model Aircraft Aerodynamics - there is a very clear discussion of the rigging requirements in Chapter 12 - Trim and Stability - starting page 139. Oh - and by the way - it's mate - not mite:P