What's Your Wildest Design

[Tom Harper]

On an especially bad day one of my fellow club members commented:

"I'll bet that's the worst model you ever built", a moments reflection and I had to admit, "nope, not by a long shot".

What's the wildest designs in your notebook - photo file - plan book? C'mon now the good bad and the ugly!

I'll start with one and dredge up some others later.

I like this model and I'm going to try it again. It's a negative stagger, biplane, pusher, flying wing. The inspiration was the fine aircraft of John Dunne. This one had a really nice glide but the weight of the tiny motor and batteries was more than it could handle. Don't find any notes on it's demise but as I recall, it spiraled into the ground and rekitted itself. The bare spot on the right upper wing indicates repair from at least one flight before the picture was taken.

Next time I'll make it bigger with at least and OS .15 in back.

[BMatthews]

Tom, I have to admit that you definetly have an eye for the odd stuff. I can't say that I've ever designed a truly odd model. I'm way too stuck by the lure of the "average" layout.

The oddest thing I've ever designed I'm sort of afraid to try building.... see below... and it's not as odd as your over under swept layout...

You win hands down... :D

[Tom Harper]

Bruce,

I like it - my kind of airplane!

It does need some kind of reference. If the CG was lower than the center line it might work. It would be fun to try as a sheet balsa glider.

[Tom Harper]

I spent a couple of years playing with flying wings. I used a brute force approach that worked well. I took the model to the field with some sixteenth sheet and CA glue and did whatever it took to make the thing fly. Once it flew I incorporated the mods in the next one. Great learning experience.

It seemed that the ideal flying wing would be a pure eliptical surface. I really did not think I could stabilize such a thing but the challenge was too tempting to resist.

Did not want to invest too much effort in the project so made it out of three grades of sheet balsa layed over exposed ribs. The section was a reflex camber line about 5% thick. The outer panels were inclined to provide shallow dihedral. 33" Span 4.8:1 AR Used a small electric motor with enough battery for a 30 second run. CG was at 20% of the root chord.

Surprisingly it had a straight, flat glide. It flew very well under power. I used thrust to get a wide spiral. But after a couple of flights it refused to glide. The bay area dew got to the tips and warped them positive.

Strengthened the tips and cut them so the LE drooped. That cured the stability problem but the glide was never the same. In my notes there is a comparison to another wing I was flying at the time. This model had better power to weight but higher wing loading so it should be better in climb and worse in glide - it was both.

It quickly became a victim of it's light construction. My final note says it habitually spiraled into the dirt..."It sure looked neat though."

[davidfee]

Here's the wildest one I ever built and flew. The design was inspired by the odd-looking UCAV in the 1983 Chevy Chase movie, "Deal of the Century."

-David

[Tom Harper]

Nice model - did you have any problem with yaw stability?

[BMatthews]

Tom, the CG is intended to be right in the middle like you would expect. The idea is to have a totally neutral handling model and rely HEAVILY on color cues for attitude reference. The upper exposure was going to be all white, the right side exposure red and the left green and the bottom black or some other almost black color. The red and green being from the port and starboard colors of boating.

And that's why the name "Which Way?". Or perhaps it should be "WHICH WAY? ! ? ! ? !" :D

[Tom Harper]

Now that would be a challenge!

I keep thinking of it as a free flight.

[davidfee]

Nice model - did you have any problem with yaw stability?

Thanks, Tom. Almost remarkably, no. It would fly hands-off from one end of the slope to the other (I was R/C slope soaring with it) and turns were stable and well-controlled. Turning was via ailerons/elevator and I did not have a rudder function on the V-tail. It even had about 5 deg of negative dihedral, just to make matters worse. It sure looked neat in the air. :)

[Tom Harper]

Sounds neat.

I built a free flight flying wing with forward sweep. At the end of the motor run it would hesitate and decide which way it wanted to glide. Didn't seem to make much difference, right or left. The rudders just kept it from tightening the turn into a spiral.

[BMatthews]

Tom, it just needed a bit more fin area I suspect. Years back there was an all sheet balsa flying wing called the WingDing that used forward sweep but had a good degree of dihedral as well as a huge fin. It flew fine with an 049 on it. I know a guy that built two of them. He had to, the first thermaled away on him.... :D

[Tom Harper]

I always wanted to make a model of the German flying wing in "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Has anybody ever seen a drawing of what it was supposed to look like? I've watched that part of the movie and it just shows pieces.

