[RCSE] (from Tord) Re: Fun at the cane field
Hi Paul, Both me and the wife loved your text! Haven't yet got any 2.4 GHz stuff (I'll just swap the transmitting part in my trannies and get suitable rx's), but is eagerly awaiting! Those small birds, that seem black late afternoon, and appear in huge clouds close to sunset, are starlings, most likely, looking for somewhere to settle for the night! A cane field, a stand of reeds, stands of thick bushes, in short, anything free of predators and very dense, is their favourite sleeping quarters (In Britain they tend to move into the southern cities in wintertime - Bath is said to have the majority of Northern Europe's starlings disrupting the citizens' sleep a few months each winter! Therefore electrified roofs, windows sills, et cetera, everywhere in that old, Roman, city! A few decades back me and a friend went birdwatching on a small island close to home, just a short ferry trip from the mainland. Our goal was a football pitch-sized bog surrounded by high cliffs, very close to civilisation, and yet very remote. This is essentially unchartered ground, as no paths, nor roads, lead into the area, mainly due to the fact that this used to be banned ground for civilians - as the island used to be a military garrison, and at that time stilled banned for foreign nationals. Sadly we didn't see much of anything till close to sunset. On our latitudes, appoximately the same as Churchill, but actually Gothenburg, Sweden, it takes a while to get dark in the evenings, of course. We arrived in the afternoon, hand a nice dinner and waited. In addition to the coastal birds, like gulls and plovers, we saw some song birds, and other small birds, but nothing really exciting. An Euroasian Kestrel (similar to the American Kestrel) worried the smaller birds as he passed, but otherwise things were very calm. A cloud of starlings suddenly appeared and after a lot of false tries settled in a small stand of reeds. Then more starlings arrived in smaller groups, coming from all directions. Evidently these came from neighbouring islands, as this to man fairly unknown bird haven isn't normally frequented by people, cats or dogs. As each subgroup landed the was a bit of commotion, but after a while things settled down - the stand of reeds maybe containing a few thousands starlings, no more than that! Then suddenly, as the sun started to settle, on silent wings, a Short-eared Owl arrived on the scene. Seemed to have its nest in the bog quite close to us, but light was failing fast, so we wasn't too sure if we saw a nest, or not. A rare treat to us city-dwellers, to see this magnificent bird this close - sadly far to dark to take any pictures! Just as the last rays of light hit the cliffs the kestrel reappeared, and he/she didn't like what he saw - an intruder! So suddenly there was a hell of a fight between owl and kestrel, the two eventually crashing into the stand of reeds, and naturally all the starlings took off at once! For a little while the sky was black with panicing starlings, but soon the kestrel gave up - not a very good night flyer, in sharp contrast with the owl, he/she headed home, and the owl returned to its camping ground, to await morning and breakfast, in the form of rodents, or other unwary animals. As day broke, we packed our gear; binoculars, monoculars, MSR stove, et cetera, and took the first morning ferry home, at around 6:00 am. Tord -- Want an e-mail address like mine? Get a free e-mail account today at www.mail.com!
Remember KISS! (was: Re: [RCSE] switch failure)
Nowadays I have a big bright flashing LED in my planes, which helps when I forget to wiggle the sticks! And I don't use no switch no more, but electrically- powered-plane-style banana plugs. Very secure on and off! Big Deans would work, too, I guess :-)! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Paging Lyn Disbrow
Hi all, Back for just a short while on the list - life has changed a lot since I left you! Anyway, does anyone know what has happened to Lyn - his website is gone, and he doesn't answer emails ... I fear the worst, hope for the best :-)! Tord PS Latest flying model is a four-motor Twinstar II! RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Paging Lyle Smuin!
Anyone got an up-to-date email address to Lyle Smuin, Penticton, BC, Canada? His old address, [EMAIL PROTECTED] does not work - maybe it's a problem with telus.net? Tord, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Soaring V1 ??? (Digital SLR)
On Wednesday 21 December 2005 01.51, Tom Copp wrote: Canon's S2 IS. There are so many out there. Look at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs.asp and read the timing specs for = the camera you're interested in and pay attention to the shot to shot specs. Anything over 2 seconds feels like a lifetime and most PS are that and longer. Absolutely! That was the reason I choose the Konica KD-500 (later complemented with the upgraded version Konica Minolta G-600), because they're fast starters. Remember also that you need a fast card to get decent speed between the shots - some cameras takes bursts of photos at one go at different settings (that you set yourself), some take decent digital films (good enough for the internet). The Olympus C-8080WZ I later bought, is also a fast starter and is absolutely fantastic indoors, but complex (menus aplenty and 21 buttons to keep track on). For studio work it is perfect and can now be found for a pittance compared to what I paid! Someone here recommended using non-digitals for the occasional photographer, and I would say exactly the reverse! If you plan to shoot a hundred pictures in one go, by all means bring your Leica, Hasselblad or your ol' Nikon, but for a few shots to send to your friends the next day, or just after they left the reunion, it is just mad and practically impossible! And even then, your negative will go through a printer on the way to a paper copy, as no developer uses a manual system nowadays. So your analog picture will be digitalized, adjusted and then printed, no matter what you think about digital technique :-(! BW is a wee bit different, but even my wet-film friends say you can make fantastic BW prints with your inkjet printer! But then they scan their negatives, and its all digital again! Cameras using film is at a bottom low, investment-wise, and classic manufacturers like Hasselblad are in dire straights - they were recently bought by a digital back manufacturer, thus you can now buy digital adaptors for your Sinar, Kowa, Mamiya, Rollie and others, branded Hasselblad, even though none of these backs ever were made here in Gothenburg, where all the true Hasselblad factories are! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Soaring V1 Beginner's radio
On Wednesday 21 December 2005 06.51, Norm wrote: I'd like to hear your opinions on what you think is a good radio system to get for someone just learning to fly. Something to use with basic electric trainers, foamie combat wings, and warbirds. Thanks guys- Norm, I think the thre-channel, single-stick Hitecs are hard to beat. Got one with rechargable batteries and small metal-gear servos - the big HS-300 (et cetera) are not stronger, just bulkier, and break easier! If you are going to do a teacher-pupil-hook-up you have to check that it agrees with your own equipment! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Soaring V1 (Digital SLR's)
On Tuesday 20 December 2005 16.24, Nathan Woods wrote: Whew! That should do it. Just a few comments: In my younger years I carried about a big camera bag with a lot of SLRs and lenses, but I've become wiser! For close photography a high-resolution, quickstarting digital compact might well take as good photos, like this photo I took with my Konica KD-500 (could have been my G-600 - the latter being an upgraded model of the former): http://foldingkayaks.org/gallery/Leeboard/pict3709?full=1 The pilot is Scobie Putchler, and the plane his own design, the Swyft, and the background Seattle's skyline :-)! For distance photography a semi-pro, long tele, big compact, or whateve you call them, like the Nikon Coolpix 8800, could be a good choice! With long lenses you need tripods, or stabilization of some sort! I also got myself an Olympus C-8080W, but its zoom range is not better than that for the other cameras, mentioned above. Otherwise, having such good manual control is a blessing! Yours, Tord, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Soaring V1 #6775 : Trophies
Isn't plaque also those hard, usually black, deposit you'll get on your teeth? Wouldn't like to give 'em that! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Soaring V1 #6775 : Trophies
On Saturday 03 December 2005 06.17, Someone wrote: U, are you REALLY sure you want to give the winners the plague? keep the main trophy the way it is but just give a small non returning plague to the 2-5 or 2-3 spots up in front of everone @ Visalia. Well, maybe if you came in 6th? Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Soaring V1 #6730: Great Airshow coverage
On Monday 21 November 2005 01.52, Soaring wrote: what is the aircraft the Russian woman is flying? Su-31 - it says so on the engine cowling! The Hungarian's is an Extra something, I think (as is Patty Flagstaff's). Tord, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Soaring V1 #6723: Great Airshow Footage
On Saturday 19 November 2005 20.49, Jim Deck wrote: Need a rush? Crank up the volume and look at http://guyrevel.free.fr/WGP/Haute-Voltige_au_Japon.wmv Amazing, truely amazing! Thanks, Jim! Tord PS The sound of radials is hard to better! RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: foam electric poly glider
Kent is looking for a first glider/airplane for a friend. I don't know if your friend is able to fly anything yet, but as the very first try, if you live in a flat area, tell him to buy an electric Zagi! When he can handle that other planes, like those recommended by Bill Swingle, comes to mind! A Swyft would work well then, but is beyond the biginnner's building abilities, in my book at least! And though it isn't electric is very easy to launch to amazing heights, with a simple discus-style throw! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Soaring V1: micro sloper
On Thursday 17 November 2005 21.45, John E wrote: I've been having a fine time finding micro slopes with my Swyft from Scobie at Liftworx. www.liftworx.com The plane weighs 4.6 oz. Flies very well! I've played a lot with Scobie's own Swyft - mine is not yet assembled :-(! Tord PS Amazing plane - never toyed with anything like it! RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Soaring V1 #6707 LMR motor for Pike Superior (re using battery + BEC)
On Wednesday 16 November 2005 21.42, Doug wrote: only see two possible problems here -- 1) how will a voltage regulator respond if the voltage at the output is slightly higher than it's normal output voltage? (Hopefully nothing happens.) and 2) is the normal failure mode of a BEC to fail with the output shorted or the output open? (Open would be better, and it sounds more likely thinking about how it works.) Using a diode (not a germanium) lowers the voltage 0.7 V and protects the battery from overcharging! What happens when a BEC fails I've no idea! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: LMR motor for Pike Superior
On Monday 14 November 2005 12.37, Jim wrote: 1) I want to run this plane on 10 cells so as to keep the weight down. Am I better off running the F12LMR or the F7LMR with 10 cells? What are the pros and cons? The biggest boost is using Li-Ion power instead, as they weigh much less - get a high-amp-proof Li-Ion pack, a Li-Ion-approved controller (Hackers with BEC are nice) and the smaller motor :-)! Unless it is too light, then by all means the bigger motor - generally, bigger motor = slightly higher efficiency! But higher weight, lower climb, so it isn't sure you win with a bigger motor! Tord PS Aveox with Hacker, rocks :-)! RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Soaring V1 #6696: LMR motor for Pike Superior
On Monday 14 November 2005 16.37, lee wrote: I personally think that the BEC idea for a ship this size is a bad, bad, idea. Rethinking, yes, of course! But one of those gizmos that replaces a rx battery saves a lot of weight. And yes, form factors when it comes to Li-Ion packs can make them impossible to use - but check around, there are many brands! Sensorless Hacker controllers are a blessing, after having used AVeox's sensored, 'nuff said :-)! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: John Derstine
On Friday 11 November 2005 16.31, Soaring wrote: From what I have been reading in RC Groups John is still missing. He left for work on Sunday and has not been seen or heard from since. This message from his daughter went to the Scale Soaring list yesterday... I still have a few mails in my inbox from John - lest's pray everything is alright! Never met John, but he sure was/is a nice guy! Tord, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Soaring V1 #6653: Just a moment?
