ORIGINAL: Free Bird
A few posts back there was speculation whether or not the TBX-1 has anhedral, while I do not know the answer, has anybody noticed that our premier USAF heavy lifter, the C-17 does have anhedral. Was Tom ahead of his time?
FB
Yes....... I'd have to say that the TBX looks more like that cargo plane than anything else, (as opposed to a fighter like Brook's Crusader). I don't know when these types of cargo planes were designed, but if it was before 1965, it might have influenced the design.
One of the questions I'd love to ask Tom if here were here is exactly what plane was he patterning the TBX after, and why did he choose this design, (that looks a little like a cargo plane), instead of something that would be more likely to fly the pattern well. I hope that some day I'll be pleasantly surprised when I try to fly the pattern of maneuvers with it, but at first glance, it doesn't LOOK like it is the best design in the world for pattern flying.
That said, it is still a `tre cool design. My favorite feature is the wing sweep, with greater sweep on the L.E. with progressivly less sweep as you go toward the T.E. One note that Tom puts on the wing plan, (that I'll post soon), is that he figures the degree of sweep at three different points from front to back. I belive the figures are 33 degrees, 22-degrees, and 18-degrees on the T.E.