hey folks,

its been some time since i did anything micro, got bit by the glider bug, but i thought i'd try combining the two sides of the hobby and have come up with this so far.

i scaled down and modified a set of plans for a full 60" DLG called the Manta and started cutting balsa. building these D-box style balsa wings are pretty fun, reminds me of what got me into micro RC in the first place. still a few little tricks to learn to make the airfoil a bit more clean, but otherwise it should do well.

the fuse pod is carved from a block of balsa, probably needs a bit more weight removed, but we'll see. tail feathers are 1/16th balsa sanded with a bit of an airfoil with some CF tow for streangth. i was going to go with a standard elevator, but thought i'd go the long way and do a full flying elevator. seems to work well enough so far.

main wing is all 1/32 and 1/16th with CF tow here and there. standard tissue for the covering, but it didnt turn out quite as well as i hoped, so i may recover it with something a bit more stiff...if i can find it. the wing came in at only 3.6g before the tissue, but its up over 5g now, wingspan is 20 inches.

not sure what gear i want to use, i could go with an MI rx and those .8g bio servos, or get a PZ brick. not sure if the bio servos will be up to the load though, lots of forces on the tail. i'll post more as i go along the build.

nick

Very cool. I've thought about doing the same thing, but make it a V-tail, to keep the tail light. Then, I was thinking of catapult launching, rather than discus or javelin launch. Please do keep this thread updated.

Wow - that is excellent work! I too, have dreamed of a small (12"-18" WS) hand held catapult (stick and rubber) sailplane using actuators and a small NiCad battery, but I did not think it would glide long enough to have much air time, let alone catch thermals. Will a plane this small thermal? If so, I need to rethink the soaring experiments.

Thanks for a great thread! More pics please, I'm pretty new at this and pics really help me conceptualize.

ah.clem

I remember a camp I was at eight years ago. R/C flying seven days long.. Was a lot of fun We had a contest, building and flying Chucks. One guy had half a minute of flying just throwing it from the hand on a flat land.. Average flight times were 10-15 seconds. Maybe 20. So if he made a 30 second flight, yeah he had a thermal. The plane didn't descent for a few seconds.
Most planes had 3-5 grams of lead so that could also be electrics (rudder/ elevator)
To answer you question: yes it could "catch" a thermal

Originally Posted by ah.clem

Wow - that is excellent work! I too, have dreamed of a small (12"-18" WS) hand held catapult (stick and rubber) sailplane using actuators and a small NiCad battery, but I did not think it would glide long enough to have much air time, let alone catch thermals. Will a plane this small thermal? If so, I need to rethink the soaring experiments.

Thanks for a great thread! More pics please, I'm pretty new at this and pics really help me conceptualize.

ah.clem

thanks i had thought about a v-tail too, but opted for the standard tail. after stiffening up the elevator with CF, attatching the wing with a rubber band, and adding an adjuster to change the pitch of the elevator, i've found it might be a bit too sensitive. it glides great when trimmed straight, but the elevator is ultra sensitive, it'll need some low throws!

the weight as it sits now is 12 grams even, and i have roughly 40 something inches of wing area. if i can keep it below 17 or 18 grams AUW, my wingloading will stay at 2oz sqft or lower. using actuators came to mind, but i dont think they have the torque needed...launch speed is always high, and actuators like to flutter at high speeds.

just a few things to tidy up and the plane will be complete, just needs the electronics. i wish there was a micro RX out there that was in the 1g range, and didnt cost an arm and a leg!

nick

Originally Posted by ah.clem

I did not think it would glide long enough to have much air time, let alone catch thermals. Will a plane this small thermal? If so, I need to rethink the soaring experiments.

ah.clem

well, if you look at how many airhogs planes get taken away by thermal activity, I think you'd agree that even the little ones will thermal. also, don't many small birds utalize thermals to lessen their required energy useage?

Nick, iirc the plantraco servo rx is around $45 from their website. I got one recently but have yet to use it in a plane

I found your build while I was browsing though, and I just want to say "congats" on a beautiful bird! I can't wait to see all the hardware fitted inside of it.

I know that there is a RX out there that has two servos and an esc built onto it, might work for what your looking for (can't remember the name or the price though).

This is one of solution:

http://www.falconmodels.uk.com/acata...Equipment.html

Ziv.

Nick,

I'm sure you'll get good flights out of the models. Small just means it can work thermals off the driveway or parking lot, and can work slope lift off a row of houses or trees.

I based mine on the classic CLG, the 'Sweepette". They are 22" WS, 1 is mid-30 grams, the other low-40s. My best javelin-launch, thermal seeking flights are still under a minute. Using slope lift along trees and the front of the house, I've beat a minute, and where there's more room and a breeze, the longest flight is about 45 minutes.

hey Derrik/Ziv thanks for the heads up. i had forgotten about the plantraco RX, unfortunately i'm still running 72mhz. i had been looking at the falcon breeze block for a while, i just havent looked long enough to convince myself to spend the 100 bucks.

hey Mike, nice looking models. you mentioned your longest flights being 45 minutes, did you mean seconds? my 90g 30" Angel DLG usually gives me 30 second flights, my longest was a bit over 2 minutes. my 60" 10oz Epona easily hits the 2 minute mark without much effort. if i can get 1 minute or more flights with this little one, i'll be happy. is that all Falcon gear in yours?

nick

No, I meant 45 minutes on a 145 cell. I had a nice, steady evening sea breeze and hillside to work over, though.

mike taylor: Small just means it can work thermals off the driveway or parking lot, and can work slope lift off a row of houses or trees


i've done all that with my 48" fling (super easy to do)

Mike, 45 minutes is great, did those wings have a full airfoil? if so, any particular one?

well, the project is temporarily on hold untill i can build a new wing for not having a motor, this thing sure can move quick!

nick

The two are different. The first one (the heavier one) has a flat-bottomed, foam-cored, balsa skinned wing; it also has a catapult hook. The lighter one has a built up, balsa skinned, under-cambered wing - approximating an NACA 6409 section. This is the one with the longest flights.

Sorry to see you've met the plane-eating tree...

Nick,

Awesome build! I love your micro v-mount stab.

I've had really good luck with the parkzone brick on my micro HLG (AUW around 30g.) It's a bit of a packaging problem in such a small pod, but can't beat the value. I'm thinking of getting one of the new DSM2 bind n' fly bricks to get around the range issues and try some more serious thermaling.

-Adam