On Monday 07 November 2005 01.22, David Nasatir wrote: What will be the flight behavior consequence of a very long tail moment? Hi, David Two things happen, which has - more or less - the same effect: As the power of the tail is tail arm length times the tail area, you'll get a powerful tail, but due to the long tail arm's weight you will get some inertia effects, too. So when the wing is lifted by a thermal the tail will make the wing pitch up more than with a shorter tail with the same tail volume, as one says (tail arm length, times tail span, times tail chord is tail volume). If the tail area is normal the same will happen, but this time due to the longer tail arm, with its greater inertia, and the higher tail volume! So stabler flight more powerful elevators, that's the main effect - unless there are tail boom bending/flutter problems :-)! More like a B-52 than a Fighting Falcon ... I believe it was about 1946 when I first realized that there is often a substantial distance between the way I envision things and the way they turn out after I have actuallty built them. It doesn't matter too much (at least to me) however, as I enjoy the process ... I seem to have been in the same class, as my sketches seldom look like the finished product (I usually do a new sketch afterwards, using the finished product as the model - makes the sketch and model look much more the same). Lately I worked mostly with aluminium and stainless bolts - yeah, not model aircraft, but rigs and other stuff for my small boat ... Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] A tall tale?
Hi, How are your eyes doing? You have to take care when out in the sun, allways :-)! Not much sun here just now - very, very, grey and raining most of the time, in short typical West Coast November weather! There is another factor, that I forgot to factor in, about tall fuselages (usually equals long tails), and that is surface drag. Eventually the tail feathers can be very small, due to the combined effects of tail volume and surface drag, till it is about enough with just the tail boom! Of course, that then has to be movable, maybe pivoted at CG, with the forward hull as counterweight :-)! Or make it like a spine, like some prehistoric flying creature's tail, that can be whipped from side to side! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [soaring] [RCSE] Re: Optimum aspect ratio - SF Project
On Friday 18 February 2005 17.12, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Generally speaking higher aspect ratio with either a fixed span or area will equal a reduced wing chord. This will result in reduced reynolds numbers which equals reduced performance for most all airfoils *** Yes, but also what's happening (for a fixed wing span) is a trade off between wing loading and induced drag. Re (at least for DLG chords and up) is a variable but not the dominant one. I think Martin Simons Model Airplane Aerodynamics is a good source for info about this, not least appendix #1! A practical, high AR wing, is by default heavier (if having the same area), than a low AR wing, which makes the gain with a high aspect wing smaller than expected, even though it has lower drag. Also, when talking constant area, and small models, the lower efficiency of small chord wings comes into effect. Also mechanical matters affect the calculations, as narrow wings are more flutter-prone than low AR wings! Thus, as we are talking equal wing area, short wings are light, affecting minimal sink, while good glide ratio, equals low L/D, but the longer they are the faster they have to fly, to maintain good Reynold's numbers! If I remember correctly, your wings were all balsa sheet, thus approximately the same weight no matter what Aspect Ratio they have. The reason that AR about 7 are optimum, is that longer wings have too small AR to be efficient, while shorter have too big induced drag! In the real world high aspect ratio wings are perfect, as long as you can build a strong enough wing, but they will be default be heavy! But if you have a motor the calculation gets more difficult, as a lot of induced drag during take-off and landing, due to short span, can be compensated by brute power. At cruise speed and straight flight long wings are not that helpful, unless the engine can be throttled back efficiently! So a motorglider has very low useful load, but excellent fuel economics! Good luck, Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Error!
Martin Simons book is called Model Aircraft Aerodynamics, nothing else! Sorry, Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] The muddy field of copying
On Thursday 10 February 2005 17.10, you wrote: When the Russians stole the general arrangement plans of the Concorde A more charitable interpretation of this is that both the Russian and the English/French teams had similar problems to solve with similar tools so they came up with similar solutions. The legacy of the Cold War is such that we refuse to admit that the Russians had any signifcant technical capability -- they must have stolen it -- but there's ample evidence to the contrary. Actually it was Tupolev Jr that said it himself; that they had pretty good general arrangement plans and also detail plans of certain systems, in a very good documentary done a few years back, beginning and ending with the famous flights by NASA-equipped Tu-144 for studies of second generation SSTs. Tupolev also said that the wing planform was too complex for their time schedule, so they opted for a double delta, not unlike the wing of a Saab Draken! That the Tupolev crashed in Paris was definitely caused by the French, and afterwards the Soviet and French authorities cooked up a weird story that it was the fault of one of the Russians aboard, that his film camera had blocked the controls! When they asked the firemen who dug out the remains of the cockpit from a house everyone was in his seat, and nobody had been standing up and there was no film camera either! When they cornered a French official he first kept to the original story, but eventually owed up that it had been a fake story, so to not worsen the relations between the two countries. Nobody thought anything about blaming an innocent man, evidently! It was BBC that made the program. I think. There's a widely held misunderstanding about what's actually invovled in creating things that's causing inflated expectations about what an idea is and how much its worth. Changes in patent and copyright law have reinforced this, those changes being institued because they suit corporate interests (IMO). Creating the form is often the easy bit. Getting the form into a realizable state, getting it manufactured, getting it marketed and delivered to willing customers and supporting it is where the work is. We're getting lazy -- we expect others to do this for us for peanuts so we can profit from our genius, complaining loudly to all when people cut us out as unnecessary (you could call it the real hidden danger in outsourcing!). Couldn't have said it better myself :-)! Lots of good products never becomes a commercial success because they get those factors wrong. Look at all aircraft projects in the US the last twenty years, where new companies emerge with new, better aircraft, but fail anyway! A handful get it right, and survive, like Lancair and a few others, while heaps never make it: Avtec, Omac The list is very long! A few designs become immortal, like the Taylorcraft, that we see to this day in various forms: J-2, J-3 (Cub), Auster, plus a lot of ultralight copies, while some, like the pretty Beechcraft Starship One, never became a commercial success (today all remaining Starships have been returned to Beechcraft, to avoid litigations). Martin Usher BTW -- LM and the companies that they sold the design rights to are cheeky. We (the taxpayer) have already paid them for this work. The problem isn't really LM, its the companies that bought the rights with the expectation of profiting from sub-licencing. Its our duty to make this business unprofitable otherwise we're be spending the rest of time fighing off parasitic protection rackets. Hear, hear! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] The muddy field of copying
In my younger years I worked at a famous design department and I assure you that copying goes on all the time. Just as us amateurs borrow details we liked from models we've built before, professional designers do the same. If you're an optics designer you look through lapsed patents to see if there is anything there you could use, if you're designing the rear view mirror of a truck you check what the competition are up to, and steal those ideas you like, in a slightly modified form, and so on. When the Russians stole the general arrangement plans of the Concorde, they realized that their manufacturing skills in all departments were not quite up to the Brits and Frogs level, and besides they were behind time-wise and were ordered to fly first, so they simply used a simplified design, with a few work-arounds - the fuel trimming system of the Concorde was replaced by a highly advanced, retractable, canard with double-slotted flaps, et cetera. And how many models isn't there out there copying the Zagi, or the Lazy Bee? And for scale models there can be very little you can do if someone makes a mold from your model, that in turn is a scaled down copy of the real thing?! As long as the innards are different of the resulting model I doubt that anyone can do anything about it! And copying doesn't need to be done as crudely as making a plug out of a commercial kit; you could simply do a 3-D scan of the fuselage and wings and then make your own copy a little bigger, or smaller, just as you like, with little extra work involved! If your scanner is big enough you can scan the full-size aircraft, of course! What one shouldn't do is to copy the mechanical solutions inside the kit, unless they are old and proven. Just as with chip production reverse engineering is perfectly legal, as long as the end result has taken another route to get there! In software this is a problem, as a routine written by someone can easily be stolen as it is, and reused and then compiled into something the original author wouldn't recognise. The type of GUI (Graphic User Interface, like Windows) we all are used to today were originally created by Xerox research teams, but were quickly stolen by Apple and Microsoft, to mention a few, while the three-button mouse was originally treated as a hot potato (being a mechanical device) and wasn't stolen till later :-)! Still think Lockheed are nuts, period! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: [soaring] Lawyers ...
