The Engineer reports today that a canard aircraft design that claims to push the boundaries of performance and fuel economy is nearing completion following collaborative testing with Cambridge University.
Initially conceived by aeronautical engineers, Tony Bishop and Giotto Castelli, the e-Go aircraft has been created in response to efforts by the UK Civil Aviation Authority to promote light aircraft design in the UK.
Bishop says the challenge of developing a lightweight and highly resilient airframe has taken structural and aerodynamic technology to the limits.
Using the latest pre-preg carbon fibre that can be cured at temperatures as low as 65°C. the team used the material in remarkably small quantities to produce very thin webs. However, they still had to stabilise the structure and reduce the weight with a carbon cloth pre-impregnated with resin.
'Fortunately, recently they've come out with a pre-preg carbon fibre that can be cured below the melting point of foam, so we're co-curing it with the foam, which is, as far as we know, probably a first," says Bishop.
