Steve, Steve, Steve.... This thread is only about chord width!

Seriously though, I have asked Bob from Soaring USA to contact Valenta to determine what the airfoils are on this newer, larger wing. I could be wrong but the root, mid-span break and tip airfoils do not look like the SD7037 or RG15. They look way more modern in that they are thinner w/ much less camber.

Again, to my eyes the sections used look like a good fit for XC work. It will be fun to fly it at both ends of the weight range to see how the run and climb hold up.

The article in Aufwind that I mentioned earlier commented that the airfoil was redesigned for the 4200 and that the "dynamic" (hauling ass on the slope) performance was very good. Not sure what they were comparing that to but it's interesting to note that the airfoil was changed for this version of the Sharon.

That's great that there are folks out there making parts for XC ships. If you have the knowledge, experience and time to "pick and choose" the parts of your plane, that might be a fun way to go.

For a lot of folks, the trend is still to buy a plane, mount the radio and go fly. This glider caters to that crowd.

Mike

Originally Posted by TrekBiker

Mike,

I have a couple questions about the Sharon 4.2.

Is the wing the same as the Sharon 3.7 (other than planform). Is the airfoil SD7037 at the root and joiner then transition to the RG15 to the tip? or does it transition to RG15 from root to joiner and then stock RG15 from joiner to tip? or do I have that backwards? Is there any washout?

I've been impressed with how the Sharon 3.7 flies in TD contests and its ability to fly at higher wing loadings and still do well in low saves. Its also very fast. Plus the airfoils are not proprietary and could easily be copied and the planform scaled up in a home build project. The Pike Perfect and Xplorer would also make great XC ships scaled up but not sure if its possible to find the coordinate files and other details of the wing design. Most of us are not aeronautical engrs so scaling up proven designs makes sense (and maybe slightly tweaking them?)

As far as not having the time to scratch build there are people willing to subcontract for wing building etc. Super Supra #9 cost Bill around $1600 in all with Les Horvath cutting the cores, Dominic Bayani bagging the wing/tail and Greg Norsworthy and Bill building the GJ fuse from a borrowed mold. But #9 is an all carbon wing and Bill's convinced he can get the cost down using less carbon. I think Greg told me he has built scratch XC gliders for around $500 but he's doing all the work himself and probably not a whole lot of carbon in those designs. There are some fuses being built for XC sized ships that may come on the market. Les Horvath does an incredible job with foam cutting, they are about as close to perfect as foam cutting gets (Les does all of Dr. Drela's cores). Cutting the cores is one thing I think most people thinking of scratch building would shy away from.

Ideally it would be great to see all sorts of different design ideas coming to life. Maybe even some short kits made available someday (XCBD, Ascendant, etc).

Steve

Ok,... just looked at the Soaring USA site and found some clues. The Sharon 3.7 is 7037/RG15 but the tip panels are interchangeable with the Space Profi F3B which is a thinned RG15 wing. This tells me the 3.7 is SD7037 at root transitioning to a thinned RG15 at the joiner and thinned RG15 from joiner to tip. The Sharon 4.2 also shows as being SD7037/RG15 on the website so maybe its the same only stretched in span. This could be an interesting wing for Greg's XFLR5 analysis. Problem is, how thinned is the RG15 and is the SD7037 also thinned. I remember the 7037 from my days flying a Sapphire and I dont remember it being very fast or all that good in wind. Fantastic thermaller though. Maybe they modified it a little.

Steve

Originally Posted by yyz

Steve, Steve, Steve.... This thread is only about chord width!

Seriously though, I have asked Bob from Soaring USA to contact Valenta to determine what the airfoils are on this newer, larger wing. I could be wrong but the root, mid-span break and tip airfoils do not look like the SD7037 or RG15. They look way more modern in that they are thinner w/ much less camber.

Again, to my eyes the sections used look like a good fit for XC work. It will be fun to fly it at both ends of the weight range to see how the run and climb hold up.

The article in Aufwind that I mentioned earlier commented that the airfoil was redesigned for the 4200 and that the "dynamic" (hauling ass on the slope) performance was very good. Not sure what they were comparing that to but it's interesting to note that the airfoil was changed for this version of the Sharon.

That's great that there are folks out there making parts for XC ships. If you have the knowledge, experience and time to "pick and choose" the parts of your plane, that might be a fun way to go.

For a lot of folks, the trend is still to buy a plane, mount the radio and go fly. This glider caters to that crowd.

Mike

My money is on "not an SD7037". It looks much more like a modern F3B airfoil.

Originally Posted by TrekBiker

Ok,... just looked at the Soaring USA site and found some clues. The Sharon 3.7 is 7037/RG15 but the tip panels are interchangeable with the Space Profi F3B which is a thinned RG15 wing. This tells me the 3.7 is SD7037 at root transitioning to a thinned RG15 at the joiner and thinned RG15 from joiner to tip. The Sharon 4.2 also shows as being SD7037/RG15 on the website so maybe its the same only stretched in span. This could be an interesting wing for Greg's XFLR5 analysis. Problem is, how thinned is the RG15 and is the SD7037 also thinned. I remember the 7037 from my days flying a Sapphire and I dont remember it being very fast or all that good in wind. Fantastic thermaller though. Maybe they modified it a little.

Steve

I spent quite a while typing a long, erudite response to your post Nestinator. In the end I erased it all. Here it is in a nutshell:

Small chord wins in some situations. The XCBD is pretty tough to beat on some days. If the Valenta Sharon 4000 is well designed and clean, it could be a formidable opponent.

Originally Posted by yyz

Spot on and well said! Call Bob at Soaring USA about the chord and pricing please.

Mike

9.75 'ish"

1302 sq in

165"

AR = 20.9:1

unballasted wt = 101 oz (11.2 oz/ft WL)

WL = 19.5 oz/ft at FAI max 11 lbs

L/D should be impressive.

Did you get a chance to fly this bird yet? I was going to order the Aufwind issue but its sold out. Couldn't find where to order the single article, guess I'll email them.

This info is not really pertinent to the Sharon 4.2 but since people are wondering what the Sharon Pro 3.7 airfoils are, I'll relate that.

The Sharon is SD7037 at the root and starts the transition to RG 15 at the center section flap bays rather abruptly so that it is fully RG 15 by the end of the panel. You can see this while looking at the wing from the trailing edge.
The tips are fully RG 15.

This sort of airfoil mixing I supect would be a disaster but it seems to work well in the real world as the Sharon is still competitive although there are newer planes that clearly have an edge.

What I would like to know is if YYZ has flown his 4.2 yet?

I just finished mine and have put a few flights on it. I can't speak about it from a competitive angle because I don't compete. I mainly fly slope and that's where my interest with this plane comes in. I wanted something big that was easy and calming to fly. When I maiden a plane I land fairly quick because of nerves and what not. I found myself resetting my timer as this was so much fun to fly. It is a relaxing change to some of the heavy demanding or aerobatic slopers I fly. A friend made the perfect statement in one word after watching it fly... "Majestic"

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