Due to it's length Part 1 of this thread is now closed - please continue the discussion here.

Thanks Ric.

Dan, check out chad sullivans website. www.theironworks.net and you will see how he bags the epona wing in one piece with dihedral.

Scott

Scott, thanks for the suggestion. I looked all over the site, but didn't see anything regarding how he bagged his wings, though. Do you have a more direct link to information about his bagging?

Thanks,
Dan

Check out the gallery section. He has a table that he has the correct dihedral angle, then the wings are bagged on this when they come out they are one piece with dihedral.

Scott

Dan,
The fusion of the DL50 wings is more then strong enough to handle the stress imposed. If you epoxy the halves together and then apply the darts and then apply the CF and then apply the 1/64 ply.... at this point it's so darn strong that it's going to break somewhere else, if at all. We've sold a lot of DL50s and only had one failure. I'd not worry about it.
Matthew

I just finished building my DL-50 lastnight. Until I see otherwise I would have to tend to agree with Matt that it is plenty strong enough. My all up weight ready to fly is 8 oz. I think I did pretty good. I usualy tend to build things heavy. I was suprised when I put it on the scale at work and it came out lighter than I expected it to be. Tossed it around a bit today and it looks like a winner. Tomorrow I will go to the park and realy chuck it around a bit

Vince

Pictures, we need pictures.

Joe

Any point adding a gyro?

I have just completed my DL50 with weight of 174g = 6.1Oz without battery. I will need a 30g battery to balance and I am waiting for one to arrive. This will take it a tad above 7Oz. I wonder if it is worthwhile adding a gyro, since there seems to be some extra weight allowance. I have a CSM HLG200 gyro lying around (from my heli)...

I have been tossing about a little bit with a smaller battery and nose weight, albeit in quite windy condition. I am worried that there might be something wrong with the stab incidence, since the plane balloons into a stall, recover and then get into another stall all while the elevator is neutral. May be I will try again in a less windy day with the proper battery...

IMHO it needs nose weight and I have no problem haunching mine without a gyro.

Joe

I have a small GWS gyro in mine and like it. However it seems that a lot of folks are flying these without gyros and having good experiences.

I would agree that you need more nose weight. Probably not a tail incidence issue.

I don't use a gyro in mine and I honestly feel that there is no need for one... if your launches are good. (Hmm, maybe I should get a gyro)... just thinking aloud.
Dimple, make sure that the tail is level with the boom and that the wing isn't twisted. I almost always do a gentle hand launch before I DL mine. It should fly straight and level. If it doesn't, something's wrong.
Matthew

Well, no word from my friend yet regarding vacuum bagging and I don't want to bug him about it. Just received the kit today (incredible service, as always), and I'm itching to go at it. I think I'll just proceed as normal for my first cores and once my friend has some more time, get a second set of cores to bag.

I was thinking of using the core beds to help prevent warpage while glassing the wing, but didn't realize they would be joined quite the way they are, with both cores in the same piece of foam. So, 2 questions:

1 - is there a way I can seperate the beds and have use of them for glassing the wing?

2 - if I use the beds while glassing, should I place wax paper in the bottom bed, place the wing in the bed, apply the fiberglass, let sit for a few minutes (5-10), cover the wing with wax paper, and place the top bed over the wing and weight it a little? Or is that a bad idea?

Thanks,
Dan

P.S. When everyone said this wing was thin and I looked at the pictures I thought, "Sure, it looks pretty thin, but not that thin." This wing is THIN! Looking forward to the build.

Dan,
What I do is remove the wings and then cut the beds lengthwise where the LE would be. You described exactly how I glass my wings. I apply the Polycrylic to within 1/4" of the LE and 1/2" or more past the TE. Once it sets up I finish the LE and wrap the glass around to the bottom of the wing to at least an inch back. Then I do the bottom in the same manner. I want the LE to have two layers of FG for added dent resistance.
Matthew

Originally Posted by Matthew Binder

Once it sets up I finish the LE and wrap the glass around to the bottom of the wing to at least an inch back. Then I do the bottom in the same manner.

When you wrap the top layer around to the bottom, do you secure it with more polycrylic, foam-safe CA, or just let it get secured when you do the bottom layer?

Thanks,
Dan