BTW, that is a brilliant balancing method. I'll set it up and use it right soon! The real goodie would be to set up an incidence meter so you could have the wing root at PRECISELY the optimum incidence angle.

Originally Posted by EdSoars

That may be all the incentive I need to build your suggested D-tube plus ribs.

I think that that would be a freaking cool wing. The D tube for solid color and flash and Koveral at framework for old world charm. You can stain the rib edges and that reads through the Koveral.

Of course there is some tricky alignment and coordination required to attach the D tube to the framework, but it is doable.

The real goodie would be to set up an incidence meter so you could have the wing root at PRECISELY the optimum incidence angle.

I sometimes lay a 6" level on top of the wing with a 1/4" block at the back end.

Kent, yes, the D tube + sunlit ribs would be lovely. I might save that structure for an E-powered wing for summer flat-field thermaling, but it will have to wait for shop time when I'm not burning up my budget on heating. A rocket stove mass heater is in the works at the moment, burning up my time.

I want to get a quickie in the air to compare to that lightweight, fast-building, sweet-flying, bounces-off-rocks, 54" Moth. My buddy Chris is a master plank-tuner, but the rest of us need something with a little less pitch sensitivity...if it will fly with the Moth.

The old Talus is 59" span, and is close to the Moth's wing loading, but it's a crude ship, with a rough airfoil, no twist, and it's getting pretty fuzzy on all the edges.

Still snowing... gonna be some time before flying happens again.

Originally Posted by Knoll53

The Plank 101 got rather bashed up last time out, so I took this opportunity to upgrade the elevons to kevlar hinges to finally end the sand intrusion problem. Tape hinges attract sand.............. Added some fine tuning to the elevon linkage by moving the clevis to the bottom hole on the servo, as all planks should be.

Also re-skin much of the wing with Sig Koverall, which is my favorite covering.

The re-kitted version requires some nose trim which is conveniently provided by a torpedo fishing weight. If only I could get the trim weight to glow and smoke, I'd really be getting somewhere.

As usual, I fly before I paint. As rough as it looks now, it should paint out nicely.

Nothing beats a fabric covered structure for beauty, just like in 1935..

With the hyper stall option for landings, I see no need for crow. Just give me full length elevons.

Plank 101 hyper stall landing (0 min 28 sec)

Plank 101 axial (0 min 33 sec)

That's some beautifully laminar air you soar in! Does a hyperstall landing work best when performed out of sight?

What differential do you use to get an axial roll? I'm not yet happy with the Tiger Moth's rolls.

Can't see the plane? It's a wide angle lens. The landing was 30' away.
Try setting youtube settings to 1440p and go full screen. The raw video is more clear than the youtube version.
You might be able to download it at this link It is not stable during the hyper stall, so you are throwing the stick all around just to keep the nose towards the ocean.

Currently this plane is way out of tune. It turns right instantly and barely turns left. I normally do not intentionally use diff. aileron on a plank. I do use down elevator during the inverted part though, which may affect something.

The elevons are full span now. I don't think that it would hyper stall with the partial span elevons.

I don't think that I will get my certificate for consecutive axials rolls any time soon. The big air in Los Banos is the perfect place to practice. Don't forget to set your youtube resolution to 1440p.

Plank 101 - Axial rolls 2 (2 min 30 sec)

I'm mighty picky about the landing attempts. Just as easy to fly through and go around again, unlike every thing else in life.

Plank 101 - Landings on the point (3 min 41 sec)

Here's 8 minutes of your life you can never get back again..............the warm up laps.

Classic Los Banos slopin - The warm up lap (9 min 41 sec)

Correction..............This is big air............and gusty too.
The unballasted Plank 101 handled the big air pretty well.

Los Banos - Plank 101 & FB (12 min 39 sec)