[Tom Harper]

Golly gee! I just did a Google search and there it was! It looks a lot like the Horten twin with appendages. I've got an unfinished one in the airplane pile. Hmmmm......might be fun.

Still no 3 view though.

[Sonofagun]

http://www.rcgroups.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=28717&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

[Tom Harper]

Sono,

Did you ever get that thing to fly?

[Tom Harper]

This is a mod of the Horten H5C. Looks close. No way the CG would work without extension shafts. That's what killed my original H5. Have to think about it.

Wonder why the rudders were both on the left side of the engine cowlings. Some mysterious, secret weapon, type aerodynamics.

[Sonofagun]

I would like to see the rotla wing built also. Define fly.What is the formula for ring loading?

[Tom Harper]

I built a tunnel wing craft in my wild youth. All it did was roll. It couldn't figure out which way was up.

[DesignGeek]

Some shots of the 'Raiders plane for you guys. One of my faves as well!

[Sonofagun]

Tom, you done?

[Spete2000]

Hello All,

It seems like I have found the right place to help locate or buy a model, or plans, or?

This will be a little tough because I saw the plane in several movies, at least one with Arnold Swartzenagger? in it. The plane was in a hallway hovering and menacing the star(s). It was also in 2 or 3 other movies, (sigh) unfortunately I can not remember anything about them either. It had 4 electric motors, 2 on each end of the plane enabling it to hover, go back, forth, etc. It was highly manuverable, or so it was portrayed, and yet could develop high speeds as well. As soon as I saw it, it looked like a plane that everyone should have a copy of.

But wait. That's not all.

There was also another small plane, used in 2 films I think, that had a regular wing, or jet wing, jet engines, and I think it was supposed to be a MAV for the Armed Forces. In one of the films it was mounted to a pedastal in front of the arms manufacturer that produced it. It was accidentally started on the pedastal and then remotely controlled in a high speed series of wild flying. The plane also had a rounded upward dihedral in the wing. Plausible, but I wonder how hard it would be to make. Out of what?

I don't remeber the names of the movies except that the one with Arnold in it was one of the Terminator flicks. I think. The other was sci-fi also.

If I can help with anything else, please let me know.

Thanks to All in advance,

Steve

[Tom Harper]

Sonofagun,

Naw - just resting.

[Tom Harper]

The round wing works very well. It would be suitable for a sport model or trainer. This one was free flight with CO2 power. Couldn't get it to balance without the long nose.

Area = 113 sq in
Chord/Span = 12 in
AR = 1.28:1
W = 1.5 oz
CG @ .28 root chord

It performed nicely under power. As you might expect the glide wasn't much. I estimate about a 3:1 glide ratio. No dethermalizer was required.

The sketch is what I was going to build next, but must have lost interest before I ever got started.

[Sonofagun]

dead url

[Sonofagun]

Tail heavy and downwind (15 to 27mph) the wing tubes are the ailerons controlled by one servo and the front tube is the elevator.
dead url

[Tom Harper]

Now that's wild!!

The vid didn't play - I assume it flies.

[Sonofagun]

Tom, I just tried the link and it worked 4 me. It is a QT Vid so it often will not look like it is loading when it is. I have some new numbers for C o G and thrust angle and hope to build the next ver. soon. Now if only GPW would
build one. I think this could be a real good flyer and it looks cool in the sky.
Anyone ever figure out the formula for ring loading?? The next ver will be 3" longer and the front tube will go forward an additional 1".

[BMatthews]

It looks like it has the control needed. If the CG was in the right spot I suspect you'd have a winner.

[Fly Or Die]

I have always been a sort of a rebel to common design and what can and cant be done. I hope to join you guys soon{once I have time {never}}. I have already modified a plane into a biplane from a high wing trainer and my insanity keeps growing{ that was only about a month after I learned to fly, cant help it}. It will be pure electric though if I do{never}.

[Sonofagun]

F or D, go for it. Quit your job and you will have all the time you need.
P.S. Bluecore also makes a handy little homeless shelter :(

[rhelfrich]

B36 foamie of 6mm EPS FFF 5ft wing span. that will carry 4 ea 2s 2100mAh Lipo

[Tom Harper]

Great!

Got any drawings yet?