Will not do much of a write up as the pics will tell the story.
Slowly work away with the project...Starting on the wing templates now

I am sure you already know or someone has mentioned that the Lakes Gliding Club here in England at http://www.lakesgc.co.uk/ has the complete book on Slingsby Sailplanes with drawings and pics etc,. Go to http://www.lakesgc.co.uk/ then click on 'Archieve' then 'Old Gliding Books' then 'Simon M Slingsby Sailplanes' and on page 151 he goes into the T31 history with drawings and pics etc,.
(You sure have a super country in NZ,I can't stay away when it's your summer).

Originally Posted by mintie

.....need some pics of your T31 some time.
keep tuned in..cheers Graeme

Well, my son and I are about to venture out for some slope soaring today at Mataura, will try and get flying photos . . but you know the camera is a models curse.

Anyway, did a couple of wee test flights with it off the sand dunes (5m high) yesterday, needed a @#$^@#$ load of lead to get the balance right ! ! ! !
So watch your tail end build weight, keep it light as that is a loooong tail moment.

Anywho, catch you back here later with results, fingers crossed.
Philllip C

PS: papaalhpa, great link, thanks.

papaalha .... thanks for the links..

Phill.....yes the tail end has always been in my mind right from the begining of the build.Am trying to keep it as light as possible and all RX gear right up the nose.
Both rudder and elevators are all open structures.

have been building the rudder ,but no pics as our computor has been down since last wednesday,and still no sign of it going for a couple of days yet.
Our provider has done an update and knocked the system out. This is being done with my laptop in a cyber cafe.

Yes will be interested in your flight results.cheers Graeme

Originally Posted by mintie

Yes will be interested in your flight results.cheers Graeme

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . . . well didn't go quite to plan.

Launch . . ok, grab trannie(on neck strap) ok, ooh no wheres the sticks gone . . look down and the transmitter had rotated 90 deg so didn't have time to turn it around before . . . . crunch.

No real damage, broke one strut, cracked the centre joiner/hold down rib, and a crack in the sheeting on the pylon behind the back seat. All easy fixes. Flew 2 other planes though, good day out on a cold (sometimes wet) hill.
Like the fisherman say, "A bad days fishing(Flying) beats a good day at work"!

So, back to watching your build . ..
Phillip C

Originally Posted by philkiteflyer

Well, my son and I are about to venture out for some slope soaring today at Mataura, will try and get flying photos . . but you know the camera is a models curse.

Anyway, did a couple of wee test flights with it off the sand dunes (5m high) yesterday, needed a @#$^@#$ load of lead to get the balance right ! ! ! !
So watch your tail end build weight, keep it light as that is a loooong tail moment.

Anywho, catch you back here later with results, fingers crossed.
Philllip C

PS: papaalhpa, great link, thanks.

@#$^@#$ = about 1/2 a pound of lead in mine.
Allan

Some pictures of mine for you Mintie.

Allan

Originally Posted by AllanK1

Some pictures of mine for you Mintie.

Allan

Can I look too ? ? ?
Whats your AUW ready to fly? Mine was 6.5 lb BEFORE I added the lead !
I just weighted the extra lead . . . . .14ozs! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (thats 400grams to you young'uns).
I think I'll have a go at reducing the tailplane weight . . . remove some wood and recover with lighter film.

Will be fixed for weekend aerotow at sshh its a secret!

Phillip C

Originally Posted by philkiteflyer

Can I look too ? ? ?
Whats your AUW ready to fly? Mine was 6.5 lb BEFORE I added the lead !
I just weighted the extra lead . . . . .14ozs! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (thats 400grams to you young'uns).
I think I'll have a go at reducing the tailplane weight . . . remove some wood and recover with lighter film.

Will be fixed for weekend aerotow at sshh its a secret!

Phillip C

5.5 pounds Phill. Solar film covered but I doubt there was any special effort made to keep it light.

Allan

Originally Posted by AllanK1

5.5 pounds Phill. Solar film covered but I doubt there was any special effort made to keep it light.

Allan

mmmmmmmm . . thats the design weight, bet it flies really well.
Mine is going on a diet after this coming weekends aerotow, some liposuction (milling) is going to be used. Mintie, whats the weight of yours so far? Bet its light.

Phillip C

Perfect photo Phil.

When I dream sloping, it looks like that.

Rog

thanks for the photos Allan,.yours looks realy nice. hope to see it in person one day.
Phil....at the moment my fuse wt is 660gms and the rudder is 25gms.

remember my fuse with rudder is 1.9 m long.
will put up pics tonight. cheers

Hi Mintie,
Yes, it does look nice and has loads of character. I just wish it flew better. It has this strange habit of falling onto one wingtip or the other randomly so flying it is a bit like balancing a broom on the end of your finger. When you combine that with a propensity to fly sideways and a truely awful glide slope you have a model that probably is better hanging from the workshop roof!
Still, it has thermaled for 15 minutes once so it does fly and I have never had a problem landing it.
Hopefully yours will be more rewarding.
Interestingly, I have a club mate with the motor glider version of the T31 at about the same span as mine. His behaves very much the same.

Allan

Originally Posted by AllanK1

Hi Mintie,
Yes, it does look nice and has loads of character. I just wish it flew better. It has this strange habit of falling onto one wingtip or the other randomly so flying it is a bit like balancing a broom on the end of your finger.

Allan

Maybe a bit of washout adjusted into each aileron ?? Like a flying wing.

Just a thought.
Phillip C

Well guys ...seeing as you both have a model that flys like s@$&*t .. can I ask a few questions here,as I would like mine to fly a tad better.
what wing sections are being used?
what is the wing AOA ?
What wing incidence did you use.?
what is the tail plane AOA set at?
Any washout at the tip?
cheers Mintie