Help! New project. DLG flying wing

[cdfigueredo]

Hello, guys.
I've been looking for a model for flying in the wind for a while. Many have advised me to fly wings like the FT versa wing. But I'm really excited about the idea of building a DLG. I was really worried about the fact that I couldn't find carbon rods here to build the fuselage, so I decided to look for a solution. And that's when I found the DLG flying wings.

I found this wing: HobbyKing Bird Plane DLG and it seemed easy to reproduce using EPP. I decided to make the plans using the same wing shape but scaling it up to 1m wingspan because my servos are bigger and my electronics heavier.

The smaller battery i have is a 3S 800mAh 73g. I know it is not the ideal but it is what i have. Also i don;t have any BEC so i am planing to use a 18A ESC. The whole electronic weights 122g plus the RX 6.5g will be 128.5g just for the electronics.


I cut the wings yesterday. It is only 55g. but i need to add two wood spars for each wing so it would be a necessary weight added.


I have a lot of doubts, so I would appreciate all the help you can give me. It's my first glider and I want it to go as well as possible.

 

[cdfigueredo]

Some questions i have in mind

• Would it be advisable to add some dihedral, bearing in mind that I will only use wood to reinforce the wings?
• Will dihedral affect the launch?
• thinking that it could be too heavy due to my electronics, wouldn't it be advisable to add a central section to enlarge the wing?

 

[Piotrsko]

Some questions i have in mind

• Would it be advisable to add some dihedral, bearing in mind that I will only use wood to reinforce the wings?
• Will dihedral affect the launch?
• thinking that it could be too heavy due to my electronics, wouldn't it be advisable to add a central section to enlarge the wing?

wood spars are easier to build flat. A layer of fine light lingerie cloth glued between the wing panels will also help.

Diehederal affects everything, but is not needed on a flying wing. All my planes without rudder servo control are flat wings generally bank and yank 2 channel

Building light is a learned science. The first will always be heavy, the rest get lighter as you progress. Heavy just will not thermal as well and will fly faster or not as long duration.

 

[cdfigueredo]

I finished the wings yesterday, just need to find the way to join them. See the wing root airfoil... not sure if it is a good one.


Tail and part of the nose made of depron. I also add a wood reinforcement to the tail.


The wings weigh 84g with the wood spars reinforcements.


97g by adding the fuselage and tail pieces.


And 234g with the electronic and 264g adding 3 hot glue bars.


This is what i have so far. 264g is not to bad? or is it?

 

[cdfigueredo]

wood spars are easier to build flat. A layer of fine light lingerie cloth glued between the wing panels will also help.

What did u mean with "lingerie cloth"??? sorry for my english. maybe a picture could help me to undersatnd better.

Diehederal affects everything, but is not needed on a flying wing. All my planes without rudder servo control are flat wings generally bank and yank 2 channel

Ok, i will only add just a bit, maybe only 1 or 2 degrees.

Building light is a learned science. The first will always be heavy, the rest get lighter as you progress. Heavy just will not thermal as well and will fly faster or not as long duration.

I am trying to make my best, my materials are limited, so i am using what i can find. The original Hobbyking bird weigts only 125 g and mine will be about 264g. more than twice as much.

 

[cdfigueredo]

If i could only find a way to power the Rx without using any BEC or ESC... My Rx accepts bettewn 4.8-6V
But also, using a LIpo battery i can use the battery checker to know when is time to land. but using another kind of battery... how could i know the battery is almos empty????
The plane weigts just 97g more or less, it is just the battery-ESC combo that is pretty heavy....
Any ideas???

 

[cdfigueredo]

This is what i am thinking to do to secure the "the launching pin". I will make a kind of bag by adding a piece of plastic maybe from a bottle to the wing reinforcement spars and tightening it with thread and cyano. And then insert the rod and fixin it with hot glue. Will it hold?

 

[Piotrsko]

Sorry my attempts at substituting things for your country and adding that to spanish sometimes gets odd. In the usa, there is a material called Dacron that is typically used in female underthings like camisoles. It comes in various weights and colors and is very suited for model aircraft. I use it instead of model aircraft silk. Very cheap, heat shrinks, very strong, available in most fabric stores. Add a glue layer and it becomes almost fiberglass strong in tension.

