bitshifter
Jun 23, 2008, 01:57 AM
So it all starts about five years ago when i decided to order a Dynaflite Bird of time sailplane kit from my local hobby store.
It took about 100 hours to build the kit and now i was ready for some hand launch testing.
With my flying mentor mike at the sticks i proceeded to run and launch the plane with as much gumph as i could muster up.
As it left my grasp it pitched up and instinctively mike pushed it over the top into level flight, which was about 15 feet above ground level.
After noticing that it was not going to come down any time soon, he eased a bit of left rudder into it and circled the field once.
By now it was time to level it off and line up an approach.
Of course he greased it in on its belly in the grassy field with no problems.
At this point i was amazed at the glide ratio, one lap around the field on just a strong hand launch... Wow!!!
Now it was time to decide on some other way to launch this bird.
A heavy duty high start seemed like the most practical solution.
After buying the high start kit we went back to the field and set up.
The HS pulled the aircraft upward at a 45 degree angle with authority, but the maximum altitude aquired was not enough to suit my needs.
So now i barter with a friend for a new source of onboard power.
A brand new dremel multi-tool for a used norvel 0.61 was the trade.
With a powerpod between the wing halves carrying my new norvel and a throttle servo i headed back to the field for some more tests.
Mike showes me how to needle her up to run sweet and i give that nice hand launch as i did before.
The norvel with a 6x3 prop and a two ounce tank was good on power and run time was great, i had more than enough fuel to reach the mountain range that i would try to find some lift from.
By now i had about 40 flights with the norvel and was thinking about a brushless motor and lithium-polymer battery.
Seeing that it has 16 ounces of lead in the nose, there is no worrys about how much this motor weighs.
Does anyone know how much thrust a norvel 0.61 with a 6x3 prop on 10% nitro produces?
The aircraft weighs 3.5 pounds wet, so i imagine i would need 1~2 pounds of thrust to get the job done and have some to spair.
Having a bit more power than the norvel would be nice because i could then start using the ballast box for those windy days.
It took about 100 hours to build the kit and now i was ready for some hand launch testing.
With my flying mentor mike at the sticks i proceeded to run and launch the plane with as much gumph as i could muster up.
As it left my grasp it pitched up and instinctively mike pushed it over the top into level flight, which was about 15 feet above ground level.
After noticing that it was not going to come down any time soon, he eased a bit of left rudder into it and circled the field once.
By now it was time to level it off and line up an approach.
Of course he greased it in on its belly in the grassy field with no problems.
At this point i was amazed at the glide ratio, one lap around the field on just a strong hand launch... Wow!!!
Now it was time to decide on some other way to launch this bird.
A heavy duty high start seemed like the most practical solution.
After buying the high start kit we went back to the field and set up.
The HS pulled the aircraft upward at a 45 degree angle with authority, but the maximum altitude aquired was not enough to suit my needs.
So now i barter with a friend for a new source of onboard power.
A brand new dremel multi-tool for a used norvel 0.61 was the trade.
With a powerpod between the wing halves carrying my new norvel and a throttle servo i headed back to the field for some more tests.
Mike showes me how to needle her up to run sweet and i give that nice hand launch as i did before.
The norvel with a 6x3 prop and a two ounce tank was good on power and run time was great, i had more than enough fuel to reach the mountain range that i would try to find some lift from.
By now i had about 40 flights with the norvel and was thinking about a brushless motor and lithium-polymer battery.
Seeing that it has 16 ounces of lead in the nose, there is no worrys about how much this motor weighs.
Does anyone know how much thrust a norvel 0.61 with a 6x3 prop on 10% nitro produces?
The aircraft weighs 3.5 pounds wet, so i imagine i would need 1~2 pounds of thrust to get the job done and have some to spair.
Having a bit more power than the norvel would be nice because i could then start using the ballast box for those windy days.