ORIGINAL: Strykaas
Mods, how much time did you spend designing that wing with Solidworks ? Just to give me an idea of the amount of time one should spend ...
Well that is directly proportional to how much engineering you want to put into the project [sm=angel_smile.gif]. I spend vast amounts time studying kit manuals, aircraft design techniques, airfoil analysis, and alternative materials for a knowledge breath. Then I evaluate building techniques from similar models. I find that the best place to do this is Towerhobbies because they post the manuals (be it limited) for for all of their kits. If I don't find anything useful there: the web is your friend. I can count at least 20 hobby design references in the "favorites" section of my web browser. Finally I put the design ideas into Solidworks to test them out. To answer your question: I spend about 4 hours a day doing research and about 1-2 hours a day actually drawing in Solidworks until the project is done. To give give you an idea why I do this; I graduated college with a Mechanical Engineering degree with an emphasis in design (CAD) only to find a job that requires me to do 0 designing [sm=punching.gif]. This is how I get my creative frustrations out
. To answer you question: spend as much time designing to meet your own standards. I'm never satisfied hence the 6 hour a day schedule
.
Hope this helps,
Mods