Design Goals It’s an engineering axiom that every aircraft is a collection of design compromises.  The customer or end user defines the mission requirements and everything derives from that.  Most canard aircraft on the market today are optimized for high cruise speeds and long range - and not much else.  The lack of total performance and lesser utility has limited their popularity to a core group of enthusiasts. The Apollo project started with one fundamental goal:  Develop a two-seat aircraft with the same high-end performance as similar canards while addressing some of their shortcomings in other areas.  I believe that careful design optimization with modern software can improve the overall performance, comfort, safety and ergonomics of these aircraft. With that idea in mind, I’ve tracked complaints and improvements made by other canard builders over the last 30 years.  That information was used to develop general design goals for the Apollo, which now include the following: The final configuration of the Apollo meets the above goals and includes many other improvements.  The aircraft should cruise slightly faster than a Cozy IV using the same engine.  Performance was estimated by reverse engineering another canard aircraft with Airplane PDQ software and then correlating PDQ’s predictions with actual performance, then using that same methodology for predicting the Apollo’s performance. More details about the Apollo’s Ergonomics, Safety, Specifications and Performance can be found under the Design Goals button on the main navigation bar, or click the Site Map button below. Site Map Email the Designer Copyright © 2012 Apollo Canard