Aerospace and Defense

End of the Line

Is the future of flight faceted? 

Barnaby Wainfan makes light aircraft that look ridiculous. They fly very well.

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Barnaby Wainfan designed a radically different lifting body light aircraft over 30 years ago, that exhibited superior performance in almost every metric: speed, lifting capacity, interior volume, stall performance and centre of gravity tolerance.

It’s also cheap and easy to build. His designs are much talked about at the annual Oshkosh fly in for aviation enthusiasts, yet major aircraft manufacturers seem to be allergic to his innovations. Despite advantages in almost every metric relevant to light aircraft design, the industry appears wedded to conventional wings and fuselage design.

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Written by

James Anderton

Jim Anderton is the Director of Content for ENGINEERING.com. Mr. Anderton was formerly editor of Canadian Metalworking Magazine and has contributed to a wide range of print and on-line publications, including Design Engineering, Canadian Plastics, Service Station and Garage Management, Autovision, and the National Post. He also brings prior industry experience in quality and part design for a Tier One automotive supplier.