|
|
|
Allan,
Nice to hear from you directly. (Are you the guy in the 8Mb video ? :-D) I've actually just finished a plane with the S3021 section, I find it's quite slippery, admittingly, it's working on about 8.5oz/ft.sq. My first design was going to be a 1m span, I've already got a few wings built using the S3021 at this size (120mm chord). One thing I've just been asking in the IRC/chat channels is about the grip point on the Gambler, there seems to be none as such, rather just a firm hold on the tip does the trick. ... oh, does one have to use a gyro in the Gambler? As for the couple-of-weeks Airmail service, it does tend to make you wonder why one even bothers with 'Airmail' :-D Regards. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Iron on CF
I get my iron-on carbon fibre tape from Blackburn Models, Charlie.
They do a great mail order service, and the tape is not expensive, at around £1.25 per metre... or something like that. ( my memory is awful ! ) Their balsa is cheap, too ! It is an inch wide and can easily be stripped into more useful ( eg 3/16" or 1/4" wide ) strips. Fix it into position with a cool/warm iron. Practice 1st . . . Keven. |
|
Last edited by keven64; Mar 06, 2004 at 06:41 PM.
|
|
|
|
Hi Paul!
Let me answer your questions in order. 1) Yes, that's me in the 8mb video. Photographer was a club 'mate' at our club field during our informal Wednesday night flying. That video I was sloping a 5mph wind bumping over a small line of short trees that rings our field, so that was not a 'dead air' flight. I have had many thermal flights with the Gambler though. 2) I'm flying the S3021 at 3.5-4oz/sq. ft. I'm sure at 8-ounces it does get more 'slick'. At my loading it's more of a gasbag. The nice thing is I find the Gambler handles quite a bit of wind with this airfiol since when you nose it into the wind the 'slickness' of the S3021 kicks in nicely. All that said, if you make your plane at 1.5-meter span, consider trying the Drela AG airfoils for built-up planes. They're listed on the Charles River site. 3) Grip is shown on page 13 of the Gambler manual in a photograph. The manual can be downloaded free from here: http://www.wrightbrothersrc.com/our_kits/gambler.htm There is no peg. The Gambler is SAL, not DLG. There are additional challenges putting a peg in balsa, plus the V-tail design won't hold up to peg-strength launches. Keep an eye on this forum for my crucirorm-tail, peg launch Gambler which I'm working on. Prototypes are at the laser cutter now. 4) Carbon fiber ribbon is not tow, it's CF in fixed width and thickness with a spider web of heat activated glue on it. The glue holds it together loosely. When ironed onto a balsa framework, the CF will stay in place until you put adhesive on it (I use thin CA). After the adhesive is applied the CF bonds to your airplane and adds strength. I use it on the Gambler on both sides of the spar and on the TE. I don't list it on my site, but I sell it by the foot (I need to work on my site a bunch right now). It's also available at most good hobby shops. This photo shows what it looks like close up: http://www.wrightbrothersrc.com/img/...iber_close.jpg 5) The Gambler doesn't use a Gyro, it uses a transmitter preset on the V-tail's rudder function. I'm hoping even this will be unnecessary on the cruciform tail version. 6) Airmail to 'down under' - yes, it's terrible the time it takes. If the time were quicker I'd make more sales to you 'blokes'. Ask any more questions here. I'm all for more balsa-made DLG planes out there! Allan |
|
Last edited by Allan Wright; Mar 07, 2004 at 09:26 AM.
