This book follows, step-by-step, the design of your aircraft concept. No introductory lessons in aerodynamics, no math review, and especially, no derivation of equations! The design steps in this book will work for most concepts, and you should be able to figure out how to modify the method if you have something unusual to consider.

We begin by deciding what you want your homebuilt to do, and how to set your design requirements. Next, your requirements are used to estimate how big the aircraft should be, how big the wing should be, and how big an engine you should buy. If you already have selected an engine, you’ll work backwards to determine what airplane capabilities you can hope to get out of that engine.

Selection of wing geometry comes next, along with airfoil selection and tail geometry and size.

Following that is a discussion of the things that you must put inside the aircraft. These include yourself and the passengers and baggage. Landing gear design, engine installation, propeller sizing, and fuel tank design are then considered.