All of us who are interested in military fighters know that both Israeli and South African aeronautical industries cloned the classic Mirage III, into Kfirs and Cheetas, sharing a lot of knowhow in the process. Marcel Dassault was asked by a friend (himself an ex-aircraft designer) what he thought about the much talked about Israeli clones? The elderly gentleman answered smilingly, Rien, what should I think about it? Even if the outline and general aerodynamics are identical, nothing in their planes are the same as in our fighters: Other manufacturers, reverse-engineered many of the systems,as well as they were able to do it, sometimes using very different powerplants, even. And we lost no money, as we were forbidden to export more planes, so?! As long as there is no Dassault logo on them, nor any Dassault-designed system in them I don't have anything to say! A little flattered, maybe, that's all! That many lawyers in the USA are nuts we all know, where-ever we live, as we all are constantly being immersed in American TV soaps, like LA Law, and films, like Rat Race, but, to me, Lockheed's strong arm tactics are just silly! Forcing Don and Joe to scrap their profile model line, just because the company thinks they own the outline, or something?! It is sad that the land of the free is so in the hands of lawyers, that do everything to force the rest of the world to pay. Even to use naturally existing plants and herbs, you have sometimes to pay, as they have been patented in the US! What happens is that US uses strong arm tactics to free all of us, forcing us to abide US laws, even though we live in other continents! A lot of legislation here in Sweden has changed during the last decade to conform with US laws, and more is coming! I wonder when US laws will change to conform with Swedish :-)? Remember what happened in Bopal? The place was soon after the catastrophe crammed with US lawyers, who took at least half the money the poor victims were supposed to get! Consequently, many victims never received a cent. And now I'm sure Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka are crammed with these litigating experts, all trying to sue various bodies for not making their restaurants, hotels, boats, cars, countries, and what-nots, Tsunami-proof! Over 500 Swedes died there, so maybe a few Swedish lawyers are there, too? Now back to building my next flying contraption project :-)! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: [soaring] harbor freight vaacum pump, any use?
On Sunday 06 February 2005 15.54, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The Harbor Freight store in town has a red, AC powered vacuum pump by Central Pneumatic on sale for ten bucks, marked down from 15. It's used to pull vacuum on air conditioning lines prior to adding refrigerant, ad copy only sez it will pull a full vacuum within 2 minutes. at 4.2CFM ... It seems very uncomplicated, no mention of a regulator or anything... is this of any practical use to me should I decide to get into bagging wings and stuff? Just my gut feeling: Yes, yes, yes! But add a vacuum switch, of course! If yes, I would probably just buy it now and store it until I got the urge to try and make bagged wings down the road, but is this type of unit really any use for our applications, esp. for a raw beginner at bagging? Or should i wait and maybe buy a complete package later if the mood strikes? Money is ALWAYS a factor... It will also be perfect if your into building boats - there is no better way than bagging things to get a mirrow finish when you use epoxy. I've seen photos of bars, boats with perfect finish, all thanks to this technique! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Cutting Ribs CNC style....
On Monday 07 February 2005 05.09, Paul Breed [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I've been cutting some balsa with a small Taig CNC mill I did a brief writeup. http://www.rasdoc.com/splinter/RibsCut.htm Wow! That is a lot of work for just one rib! Couldn't a normal plotter be used, if one replaced the pen with a svivelling knife? Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: [soaring] Digest Number 3865
On Wednesday 02 February 2005 16.56, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: John Fruge [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [RCSE] DLG (HGL)info? I'm looking for the best bang for the buck DLG (HLG)info. I would like to get 2. Ine for myself and one for my 11 year old nephew.The less we have to build the better. The Seeker from Liftworx seems a durable and well designed plane! And it evidently flies well (as can be seen by watching the videos at the site) :-)! http://www.liftworx.com/ Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
soaring@airage.com
On Monday 31 January 2005 15.29, Jim Deck wrote: OK, if we're going to talk movies, what about the remake of every airplane modeler's classic, The Flight of the Phoenix? Outside of some beautiful flight shots of the flying boxcar in the opening scenes and the long, drawn out, CGI enhanced crash scene, this film is but a pale imitation of the original. Exactly! The only thing better in the remake is that the aircraft is designed to look as it really was made out of bits from the Boxcar, which the better film's didn't! Sadly a waste of money that film is, and the story is blander, as the wise guys in Hollywood decided to drop the enthic conflict in the original, as the model airplane designer in that version is ex-German, while everyone else is Anglo-Saxon, and it happens just a few years after the war ... Yours, Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
soaring@airage.com
On Sunday 30 January 2005 16.32, Mark wrote: There was a guy here local that had onboard GPS that would transmit voice down to a handheld receiver giving him altitude and airspeed updates throughout the flight. Sounds like Piccolario Talk, the German variometer system - no GPS, as far as I know! But you can use a GPS system with downlink at the same time, of course! http://www.tun.ch/d/angebot/index.cfm?cat=Vario%20%26%20GPSID=81start=1 http://www.tun.ch/d/angebot/index.cfm?cat=Vario%20%26%20GPSID=257start=2 Sadly, both the GPS and the Piccolario Talk info is in German! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: [soaring] Chrysalis 2 Meter
On Friday 28 January 2005 05.41, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [RCSE] Chrysalis 2 Meter I built one a few years ago and was very satisfied. Things I liked: It's a nice plane - builds easily, all the parts fit and the wood selection is good. It has more wing area than the average 2 meter, so it's easier to see, and floats well. The thin section allows for good penetration as well. Things I didn't like: The spoilers - the single servo arrangement did not work well for me. If I were building another, I'd use a microservo for each spoiler with a direct linkage. I think the new model (Mark II) has two servos ... Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] 555 antenna length
One way to make the antenna a little longer is to add a wider bit at the top, say a copper coin, or something like that. It will also receive a wider spectrum ... Having a very overlong antenna will improve reception, as ham radio guys know, as long as it isn't totally out of phase. Ham guys sometimes use antennas 20 times longer than the usual 1/4 or 1/2 wave, with good effect! Very long antennas tend to be very directive, though! Transmitting is another matter, but widening the top of the antenna widens it's possible transmitting spectrum. Yours, Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [soaring] [RCSE] Batteries and Chargers
On Tuesday 25 January 2005 14.57, Chuck Anderson wrote: Been using the Sirius Charge for 10 years now on both nicads and nimh batteries without a single problem. I endorse everything George Joy says about his equipment. I can only say: Ditto! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] GliderKing down for good.
On Tuesday 25 January 2005 14.57, The Sirius Guy wrote: Subject: Re: [RCSE] GliderKing down for good. Bob, Sorry to hear this, it will be missed. Drop a line now and then to let us know you are still around and flying. I too have spent a lot of time at the Gliderking site - sad to see it go. Andy MacDonald's Flying wing site seems to have gone, too! Sigh! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [soaring] [RCSE] T-tails, light tails, ala Genie and LT/S.
