Fauvel flying wings

Hei,

it turns out Marske isn't the only one to try the stable profile flying wing. Have a look at www.survol.cjb.net. Rather similar to the Pioneer, isn't it?

Christian 8-)

I flew the AV-36 in Vinon in 1967, remember it was rather touchy in pitch control.

There is an explicit reference to Charles Fauvel by Jim Marske at http://www.continuo.com/videowebpage/lloydupdate1/, where he says that Fauvel's design triggered his interest in flying wings. The similarity in their design is mainly due to the same basic choice, i.e. not to get the stability by using a swept wing, which was the choice of Horten, Northrop, the SB13 and numerous others, but to rely only on the reflex airfoil for that purpose, which allows for normal or even slightly forward swept wings with better efficiency.

Yes the Flying Wing has been around for quite some time. Another influence was the planks of Al Backstrom. One of the reasons that the Fauvel wing was not very successful was the lack of a good airfoil. Jim developed far superior airfoils and refined basic layout. -mat

3007 Harding Highway East, Marion OH 43302. ph 740 223-3550

Marske Flying wings <http://www.continuo.com/marske>

I don't agree. You can't say that the Fauvels were not very successful. More than one hundred AV-36 or AV-361 have flown all over the world, it is probably much more than all the Marske flying wings !!! The airfoil they used was not that bad, considering that they didn't have computers at that time ! Even if it wasn't the best airfoil for performance, it was safe, and the thickness was seeked by Fauvel to make the wing lighter. Of course, it is possible to have better airfoils in 2001 than in 1950... (especially using X-foil or other software), and the latest Fauvel, the AV-451 incorporated a Wortmann airfoil. Anyway, even with the Fauvel airfoil, stating that Fauvel wing was unsuccessful is a bit unfair. The AV-36/361 is probably the most popular flying wing sailplane ever produced, and it has never been designed to be a high performance sailplane. Compared to the performance of other sailplanes in the same category, at that time, it was not ridiculous. As for the handling, I had the opportunity to fly an AV-36 in France a few years ago, yes it is 'different', but safe and pleasant, once you understand the main differencies with a tailed glider, and provided that you have a good CG location. Read the 'in flight' section on www.survol.cjb.net, it is very educational.