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An ongoing NASA (Small Business Innovation Research) SBIR Phase II design and development program will produce the first lightning protected, fiberglass, General Aviation aircraft that is available as a kit. The results obtained so far in development testing of typical components of the aircraft kit, such as the wing and fuselage panels indicate that the lightning protection design methodology and materials chosen are capable of protecting such small composite material airframes from lightning puncture and structural damage associated with severe threat lightning strikes. The primary objective of the program has been to develop a lightning protection design for a full scale test airframe and verify its adequacy with full scale laboratory testing, thus enabling production and sale of owner-built, lightning-protected, Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft, Inc. Glasair HI airplanes.

The Low Altitude/Airspeed Unmanned Research Aircraft (LAURA) is being developed by the U. S. Navy for flight teat research using low-Reynolds number airfoils. This vehicle consists of a standard modular fuselage designed to accept the installation of several wings/tails having low Reynolds number airfoils, and various planform shapes. Design constraints include shipboard storage, long flight endurance at very low airspeeds and sea-skimming cruise altitude. These stringent design constraints require the development of high-performance low Reynolds number (LRN) airfoils, suitable lifting surface configuration, and advanced airframe-propulsion systems. The present paper describes ongoing efforts to develop wing and tail configurations for LAURA using airfoils designed at NASA Langley Research Center.