Glider design, Performance and Stability

This is a short course for students and other interested parties to learn how to use the XFLR5 software to optimize the design of a glider.

The first part of the course deals with simple aerodynamic optimization such as aspect ratio, airfoils to use and other aspects such as sweep angle, taper ratio, dihedral angle, etc..

The second part of the course introduces stability concepts for both static and dynamic conditions. Main focus is given to learn how to improve longitudinal stability and lateral/directional stability by optimizing flight parameters .

The third part of the course is a simple flight mechanics evaluation of glide range, time of flight and climb rate, etc..