1.0m foam Pitcheron

[bracesport]

hi guys, well, another project popped up over the weekend - there was no wind to maiden my new slippery Pitcheron, so we went to the part with some chuck gliders and a 1.2m foam chuck glider we converted to ailerons and elevator (bank and yank) - I really wanted my son to have a go on the sticks with something light - well, he tried, and crashed tearing the wing in half (no problem back to the repair shop) - sadly this EPP foamy is a bit low in EPP quality and the ailerons were not big enough for good control, so I will add some CF flats and extend the ailerons in the rebuild!

We also have a second 1.0m EPP chuck glider that went through its paces - this one is much better in a crash - nevertheless, it is a bit boring in flight so after Xander asked if we could RC it, I thought why not Mack Pitcheron!

 

[bracesport]

First things first - some 3D printing!

This time I have printed a centre hub which envelops 2x 9g servos - there are some end caps which will be glued to the wings - these encapsulated will be driven by some 3D printed servo arms - the wing rod is 6mm FG and the wing tubes are 7.2mm CF arrows - there will be no visible servos.

Should be a quick build!

 

[Wildthing]

I like the way the servos are mounted, I think I would use metal gear servos though.

 

[bracesport]

yes metal gears would be better!

 

[bracesport]

I added the wing caps and cut out the channels for the wing rod - in this case I decided to cut right through the wing, hot glue the wing rod, and then cap the area with a slither of foam.

 

[bracesport]

a thin strip of EPS filled in the channels to finish the wing.

 

[bracesport]

What is not immediately obvious is that this means the glider is 'essentially' finished - everything we need to fly is in that wing hub and given we have the fuse, a fixed tail and Pitcheron wings we are done apart from digging out the battery and Rx cavity in the nose!

 

[Wildthing]

I love that wing

 

[FoamyDM]

It looks like the STL worked out perfect! And epp foamy would be a great starter glider!
I just procured a high-functioning printer and am now keenly aware of 3d printed and modelling items. Can't wait.

 

[bracesport]

@FoamyDM - it can be addictive!

 

[bracesport]

A simple task to slot the wing into the fuse - the servo wires are short so I could not feed the wires in through the wing slot into the nose while sliding in the wing at the same time - I cut a slit at the back of the wing slot and fed the wires and wing in from the back - then re-glued the slit - no problem!

I think I have the roll reversed - either I called it wrong in the video or I will need to reverse the mix!

 

[bracesport]

When we started out we had two gliders - this one was the one that Xander crashed - so today I put that back together as well.

First I cut off the tips so I could adjust the TE angle of the tips to accomodate extended ailerons - this wing had hardly any aileron control so I am hoping longer ailerons with do the trick - also, the wing was very floppy so I added a 3x1 CF flat to the underside and used a fibre tape strip on both the top and bottom surfaces - seems a whole heap better now!

I have been thinking these two could be contenders for flying off of our balcony in the right wind - we shall see!

 

[leaded50]

as a tip for such systems.. i found eg. Phoenix Models have a part called "Nose wheel arm", in div. dimensions that can be used for servoassist a tube. I got a few to use as level for a hidden elevator or aileron servo pushrod actuator.

 

[bracesport]

I corrected the throws for roll - they were indeed the wrong way around!

 

[bracesport]

so we decided to go fishing and then try our hand at sloping off of the beach - we had some success with the first fishing trip catching 5 little fellas (that we threw back) and then sloping off of the beach was awesome (to say the least) - we did not film the best flights as I got used to it towards the end, but Xander managed to catch a few videos on my phone in the middle - silly me I forgot I had my hat camera the whole time!

the 1.2m glider flew really well with the bigger ailerons - I added 300g of ballast and given the wind today could have added more - I don't think our position on the beach was perfect as although there was a slope up from the water it flattened out pretty quickly after that.

the 1.0m pitcheron was super sensitive and lost control very quickly - I feel like it's polyhedral wing is holding it back, and possibly could do with more wing chord - I decided not to push it and take it home in one piece - I will think on what 'tweaks' to make!

 

[Michael9865]

the 1.0m pitcheron was super sensitive and lost control very quickly - I feel like it's polyhedral wing is holding it back, and possibly could do with more wing chord - I decided not to push it and take it home in one piece - I will think on what 'tweaks' to make!

Your throws look like they could be tamed down. This link may help. I am not sure what expo he uses with his pitcheron glider.
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=39785285&postcount=164

looks like the fishing was a fun time.

 

[Wildthing]

With the whole wing moving I bet you need very little throw.

 

[bracesport]

@Michael763 @Wildthing - yes, I also need to check the 'max' throws and on this occasion I was running no expo! I am pretty sure on a regular slope they will both fly better - the beach was a bit optimistic first time out - however, in comparison the 1.2m glider flew much easier than the 1.0m Pitcheron!

I loved the beach flying especially as it is only two minutes from home!

 

[bracesport]

I am thinking I might remove one of the dihedrals - the 'LIDL' foam pitcheron that 'speedsterDEN' builds in Europe only has dihedral at the tips and also has in relative terms a bit more chord - so you never know I might fiddle with that too!

 

[Wildthing]

I am thinking I might remove one of the dihedrals - the 'LIDL' foam pitcheron that 'speedsterDEN' builds in Europe only has dihedral at the tips and also has in relative terms a bit more chord - so you never know I might fiddle with that too!

View attachment 176746

Before you tear that apart cut your throws in half and add 50% expo and just try gliding it in the park.