|
|
|
|
Skybench Aero |
|
|
|
|
|
Allan,
First up, many thanks for taking the time to reply extensively. Having a business of my own here, I know how time can be hard to find. Good to see young(ish) people designing building balsa planes, I'm starting to wonder where all the kits are going these days. That said I suppose it's just a rolling revolution, in time there will be once more a lot of new kit suppliers (ie, Mountain Models as one example - and yourself). I think I'll start out with a 1m span SAL/HLG, it fits nicely onto my drawing board as well as my building board. I doubt it's going to be anything fantastic, but at least it'll get my appetite going. I'll check out those other sections when I move to a larger span. *downloads building guide* I see the grip now - okay, I can work with that. Exotic materials like CF in any form simply isn't commonly available around here - so it looks like I'll have to chase down some from the southern hobby stores - seems like my wing will fly apart without it. Glad to hear that I won't generally need a gyro, certainly I understand the dynamics of the launch (ugh, 3 years of mech engineering leaves a tortured soul), of course, translating the 'understanding' to a reality can sometimes still leave surprises. I'll have to check to see if my TX has a preset for things like that (JR Max 66). *checks manual* Nope, nothing in there which I think I can use. Closest I had was an elevator offset when flaps are activated. I also have a flap and gear switch but I can't couple them against the rudder. Oh well, maybe a new transmitter ;-). Incidently, I'm left-handed, using MODE1 (rudder on the left stick), so either I have to learn to launch with my right arm, or switch to mode 2 if I'm to manually hold the rudder on launch - this could be fun. Well, I'm going to go attack the drawing board.... first up design paramters are going to be; span: 1000mm type: simple poly chord: 120~130mm, constant chord with extended solid tips for a taper (yes, horribly simple I know - not to mention probably ugly) section: S3021 length: hrmm...must think about this, will probably err on the longer side to help compensate for the torque on launch ....aggg, the rest will come out as the pencil draws :-D Paul. |
|
|
|
|
|
Wood DLG - Time to design it
The Apogee is my favorite.
The attached photo shows just how much work I had put into meeting the 4.2 oz target weight. More in this link. Apogee photos I do think, and we may be starting a new thread here, that it is time to design a balsa DLG. I have asked some experts in the field, and got the 'it's too much work' answer. My autocad skills are not the best, but I do think that with a combined effort, some balsa and CF tubing we can have a rib-and-stick wing, solid tail, Terminator-like fuselage, and meet the target weight. Who's with me? |
|
|
|
|
|
Hey, I'm all for it - As for the nay-sayers of "It's too much work", well, for some of us it's less work to use balsa. I find foam and synthetics very irritating in a lot of respects. Also, there's the /pleasure/ of building - something which I think a lot of people forget in their rush to fly.
I'm in the process of already finishing up my fus, but there's nothing much to show for it yet; pictures are at; http://www.pldaniels.com/flying/cb-01 Paul. |
|
|
|
|
|
Paul,
Your fuselage looks great, and it more or less like what I have on my benchtop. What troubles me is that the SuperGee requires some thin airfoils and a lot of strength. Laser cut, no question about that and carbon spar for sure. Having said that, it may all be solved with carbon tubing and laser cutting the ribs. More to come... Tomer |
|
|
|
|
|
LB2 DLG
I built a new wing for my LB2 with the AG35-37 airfoils. It launches much higher than the S3014 and penetrates better as well. I can get launches of 60' with my arthritic wrist. In 2000 there was a one design HLG contest to commemorate Dave Thornburg in Phoenix. Everyone flew the Sunbird and Joe Wurts was getting heights of 70 - 80 ft. Dave Barker tip launched his stock Sunbird and was getting 50-60 ft heights. They flew very well, thermal great, and I am quite happy with my LB2. I hope to make a new fuse with a carbon boom and an aileron version soon.
There is a lot you can do with built up DLGs. Ray |
|
|
|
|
|
Tomer, well, no CF spars here, or anything else CF, just my boom. I had to go out and buy a $12 (AUD) replacement fusulage for a Lee Kittyhawk, then rip the CF boom off that. There simply was no other way to get a CF rod in this town (even the camping shops had none).
I was thinking of routing the control cables through the boom, but I couldn't work out how to sort things out so that the exits would align with the tail surfaces (I'm using a normal inverted-T tail. One person suggested making the wires exit out about 1" beyond the end and then doubling-back and hooking onto the control horns, sounded like a good idea, I might try it (though I am a little worried about metal fatigue at that sort of an angle). As for the wing - I've still not as yet decided on the section, but probably still a S3021, albiet, I'm starting to wonder if it'll have the right attributes for a HLG (I don't have a suitable switch on the TX to induce a rudder offset so I can do SAL or DLG). Paul. |
|
|
|
|
|
You wouldn't believe me if I told you that we have no fishing shop here :-(
This place is /barron/. The closest fishing spot that I am aware of is about 140km away. That said, there's a few places that sell some rods/reels, but not an actual tackle/repair shop. However, I know of a few in the town that is 140km away, so, when I go in there next I'll ask around. Thanks. |
|
|
|
||
|
Quote:
Check out the Related Construction Notes link on this page for how-tos on accurate airfoil sanding from the master, Dr. Drela. (Actually, the entire Apogee page is relevant to this thread.) Be well, Marc |
|
|
||