Skybolt turtledeck, v-stab, rudder reshape.

[freerangequark]

First off, is it considered sacrilege to suggest reshaping part of the Skybolt's design? I've seen a number of Skybolts with reshaped aft portions. I am interested in also changing some aft portions to bring out more of a "classic" appearance.

I was curious what can be changed without having a detrimental effect on performance, handling, or safety? Obviously anytime something gets changed we're venturing into unknown territory, but I imagine certain changes can be made with limited risk.

Turtle Deck
This I would want to change over to stringers. I would also like to lower it at both its front and rear to lean up the appearance of the airplane aft of the pilot. Does lowering the turtledeck affect the directional stability of the aircraft? A variation on this would be a lowered turtledeck with a secondary and smaller "headrest" contour much in the same fashion as is seen on James Doyle's beautiful yellow/blue skybolt.

Vertical Stab & Rudder
What artistic liberties can be taken in this area? Maintaining area of these surfaces seems like a good start. How about maintaining the area above and below the Horizontal Stabilizer? Any thoughts on increasing the aspect ratio of the vertical stabilizer and rudder?

Thanks,
Glenn

 

[4trade]

 

[TFF1]

 

[Neil]

 

[Eagle-Mike]

 

[Chopmo]

 

[Neil]

 

[MTChris]