wnewbury

Anyone besides me like to see a normal - looking airplane that flys backwards? Large wing airfoil would have to be turned 180 degrees. Small front wing could be a flat plate, but should be rotated 180 degrees also. No good reason to do it. Just something different and unusual.

What about a scale cruise missle? Enormous fuselage and tiny wing? It would be pretty difficult. Would make backwards airplane seem almost practical.

MajorTomski

They are called 'canards', believed to be from the French for Duck,

Been done a lot in the past:

Full scale:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...29.oLQQIGCQ94c

RC
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...68.mHAFyoLWp48

wnewbury

Thanks, That photo-shopped B17 blows my mind. That Mini Solar canard is kinda what I had in mind, if it were a pusher and if the rudder were in the front. Like a normal ARF high wing trainer with a reverse pitch prop and all the surfaces modified so it would fly backwards.

CurtD

My Feedback: (1)

Putting the vertical fin and rudder in the front would make it unflyable. The vertical fin (properly "vertical stabilizer") must be behind the wing to do it's job which is to make the plane more stable in yaw. Putting in front of the wing would have the opposite effect.