LAZY J
New member
Hi all!
Thought I would share my latest build of the FT Versa...
With a couple of weeks of holiday leave up my sleeve and some time planned on the coast coming up I thought I would put together a nice simple flying wing for some slope soaring with a power pod to follow later (if it survives ).
Slope soaring is a real passion of mine with flying wings in particular being something I am all too familiar with... I have found a 100 different ways to modify the trusty Windrider Bee (with varying levels of success and failure), have played with Zagi's and Wild Wings... have spent hours combating, DSing and dune gooning... in short, this particular build is something I am looking forward to!
To be honest when I first started to look at the FT Versa I really did not think much of it - I instantly wrote it off as too draggy and inefficient due to its simple flat bottom aerofoil... still, with curiosity getting the better of me I watched a couple of videos of it in action and was very much surprised by its performance!
Although obviously a great fun soarer built stock, with the idea of this little wing sold I got to work hatching a plan to perhaps squeezing a little more potential out of her.
The list of mods to come is as follows:
Extend the wing as much as a sheet of foam allows for a slight increase in wingspan (adds around a couple of inches), wing area and aspect ratio.
Remove all internal paper to allow for a more traditional curved aerofoil.
Work towards manipulating the foam board a touch for a more semi symmetrical aerofoil.
Replace foam spars with full length 5mm balsa spars of a reduced height giving around a 5 to 10% reduction in aerofoil thickness.
Replace standard foamboard winglets with more efficient higher aspect ratio 3mm balsa winglets.
Bottom hinge the elevons using the RTV silicone hinging technique.
Use covering film for a nice smooth surface finish.
Although I am not expecting massive gains from the above mods the combination of multiple small efficiency gains should add up to a marked improvement in performance... or at least I hope!
So here is where I am currently - all parts are cut, internal paper yet to be removed but all required bevels sanded in (45 degree on wing leading edge and elevons, 15 degree on trailing edge).
Thought I would share my latest build of the FT Versa...
With a couple of weeks of holiday leave up my sleeve and some time planned on the coast coming up I thought I would put together a nice simple flying wing for some slope soaring with a power pod to follow later (if it survives ).
Slope soaring is a real passion of mine with flying wings in particular being something I am all too familiar with... I have found a 100 different ways to modify the trusty Windrider Bee (with varying levels of success and failure), have played with Zagi's and Wild Wings... have spent hours combating, DSing and dune gooning... in short, this particular build is something I am looking forward to!
To be honest when I first started to look at the FT Versa I really did not think much of it - I instantly wrote it off as too draggy and inefficient due to its simple flat bottom aerofoil... still, with curiosity getting the better of me I watched a couple of videos of it in action and was very much surprised by its performance!
Although obviously a great fun soarer built stock, with the idea of this little wing sold I got to work hatching a plan to perhaps squeezing a little more potential out of her.
The list of mods to come is as follows:
Extend the wing as much as a sheet of foam allows for a slight increase in wingspan (adds around a couple of inches), wing area and aspect ratio.
Remove all internal paper to allow for a more traditional curved aerofoil.
Work towards manipulating the foam board a touch for a more semi symmetrical aerofoil.
Replace foam spars with full length 5mm balsa spars of a reduced height giving around a 5 to 10% reduction in aerofoil thickness.
Replace standard foamboard winglets with more efficient higher aspect ratio 3mm balsa winglets.
Bottom hinge the elevons using the RTV silicone hinging technique.
Use covering film for a nice smooth surface finish.
Although I am not expecting massive gains from the above mods the combination of multiple small efficiency gains should add up to a marked improvement in performance... or at least I hope!
So here is where I am currently - all parts are cut, internal paper yet to be removed but all required bevels sanded in (45 degree on wing leading edge and elevons, 15 degree on trailing edge).
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