On Friday 21 January 2005 22.47, Harley wrote: I abandoned T-tail designs (except for the Orca twist wing sloper that had a fixed horizontal stab with no moving elevator) over 25 years ago. I agree they certainly do look pretty, but as Tom K just observed, they can get heavy and can do damage to the fuse in a hard dork. Seems there is one reason to use them, that have been the driving force behind using them on full-scale and models that has not been mentioned here: They are out of harms way if landed off regular landing areas, where tall, sturdy, grass and low bushes can easily rip off a low set stabilsator. Seen it happen more than once with models, and on full-scale it is usually restricted to wear and tear. Also less risk for damage in the hangar, and so on. True cruxiform tails might be the ticket? Where the stabilisator is low set but the bottom half of the fin projects quite a bit downward. lifting the stabilisator from harms way, and the nose digs in better, too! Probably the lightest way, too, as the twisting loads on the tail boom is decreased! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Addendum to Re: [soaring] [RCSE] Sailplanes and Stuff FS Status (slightly off subject)
This is where my kayaking pictures are: www.foldingkayaks.org/gallery/tord/ RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [soaring] [RCSE] Sailplanes and Stuff FS Status (slightly off subject)
On Monday 24 January 2005 16.13, Mark wrote: Thanks Guys. I'm in the market for a new digital camers so I'm clearing out the stull I have accumulated and don't need. Any suggestions on a camers? I'm leaning towards a Nikon 8700 or 8800. I scouted the market before buying my second camera, an Olympus C-8080WZ, and it sure had all the things you could want, and a lot more, but it just is too fiddly to be very useful, and its colour rendition leaves a lot to the user, so you'll never get it perfectly tuned for outdoor use. At least I have not managed it, even after having taken a few thousand pictures with it! Indoor it is very good, it just don't like blue skies, I guess! So I tend to rely on my old digital, the Konica KD-500Z, which has a few faults, like a wee bit too strong flash, a little too brightly exposed pictures, so you set it at maximum under exposure. The flash you cover with a bit of tape to soften it - works perfectly! And it starts up very quickly, darn durable, fantastic colours (far beyond the Olympus), and I have taken it paddling, in the Atlantic, without any problems at all! Two batteries was enough power for two weeks paddling. Due to a design quirk it works much better with 128Mb cards than bigger cards, but you can use both SD and Memory Stick, at the same time! As Konica gobbled up Minolta the design was updated, and I now think the flash can be adjusted (not sure) and I think you can change the ASA setting now (not sure). I guess it now can use Memory Stick Pro, too! It is now called Konica Minolta G-530 and it can be bought for about $300 in the US. A steal. It's 6Mb brother G-600 is a bit more expensive, but otherwise comparable. The KD-500 is sometimes still available and is then really, really cheap! At one time a professional photographer wrote to me and asked what camera I used for my nice photos at http://foldingkayaks.org/gallery/tord He was exceptionally impressed by the water reflections, et cetera. He thought I had used a studio camera, or at least a Hasselblad ... I live just a few miles from Hasselblad HQ, so it wasn't so bad a guess :-)! No what I do is underexpose so that I have details in the lightest object, as the eye hates white flats, but accept pitch black shadows. Then in Photoshop, or GIMP (the Linux equivalent) I adjust levels till the output range covers everything, from the lightest to the darkest, and hey, presto, you've got really nice photos! This works a bit when you use the Olympus, but you have to have the white balance set exactly (no fun at all), and the reds and the blues - especially flowers - will never be exactly right, while the cheap Konica is almost always dead on the money! The Olympus takes nice panoramas, is excellent when the weather is overcast, is not a bad DV camcorder (film as long as you card manages), takes superb high resolution, nice B/Ws and really at home in a studio - with video out, remote, et cetera. And you can brag with your 21 (yes, twentyone) buttons to press and the world's most entangled menu system! And the lens is really superb, the lack of a good manual focus isn't! And it sure takes a lot of photos between charging is needed - at least a a few hundred at maximum resolution (8Mb!). So, buck for buck KD-500, (G-530) is a superstar! And the G-600 with 6Mb is not far behind the Olympus, resolution-wise! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
addendum to Addendum to Re: [soaring] [RCSE] Sailplanes and Stuff FS Status (slightly off subject)
The outrigger, visble in many of my photos is actually a flying boat hull. Made entirely out of EPP (thanks, DAW) and is really sturdy! :-)! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: flip my flapjack?
Hi, Lovely idea! Just remember that the props have to be handed, with the tips outside the wing going downward, to get neutral handling left and right! That the props counteracts the wingtip vortices is true, their efficiency is low. The Flapjack prototype had three-blade props, the never flown fighter derivative had four-blade, if I'm remember correctly! The main point is to keep the entire span in the prop flow, so I would consider helicopter rotors :-)! And as always with flying wings remember to keep the Centre of Gravity far forward as the propellers have a huge destabilizing effect. A safe bet is 10-15% of mean chord, as just flying a disc-like glider can be problematical with so small fins! I would go safe and first build a glider that you by trial and error eventually can prove works, then scale that up till a motorized version has a similar wing loading. Remember that a twin-400-powered Zagi with a span of 48 is a handful to handle - you contraption is far smaller! The orginal was famous for its low speed flying characteristics and to be safe I am convinced you version has to have a low wingloading. My guess is using two geared 400s, 8x2400 NIMH cells and a 48-52 span! And build it light and use a symmetrical airfoil, so that trim issues are kept to the minimum! When you get it right I am sure it will fly splendidly! Folding props are almost necessary, as landning it the conventional way will be very tricky! Yours, Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Experiments with FMS
Hi, The weather being what it is, and suffering from pneumonia, I've no choice but to stay at home and at the most play with FMS, this excellent free and powerful flight simulator. By altering the PAR files one can change the behavior of your model - to get a flimsy slowflyer to roar across the sky at 200 mph, or vice versa, but the more interesting is to try to improve your model's flying characteristics, by playing with aspect ratio, chord, stabilisator size, and not least CG. By moving the CG backward one can use smaller stabilisator, but then if flying too slow you run out of stabilisator and elevator, leading to the famous high-speed tuck! Sometimes you can roll inverted to safety, but not always! The one thing that doesn't work as in real life is stall, though. For if your model goes into a stall-like spiral dive (usually happens when you have too small a stabilisator combined with rearward CG) you have to give pro-rudder to get out of it, not counter rudder - which is a wee bit weird. Can anyone explain why? Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Majestic 110 RES from Laser Arts
On Friday 07 January 2005 01.03, Kurt wrote: Dan, Here's a pointer to what I did to my Laser Arts wings for strengthening. http://www.ppssrc.com/carbonwing/carbonwing.html (snip) If I were building a woody that required some additional strength to a wing I would put carbon on the bottoms of both upper and lower spars. The reasons are this, first, carbon fiber is stronger under tension and not compression. Doesn't really help to put it on the bottom of the upper spar, as it will still be in compression - the entire top spar is! Easier to sand the top of the spar smooth, though, if the carbon is on the bottom ... If you add carbon it should be twice as thick on top spar than on the bottom, due to its lower compression strength. That's how Lancair does it, too! A thin aluminium rectangular spar, of soft aluminium, is, on the other hand, very strong in compression and could well be -after it surface has been roughened with a heavy file, or similar, be glued to a wooden spar with epoxy, and held in place with kevlar thread. Soft aluminium have good ageing characteristics, both in tension and compression, while harder qualities have less good in compression, and are harder to roughen as well. Second I would be concerned of the carbon delaminating if it was on the upper surface of a spar. The other thing that I'd consider doing is adding the carbon to the spars prior to assembly. I'd even go as far as using a vacuum bag to apply enough consistent pressure along the entire surface of the spar carbon. I have no arguments against this - sound advice as usual! Yours, Tord PS Glad to be back after a while doing other things :-)! RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Best vehicle for RC transport
Well, a black Corvette with a articulated trailer sound just swell :-)! I used to use a Saab 900 (the old version) hatch-back, but now a Ford Scorpio (interior dimensions similar, rear wheel drive). 72 wouldn't be a problem with either! A car that really swallows stuff (partly due to the fact that the front passenger seat folds down to make a perfectly flat floor) is the discontinued PT Cruiser! A bit thirsty for European gas prices, but neat! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
[RCSE] Fwd: Aerodynamic problem with a Hades
See Martin Simons' Model Aircraft Aerodynamics excellent explanation why a forward CG is the right cure for sailplane tuck under, chapter 12.22: The main part of the cause is lack of static margin. brought about by having the centre of gravity too far aft. The centre of gravity should be moved forward to improve static stability and the staniliser rigging angle and/or elevator trim readjusted to restore normal balance. Another very likely cause is structural flexibility. Thus, if the tail boom flexes, if the pushrods flexes, and thw wingsa and control surfaces flexes, you have to add static stability margin for that, thus even further forward with the CG. Tord -- Forwarded Message -- Subject: Aerodynamic problem with a Hades Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 16:37:01 +0200 From: Tord Eriksson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Randy Bullard [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi, If it wants to tuck you have to move the CG forward - maybe you tried the other way? Just a thought, Tord --- RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
[RCSE] Joining surgical tubing
The method I have used successfully for a number of years now is simple and as yet without failure (it has seen over ten years of use): Take a piece of rope (I used flag line) about the same diameter as the inner diameter of the surgical rubber tube and wrap tighly the end with coppar wire till it is slightly thicker than before - make sure the ends of the wire are pointing inwards, as not to scratch the rubber tube after insertion. The end should be inserted about an inch into the tube; if it doesn't want to, try wetting it and the end of the tube a bit. Now wrap the tube, with the rope inserted, in a similar way, now ensuring that the ends of the wire points slightly outward ,as not to scratch the tube and the wrap with tape or use a piece of shrink tube. You can this way make rope hoops in the end of the surgical rubber, for tying on a line, or to push the stake through, too, using a slightly thinner line. This method does not work for massive bungees, of course - then I just fold the bungee over and wrap copper wire, or strong line, around. Hope this helps, Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
[RCSE] Computer crash
Hi friends, This is your friend The Zagiist speaking! Recent developement is powering a Zagi THL with a geared 300 motor - not a success as yet, but I haven't given up on it, yet! But now to the subject: I have had a flakey PC for a long while - but after coming home from a short vacation to our capital its Window Milennium Edition system decided to be terminally ill, so no Windows no more! The Linux system is up since yesterday night, and works well, but not fully configured yet (pictures and mpegs are still a bit off), so I lost all mail addresses I had. Please send me a line, so I can rebuild my past mail address index! Yours, on a sunny September afternoon (20.5 degrees C), Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] DH Swallow
Not precisely a supersonic aircraft as it crashed every time it came close to Mach 1, due to bad understanding of the physics involved. Eric Brown calls it one of the most dangerous aircraft he ever flew (over 350 different makes and models, not counting variants), but not as bad as the GAL glider - another swept-wing flying wing aircraft! First Swallow had a subsonic wing of wood, the later version had a more advanced wing. This latter version killed many, including Geoffrey de Havilland himself, during an attempt to go supersonic! One of few aircraft with a better reputation than it deserves! BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:2.1 N:Eriksson;Tord S FN:Tord S Eriksson EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] EMAIL;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] EMAIL;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] REV:20020828T024319Z END:VCARD
[RCSE] Spoileroms or flaperons
One problem with flaperons is that with them in flap position you get aileron reversal - on my DAW S1-26 HLG I solved that with flying only RE(S) during landings! Tord RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Re: How to slow down a flying wing - any suggestions?
