slope soaring

Crawford Bros. Aeroplanes

Legendary member
Just finished painting, might try to fly this weekend weather and schedule permitting.
IMG_20200128_222459.jpg
 

Crawford Bros. Aeroplanes

Legendary member
@Crawford Bros. Aeroplanes - you glider is looking nice and will fly well in a light breeze - with more weigh you can trade lift for speed, but you need a bit more strength - everything is a tradeoff! :D
The last one weighed about 50g less and sloped fine in 14kt winds, I think I have the strength to add a bit more ballast if I need to. We tend to have decent winds year round but it should be able to thermal too. I don't have a way to launch it though, can't exactly DLG it and there's no room for a tow release, but that's not what I designed it for.
 

thenated0g

Drinker of coffee, Maker of things
Mentor
check the voltage rating of your servos and RX. Most servos top out at 5-6v. I know that most frsky rx can take up to 10v. You can get some higher end servos that will work at higher voltages like the $40 kst servos im putting in my big plank can do 8.4v so i am going with a 2s lipo setup.

On most of my previous setups i just get a 4 or 5 cell cell nimh pack (1.2v per cell for 5-6v) and run that straight to servos and rx.
1100-2200mah
 

Crawford Bros. Aeroplanes

Legendary member
check the voltage rating of your servos and RX. Most servos top out at 5-6v. I know that most frsky rx can take up to 10v. You can get some higher end servos that will work at higher voltages like the $40 kst servos im putting in my big plank can do 8.4v so i am going with a 2s lipo setup.

On most of my previous setups i just get a 4 or 5 cell cell nimh pack (1.2v per cell for 5-6v) and run that straight to servos and rx.
1100-2200mah
I'm running a Spectrum AR410... Probably a no.
 

Jackson T

Elite member
check the voltage rating of your servos and RX. Most servos top out at 5-6v. I know that most frsky rx can take up to 10v. You can get some higher end servos that will work at higher voltages like the $40 kst servos im putting in my big plank can do 8.4v so i am going with a 2s lipo setup.

On most of my previous setups i just get a 4 or 5 cell cell nimh pack (1.2v per cell for 5-6v) and run that straight to servos and rx.
1100-2200mah
How heavy do your NiMH receiver packs weigh?
 

Crawford Bros. Aeroplanes

Legendary member
Took my dinner up to the La Sierra trailhead the other day, somebody was flying a big F3J glider. I'm pretty sure it was an Orca. I watched him for about 45 minutes before he went home.

IMG_20200323_183903.jpg

I really wish I brought my real camera, my phone's a little grainy.

Got me inspired to make another sailplane. This one will be a lot sportier than the Petrel, I'm doing a pod and boom fuselage and a V-tail. I'm running it off a 1300 mah 3s that weighs 1/3 as much as the big 4s I run the Petrel on. The Petrel is great for steady winds, 8 oz/sq ft wing loading isn't bad for a sloper but I want to go just a bit lighter to be able to soar in smaller slopes and lighter winds, and maybe be able to thermal too. I'm calling it the Aeronaut. Partial length wood spar, carbon fiber boom, 2ch (for now), 2m wingspan. Should be a fun project, I'm just waiting for the spar to dry.

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