AirplanePDQ is a conceptual/preliminary design tool for light homebuilt and general aviation aircraft. It is specifically designed to be intuitive and easy to use by amateur airplane designers. AirplanePDQ includes tools for analyzing aircraft performance, handling, and stability and control as well as a CAD component for developing your aircraft drawings. Initial airplane sizing is done rapidly using a wizard-based approach. The designer enters a few basic performance requirements, chooses from among a wide variety of aircraft configuration options (high wing or low wing, tricycle gear or tail-dragger, canard, three-surface, pusher, twin, etc...) and then the wizard performs sizing calculations and generates an initial three-view drawing of the aircraft based on the designer's inputs. Once the initial drawing has been generated, the designer can modify the design using the CAD engine to meet his or her needs. The analysis tools are then used in an iterative fashion to verify that the design is meeting the performance goals and determine what further changes to the design are needed for safety, handling qualities or performance reasons. The analysis tools not only generate detailed performance estimates, they also guide the designer in sizing and adjusting the configuration of the aircraft to help ensure that the design is safe and practical.
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