Nothing new under the sun

One-time 12 Metre designer David Hollom continues to create some of the fastest foils in use in glider and model yacht competition. As Auckland buzzes with talk of twin-rudders and canards he takes a two-part look at the fundamentals of multi-foil arrangements

Once again the America's Cup is approaching and once again the technical talk is of forward fins or rudders known in aeronautical terms as canards.

Canards are not new in aviation, indeed what is generally accepted as the first powered flight by the Wright brothers (1903) was in a machine of canard configuration. Subsequently, however, the vast majority of aircraft were and are built to the Cayley configuration (1799), in other words a tail last rather than the tail first of the canard layout.

The relative advantages of the two layouts in aircraft are mainly to do with longitudinal stability in pitch.

To read this article in full, please go to the SEPTEMBER 2002 issue of Seahorse International Sailing. You can subscribe via our website

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