Jeff Ried wrote: Most of the combat wings I've seen slow down real well once they hit something solid. So does my 4 lbs Mongojet wing, which easily breaks a normal combat wing in two due to its superior speed and inertia :-)! Best suggestions as yet are split elevons, or brake chute - the former by using two elevons per side in crow position. Tord BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:2.1 N:Eriksson;Tord S FN:Tord S Eriksson EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] EMAIL;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] EMAIL;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] REV:20020815T222712Z END:VCARD
[RCSE] Help!
Does ordinary hot glue stick to aluminium well enough for gluing a sparcap to a spar to a main spar? The lower sparcap will be CF and I do know it sticks to CF pretty well! In short the spar looks like this: total outer measurements 100x 20 mm (including caps), the upper cap being 3 x 10 mm soft aluminium, and the lower five CF rods, approx. 1 mm diameter, and eight thick strands of CF fibres. This is for my Ka6E project, of course! Tord BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:2.1 N:Eriksson;Tord S FN:Tord S Eriksson EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] EMAIL;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] EMAIL;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] REV:20020609T141147Z END:VCARD
[RCSE] Re: Most fun plane
Must say the Mongo Jr rates high in my book, if a little too big for my car :-(! The planes that taught me most was the Zagi THL and the DAW S1-26 HLG, as they improved my flying skills a gigantic step forward, and also survived most crashes, without any damage at all. Now I didn't hesitate to return to flying a complex four-engined plane after a year's absence from the sport - that would never have been possible without the endless row of sorry hops and successful flights I have done with these three types. Others, more or less successful: original Zagi Razor (similar to the 3C). G.P. Spirit G.P. ElectriCub, wore out! Flair Attila, in the end using the ElectriCub's wing! Clancy Aviation Lazy Bee, a few :-)! Aerofoam Vulcan Studio 'B' Vulcan DAW S1-26 2m, stolen. DAW Dragonette MLG, still flying as a kid's freeflight toy! DAW Extra Plus a heap of others, powered, and not! BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:2.1 N:Eriksson;Tord S FN:Tord S Eriksson EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] EMAIL;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] EMAIL;INTERNET:[EMAIL PROTECTED] REV:20020609T143557Z END:VCARD
[RCSE] What glue to use to join balsa sheets
Hi, I use 'Aliphatic Resin' from the UK company Deluxe Materials - similar to white glue in most respects, except it sands just fine! Tord www.tord.nu
Re: [RCSE] Re: Alternative launch method
Several years ago there was an article in RCM about such a trick. As I remember when the glider released the tow line shot upward into the rotating blades. At that point the helicopter became a glider with a very, very poor L/D. Considering they were several hundred feet up I bet it made a heck of a racket upon return to earth. It is adviceble to drop the line from the chopper first! Or use a weighted line, but then you still have problems during the landing phaze (sp?). So having a release at the helicopter is very wise - a monofilament line, strong enough to held the glider doesn't cost much, so it can be happily discarded, or left hanging behind the glider, as the drag is very, very low! RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Canards-- what a canard!!!
with a tiny, cropped delta, say 4 in span with a small Cox up front, which had the smallest of canards I ever seen, say 3/4 long each side of the very tiny fuselage. These were fully movable, at least +-30 degrees, and slightly swept and quite simple. The elevon-equipped aircraft looped very, very tightly, but only after he added the canard, according to its designer! Now I wish you all a Happy New Year, Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Viggen in retrospect
The nose wing on the Viggen works very well at high angles of attack, making it a routine manouvre to land on runways as short as a flight deck of a carrier, using vortex lift and the powerful engine to maximum benefit. Also in turning flight it comes into its own, while flying at low Cls (= high speed) it is more of a hindrance than a boost. At supersonic speed, when the centre of lift is at roughly 50 mean chord, it would be better to have a swing-wing nose wing, that tucks away, like the Milan, an experimental Mirage III variant. Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Twin boom
There is certainly an advantage in respect of drag if you use a pusher installation - or a camera plane with a forward-looking camera. Neat, clean and efficient! A world-record holder in endurance that has the FAI record used indeed this arrangement, as does the famous Altantic-crossing Aerosonde! Many rocket planes use it, for sure. If you plan to break speed records think again, as even if the aircraft is flying in undisturned air the propeller isn't! For speed propeller efficiency is very important, for slow endurance, less so! The powered long endurance glider I mentioned above has been sold as a kit called Sunriser, I think - available in Germany, at least! If you plan to use an IC engine you might need to have swept wings to get the CG right, or a lot of lead in the nose! If you plan to build an electric plane with a great folder prop you need to see to that the propeller folds and unfolds correctly, else the motor and prop might get ripped out of the fuselage due to assymetric opening - both blades trying to open up to the same side, with the associated extreme loads. GC is less of a problem as the battery can be stoved in the nose! I love twin-tailed aircraft, but they are not the most efficient around! The Aerosonde needed a pullutant-free nose for their sensors, thus the engine had to go in the rear - had it been possible to use electric I am pretty sure the prop had ended up in the nose! Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Adding elevator control
Does the design adapt to a full-flying stabilisator? Just mount it slightly above the tailboom on a pivot. If that looks odd mount the wing on a pivot instead! Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] LEDS in the night
Green and yellow are the most visible at night - flashing reds are OK! Much better are electrostatic lights - available from Tim Cone (NightOps) and RC-Neon! Not sure about the addresses ... Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] servos...digital vs analog
The biggest servos I know of are those that keep the modern type of windmill pointing into the wind. They too have problem with deadband logic. To save the motors from constantly adjusting the windmills direction they simply lock up the shaft (by the help of a really big disc brake) till the error between rotor direction and wind becomes too great (there is a time factor, so corrections are not carried out instantly, thus again saving the servo motor. Maybe this could be applied to model airplane servos - mechanical brake locking the surface till the pilot wiggles his sticks? Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [RCSE] Plane Recommendations
Bill Johns [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wrote: Subject: Re: [RCSE] Plane Recommendations I fly in Missoula, MT. The closest club I can find is about 3.5 - 4 hours away. I fly fairly often (during the warm months), and frequently have people stop to watch. This winter I plan on building a plane that I can use to give the interested watchers a little stick time. With luck I can get enough people to start a club. Get a foamy, consider a Highlander or one of the other of that type. It will build fast (sorry) but will take numerous crashes and still fly well. Use your extra time to build something for yourself that will wet appetites to move up to. I think a foamy will be the best simply because if someone crashes a built-up plane, it will turn to trash and destroy any self-confidence they have and will chase them away form the sport rather than lure them in. Having a forgiving plane that will allow them to make mistakes and laugh about it later is a Good Thing. Built-up planes are pretty and fly well, but they are fragile. I would recommend a powered foamie, say a Zagi 400 or the Twinstar. This way you can launch quickly and they still can get the feel of things! Glide ratio ain't great, but simpler than a glider in this context, unless you have a very good slope at hand! Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] JU-52
Slightly off subject, but the Ju-52 used to tow transport gliders in the Luftwaffe: I am interested in kits or plans for the Ju-52! It should not be the Ju-52/3m, but the single engine version! Any ideas? The FMS simulator gives you a fair feeling of the differences when flying powered (I love the Ju-52/3m) and gliders, but as there is no wind and no thermal activity it isn't like the real thing! Does the CockpitMaster simulator include thermals and winds, by the way? Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Zagi wins!
