Niris
DON'T BE AFRAID to design your own plane! It's fun! I've always wanted to, but was afraid, until I got my courage up last year, and said, "I'm gonna do it." Not being an aeronautical engineer, I didn't do anything way out, but with a few sound principles to go by, it really is easier than I thought. The first step, I thought, was to go through some other construction articles and figure out what is needed for stability, proportions, etc. I was very impressed with Norm Page's Mach I design because of its size. His reasoning that a large plane is easier for the judges to see sounded logical, so "Niris" (pronounced Near-iss) started with the idea of a large wing area. A few side benefits of a plane this size include wind penetration and ease of landing. Thanks, Norm.
