1 or 2 percent more of static margin and the nose probably won't jump up on TO and thus avoid the canard stall. The spanwise flow at the root of the canard is probably causing premature canard stall. Telltales show mixing of the fuselage and canard boundary layers. A generous fillet between the fuse and canard would help stop that or a down and dirty solution of a fence on the canard LE on either side of the fuse would probably straighten the flow enough and help prevent the premature stall. Overall she is looking good! Always interesting to see the difference between static margin theory, models, and full size (regarding canard and flying wing configs) - what works well on paper or on models never seems to be the same as what works best full size. I have the same issue with all my flying wing designs. Please fly safe through all the testing.
You crossed the numbers faster than I do in the citation m2 that I fly. Fun to watch, seems to accelerate like a pa28-140 with 3 adults on a wam day. Best wishes!
Congratulations on a real test flight around the pattern. Great job Perter we are all still with you here and it’s nice to see you having control of the aircraft and not the other way around! Well done Mate! Well done! Now let’s get the next phase planed and start preparing for the test. Great job, Cheers Peter
all i can say is WOW - having watched all your videos from the beginning - even for me its quite emotional to see this succeed - bloody good effort mate, can't wait to see a wheels up and down flight - its looking so good in flight, very inspirational !!
Thanks Kevin, for all the support you and your team have given Peter over the years. We look forward to continuing well into the future. Regards from the Aust Support Team
Hi Paul, nice to e-met you! From the first time I met Peter, I knew instantly what an amazing individual on multiple levels he is. Happy to have been able to assist. All my best to the entire Australian Support Team.
Well done. Experimental aviation at its best! Looked a great deal more relaxing than the first flight too. Look forward to seeing more flights in the future :) Congratulations once again!!
Peter - Inspiring! - the first flight had troubles and you tackled them with vision and focus, the second flight looked awesome! Big Cheers from Canada!
Good analysis Peter! The Raptor was obviously behaving much better on flight #2 than #1 and I am in agreement with you as to why the pitch stability has improved. You're doing a great job at proceeding in a cautious manner with the flight testing and I for one am relieved. After 2+ years of watching your progress with this complex project, I've become a bit fond of you and your bird. I hope to have the opportunity to pilot one of the Raptors myself in the coming years. I'm really looking forward to the experience of stepping into the future of more affordable aviation. Thanks to you Peter. 🙏
Well done, Peter. No surprises, no problems with the flight. Been waiting a long time to see this happen. Looking forward to seeing the gear cycle and be a real flight. Thanks for sharing.
If the aircraft is THAT sensitive to CoG then you need to consider the effects of load changes (passenger, more fuel,baggage etc) and the effects of possible fuel flow issues (eg if the outlet from one wing tank is blocked). It also suggests that the canard is pitched up too much or has a poor design - it should not stall in normal flight - including takeoff. (If used on a short runway then the required climb angle could easily need to be more than was used here.)
Peter I really am thrilled to bits for you, been following this journey for quite some time now and what a journey it has been, your positive attitude and (just get on with it) mentality should be an inspiration to all.., nearly time to pop that champagne cork mate.
Thanks for the update , great to see second flight went fine and the stability was good , and you're comfortable with the performance, we'll be waiting the deep analysis when you finish it , so happy for you and i should wish you all the best for the coming flight .
Congratulations Peter, this is significant progress from the first flight.. really looking forward to when the wheel wells will come back.. thank you for all the education as well
Congrats for second flight. As you said, corrections make it fly much better now. Waiting flight with gear up, more speed, more cooling air with less power + better stability.
