Washout trimming question

[uabass]

My GL has the tendency to turn little to the left even when the ruder is in neutral position. The incidence and decalage is set correctly per plan and incidence meter. Is it possible I have more washout on one side of the wing tip than the other? If so, which side is causing it and do I add or decrease the washout?

Thanks

[silentfly]

The other factor which you could concider is to balance the wing lateraly, what i mean is one wing might be heavier than the other at the moment.

[Vince inTX.]

You could have too much washout in the left or not enough in the right or a combination of both. I would try a near stall speed turn to the left and the right. If it will tip stall while turning to the right sooner than when turning to the left, it is a washout issue. The wing with the least washout will tip stall first. You could have an issue with different incidences between the left and right wing halves. Also since the wing is held on with rubber bands it could be out of square when you attach it and this would cause the same thing you are seeing now. This problem would only show when you attach the wing incorrectly, not everytime. (I hope)

I hope this gives you some ideas to persue. Let us know how it goes.

Vince

[xtc]

the slowest wing will be the one with the most twist/drag /washout and yes that will cause a turn

- on a wing with as much dihedral as the gentle lady you would have to be out of lateral balance quite a bit to force a turn

lay the outer panels flat on a table and ensure that you have 1/4 inch under each tip at the TE

xtc

[Vince inTX.]

I typed all that and then thought .......

Are you unable to correct the problem with trim? If not I would think that a wash out problem of that magnitude would be readily aparent. Your problem may be something else..I'm personaly not too sure what.

Vince

[Vince inTX.]

Lateral balance.....Thats what I couldn't think of!

Vince

[Mirage1]

I hung my Mirage from the garage ceiling on two strings aligned with the center of the wing. One wing was low. A few split shot on the other wing near the dihedral break near the spar inserted through a small cut in the covering on the bottom and super glued. A tiny patch and my gentle turn was corrected. Try to keep the balance weight away from the wing tip since you want those light.

[uabass]

Thank you all very much. The lateral balance seems to be okay. I will adjust the washout as you all suggested and see what happens the next time I fly the GL.

[SoCalGliderFlyr]

Look for twists in the center wing panels too. An old free flight trick is to use a combination of wing twist and tip weights. You want to thermal turn into the lifting (down washed) center panel. This would keep the free flight from spiraling in.

[BMatthews]

Don't forget the overall model alignment as well. A wing that's sitting even a trifle cockeyed on the fuselage with one tip back will show the same symtom. As will a curve in the fuselage if not compensated for. As will a fin that is not mounted directly on or parallel to the center line. The magnitude of the problem could be any of the options presented by the others or in the simple alingment of the wing and parts as above.

If it changes how much it happens from day to day then I suspect you just need a better way to key the wing to the fuselage. But check the alignment before you set the keys.

[uabass]

Thanks all. Adjusting the washout helped. It flys pretty straight now. Specked out twice, 25 minutes and 18 minutes during the one hour I was out there today. GL is great.

[SoCalGliderFlyr]

Gad! He gets to fly today and I'm staring out the window at the darn rain!