Interesting mail from theZagi list - anyone heard of something similar? Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu === Message: 2 Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 21:50:37 -0700 From: Glen B Elliott [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Zagi versus Light Pole, Zagi Wins!!! I saw one of the most awesome sights today. I was out flying zagis with some friends of mine and one of the guys (Marcus) decided to do some combat with a light pole. We had a nice south wind of about 10mph and he was flying full throttle down wind with a quick 480 in his zagi. He hit the light pole in the center of the right side leading edge. The zagi did a full 360 spin in the air and then hung there and then he just flew it away. The only thing that happened was the front of the canopy was up like the hood of a car and it still kept flying. I wish i had a video camera for that little mishap. He said he did it on purpose to show us how rugged a zagi is. I told him to go ahead and do it again on the left side!! Glen RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Re: Tandem-winged Planes
There are a few issues involved here. The front wing must stall before the main wing, which, in a lowdrag installation often is solved by having wider chord on the rear wing (thus lower AR), usually combined with higher loading on the front wing. The same airfoil can be used, but low pitch airfoils are most likely recommended. According to Boeing research, refered to in one of Darrol Stinton's books, the lowest drag can be had for three-surface aircraft, where manouvering is done with a conventional tail, but trimming is done with the front wing. As the front wing can only be used for pitch adjustments, that is no ailerons or elevons, roll authority might be low. Anhedral on the front wing might be wise, and dihedral on the rear. Often you see sweep on the rear, combined with wing-tip fins. So sweet-stalling front wing, combined with low drag airfoils, should result in a plane with low sink rate as the average wing-loading is lower than a similar conventional plane. Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Re: Tandem-winged Planes
- Original Message - From: Tord S Eriksson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, May 18, 2001 7:30 PM Subject: Re: Tandem-winged Planes There are a few issues involved here. The front wing must stall before the main wing, which, in a lowdrag installation often is solved by having wider chord on the rear wing (thus lower AR), usually combined with higher loading on the front wing. The same airfoil can be used, but low pitch airfoils are most likely recommended. According to Boeing research, refered to in one of Darrol Stinton's books, the lowest drag can be had for three-surface aircraft, where manouvering is done with a conventional tail, but trimming is done with the front wing. As the front wing can only be used for pitch adjustments, that is no ailerons or elevons, roll authority might be low. Anhedral on the front wing might be wise, and dihedral on the rear. Often you see sweep on the rear, combined with wing-tip fins. So sweet-stalling front wing, combined with low drag airfoils, should result in a plane with low sink rate as the average wing-loading is lower than a similar conventional plane. Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Re: re: re: Right VS Left
The tornado I had the fortune to see very close up (we have them here, too, occasionally) showed very graphically that the flow in the funnel rotated downward in one direction and upward the other! Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] RE: How to improve ...
Well, first and foremost I would think the CG is a bit too far back for your ability. You need more forward CG for relaxed un-powered flight. The prop stalled will act less as a fin than when rotating - if you fly your plane propeller-less the differencies are even bigger. One thing you could try is to slope it motorless, as that moves the CG forward quite a bit! You need to retrim the elevons, too, of course! The can guess reason the elevons look like they do is that the designer (hi Jerry!) wanted most of the control surface near the tips for optimum rolling and elevator power. As wing thickness and width, CG and inertia factors also affect the design, you don't want thick, heavy servos at the tips, where they probably would be more effective! On swept-wing jet aircraft ailerons and elevons often taper in width towards the wing tip, as the one thing that true high-speed design must avoid is flutter. The hydraulic ram, operating the surface, sits near the inner end, where the width of the control surface is widest, thus stiffest. Usually the ram power and movement limits are varied with speed, as the controls become stiffer to move with speed and less efficient! Sometimes there are two sets of ailerons, where the outer is only used at low speed, as to avoid flutter problems. If the control surface's width, compared to the wing's, increases in percent as we go towards the tip, as on a Zagi, the wing rolls more efficiently than one where the width (in percent) decreases toward the tip. Gliders (full-size) of the 50's often had ailerons that disappeared to nothing towards the tip, spelling out two facts: torsional stiffness of the wing nor the aileron wasn't that good, and the aircraft were no aerobatic masters! On a flying wing these problems are further accentuated! At the same time most wings will not stand a maximum control surface movement at high subsonic speed (efficiency drops off over Mach 1), so most likely slower movements but more. If unpowered the limits are set by the pilot's strength, if powered a limiter is often incorporated. The Zagi - hardly transsonic - solves this with VERY flexible elevons - at low speed the outer ends move all the way, while at high speed the airloads bend the surfaces to an amazing degree! Thus a force limiter built-in! Thus there is less risk for overloading, if built as designed. Build stiffer elevons and you might need to beef up all the other parts too, change to more expensive servos, install more spars and reinforcements, et cetera! Often just changing motor to something slightly more powerful leads to other changes - as the structure proves to be too weak for the increased loads and speeds, or the plane look decidedly haggard after a short while! Or you end up with a molded Zagi, with CF elevons, that will stand a lot before it breaks to pieces. But it is then another kind of aircraft! And not according to the Slope Combat rules! Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Range with video onboard
here are always those who know how to up the output on your tx (say using directional antennas, high-power ops), but in most cases the video link dies first! It is normally less than 1000 yards, unless you use pro stuff, satellite links or something likewise exoctic. A german group using 4.4 MHz equipment stated that their tv-tx range was about 800 meters, depending on direction, and they use small directional antennas! I gather that Tom Rust at times has run into rf problems, with the tv camera eventually giving a very close view of the terra firma before transforming into something that might once have been a glider with tv-equipment onboard. There is simply no room in most models for high-power tv- equipment, so you will have to rely on directional antennas and such, and asistants, working the amplifiers and antennas, if you want to get far from your home base. And a safety pilot will den needed as well! For selfnavigating aircraft (aka UAVs), whichever size, you still want to have a take-over-and-bring-home function (a bit like a TACOMA (sp?) Herc). And a selfdestruct, and emergency parachutes! We are now speaking LOTs of money, and extremely complex operations, not least legal-wise, as AF, ATR and other agencies must be cooperated with. The among best pictures I've seen have all been taken from simple aircraft, like the Teddy and a HLG! So a two miles radius, at the very most, for us without sponsorship from CIA, The Sultanate of Burnei or similar institutions! EPP models are good as they provide some shock protection for your equipment an ability to take off almost anywhere! Size is a matter of legalities, taste and funds. Tord, Sweden PS A lot forget that the a badly taken photo doesn't get better if taken from a model airplane, and that their own upturned faces aren't the most interesting either! As a technical feat aerial photos are as old as flight itself, so while it at times can get thrilling, as when some strap their digital camcorder on the back of their models and then start low-level aerobatics, while photos of the local model airfield seldom is! URL:http://www.ozemail.com.au/~majali/Zagi-THL.jpg URL:http://www.ozemail.com.au/~majali/Zagi-N-big.jpg URL:http://www.tord.nu Local weather: http://www.reab.se/weather.html -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden Tel. (mobile): +46 (0)736 77 88 96 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] RE: Night flying
There are many Zagis flying around with NiteOps or RC Neon electrostatic lighting. In Sweden some fly big power models with Cycalume tubes - I just use a DAW S1-26 :-)! Tord, Sweden URL:http://www.ozemail.com.au/~majali/Zagi-THL.jpg URL:http://www.ozemail.com.au/~majali/Zagi-N-big.jpg URL:http://www.tord.nu Local weather: http://www.reab.se/weather.html -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden Tel. (mobile): +46 (0)736 77 88 96 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Could we have a time out and end of this tirade?
