A new world of knowledge to explore.

[jwk]

Hello all.

I've only just discovered the world of model aircraft after stumbling across an F1D video by chance on youtube. I think it was the Flitetest interview with Joshua Finn. I was captivated by the grace and restraint of the building process. This was two weeks ago and I've been trying my hand at it since, just teaching myself about the materials. I rushed out and bought some balsa wood and a tube of glue. Here is my first attempt at building a frame from scratch. I based the design on a white heron I saw on the river by my house, here in New Zealand. I wanted the centre of the main wing to be rigid and the tips to be flexible, which is why I designed the laterals to bisect the ribs for strength and then to have an unreinforced space toward the tip. I'm sure it wouldn't fly, but it was very fun to apply what I've managed to learn these last two weeks anyhow.

I've been looking for resources/info/communities this last week and hopefully i have found one here.

Anyhow, this is all just to say hello and I look forward to learning more about the world of flight. Seems limitless.

 

[Merv]

Welcome to the forums

 

[Obi-Wan B.O.B.]

Welcome! I love that design and I could see it either a lovely sculpture, or, if covered in a thing clear film or white tissue, a sculpture that would double as an indoor glider.

 

[jwk]

Welcome! I love that design and I could see it either a lovely sculpture, or, if covered in a thing clear film or white tissue, a sculpture that would double as an indoor glider.

Thank you, the long-term intention is to make gliders, so that was guiding this design.

What is the lightest gsm washi tissue that would suit covering an airframe? The lightest I've found is 1.6gsm but that looks very porous. Is there a lower limit of thickness that is appropriate?

 

[jwk]

Oversharing most likely, but below is my design process. You can see how much of the process is speculation. All of it, frankly.

In the last image you can see my intent for this project. I'd like to make gliders that are able to be launched outdoors. I'm not concerned about getting them back. I love the idea of making something beautiful and giving it away to chance. This is why I think a tissue is my preferred covering, as it is biodegradable. This is also why I'm not too concerned with the long-term durability of the craft. I'd like to design it to make one long flight. This is why I wanted to include an element of passive stabilisation with the flexible wing tips.

My design process is intuitive and visual. Is there a way to visualise/calculate the centre of lift? For a glider should the centre of mass be forward of the centre of lift? So many questions.

 

[Obi-Wan B.O.B.]

Most washi I’ve come across would be too heavy, but I’m more familiar with the Japanese paper used in kite making. Traditional for balsa models would be tissue. They guys making super-delicate indoor endurance fliers use some exotic clear film. So…..

Sculpture: washi would be lovely.
Flying machine: white tissue would be elegant.