I have used 4AAA batteries for years, and every so often "coin cells" like watch batteries. Most appliance / TV remote controls use a size called 2032 or 2035 which are universally available and cheap. 2-3 stacked will run a plane for at least 15 minutes. Same as your lighted plane. You will need to build a battery holder.

+200 grams just means it flies faster than a 100 gram plane of the same wing span. Rate of sink is the difference, but believe it or not, the heavier plane can have a lower sink rate. You wont know until it's trimmed properly. In Theory, you might not get the same height on launch, but that's relative again, also.

Worry less, fly more. Your builds are better than mine, I would have to cheat to beat you in a contest

 

[cdfigueredo]

Sorry my attempts at substituting things for your country and adding that to spanish sometimes gets odd. In the usa, there is a material called Dacron that is typically used in female underthings like camisoles. It comes in various weights and colors and is very suited for model aircraft. I use it instead of model aircraft silk. Very cheap, heat shrinks, very strong, available in most fabric stores. Add a glue layer and it becomes almost fiberglass strong in tension.

Don't worry, it is fun sometimes to breack my head trying to decode what people are trying to say. it is a clasic non-english native issue .I think I know what kind of fabric you mean... it would be easy to get some old clothes, because there are no specialty shops here that sell fabrics... What glue do you use to apply it? White glue? Getting resins for me is not an option.

I have used 4AAA batteries for years, and every so often "coin cells" like watch batteries. Most appliance / TV remote controls use a size called 2032 or 2035 which are universally available and cheap. 2-3 stacked will run a plane for at least 15 minutes. Same as your lighted plane. You will need to build a battery holder.

4 AAA batteries I think they would weigh more than my 3s 800mAh battery. But really everything here is excessively expensive unfortunately. I was thinking to about usign an old cellphone battery but i need to figure out how to charge it.

+200 grams just means it flies faster than a 100 gram plane of the same wing span. Rate of sink is the difference, but believe it or not, the heavier plane can have a lower sink rate. You wont know until it's trimmed properly. In Theory, you might not get the same height on launch, but that's relative again, also. Worry less, fly more.

I get it... it is just a matter of try and error. I need to finsih it and go to the field.

Your builds are better than mine, I would have to cheat to beat you in a contest

Thank you very much for your kind words, i am still learnig yet. There is a log way yet.

 

[Piotrsko]

Cellphone batteries are generally the same as model airplane batteries, use the same chargers you have, just do it outside for safety.

White glue works but it is not bend resistant. Paint, polyurethane, varnish , shellac as long as it doesn't melt the foam and adheres well.

 

[cdfigueredo]

Cellphone batteries are generally the same as model airplane batteries, use the same chargers you have, just do it outside for safety.

White glue works but it is not bend resistant. Paint, polyurethane, varnish , shellac as long as it doesn't melt the foam and adheres well.

I think it must be white glue. i don;t think i can find anything else here.

 

[Crawford Bros. Aeroplanes]

Many competition DLGs weigh well over 300g, yours is fine. My slope glider weighs over 500g, it's designed for 15+ kt winds but still has a decent sink rate if it gets going fast enough. If you really want a lighter battery try getting a few 1s, I have a few 205mahs that I use for lighter aircraft. Running two in tandem gives plenty of power but even one will run servos just fine. If you can check what your receiver is rated for, you don't want to brown out when the battery gets low.

Something like this with a JST 1.0 connector can plug straight into the Rx:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy...494&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

These are smaller and lighter, but the JST 2.0 connector will need an adapter to plug into the Rx:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy...636&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

Adapter:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/2s-xh-b...985&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

A word of advice, don't order from Hobbyking right now. The whole virus scare means they're having trouble shipping overseas. I was just using them as an example because I knew where to find things there.

 

[cdfigueredo]

Many competition DLGs weigh well over 300g, yours is fine. My slope glider weighs over 500g, it's designed for 15+ kt winds but still has a decent sink rate if it gets going fast enough.

Thans for the information. Looks like i am not too bad with the wight.

If you really want a lighter battery try getting a few 1s, I have a few 205mahs that I use for lighter aircraft. Running two in tandem gives plenty of power but even one will run servos just fine. If you can check what your receiver is rated for, you don't want to brown out when the battery gets low.

