Aircraft of the light sport aircraft category. Common problems of conceptual design; development of aircraft layout; choice of structure- design of main airframe units
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this project is to choose a suitable structure of LSA, and design its main airframe units. The high humidity of Malaysia climate condition and geographical location of Malaysia which is surrounded and near the sea pose a great challenge for LSA designers. Another reason to design a LSA is that Malaysia has market potential for LSA since the concept of experimental aircrafts has been well established in Malaysia. This project started by comparing different kind of structures and materials. It is found that the aluminum-tube-and fabric construction is the best choice. The reason behind it simply because of the excellent corrosion resistance properties of aluminum alloy 6061-T6, which is widely used in aviation industry. After that, the aircraft configuration is determined. High wing, flapless wing and tricycle landing gear are the main features of this LSA. Another feature of the LSA is light weight. It is light because the material is aluminum alloy, and the LSA is covered by fabric. The fuselage is designed based on the concept of ultralight, with a tail-boom fuselage structure. This is another cost saving design. Besides that, at the tail part of LSA, rudder is designed to have a similar tube structure as elevator, while vertical stabilizer has a similar tube structure as horizontal stabilizer. This will save the cost of manufacturing of LSA. The final parts are designing and drawing of main airframe units of the aircraft using CATIA. Because there is no structural analysis is done on the aircraft parts, without accurate dimension of the LSA, I find it difficult to coordinate and assemble the airframe units together.
ABSTRAK
Tujuan projek ini adalah untuk memilih struktur yang sesuai untuk LSA, dan mereka bentuk struktur utama LSA. Kelembapan yang tinggi dan kedudukan Malaysia yang terletak dekat laut menjadi cabaran besar untuk perekabentuk LSA. Tujuan kedua adalah kerana Malaysia mempunyai potensi untuk menjadi pasaran kerana konsep kapal terbang eksperimen telah lama terdapat di Malaysia. Projek ini bermula dengan membandingkan pelbagai jenis struktur and bahan. Tiub-aluminium-dan-fabrik jelas lebih cermelang kerana Aluminium 6061-T6 yang kerap digunakan dalam bidang aeroangkasa mempunyai rintangan pengakisan yang tinggi. Selepas itu, konfigurasi kapal terbang ditentukan. LSA mempunyai sayap berposisi tinggi, sayap tanpa pengibah dan tricycle landing gear. LSA ini sangat ringan. Hal ini adalah kerana aluminium sangat ringan, dan kulit kapal terbang adalah jenis fabric. Konsep ultralight telah diaplikasikan dalam LSA ini untuk menjimatkan kos. Selain itu, struktur rudder adalah sama dengan elevator, manakala struktur vertical stabilizer adalah sama dengan horizontal stabilizer. Hal ini penting untuk menjimatkan kos pembuatan. Langkah terakhir ialah melukis dan merakabentuk LSA dengan menggunakan CATIA. Oleh kerana analisis struktur tidak dijalani, saya menghadapi masalah mengkoordinasikan dan mengaturkan lukisan LSA kerana tidak mempunyai dimensi yang tepat.
Aircraft of the light sport aircraft category. Common problems of conceptual design; development of aircraft layout; choice of structure- design of main airframe units
Aircraft of the light sport aircraft category. Common problems of conceptual design; development of aircraft layout; choice of structure- design of main airframe units