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I have a kit ready for a new home this week. It would have been done last week but I shifted priorities a little getting ready for the district 8 championships. The prototype Divergent and I did very well, taking first place in the contest and second place in the championship series.

Congrats Shawn....well done.

Thanks Ted, it's amazing how some simple changes make a big difference. Thursday before the contest I changed from a 20.5x13.5 prop to a 20x12 wide blade prop and added 20% more break. That made flying at a constant speed so much easier. With that in place I didn't feel as rushed on downlines. I was able to fly slower overall and had much better control of the box.

Good to know. I see where a couple of the top ten guys at the '19 WC ran a new Mejzlik 20x14EL-3 Blade. I suppose that's the same line of thinking.

Shawn, how many components have you pulled from that mold?? Time to make yourself a Keeper. Wax up the molds. Lay 2 layers of 3/4 ounce fabric and then put your usual layers of fabric under the core material. Add 2 layers of 6 ounce fabric. For core material, go to your junk box (or mine, I have plenty) and grab a few sheets of 3/32 in the 9 pound range. You will need to skyve them (cut the top sides at 45 degrees all around so the fabric will follow the wood). Lay on your usual fabric above the core, and put 2 or 3 more layers of 8 ounce fabric on top of that. Bag with perf (no peel ply) and vacuum soft at 6 to 8 inches. Join the halves and congratulate yourself on the 5 pound baseball bat you just made. Be sure to leave it in the mold for 3 extra days so it does not twist as it cures. Wrap it in bubble wrap and put it in the closet. Now, when you wear out your mold you have a new plug to make a new mold out of. You will thank me later.

Scott

Scott, that would be a great idea if I were making more of them. At this point I have pulled 4 fuselages. I also store the plug in the molds when not in use. I had hopes that it would have been more popular but it's probably the combination of being a bipe and a kit that keeps interest low. Working on the next generation already that may or may not go past prototype stage depending on how well it flies.

Shawn, just because I don't know, would the Divergent be suitable for a glow engine? I know glow has fallen out of flavor with the pattern guys, but maybe there would be one or two that would go glow with it???

Ken

Ken, If it were ordered specifically for glow I could add some additional CF to the nose section and modify the fuselage to have a chin cowl.

I would take the kit for sure if I donīt live in the other side of the pond. But I will be very glad to make one ot two if you share your drawings.Too pretty to get lost ...

The second Divergent with some small changes since the prototype has flown. The changes were lowering the stab position 1", reducing the rudder cord, increasing the rudder taper and increasing the rudder height. The last aerodynamic change was to add a ventral fin on the aft bottom of the fuselage. The revised fuselage layup resulted in a RTF weight of 4500 grams.

The new Divergent is just amazing in flight. After 6 flights the only adjustments I have made was to move the batteries as far back on the battery tray as possible. Still a bit too nose heavy. The tray will need to be removed and mounted 2" back from its original position. I also need to reduce the amount of right thrust.

In knife edge flight it has zero roll coupling and a very slight pull to the canopy. I attribute that pull to the forward CG. It also has a slight pull on uplines. By the 3rd flight I was flying through the AMA masters sequence in a respectable manner. The light weight together with running a PT 20x12W prop makes the downlines nice and slow. I'm very pleased with the end result.

Great looking bird. Even better, the changes are doing what you wanted them to do. Yes some tweaking, but that is to be expected.

Great job Shawn!!!

Ken

+1 Shawn.

The Divergent looks good. Sadly, I cannot think of a place where I'd keep a full size pattern plane - and I'm an ocean and more away.

Lookswise (is that a word?) the added ventral fin looks like an afterthough. Not sure if changing the entire fuselage shape back there would have negative effects, if there are future developments.

Are you serious about making a monoplane version? At the very least, it would be a unique look, compared with what else is out there.

Divergent takes Masters top 2 spots at the Molalla Oregon pattern contest. Well there was actually only two of us entered LOL. Respectable scores though. Looking forward to Medford late next month.