T-Tail Waco Magic

[Hostage-46]

Hello All ...

I took delivery of a Waco Magic this afternoon. Yes I know she's old, but she really is pretty.

This is my first full house ship, I could sure use some advice on setup. particularly around the T-Tail setup, looks a little Klugy...

Thermals ....

Dan in Dallas

[Ollie]

The highly tapered wing planform is prone to tip stall and is quite unforgiving of being flown too slowly. However, it is very efficient up to the sudden stall. This calls for a different flying technique than most polyhedral floaters. The more gusty and turbulent the conditions, the more air speed must be maintained for stall margin, especially near the ground. The low dihedral angle means the plane lacks much spiral stability and the angle of bank requires essentially continuous pilot correction to maintain an efficient turn. Try to avoid steep angles of bank while you are learning its flight characteristics. At steep angles of bank, opposite aileron must be held to prevent the circle from rapidly degenerating into a spiral dive. For efficient, coordinated turns, rudder must be applied in an amount to complement the ailerons. This requires training the reflexes of the left hand. The pilot work load is several times the pilot work load of a polyhedral floater.

[Hostage-46]

OK,

Last question ....

I'd like to paint the nosecone, wing bottom and rudder.

Nose cone has been painted, thought I'd sand it down and try again.

Krylon best here? Primer ideas?

Rudder had no paint on it, can I spray directly onto the airfoil surface for this and the wing bottoms?

[Daveairway]

Hi Dan,

She is pretty :)

Regarding your questions:

Bell crank Pin, 1/8th inch. This seems like it could easily slide out leading to a loss of elevator control. Need a means to lock it in place but still be able to remove for servicing.

I am not sure how often you would need to remove this? Why not just glue it in on the side. If you used 5 minute epoxy, you should be able to get it out later with a little help from a razor blade(?)

Perhaps epoxy a small washer over slot (inside tail boom) to position and hold the pin

Sounds good to me. Or maybe a wheel collar? Then you could use the set screw to hold the rod and glue the top support back in.

Elevator attachment, wood screws that could easily strip, Install blind nut and machine screw.

YES !!!! Loos'n a stab is not much fun.

Nose cone has been painted, thought I'd sand it down and try again. Krylon best here? Primer ideas?

Krylon should be ok. I have used it on glass fuses with no problem.

When it comes to the wings, it may get heavy. What ever you use, be sure to test the paint on a very small section and watch for problems. The stock paint may be lacquer or epoxy. Some paints don't mix well and some might eat the wing right up :(


Looking forward to a flight report !!
Dave

[Ollie]

You have to deside between the conflicting objectives of appearance and good flying qualities. Paint is heavy and when applied to the wing tips and tail will degrade the roll and yaw response as well as the plane's ability to signal lift. Any general weight increase will increase the minimum sinking speed, increase the stall speed and increase the size of the minimum circle associated with a given angle of bank.

If you opt for looks over flying qualities, use a water based, pigmented poly urathane paint such as that made by Red Devil. It is one of the glossiest, hardest paints available and it is compatible with foam and most other paints.

[Hostage-46]

My objectives are not cosmetic, for me a dark color wing bottom and nose cone is necessary to maintain visual orientation.

In a recent lift zone article the author applied darker colors of Monokote to the white bottom of the ARF Spirt elite. He used monokote trim solvent to adhere black diamonds against the white wing surface.


Sitting here it occurs to me that If I could find a light weight decal product, I could do the same thing on this wing.

Or, paint less then the whole surface through the use of a stenciled pattern keeping most of to color at the root, away from the tips.

I can forgo color on the rudder and remove and replace the existing nose cone paint with a darker color.

[Ollie]

A very light color for the top of the nose cone is helpful for keeping the radio equipment from overheating when the plane is exposed to strong sunshine on a hot day in Texas. High temperatures stress the batteries and the electronic components, reducing their life expectancy.

The lightest way to blacken the bottoms of the wings is to color them with a permanent, black, wide-tipped pen. The unglossy finish also improves visibility over a shiny dark surface.

[Hostage-46]

Sounds like a sharpie solution!

Off to Staples ...