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Weight-Shift Control, Flexible Wing Aircraft Aerodynamics A weight-shift control, flexible wing type aircraft consists of a fabric-covered wing, often referred to as the sail, attached to a tubular structure that has wheels, seats, and an engine and propeller. The wing structure is also tubular, with the fabric covering creating the airfoil shape. The shape of the wing varies among the different models of weight-shift control aircraft being produced, but a delta shaped wing is a very popular design. Within the weight-shift control aircraft community, these aircraft are typically referred to as trikes. [Figure 3-97]
In Figure 3-97, the trike’s mast is attached to the wing at the hang point on the keel of the wing with a hang point bolt and safety cable. There is also a support tube, known as a king post, extending up from the top of the wing, with cables running down and secured to the tubular wing structure. The cables running down from the king post as part of the upper rigging are there to support the wing when the aircraft is on the ground, and to handle negative loads when in flight. The lines that run from the king post to the trailing edge of the wing are known as reflex cables. These cables maintain the shape of the wing when it is in a stalled state by holding the trailing edge of the wing up which helps raise the nose during recovery from the stall. If the aircraft goes into an inadvertent stall, having the trailing edge of the wing in a slightly raised position helps raise the nose of the aircraft and get it out of the stall. The passenger seat is centered under the wing’s aerodynamic center, with the weight of the pilot being forward of this point and the weight of the engine and propeller being aft. Unlike a traditional airplane, the trike does not have a rudder, elevator, or ailerons. Instead, it has a wing that can be pivoted forward or aft, and left or right. In Figure 3-98, the pilot’s hand is on a control bar that is connected to a pivot point just forward of where the wing attaches. There are cables attached to the ends of the bar that extend up to the wing’s leading and trailing edge, and to the left and right side of the cross bar. Running from the wing leading edge to trailing edge are support pieces known as battens. The battens fit into pockets, and they give the wing its cambered shape. The names of some of the primary parts of the trike are shown in Figure 3-98, and these parts will be referred to when the flight characteristics of the trike are described in the paragraphs that follow.
In order to fly the trike, engine power is applied to get the aircraft moving. As the groundspeed of the aircraft reaches a point where flight is possible, the pilot pushes forward on the control bar, which causes the wing to pivot where it attaches to the mast and the leading edge of the wing tilts up. When the leading edge of the wing tilts up, the angle of attack and the lift of the wing increase. With sufficient lift, the trike rotates and starts climbing. Pulling back on the bar reduces the angle of attack, and allows the aircraft to stop climbing and to fly straight and level. Once the trike is in level flight, airspeed can be increased or decreased by adding or taking away engine power by use of the throttle. Stability in flight along the longitudinal axis (nose to tail), for a typical airplane, is achieved by having the horizontal stabilizer and elevator generate a force that balances out the airplane’s nose heavy tendency.Because the trike does not have a horizontal stabilizer or elevator, it must create stability along the longitudinal axis in a different way. The trike has a sweptback delta wing, with the trailing edge of the wingtips located well aft of the aircraft center of gravity. Pressure acting on the tips of the delta wing creates the force that balances out the nose heavy tendency. The wings of weight-shift control aircraft are designed in a way that allows them to change their shape when subjected to an external force. This is possible because the frame leading edges and the sail are flexible, which is why they are sometimes referred to as flexible wing aircraft. This produces somewhat different aerodynamic effects when compared with a normal fixed-wing aircraft. A traditional small airplane, like a Cessna 172, turns or banks by using the ailerons, effectively altering the camber of the wing and thereby generating differential lift. By comparison, weight shift on a trike actually causes the wing to twist, which changes the angle of attack on the wing and causes the differential lift to exist that banks the trike. The cross-bar (wing spreader) of the wing frame is allowed to float slightly with respect to the keel, and this, along with some other geometric considerations allows the sail to “billow shift." Billow shift can be demonstrated on the ground by grabbing the trailing edge of one end of the wing and lifting up on it. If this was done, the fabric on the other end of the wing would become slightly flatter and tighter, and the wing’s angle of attack would increase. If the pilot pushes the bar to the right, the wing pivots with the left wingtip dropping down and the right wingtip rising up, causing the aircraft to bank to the left. This motion is depicted in Figure 3-99, showing a hang glider as an example.
The shift in weight to the left increases the wing loading on the left, and lessens it on the right. The increased loading on the left wing increases its washout and reduces its angle of attack and lift. The increased load on the left wing causes the left wing to billow, which causes the fabric to tighten on the right wing and the angle of attack and lift to increase. The change in lift is what banks the aircraft to the left. Billow on the left wing is depicted in Figure 3-100.
Shifting weight to the right causes the aircraft to bank right. The weight of the trike and its occupants acts like a pendulum, and helps keep the aircraft stable in flight. Pushing or pulling on the bar while in flight causes the weight hanging below the wing to shift its position relative to the wing, which is why the trike is referred to as a weight-shift aircraft. Once the trike is in flight and flying straight and level, the pilot only needs to keep light pressure on the bar that controls the wing. If the trike is properly balanced and there is no air turbulence, the aircraft will remain stable even if the pilot’s hands are removed from the bar. The same as with any airplane, increasing engine power will make the aircraft climb and decreasing power will make it descend. The throttle is typically controlled with a foot pedal, like a gas pedal in an automobile. A trike lands in a manner very similar to an airplane. When it is time to land, the pilot reduces engine power with the foot-operated throttle, causing airspeed and wing lift to decrease. As the trike descends, the rate of descent can be controlled by pushing forward or pulling back on the bar, and varying engine power. When the trike is almost to the point of touchdown, the engine power will be reduced and the angle of attack of the wing will be increased, to cushion the descent and provide a smooth landing. If the aircraft is trying to land in a very strong crosswind, the landing may not be so smooth. When landing in a cross wind, the pilot will land in a crab to maintain direction down the runway. Touchdown is done with the back wheels first, then letting the front wheel down. A trike getting ready to touch down can be seen in Figure 3-101. The control cables coming off the control bar can be seen, and the support mast and the cables on top of the wing, including the luff lines, can also be seen.
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