Planes Design

A closer look at how aircraft are designed — focused on the engineering decisions behind wing shape, control surfaces, stability, and propulsion. The posts here come primarily from UCLA’s E96A summer course and walk through the iterative design process: starting from first principles, building prototypes, testing them, and refining the design. Topics covered include glider optimization (how camber, aspect ratio, and CG placement affect glide performance), aerodynamic analysis (understanding lift curves, drag polars, and Reynolds number effects at small scale), and the transition from unpowered to powered flight (adding thrust while maintaining stability). The final test post evaluates how closely the finished aircraft matched its design goals.