Winglet
Well-known member
I've been fooling around with the FT Simple Soarer since early this spring. It was one of the few FT airplanes I hadn't built, so on a whim I cut one out. I like gliders and I like simple so thought it might be fun?
In the beginning my SS actually made it's maiden flight as a chuck glider gracefully gliding across my front yard a couple of times with it's glider nose. (I couldn't resist) I had full intention of adding a radio and sloping it but just for fun decided to stick one of my swappable power pods on it just to see how it really flew. Well....that didn't ever work. The stock power pod isn't long enough. The correct center of gravity cannot be achieved without adding a ton of weight to the nose. It is simply way to short. (the stock pod also looks funny)
It didn't take long and I had a power pod that was longer in the nose and balanced my glider perfectly with a 800mah battery.
The little motor glider flew really well. Nothing exotic for sure but fun and I hooked up with thermals on a regular basis. Pretty great for 3 bucks worth of foam!
FT Sparrow- What does and FT Sparrow have in common with a FT Simple Soarer? Nothing really. Except, I built a couple of Sparrows and the thought crossed my mind to build a longer wing and attempt to soar the Sparrow. I tried it and it wasn't great. I took the experimental extended Sparrow wing off the Sparrow and quickly forgot about it.
The happy accident part- A few days ago I was looking at my well used SS wing. Pretty bunged up and needing repair or replacement. Then I remembered the experimental Sparrow glider wing. It only took a few rubber bands to attach it to the SS fuselage and I was all set to test fly this thing. It flies really really well! I am not sure exactly why? It has a much shorter span and has less cord. No polyhedral, just a modest amount of dihedral. Attached is a photo of the new smaller wing next to the original one. It really is quite the improvement over the original.
The SS with the new wing went to the club field with me Saturday and preformed well next to a couple of other much bigger gliders and a Radian. Okay, the Radian did a little better but I did really well with my 3 dollar creation. It was a weak lift day but I didn't have to work too hard to get about 30 minutes out of the battery. On a good day, sky is the limit!
Here are a few photos go give you the idea. I won't be posting plans. Don't have any but you can do this. From the photos it shouldn't be too difficult to see how I made the motor pod longer in front. I think it is roughly 2.5 inches longer than a stock one. Also, note the opening I made in the bottom of the pod for the battery. Just Velcros in. Simple as dirt. You can't overheat anything with this setup.
The wing. You can print the plans for the FT Sparrow if you don't have them already. I just extended the wings at the center section and I tapered the tips a little for something I just thought looked nice. My wing just happens to be about 51 inches long. If I build another I would probably make it maybe 54?
A few more specs on mine.
Building material- Ross Foam Board from Wal-mart. (Don't use Elmers from Wal-mart too heavy)
Turnigy D2826/6 2200 KV motor with a APC 6x4e propeller
Some old recycled 20amp esc I had laying around
800mah 3 cell battery G-Force from ValueHobby.com
The little bitty 4 channel receiver from www.valuehobby.com Yes, works great at spec altitude with my DX-6 Transmitter
2 of those really cheap blue colored 9gram servos
This has been a really fun ongoing project that has produced a really good flying airplane for practically no investment in materials or time. This is Flite Test at its' best.
In the beginning my SS actually made it's maiden flight as a chuck glider gracefully gliding across my front yard a couple of times with it's glider nose. (I couldn't resist) I had full intention of adding a radio and sloping it but just for fun decided to stick one of my swappable power pods on it just to see how it really flew. Well....that didn't ever work. The stock power pod isn't long enough. The correct center of gravity cannot be achieved without adding a ton of weight to the nose. It is simply way to short. (the stock pod also looks funny)
It didn't take long and I had a power pod that was longer in the nose and balanced my glider perfectly with a 800mah battery.
The little motor glider flew really well. Nothing exotic for sure but fun and I hooked up with thermals on a regular basis. Pretty great for 3 bucks worth of foam!
FT Sparrow- What does and FT Sparrow have in common with a FT Simple Soarer? Nothing really. Except, I built a couple of Sparrows and the thought crossed my mind to build a longer wing and attempt to soar the Sparrow. I tried it and it wasn't great. I took the experimental extended Sparrow wing off the Sparrow and quickly forgot about it.
The happy accident part- A few days ago I was looking at my well used SS wing. Pretty bunged up and needing repair or replacement. Then I remembered the experimental Sparrow glider wing. It only took a few rubber bands to attach it to the SS fuselage and I was all set to test fly this thing. It flies really really well! I am not sure exactly why? It has a much shorter span and has less cord. No polyhedral, just a modest amount of dihedral. Attached is a photo of the new smaller wing next to the original one. It really is quite the improvement over the original.
The SS with the new wing went to the club field with me Saturday and preformed well next to a couple of other much bigger gliders and a Radian. Okay, the Radian did a little better but I did really well with my 3 dollar creation. It was a weak lift day but I didn't have to work too hard to get about 30 minutes out of the battery. On a good day, sky is the limit!
Here are a few photos go give you the idea. I won't be posting plans. Don't have any but you can do this. From the photos it shouldn't be too difficult to see how I made the motor pod longer in front. I think it is roughly 2.5 inches longer than a stock one. Also, note the opening I made in the bottom of the pod for the battery. Just Velcros in. Simple as dirt. You can't overheat anything with this setup.
The wing. You can print the plans for the FT Sparrow if you don't have them already. I just extended the wings at the center section and I tapered the tips a little for something I just thought looked nice. My wing just happens to be about 51 inches long. If I build another I would probably make it maybe 54?
A few more specs on mine.
Building material- Ross Foam Board from Wal-mart. (Don't use Elmers from Wal-mart too heavy)
Turnigy D2826/6 2200 KV motor with a APC 6x4e propeller
Some old recycled 20amp esc I had laying around
800mah 3 cell battery G-Force from ValueHobby.com
The little bitty 4 channel receiver from www.valuehobby.com Yes, works great at spec altitude with my DX-6 Transmitter
2 of those really cheap blue colored 9gram servos
This has been a really fun ongoing project that has produced a really good flying airplane for practically no investment in materials or time. This is Flite Test at its' best.
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