Quote:
Originally Posted by aap1966
I'm mainly curious about design features....
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-Tricycle gear is much easier that taildragger on the ground. Ever push a shopping cart backwards? Having the steering in the back is unstable.
-[oversimplified] A relatively fat airfoil has gentle stall characteristics. Flies nicer at slow speeds, can use shorter runways. A thin airfoil has a higher top speed, but has a "snappy" stall. [/oversimplified]
-"Wing loading", the amount of weight each square foot of wing has to carry makes a big difference. A lightly-loaded wing has a shorter take-off run, is easier in calm winds, but will be affected much more on windy days, bouncing around, needing constant control inputs to maintain the desired path. A heavily-loaded wing will give a smoother ride in turbulence, but doesn't make a good trainer as it needs more speed/runway length.
....There's a start.
Just as in car design, every airplane is a set of compromises.