Aerodynamics question

[Marki Mark]

I am building the FT Explorer from scratch and I ran into a small problem. My foamboard is not big enough to cut out an entire wing from this build. If I make each of the wings 5cm (2 inch) shorter I can make it. Will this small difference in wing span (10cm/4 inch total) affect my plane's performance by a lot? Alternatively I could make the wing out of two seperate parts which would be a bit less strong.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DamoRC]

At first blush, I think you will be okay with an 8% reduction in the 57inch wingspan on a plane that will weigh approx 1.5 lbs all up. So go ahead. And on the upside, it will roll faster.

DamoRC

 

[Marki Mark]

At first blush, I think you will be okay with an 8% reduction in the 57inch wingspan on a plane that will weigh approx 1.5 lbs all up. So go ahead. And on the upside, it will roll faster.

DamoRC

Haha thanks! I doubt that the faster roll will do me good since its my first plane/flight. On the other hand, crashing is part of the learning process.

 

[Flying Monkey fab]

2 inches will not make any significant difference. It will stall a tad bit sooner. About the same difference between a good clean build and a sloppy one.

 

[Craftydan]

. . . it's an "Explorer".

This is *LITERALLY* the reason Josh designed this plane -- to answer these kinds of questions. I say, go for it with gusto

 

[quorneng]

Marki Mark
Remember it is wing area rather than span that has the primary effect on how the plane will perform. If you can keep close to the same wing area (by increasing its width) then the performance will be little effected.
As your first plane/flight I would strongly recommend keeping the full area as a higher speed (including crashing) is the one thing you do not want!

 

[Flying Monkey fab]

Remember it is wing area rather than span that has the primary effect on how the plane will perform

True and not true. Wing area along with total weight determs wing loading but aspect ratio is important as well. All is compromise depending on what the designer wants.
Anyway these things are extremely lightly loaded so I really don't think leaving off two inches is going to be a deal.

 

[Pigfarm1403]

At one point I ended up taking 4inches off the wingspan of my explorer......but not intentionally lol

 

[Hai-Lee]

2 inches will not make a great deal of difference but if you are worried about it just glue the extra wing span in 2 pieces, (one on each end of the wing. The loading at the wing tip is minimal and so it will just be a matter of whether your ability to glue the pieces will be strong enough.

I believe it will be by a long way!

Have fun!

 

[jajefan]

Judging by the results of this video, I would say that you will not have any problem cutting off 2 inches from the tips