Here's a great little flying machine for indoor or outdoor flying. It's just a MAAC Cub, a Midwest Delta Dart or AMA Dart scaled up and how simple is that? Simple maybe, but a fantastic performer for a rudder and elevator design.

I have built two versions of this design so far, a 24 and 26 inch wing span, both with a wing loading of approximately 3 ounces per square foot. LIGHT is MIGHT. Any one ounce outrunner that turns a big prop at low amps and a smaller lipo is a perfect match.

And perform they do. Depending on how it's set up, you can fly within an eight foot circle, stall turns, loops and rolls both ways, harrier, hoover, tail touches, wall landings, rolling circles, etc. and yes, all this without ailerons. Yet, with a few click of the trims here and there, you have the perfect free flight. This design is now becoming the favorite at our local indoor meets and is a perfect trainer for learning to fly in a confined space.

It's an easy simple quick build and here's a few guide lines...................

Mount the stab at 2 degrees negative, the wing at 0 and 6 degrees down thrust on the motor, with a few for side thrust. Extensive testing ( by 'A Useless Geek') shows 15 degrees of dihedral is optimum for aerobatics. Balance at 25 percent for starters and move it back to suit your flying style. Note, I overlapped the LE of the stab and the TE of the wing two inches......just because it looked cool and adds strength.

Here's a pix of a 28 inch span version, powered by a PJS300SF at 8 ounces, built by Paul Cook of Bristol, England. His design was featured by John Stennard's Q&EFI indoor column. .

Plans list.......... http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...1&postcount=60

SpitDart.............http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...xhead&page=288


Dart flyers make a 'point' of having fun..........

what do you have for underpinnings? a stick? SS fuse?
Bob

Bob:

My fuse is made from 10mm thick Cellfoam88. It's 20 1/2" x 1 1/4" for the 26 incher, with a angle cut into the top to match the wing dihedral angle. I use 1/32" ply doubles at the nose for LG attachment, with button thread and CA. The wing is 3mm Depron with CF flat on the LE only. Each wing panel is 13 inches in span, 16 at the cord and 3 at the tip. The vert. stab, including the rudder is an 8" X 8" right angled triangle and the horz. stab, including the elevator is 8" X 16". The rud, and elev. are cut out at 1 1/2". Also, CF flat on the LE of the vert. and horz. stabs. Since pointy things get broken easily, I cut the tips of the rudder and elevator at the opposite angle. Also, I added a foam canopy for hand launching. Mine has that 'Stealth' angled aggressive mean look and that's how I fly it. Except for the motor mount, UHU Crativ' for foam is used.

For a 26 incher the dihedral is set at 2 3/4" under EACH tip and balanced 5 1/4" from the LE at the cord.

Hope this helps.......Frank

That's GREAT !!!! Can't wait to see the DD......

Too cool!

THX,
Bob

Hi I have a Plan for Paul's 22"foam version ; I havent finished building it yet.

This a copy of his online PDF Plans list (I hope this works)
I have several of his plan pending building

Thanks for your post dekan.

The performance of this design is impressive and being able to hover down to do a tail touch with just rudder and elevator certainly gets everyone's attention. Wall landings and inverted touch n' go's off the ceiling are a breeze, the SD flys rock steady at all speeds as the delta wing shape makes it impossible to stall a wing tip.

Back about 10 years ago, RCM&E had a free plan called the 'Large Dart', which I build powered by a PAW55. It too was a great flyer, but can't compare with the SD XS's excesses. This is one design that can be flown.....mild to wild.

One improvement I added is a foam canopy as a hand launch handle.

Frank

Dont forget Boris Sverev had his own version "Pointy Wingy Thingy" in Radio Control Microflight May 2002. I have Emailed Paul Cook, to let him know of the interest in his design.

Hi Guys,

It was Brian Cooper’s Dart in RCM&E many years ago that inspired my electric versions. Basically I like to think that his Dart was the first step from the rubber free flight and mine the next step on from his IC version. Free flight version is very similar to the Pointy Wingy Thingy, i.e. pointy!

Having built an electric version very similar to Brian Cooper's I went on to build a second version. This time increasing the wing area by dragging the root trailing edge over the leading edge of the tailplane. This also had the desired effect of making the rear of the fuselage much stronger, a problem on my first design.
Also note the fish tail shape of the tailplane/fin, no added benefit but I thought it looked a whole lot nicer.

The first picture in this thread is of my 27” version, the first of the series. No longer flying but built some time ago now, CDROM’s were not available then! The PJS 300-3D was the smallest ‘outrunner’ motor that I could find at that time.

Picture below of me and my SmartDart XS, 22” version @ 120g. Who needs ailerons to prophang!. This model is now nearly three years old but still flying well. All be it with a few scars from indoor flying.

Paul.

Hi Folks,
Thought you might like to see 3 pictures of a Smart Dart xs-f which is the foam depron version of the 3 available from flightline@hotmail.co.uk.
This was built last Christmas hence the edging tape used is self adhesive purple sparkly tape which also looks great in the summer sunshine outdoors. I have found an easy way to lauch is to hold the wing at the leading edge (either side) and on half power swish it upwards. Once you've thought about it and done it, it becomes second nature.
Also for outside flying you can try flying it as guided free flight, particularly the large version. Take it to an extreme height, close the throttle and try to land it at your feet with no further intervention. It's all a question of judgement getting it in the correct place and direction in the first instance. Conversely, if you want to come down quickly momentarily push vertically down then hold in full rudder for a rediculously tight vertical spiral and pull out at plus 10 feet.
All in all quite a remarkable series of flyers!

Gordon:

Thanks for the pictures. I especially like that trim, how fitting for this time of year. I'm surprised not to see more posts on the Dart. It's absolutely the next best thing to a 'shockie' for fun and performance, and all this with just rudder and elevator. For hand launch, I installed a foam canopy on mine.

I took one of my Darts to our club AGM to promote indoor flying and flew it at the back of the meeting room. Not a gymn or sports hall, but a large room. I did touch n' gos off the tables, hopping over the coffee machine and donuts, hovered up to the ceiling with a perfect stall turn at the top, flying it right into the corners and never hit the walls once. The Dart is just that easy to fly.

I'll try and get some pix of our club's Darts at the next indoor meet.

Cheers: Frank

Like I said......"Dart flyers make a 'POINT' of havin' fun".

Those look so cool! Maybe I'll build myself a dart-alike this afternoon :-)
Thinking about tailerons instead a R/E setup. Maybe throw a rudder on there as well for even crazier flight. Thoughts?

Hi gordon

Is the balsa re-inforcement let -into the leading and trailing edges of the wing ? I built my wing asper plan IE balsa gussets on top the wing

I think your way looks neater do you have any thought re reinforceing the wing/ fus joint?

dekan: On my diesel powered balsa built 'Large Dart' I used strips of 1/64 ply on the top and bottom of the LE and TE to brace the dihedral.


Tailerons! I like your thinking SR. Let us know how it works, or better still, come on down to our indoor sessions. We have flyers from Black Creek and Deep Bay show up. You don't have to be a club member or have MAAC to join in on the fun.

Frank