Paul and you others, We have all, I think, now and then experienced a bad servo - a HS-60 comes to mind, and, no, I wasn't allowed to exchange it. But that is passed, forgotten, and a good lesson. Always test before doing anything to your servos (no, I didn't even cut off the lead). But please, Paul and you others, stop turning this list into a one-man battle against the rest of the world. It ain't that interesting. And both sides, stop baiting each other! Pick your fights elesewhere, please! There are 6 billion men and women out there, so a single disgrunted customer doesn't make much difference - that's the sad truth. Not nice to be that customer, but that life isn't always a song and dance is also part of growing up, to toughen and to learn. Enjoy the good times and forget the hardships! Not so long ago about 500 people, men, women and children, were burned alive by some devoted nuns, doing God's Gospel, as they thought. THAT is something to think about. A few lousy servos is not, unless they result in a crash costing thousands, or the health of others. Enjoy your loved ones and take care, Tord, Sweden PS Those nuns will soon face trials, together with some of their friends. Hope sincerely that they all will be consumed by the Eternal Fire in Hell. URL:http://www.ozemail.com.au/~majali/Zagi-THL.jpg URL:http://www.tord.nu -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden Tel. (mobile): +46 (0)736 77 88 96 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Re: Alfa4 and If I owned a small business....
I used to own a small business, that eventually failed, so I might qualify: You look for a product to sell (retail or otherwise) that brings in good profits, ideally for little input. Classic success stories are hot dog stands, classic failures are small bookshops and model shops! Glassed gliders are to me a bad choice of product as any irregularity is easily seen, while foamies are excellent, as the latter kits are relatively easy to make (cheap infrastucture), there is no supplied surface that even a nim-com-poop can critizise. Make a good model through good prototyping, turn it into a simple, sturdy kit and then add a good manual and your in the money, I am sure. Great Planes are typical, as is Daves Aircraft Works. The road to success for glassed gliders, like the Muller range, is so much longer and the investment so much bigger. The gamble is higher, and the prices has to likewise be higher! If it fails it fails terribly, if a foamie kit manufacturer fails, like BASH, we hardly notice! Moulded kits is even more dangerous! So if you find a product, whether aircraft kit or charger, that is simple to make (gives reasonable profits) and that is in high demand due to their good characteristics I would stick to that. If I expanded I'd loose quality control and customer input - I personally would hate that! Maule seems to have gotten those figures right, as did Mr Pitts for a number of years, if we look into full-size aircraft. WACO disappeared, and many other makes of glassed gliders, persumably from too small profit margins - or having earnings elsewhere that overshadowed the joys and despairs of company ownership and production! Even among EPP kit makers there are survivors and dropouts, even if the breakeven point must be far lower EPPs than for moulded kits! Yours, Tord S Eriksson www.tord.nu PS Just inspected my latest DAW kit - awsome! RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Re: [soaring] Digest Number 802
Today I recieved the first mail for a few weeks - weird! Tord, Sweden URL:http://www.ozemail.com.au/~majali/Zagi-THL.jpg URL:http://www.ozemail.com.au/~majali/Zagi-N-big.jpg URL:http://www.tord.nu URL:http://home.beseen.com/hobbies/jebbushell/tord/tord.htm Local weather: http://www.reab.se/weather.html -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden Tel. (mobile): +46 (0)736 77 88 96 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Filament tape
For most purposes the unidirectional is as good as the bidirectional tape (which by design is heavier), but to make hinges, or to prevent torsional distorsion the bidirectional is without peers! Tord, Sweden URL:http://www.aricraft.com/tord/tord.html URL:http://home.beseen.com/hobbies/jebbushell/tord/tord.htm -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden Tel. (mobile): +46 (0)736 77 88 96 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Tx incubator? (Re: Thermals/Winter)
Well, no, a bit, if you are of the tray type RC pilots a Swede came up with a nifty system using a car battery and a few bulbs under a Perspex canopy over the tray with openings with mittens (or similar) for you hands. In essence it looks pretty much like an incubator for very small infants, lacking the oxygen bottles. The car lamps were in series so they only glowed, but gave enough warmth anyway for -20, and you could reach any control easily. I will try one of those one day! Much better than those RC-manufacturer-made I've seen! Pity about the cord to the car battery ... Tord, Sweden URL:http://www.aricraft.com/tord/tord.html URL:http://home.beseen.com/hobbies/jebbushell/tord/tord.htm -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden Tel. (mobile): +46 (0)736 77 88 96 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Re: Tx incubator? (Re: Thermals/Winter)
On Thu 30 Nov, Albert Nephew wrote: Thanks for the neat idea, Tord, but a guy trying to run and throw a handlaunch glider while dragging a cord seems a problem. Also, I can't get a car near where I usually fly, though I could carry a battery along. However, the chemical hand warmer packets that are sold at every fuel station around here are more convenient. Still, something to think about. Agreed on both accounts, but maybe a waist pack of NiCads would do? Or just electrically heated sticks? My own solution has been to put some fuel tubing over the sticks - makes the cold flying much less of a problem! But powered planes in the cold is a pain, as the fuel cools your hands even further, as does the prop wash! Maybe the 'incubator' can be heated with those chemical hand warmers? The advantage with the electric system is that the heat can easily be regulated! Tord, Sweden URL:http://www.aricraft.com/tord/tord.html URL:http://home.beseen.com/hobbies/jebbushell/tord/tord.htm -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden Tel. (mobile): +46 (0)736 77 88 96 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Bliss!
Why didn't I know of this before?! I just quit RCSE subscription via AirAge.com and reenlisted via eGroups - what a difference! No more HTML (I can get it all back by ticking a box on the subscription page, but I don't need it - so good riddance!). Seems to take a day longer, but I can live with that, too! Thanks for the tip, guys! Tord, Sweden URL:http://www.aricraft.com/tord/tord.html URL:http://home.beseen.com/hobbies/jebbushell/tord/tord.htm -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden Tel. (mobile): +46 (0)736 77 88 96 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Re: flying after midnight eh?
On Wed 22 Nov, Phil Kalenowsky wrote: Did/do you have lights on your zagi's when you fly them after midnight? I've heard there is some pretty light bright puppies! for $65 ;) I'm all ears to what you do use for midnight lights! Timothy Cone's Nite Ops system is the best I've tried. I have not used them on my Zagis but on a DAW S1-26 HLG, as yet. The flat panels are visible from afar, the string type lights only from 20-30 yards! Have dropped the email address somewhere ... Tord, Sweden URL:http://www.aricraft.com/tord/tord.html URL:http://home.beseen.com/hobbies/jebbushell/tord/tord.htm -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden Tel. (mobile): +46 (0)736 77 88 96 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] RE: Oly with spoilerons and the Black Widow
Hi, Eh, I don't think the P-61 Black Widow was the most manouvrable of its era, one way or other. From a test report: "The harmony of control was poor, the elevator being extremely heavy, and the rudder fairly heavy. The lateral control on the spoiler system was very effective and positive throughout the entire speed range." So it rolled easily (being laterally unstable), but didn't want to turn! And then the test pilot (E. Brown) goes on to critizise the lack of feel and selfcentering of the aileron/spoilers, and that the aircraft was pretty lousy when flying on instruments, as it lacked stability, making it very tiring to fly. But it had a 'incredidibly mild stall', according to Brown and he concludes that although it was not a success as a night fighter, the Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter was a completely docile aircraft with no really bad features to damn it, except the shockingly bad forward view through the windscreen in rain! For lateral control it used small feeler ailerons coupled to the spoilers that rose vertically out of the wing (upwards and downwards), similar to the function of air brakes on full-size gliders (if not designed the same way and ganged differently). The P-61 Black Widow had them on both surfaces, so moving the right aileron downwards on one side deployed the spoiler on the right wing's bottom, and the spoilers of the left wing's top, and vice versa! Tord, Sweden URL:http://www.aricraft.com/tord/tord.html URL:http://home.beseen.com/hobbies/jebbushell/tord/tord.htm -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Re: Pitch stability and gyros
I have used two-channel gyros on Zagi THLs :-)! But, they do little in helping pitch stability, when using extremely rearward CG, to my surprise, but are excellent in increasing lateral stability in turbulence. Someone wrote that adding rate gyros acts like increasing the inertia, making it somewhat easier to get ahead of the action! What could work is those 'autopilots' that use the horizon as reference, so they basically work when the aircraft is flying straight ahead, but help nothing in a turn! So they act like the 'return to normal flight attitude' gimmick MiG-29s have (connect it incorrectly and your aircraft will flip inverted when activated)! Have not tested my HAL 2001 autopilot yet, though (needs more space than a two-channel piezo gyro)! The HAL doesn't like flying low as trees and other obstacles interfere with its reference system (thinking the tree is part of the ground). These systems are said to have a Soviet Missile technology background, as they are simple and effective, as most Soviet technolgy was/is. Don't know if it is true, though! Heading holding gyros might work too, but cost a lot! Neither system would help in a spin! Tord, Sweden URL:http://www.aricraft.com/tord/tord.html URL:http://home.beseen.com/hobbies/jebbushell/tord/tord.htm -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Tom Rust's Mongo Jr
I think you owe the guys herr at the Zagi list an apology for grossly overstating the power of 05s, as a Mongo Jr will fly very badly - if at all - with a can motor! Tom Rust have passed through everything from 700s to big Aveoxes and is now onto MaxCim brushless equipment - quite far from your 05 :-)! Checking facts before is better than getting a red face :-)! See Tom's own accounts of his trials and tribulations: http://www.nanochip.com/aricraft/manta.html For my own powered Mongo Jr see below, or via Tom Rust's site! Tord, Sweden URL:http://www.aricraft.com/tord/tord.html URL:http://home.beseen.com/hobbies/jebbushell/tord/tord.htm -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Rudders
I have been thinking of using Kasper Wing-style rudders: http://www.members.home.net/twitt/wkasper.htm A similar rudder, simply activated by a cord (run through a thin tube) pulled outward by a central servo to increase the wingtip drag and lessen the lift locally, should be possible to make from Coroplast, or similar material! With two such servos one could use them as very effective airbrakes, too! The most interesting part of the Kasper Wing is actually the leading edge flap, that opens upward forward (a similar device have been sketched for the next generation naval fighter from Boeing - a STOL/VTOL delta of quite different proportions). These maintain lift by reversing the flow over the wing, but only works on swept wings (hint to all Zagi-ists!), to attain very high lifts and incredibly tight loops! Tord, Sweden URL:http://www.aricraft.com/tord/tord.html -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Dave Jones
Just read that Dave Jones, of QFI fame, was killed in a motorbike accident. I knew he had passed away, but not how, till now. I had one ten years ago that almost ended the same way, just diligent doctors in a Scottish hospital made me to come back on my two feet again (it took eight years before I was back at work, and over ten operations - some of them emergency operations as complications were encountered, so it was touch and go - very much so). So, friends, who love motorbikes, take care and never drive without a helmet, or without gloves, as there are very few things you can do in life without your brain or your hands! Legs are less essential - I manage quite well with a duff one since the accident - but without my hands life would be miserable - and with no brain, or with a severely crushed one, life is often a mean and frustrating struggle! And get a PROPER insurance coverage (not just the basic ones you have to by law) - I had not, and still have debts since the accident ... We all learn as long as we live ... Yours, Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] A day out with the Electric Mongo Jr
Hi all,
Tests and success with a fan
Recapitulation
Fitting a propeller to a model without a proper fuselage
has its problems, which some solve by fitting a pusher, as
it then is a little less prone to landing damage.
