Dagger_117
RC Flyer
Very nice!
Old Fogey's Cousin...
- Thread starter roversgonemad
- Start date
roversgonemad
Member
Well, the verdict is in... and it's not good
My experienced pilot friend flew it and it has some pretty big issues. I am inexperienced enough that I was not really sure whether it really was that hard to fly or if I just suck that bad:black_eyed:
Here's the laundry list that needs to be addressed:
1. thrust angle. It yaws and pitches a lot based on throttle position. It has a little down thrust already, but it's definitely not enough. It also needs some side thrust, the yawing makes it hard to fly.
2. It appears to have uneven lift, i.e. it's always wanting to dip the port wing.
3. BAD stall characteristics! Because of the uneven lift and high weight, it really wants to roll over when it stalls.
When you combine the nearly 20 mph stall speed, the weight, and all the other quirks, it's a challenge.
Here's the plan:
1. New wing! Another inch of chord and maybe even a little more span. The new wing is also going to have a different airfoil. Frankly, I think this one needs a little more curvature on the top. I am going to try Bixler's method and cut and crease to make the shape, rather than peeling foam like the Armin wing. I will also stiffen the new wing a little better.
2. Lighter motor and battery. The 3530/14 is just too heavy. My wing loading is nearly 12 oz/ft^2, contributing to the high stall speed. It will go crazy fast with this motor, but frankly the speed is too much for the quirks.
I will keep this fuselage for now, but the wing is done... I'll report back with progress. I really hope to get the kinks worked out, because honestly, I like the aesthetics of this plane better than a lot of the other foam board planes.
My experienced pilot friend flew it and it has some pretty big issues. I am inexperienced enough that I was not really sure whether it really was that hard to fly or if I just suck that bad:black_eyed:Here's the laundry list that needs to be addressed:
1. thrust angle. It yaws and pitches a lot based on throttle position. It has a little down thrust already, but it's definitely not enough. It also needs some side thrust, the yawing makes it hard to fly.
2. It appears to have uneven lift, i.e. it's always wanting to dip the port wing.
3. BAD stall characteristics! Because of the uneven lift and high weight, it really wants to roll over when it stalls.
When you combine the nearly 20 mph stall speed, the weight, and all the other quirks, it's a challenge.
Here's the plan:
1. New wing! Another inch of chord and maybe even a little more span. The new wing is also going to have a different airfoil. Frankly, I think this one needs a little more curvature on the top. I am going to try Bixler's method and cut and crease to make the shape, rather than peeling foam like the Armin wing. I will also stiffen the new wing a little better.
2. Lighter motor and battery. The 3530/14 is just too heavy. My wing loading is nearly 12 oz/ft^2, contributing to the high stall speed. It will go crazy fast with this motor, but frankly the speed is too much for the quirks.
I will keep this fuselage for now, but the wing is done... I'll report back with progress. I really hope to get the kinks worked out, because honestly, I like the aesthetics of this plane better than a lot of the other foam board planes.
Dagger_117
RC Flyer
You could also try a similar wing that's on the old fogey...lots of lift there and you'll lose some weight not to mention slow that bad boy down a bit...just a thought
MrClean
Well-known member
Rats I was hoping it'd fly good. I think over there on that guys site he just posted, or I just saw the link to, a method to build an undercambered, high lift wing. He called it something else but it's undercambered. Basically your wing with a step in it. Or maybe it was someone here. It was late and I was perusing the Utubin. Let me check my history. Nope it was Wayne's RC and here it is
Feel like 'sperimenting?
Feel like 'sperimenting?
roversgonemad
Member
I might have to change the name to "Project Overkill"...
Number 1 above is taken care of, there is now a new wing! This wing has an eight inch chord and ten more inches of wingspan (now 50 inches of wingspan). My wing loading has gone from nearly 12 oz/ft^2 to just over 8 oz/ft^2. However, now the ratio of wing to tail surface is off a tad, and the fuselage is proportionally shorter as well. I don't know if this will adversely affect the aerodynamics.
I built this wing using the same method as the wings on the baby blender. I added a carbon fiber arrow as a spar. The last 10 inches on each end does not have the spar, but it is quite a bit stiffer than it was. No paint on this wing yet, but I don't know that I will have flying weather again until next weekend, so plenty of time to paint it.
The pictures make the wing look a bit like the ends droop, but it's actually quite flat. There will be less stability than a plane with dihedral, but it really couldn't be any less stable than it was before
I am going to see how it will fly with the heavy motor and battery and this bigger wing before I order the lighter motor and battery. I like to make one change at a time. The only concurrent change might be some thrust angle changes, but I will probably just take some washers with me when I fly it again, and adjust as I go.
EDIT: That undercamber wing is interesting. I wonder if it would fly inverted at all? It's certainly an interesting design. I have been considering some depron from the local hobby shop. They have some pretty nice foam, and it comes with free plane plans (at least that is what they told me).
Number 1 above is taken care of, there is now a new wing! This wing has an eight inch chord and ten more inches of wingspan (now 50 inches of wingspan). My wing loading has gone from nearly 12 oz/ft^2 to just over 8 oz/ft^2. However, now the ratio of wing to tail surface is off a tad, and the fuselage is proportionally shorter as well. I don't know if this will adversely affect the aerodynamics.
I built this wing using the same method as the wings on the baby blender. I added a carbon fiber arrow as a spar. The last 10 inches on each end does not have the spar, but it is quite a bit stiffer than it was. No paint on this wing yet, but I don't know that I will have flying weather again until next weekend, so plenty of time to paint it.
The pictures make the wing look a bit like the ends droop, but it's actually quite flat. There will be less stability than a plane with dihedral, but it really couldn't be any less stable than it was before
I am going to see how it will fly with the heavy motor and battery and this bigger wing before I order the lighter motor and battery. I like to make one change at a time. The only concurrent change might be some thrust angle changes, but I will probably just take some washers with me when I fly it again, and adjust as I go.
EDIT: That undercamber wing is interesting. I wonder if it would fly inverted at all? It's certainly an interesting design. I have been considering some depron from the local hobby shop. They have some pretty nice foam, and it comes with free plane plans (at least that is what they told me).
Last edited:
roversgonemad
Member
Note to self.... No more white wings! I flew this again today and it was nearly impossible to see the wing in the overcast sky. I flew it twice and it was much more manageable, but the weather conditions made it a handful!! Time to get some color on this wing before the next flight. Today, I could only tell if it was coming or going based on whether or not I could see two parts of the fuselage or one, i.e. top vs. bottom.... It's still REALLY fast, but lost some of the quirks. I think it still needs some thrust angle adjustment, but so far, so good. With no dihedral you have to put it where you want it, but it was more predictable.
Jghanson25
Junior Member
do you have plans for this plane? that would be so cool. i love his plane.
roversgonemad
Member
This was a terrible flier... No plans sorry. This was an early experiment that turned out quite badly. If/when I come up with a better version, I will post it.
MikeDeLuca
Member
Looks great, really like the paint scheme and would like ot see the plans as well. Great job.
