2M Lil Bird Questions

[sparkysko]

Haven't really found too many threads on the 2M Lil Bird, so I figured I'd start a new one :D

I'm only used to building woody DLG's, and haven't flown anything on a histart/winch before. My club uses winches, and I plan on using this as my ship for entering all the contests this year. I'm not concerned about winning contests, I'd just like to fly in them.

I also plan on building it as a one piece wing for strength.

1) I have a bunch of carbon tow. Should I add any to the spars?

2) Should I bolt on the wing for winching? I have no idea how well rubber bands do on a winch.

3) Should I bother adding spoilers? My electric sailplane has spoilers, and I absolutely hate them, I always end up slamming it hard into the ground, cracking fuses.

4) I'd hate to use plastic covering on the fuse. I'd really like to use fiberglass or something for abrasion resistance. When they aerate the fields out here, we get tons of dirt clods everywhere, and those and bad landings tear up the bottom of my DLGs. Does the tow hook take all the abuse instead, or should I add glass or something for additional protection, or maybe just water based polyurethane by itself.

5) I originally thought I'd need micro sized servos (18 grams) so I ordered some HS81 clones, but see that 270mah batteries are suggested, which makes me think I should use smaller 9 gram servos instead (I have a bunch of HXT900's). Is the extra torque/centering of HS81's needed over 9 grammers?

6. Should I use a variable position tow hook, or go with the suggested tow hook location and epoxy it in?

[Ray Hayes]

this is the link to a maiden flight report with photos on a 2M Lil Bird, built and flown by everyone's friend, Steve from down under. A great thread for questions about woodys.
In the thread are build photos of Steve's one piece bolt on wing.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=861944&page=135

question #2 Eight Rubber bands work just fine, placed front to back, but will need replacing often. I use the bolt on system with the bolts placed further apart then the kit instructions call for. The manual is being updated in some areas and will not suggest a bolt through the spar.

Question #3 I love this question, because I advocate short spoilers that open straight up compared to most that think spoilers should be long and only open part way. Steve mentions how easy the 2M Lil Bird is to land without spoilers. I fly my 2M Lil Bird without spoilers, dive it striaght down from speck height, the wing is built stock with the additon carbon on the top spar spanning the center dihedral joint part way out to the polyhedral joint. Steve has over built the wing as far as winching and thermal flying, but he is doing aerobatics with his and the wing will probably be Hurricane proof. Spoilers are also a function of pilot skill and preferrence.

Question #5 My 2M Lil Bird has 2 HS 81 and 5 cell Rx battery and switch. The battery is made up of KR-600AE cells in line. The Rx is behind the first fuse former, the switch is in front of the first former and behind the two servos that are placed side by side. What RC equipment to install is based on weight of construction and covering, also on the weight of the tail group. My original 2M Lil Bird had a 270 battery, tiny servos, rubber banded wings and was very light weight.

The 2M Lil Bird flys like a hand launch, very manuerable, build the wings without a twist for best performance. I recently bought a 2M Osprey that had been flown by the builder, this is a past Sky Bench kit that could be built flat wing or poly. Acted funny and had a vicious tip stall on one wing panel, I checked this poly wing version out and sure enough, twisted badly. Nothing worse than a sailplane with twisted wings

Ray
Sky Bench Woodys Forever
http://www.skybench.com

[atmosteve]

Hi Sparkysko, as Ray said their is a bit of a build log over at the woody thread, I modified mine to take some real launch pressure but thats not necessary if you just want to winch it up into the sky in regular fashion for a wooden glider, I reckon it'll take plenty of punishment with just carbon capped spars and a bolt down wing.

It takes a bit of browsing through the woody thread pages, or by searching the thread with keywords for info but it might be a help perhaps, and the guys on the thread are great for general advice also, they have been a help to me.

wing inner panels;
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11869350#post11869350

my bolt down support in wings, but any number of designs canl work well;
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=861944&page=108

Bolt down system in fuse, earlier pages show Ray's fuse slimming method if you want a more slippery fuse;
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11786136#post11786136

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=861944&page=94

outer panels and other joking around;
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=861944&page=114


Good choice! I've just maidened my 2m LB and I'm happy with how well it thermals even though its a bit heavier than a stock build, in poor lift conditions it stays up longer than my much larger OlyIII.

steve

Edit; you can believe everything that Ray has typed in his post above, all apart from me being everyones friend, not everyone out there likes woody's in these modern times. ;) :D

[atmosteve]

Oh, forgot to say, go with the planned cg and towhook position, 85 mm behind the wing leading edge, it worked perfectly for me at least. But a homemade adjustable system is always a good idea.

I'm using hs81mg's at present, only because its all i had lying around and they will take the punishment of high stress launches, they are a bit to heavy though.