Top speed 178 km/h Length 5.94 m Weight 168 kg Number built 1 | Wingspan 4.6 m Cruise speed 148 km/h | |
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The Wainfan FMX-4 Facetmobile is an American homebuilt aircraft designed by Barnaby Wainfan, a Northrop Grumman aerodynamicist and homebuilt aircraft engineer.
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While only one Facetmobile prototype was produced, it has become well known due to its unique nature. The aircraft is unusual in that it is a lifting body - the whole aircraft acts as a low aspect ratio wing: a flat, angular lifting shape, while lacking actual wings. Also notable is that the aircraft's shape is formed of a series of 11 flat surfaces, somewhat similar to the body of the F-117 Nighthawk jet strike aircraft in using flat plates, but without separate wing structures.
Shape
As noted above, the Facetmobile has an unusual configuration, but is generally similar in concept to a number of NASA research craft, particularly the Martin Marietta X-24B, however it is optimized for flight at much slower speeds.
The FMX-4 Facetmobile shape forms 11 flat planes, plus two wingtip rudders. Three flat shapes form the bottom of the aircraft (slightly inclined front, flat middle, and sharply raised back), and eight form the top (one large downwards-sloping rear section, one thin nose section, and three inclined side panels per side). The wing section is an 18% thickness ratio, much thicker than the typical 12-15% thickness of normal light aircraft wings. At least one commercial model airplane kit of the Facetmobile is in production.
The prototype FMX-4 Facetmobile crashed on October 13, 1995, after an in-flight engine failure. The aircraft landed at low speed into a barbed wire fence, which caused extensive skin, engine, and some structural damage, though there was no injury to the pilot, Barnaby Wainfan. As of 2006, the aircraft has been partially repaired but not flown again.
Structure
The Facetmobile structure is composed of 6061 aluminum tubing fastened with Cherrymax rivets. The fuselage uses conventional fabric covering. The aircraft uses elevons and rudders for control. The landing gear is a fixed tricycle type. The large windshield sections are augmented by two floor-mounted windows. The aircraft is boarded through a bottom-mounted hatch. The aircraft has a BRS parachute system installed.
Variants
Wainfan has proposed two derivative aircraft based on the FMX-4 Facetmobile.
Specifications (Facetmobile FMX-4)
Data from Sport Aviation
General characteristics
Performance