Steve, yeah the ails are out on the end for sure, bet it's very sensitive. With a poly design, I don't see the need for this especially with the aspect and poly of the III. Your flaps will be a super benefit for you on this plane with the 3014 which I understand is a fairly fast foil. I'm going to go with spoilers an extra outboard bay longer with a single, central, pull string setup. I really want the removable tail feathers for two reasons. Firstly for shock absortion when landing in the big @$$ Texas weeds where I fly and secondly for transport. It'll be kinda ARF style similar to this pic. The stab will be saddled on very thin foam stripping which will give it some play on rough landings. The 2mm hardware and extra light ply for the stab hold shouldn't be too much penalty I hope. Going straight through the fuse with the allthread creates an insertion problem with the angle of the rudder so I'll just V-groove the end of the fuse...easier than trying to angle the hardware.

Cheers,

Don

Atmosteve..
I have been following your build on the Oly III very closely to pick up any ideas as I build mine. My fuselage is basically finished, and my wings will be next with flaps and ailerons.
Some of the others on here had questions or ideas as to the cowlings and hatches.....here are some pix of my solution to them.
Looking forward to your next posts.
Gerald

Originally Posted by dwells

Steve, yeah the ails are out on the end for sure, bet it's very sensitive. With a poly design, I don't see the need for this especially with the aspect and poly of the III. Your flaps will be a super benefit for you on this plane with the 3014 which I understand is a fairly fast foil. I'm going to go with spoilers an extra outboard bay longer with a single, central, pull string setup. I really want the removable tail feathers for two reasons. Firstly for shock absortion when landing in the big @$$ Texas weeds where I fly and secondly for transport. It'll be kinda ARF style similar to this pic. The stab will be saddled on very thin foam stripping which will give it some play on rough landings. The 2mm hardware and extra light ply for the stab hold shouldn't be too much penalty I hope. Going straight through the fuse with the allthread creates an insertion problem with the angle of the rudder so I'll just V-groove the end of the fuse...easier than trying to angle the hardware.

Cheers,

Don

Don,

That looka like my Spirit Select RTF. It was my first sailplane. Still have and once in a while I take it out for a spin.

Hey Ed,

Yes, actually it's a Spirit 2m ARF. I bought the last two from Tower and is also my first. I like the tail feather mounting on this ARF and will try do something similar on my OlyIII. It has just enough rigidity in it to hold nicely but will give a little if needed so it won't break any bones.

Don

Couple of tips on the Spirit that may carry over to the OlyIII

Add something to stiffen the bottom of the fuse where the nuts go over the shafts. Otherwise this is very flexible and does not hold properly. Fin may move on rudder inputs and nuts tend to loosen up.

Check nuts often or add Jam nut. If you plan to leave the tail on most of the time you can touch the nut with a drop of CA. Easily broken to remove it.

Gerald:

How does that fully flying stab work? I built one for a Gentle Lady and found that a flat plate stab was VERY touchy - too much so to fly well even with lots of expo dialed in the Tx, so I converted it back to the stock tail.

Would building a stab with a NACA 0009 foil shape work better? That would be similar to a RTF Bird of Time and it works very well. What would be the correct size? Larger or smaller than total area of the elevator + stab?

I would like to have one on a Oly III that is next up on the bench, but I am not willing to experiment and possibly hurt a plane that flys well with the stock tail.

FC

Originally Posted by dwells

Steve, yeah the ails are out on the end for sure, bet it's very sensitive. With a poly design, I don't see the need for this especially with the aspect and poly of the III. Your flaps will be a super benefit for you on this plane with the 3014 which I understand is a fairly fast foil. I'm going to go with spoilers an extra outboard bay longer with a single, central, pull string setup. I really want the removable tail feathers for two reasons. Firstly for shock absortion when landing in the big @$$ Texas weeds where I fly and secondly for transport. It'll be kinda ARF style similar to this pic. The stab will be saddled on very thin foam stripping which will give it some play on rough landings. The 2mm hardware and extra light ply for the stab hold shouldn't be too much penalty I hope. Going straight through the fuse with the allthread creates an insertion problem with the angle of the rudder so I'll just V-groove the end of the fuse...easier than trying to angle the hardware.

Cheers,

Don

Looking forward to more Don as you get the chance to work on the build, especially your pull string (rubber band return?) spoiler setup and pull apart rear end. The V groove tail seat sounds like it will maintain accuracy.
Hey those Texas weeds sound pretty nasty!

Originally Posted by Oldcoot2

Atmosteve..
I have been following your build on the Oly III very closely to pick up any ideas as I build mine. My fuselage is basically finished, and my wings will be next with flaps and ailerons.
Some of the others on here had questions or ideas as to the cowlings and hatches.....here are some pix of my solution to them.
Looking forward to your next posts.
Gerald

I really like the look of your full flying tailfin setup Gerald, it looks slippery and light, being built up. If I wasn't planing on a pod and boom+ built up tail fuse for my OlyIII I might have done something similar if the time was there.
Did you microfill and spray your fuse, or has it had a light glass covering? Looks pretty smooth and clean.
Flaps and ailerons- sounds interesting!

With the fastening of the tail feathers, are you guys using metal or nylon bolts?
One thing I found with various planes is that nylon bolts have a safety factor to them in that they tend to shear under impact and can save your wings and fins from some damage.
Are those Texas weeds really that nasty? I have this mental picture of a 3 foot high barbed wire tumble weed.

Foam crusher..
Yes, I have taken into account that this elevator is going to be very touchy. I plan on keeping the movement to a bare minimum. The bellcrank I built does not have a lot of moment in it just for that reason.

Steve..
I covered the fuse with 3/4 oz glass with a minimum of epoxy to fill it then sanded it, wet sanded it, sprayed it with 2 coats of John Deere yellow, used 000 steel wool between coats, and plan to rub it all out with rubbing compound in about two weeks.
The way I fly I need as much strength as I can get.....EVERYWHERE!
Gerald

I've got a HUGE woodie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


*Just thought ya'll could use some fun...

Originally Posted by FrogChief

I've got a HUGE woodie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


*Just thought ya'll could use some fun...

Well, lets see this HUGE woody then, put up or shut up... => for froggy.

Spammer...

SpamChief LOL!!!!

Back to business please froggy, a bloke like you has heaps of good stuff to offer a woody thread.

Atmosteve, I was looking at your photos and I want to ask a question. Do you know the name and manufacturer of the glider pictured here:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attac...mentid=2091795

Hi John, it feels like a rhetorical question given your wording.
Kind regards from Steve.

Well, I only wanted to ask about the glider in the picture!

It looks like a mouldie, as far as I can see.