Something like this with a JST 1.0 connector can plug straight into the Rx:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy...494&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

These are smaller and lighter, but the JST 2.0 connector will need an adapter to plug into the Rx:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy...636&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

Adapter:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/2s-xh-b...985&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

A word of advice, don't order from Hobbyking right now. The whole virus scare means they're having trouble shipping overseas. I was just using them as an example because I knew where to find things there.

I appreciate the suggestions and links. Unfortunately where I live I cannot order online . If I had that option, everything would be easier

 

[Crawford Bros. Aeroplanes]

I appreciate the suggestions and links. Unfortunately where I live I cannot order online . If I had that option, everything would be easier

Ah, I was just showing examples so you knew what to look for.

 

[cdfigueredo]

Ah, I was just showing examples so you knew what to look for.

I know , i know.

 

[bracesport]

Hi there,

Love the wing - yes you can save weight with a smaller battery and no ESC (you can use a small BEC to limit the voltage or go direct with the correct voltage) - for the throwing peg you can glue some drywall fibre tape onto the FB and glue a popsicle stick through that (either laminate the tape between layers or use tape either side of the FB).

Will it fly - yes it will - it will be a great slope soarer but without tail authority, it might not launch DLG style as well as a conventional DLG without rolling over a bit - time will tell!

please make some video!

Regards,
Phil

Hello, guys.
I've been looking for a model for flying in the wind for a while. Many have advised me to fly wings like the FT versa wing. But I'm really excited about the idea of building a DLG. I was really worried about the fact that I couldn't find carbon rods here to build the fuselage, so I decided to look for a solution. And that's when I found the DLG flying wings.

 

[cdfigueredo]

Hi there,

Love the wing - yes you can save weight with a smaller battery and no ESC (you can use a small BEC to limit the voltage or go direct with the correct voltage) - for the throwing peg you can glue some drywall fibre tape onto the FB and glue a popsicle stick through that (either laminate the tape between layers or use tape either side of the FB).

Will it fly - yes it will - it will be a great slope soarer but without tail authority, it might not launch DLG style as well as a conventional DLG without rolling over a bit - time will tell!

please make some video!

Regards,
Phil

View attachment 163121

Thank you very much for your response to the thread Phill, I love your work and I follow it very closely. In fact, I started this project because I fell in love with your DLGs but I can't build one. I wish I could have a supply of cabon rods.

This little wing may not be very good at gliding but I just want it to be fun.

Yesterday I did some experiments using a AAA battery holder for a total of 4.5V and it seems that it can power the Rx well, but one of the batteries was discharged and went off right away. I have to buy new batteries and try it out. I don't have any batteries smaller than 3s 800mAh, and I can't get any BECs either unfortunately .

I have already solved the problem of the throwing peg using the solution I had in mind. It seems to work well, it's quite strong. the peg is removable, and can be swapped from one wing to the other.My wife has seen me build it and wants it for herself, but she is left-handed, so she will need to exchange the throwing peg. I'd rather stick it in place because I'm afraid it will lose pressure over time and become loose. Could I make two throwing pegs and stick them on both wings, left for me and right for my wife?

You're right, time will tell, it's just a matter of going for a test drive. Thank you very much for the advice. Now I'll post some updates from yesterday.

Carlos.

 

[cdfigueredo]

This is how i am holding the throwing peg. There are two wooden rods, one above and one below the wing. Both wings can accept the throwing peg. Could I make two throwing pegs and stick them on each wing? I'd like to glue them together to add a little extra strength.
The wing is 95g.

 

[cdfigueredo]

The difference between using the 3s 800mAh battery+18A ESC and the 3AAA battery holder is 54g. It would be a good option, but I really need to buy new AAA batteries to test the theory. Still, I'm worried about how to determine the flight time before my Rx runs out of power.


And this is the assembled wing plus the electronics and some parts of the fuselage and a hot glue stick. Exactly 200g.

 

[MrSandyWilly]

The difference between using the 3s 800mAh battery+18A ESC and the 3AAA battery holder is 54g. It would be a good option, but I really need to buy new AAA batteries to test the theory. Still, I'm worried about how to determine the flight time before my Rx runs out of power.
View attachment 163137 View attachment 163138

And this is the assembled wing plus the electronics and some parts of the fuselage and a hot glue stick. Exactly 200g.
View attachment 163139

This is not a typical flying wing then, I can see.