Gentle Lady Covering...

[csc]

Anyone tried covering a Gentle Lady with Solite? Would any gain be negligible?

[dee-grose]

I may be mistaken, but I think I read somewhere here that you really need to use Monokote for the strength it provides on planes like the Gentle Lady. Something about it providing torsional strength to the wing or something like that. I think Solite may be too fragile. Econokote may be strong enough, and I think it is lighter than Monokote. I'm just guessing here...maybe some of the experts here will chime in and set you straight.

dee

[xtc]

the most effective way to shave weight off the GL is to lighten up the tail to reduce nose weight needed to balance her out ,i have built 9 GL`s over the yrs and would have to agree with dee,,,,use monokote
xtc

[Seared Ice]

I just built a GL and used Solite. My covering scheme has white on the LE (in front of the spar) and since I had white Monokote already, I used that for the LE. The underside and behind the LE on the top are Solite (trans. yellow and black).
This worked great. The Monokote on the LE area provides the torsional stiffness...but I get some weight savings from the Solite. I havn't had any flutter problems.
I have noticed however, that the Solite punctures easily. I've had this plane for less than 2 months now and already have had to patch it several times...
I would like try some other covering on my next glider (perhaps doculam/mylar)...but I'm a cheap teenager so I'll probably stick with the Solite 'till I use it all up :p
~John

p.s. My thread about covering my GL: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213511 (the second half of the thread has info on different covering materials for the GL)
My finished GL: http://www.searedice.rchomepage.com/images/gl/finished/ (you can see what I mean by where I used the trans. yellow, black, and then the white monokote on the LE)

[Tim Wolff]

Built up wings like the Gentle Lady are best covered with Monokote. Make sure you seal it to each rib. I've tried others over the past 25 years. The coverite fabric iron on was the only other covering with strength similar to monokote. The transparent colors are considered stronger than the opaques by many.