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Features

For the complete list of features, please refer to the documentation section.

Wing Helper offers a try before you buy policy, providing unlimited functionality for one whole week after the initial installation. You can download it, you can install it on as many computers as you wish, and you can test it without any restrictions or limitations. If you like it, we will be happy to welcome you to the circle of our paying customers. If you don't like it, please let us know why, so that we can make it better in the next version!

Here is the condensed overview of the currently implemented functionality:

  1. Basic Functionality
    • Definition of the main wing as a set of panels (trepezoid or free-form)
      • Standard parameters: length, root and tip chord, dihedral, sweep, tip twist
      • Possibility to load a background image of the wing as a design guidance
    • Selection from approximately 1500 existing airfoils
      • separate airfoils for the root and for the tip ribs (airfoil interpolated along the panel)
      • control point resolution greatly improved over the usual airfoils available on the Internet (centripetal Catmul-Rom interpolation)
      • Including the performance data, as imported from The Airfoil Investigation Database (with the permission from author)
    • Automated parameter based rib generation with option for manual modifications
    • Six types of spars: round spars, rectangular spars (with or without associated webbing components), webbing, round joiners, cuboids, cuboid joiners
      • Placement from the leading edge or trailing edge, measurement in percentage or in mm, separate end position, ...
      • Joiner spars accounting for the dihedral angle
    • Automatic definition of ailerons (extended in 1.5)
    • Support for rib combs
    • Definition of leading and trailing edges
    • Definition of wing sheeting
    • Definition of lightening holes for ribs
    • Airfoil interpolation spanning multiple panels
    • Definition of half-ribs (new in 1.5)
    • Support for "Shipways" (new in 1.5)
  2. Instantaneous OpenGL based 3D view available at all times!
    • View presets, zoom, pan, rotate, transparency, "ghost panels" with separate transparency and color control
    • Distance measurement tool for early control of the resulting ribs
  3. Smart panel creation based on the previous panel
    •  Normal creation, 1:1 copy, spar mirror copy, spar smart copy
  4. Export into following formats:
    • DXF
    • PDF
    • SCAD (3D format for the program OpenSCAD)
    • ICE (G-Code export in HOW format)
    • NGC/NC (G-Code for 4-Axis CNC wire cutters - new in 1.5)
  5. Airfoil management
    • Support for import of additional airfoils in DAT or COR formats, including airfoil modification and automated smoothing of the front part of the rib
    • Definition of new airfoils
  6. Undo / Redo functionality
  7. Multi-language support (English and German)
  8. Platform independent: available for Microsoft Windows (7 or newer), Linux (64 Bit) and Mac OSX (10.11 or newer)
  9. Streamlined and fast workflow as the highest design aim!