Long time lurker first time caller here. I’ve got a Guillows Lancer I’m doing an RC build on. I’m using ToolJungtodie? (Username) build thread as guidance. I’m curious about the wing dihedral and was hoping him or someone could give me some ideas. I am greatly debating adding aileron control. And I was thinking about leaving the wing flat with just the “winglet” dihedral instead of the polyhedral wing shown on both the plans and his build thread. I do plan to add about 6” to the wing to make it fly better.
What would y’all do? I really want this one to be a nice flyer
"Nice" can mean different things to different people. What you will want to change will depend on what your version of "a nice flyer" is.
I have neither built or flown the Lancer, so everything that follows is a general statement about airplanes and not specific to the Lancer. People who have built and flown the plane will hopefully be able to give you more specific information.
Taking dihedral out of the center section will make the plane less able to return to straight flight on its own. You will have rudder control, so the plane won't need quite as much dihedral as it did in its free-flight form.
If you make a flatter wing and don't add ailerons, you may find that the plane doesn't turn as well anymore. Rudder-only ships rely on yaw-roll coupling to get them to bank into turns nicely.
If you do add ailerons, the flatter wing will probably be fine because you're no longer relying on that yaw coupling for a banked turn.
Adding wingspan will also make the roll more sluggish. That said, it will also lower the wing loading, letting the plane fly slower. THAT said, a really low wing loading means the plane will get tossed around like a rag doll by any kind of wind, so you limit yourself to flying indoors or on really calm days.