If you fit a tractor folder you need a long nose, so that
the blades fold properly, and so on.
I got an early Aveox 1114/4Y (now discontinued) and the first
test run, after the problems with it running backwards were solved,
it threw a blade on the little grey Graupner I attached - and the
shaft bent about 45 degrees. I straightened it as well as I could
and henceforth used it for belt drives.
My other 1114/4Y I took special care of and decided early that
it would fit very well to a small fan, which a year later was bought
in the UK. A test with eight cells on my trusted powered Zagi HTL
testbed ('Dash 01') and this little fan and a 400 was not much fun,
and bench tests with the fan combined with the Aveox wasn't that exciting!
So I decided that I'll get a bigger fan (also Graupner) and mount
the 1114/4Y in that, and them both on the Dash 01. Well, flew,
but very short endurance, and I don't dare to mount a bigger, heavier
pack on a Zagi, so I built my Mongo Jr kit that had been lying about in
the garage - that should be big enough, and I decided to use ten RC2000
cells, to get a bit more ommph!
--
Now we get to today, after a first test flight with erratic power,
but excellent results a week ago. It eventually glided, powerless to
its doom - nothing worked, but just the fan pod got banged about.
Sp what was the matter: Was it a faulty Aveox ESC, a noisy enviroment
or what? After repair of the fan pod, now retained in the EPP by a
single loop of copper wire (approx. .8 mm, 0.03"). So in a crash nothing,
hopefully, will be crushed!
So first the bad news: neither another (oldish) ESC helped, with separate
battery, nor switching to a full length antenna on the tx. So it will be
a PCM reciever next time!
For the good news: The combination of a Graupner fan and an Aveox 1114/4Y
is a marriage made in heaven, these two, plus a Mongo Jr and a ten cell
RC2000 pack is near ideal. More impressive, yet innoxious, is hard to find!
I'll use this huge flying wing (over 1000 sq. in.) as a teaching tool,
no doubt!
This Mongo Combo isn't the hottest plane I've flown, far from it, but my,
what a delight! Tried loops, excellent! Tried stalls: Impossible power on!
Tried sharp turns: Effortless! I didn't try inverted flight, nor did I
try rolls, but whatever else I tried it shrugged off like it was nothing -
and this was done on a day when the waves were more foam than waves, say
20- 25 konot winds! The glide ratio, against the wind, wasn't impressive -
more like a carrier aircraft than anything else - heavy landing, but
definitely down, power off; last landing done with fan idling - no
difference!
Effective flight time was 450 seconds, aka 7.5 minutes,
and that was with the motor running full speed 90% of the time! It
climbed, against the wind, seemingly for ever. As I feared control
problems I took it easy after the aircraft passed 300 ft, I can't say
how high it will go, eventually!
Each time I had problems the rx amtenna was pointing away from me - using
a normal antenna improved matters a bit, compared to the duckie, which possibly
wasn't screwed in tight. But not altogether!
Next try will be with a dual conversion rx!
As the wind was high, turbulence was high as well, but it didn't provoke
much reaction from the Mongo Jr, just some shaking of the wings. In a full gale,
this was a bit less, a gyro could be useful! Speed was impressive, at least
60 knots!
In short, an amazingly userfriendly fan-powered aircraft! Endurance was in the
7-8 minutes range, which gives an average of 15A, which to me sounds quite
alright! I am sure I will have a lot of fun with this one - pity it is a bit too
big for the car! But it can be crammed in, with some effort from the driver's
side :-)! Let's put it like this, view isn't totally unrestricted :-)!
I'll use an antenna trailing behind the aircraft next time, as its rx range
seems to be influenced by the Cf rods in the wing! Or any better ideas?
Thanks Bill Swingle, BASH, Mr Iljescu (who carried the Mongo Jr across
the Atlantic), Tom Rust (who took care of it all) and you guys at Graupner
and Aveox that made this flying delight possible!
With a 600 the endurance would be slightly shorter, but that would be
the only difference!
No photos as yet!
Yours,
Tord,
Sweden
--
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Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden
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[RCSE] Mongo Jr finished
My fanned Mongo Jr ended up a little under 4 lbs - not the best weightwise, but it is has a ducted fan on its back and has ten RC2000 to its Aveox 1114/4Y! And is bungee-proof through Cf rods embedded in the wings! First flight tomorrow! Yihaa! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] RE: Trileron
I agree - there seems to be a confusion about twin aileron ships and trileron ships! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Twinstar with gearboxes.
Dear Bill, Sounds ideal, but we all know that four engines is better :_)! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] 'for us on 72 MHz there is nothing to fear'?
There is always problems with frequencies that are multiples of the one you yourself use, so a 72MHz radio might have trouble with 144 (amateur band, I think) and 36 MHz - whatever that is, to mention a few. So while they will not broadcast on 'our' frequencies the equipment can well spill some of the radiation on 72 MHz ... Otherwise RC equipment would never be affected by cellular phones (high above our frequencies, garage door openers, pagers, et cetera)! So keeping a safety distance to equipment emitting many kilowatts is prudent if you are an RC modeler! I would, anyway! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] What is the experience of four or five cells?
I would like to hear from those here that flown with both four and five cells of the same size. How does adding a cell affect endurance? Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] 'Getting started' - comments
Just spent a nice time reading Charles River RC's 'Getting Started' pages. See http://www.charlesriverrc.org/getstart_yourfirstmodel.htm All three texts (gas, electric and glider) are well written, but I do miss a few items in the part about electrics and gliders, and not least the total silence about electric EPP planes and EPP flying wings. And I personally feel that the event of the Zagi has resulted in more successful beginners than any other plane the last few years, and not least now with the event of the self-propelled Zagi 400 (Nope, I don't use one, don't own one, but have built and owned various of other Zagis). Secondly, the best beginner's plane isn't ever a Gentle Lady, unless your flying field have very short grass, as a in-grass landing very easily result in a ripped-off stabilisator. Not too fun to travel ten miles to have your stabilisator ripped off after a three minute flight! A frank beginner wrote recently (in RCSE) that for every hour of flying he had at least three hours of repair with his Gentle Lady, and that guy did have access to a good flying field! Pretty close to ideal beginner's plane is the DAW S1-26 HLG. In an emergency it can be used as a HLG on a flat field, excellently it can be used as a small normal glider (perfect on a high-start and I have even winched mine!), or as a sloper, or back-yard plane. If built lightly it can be equipped with an electric 400 motor, and be used as a powered glider - not scale, but who cares? And in sharp contrast it is quite fast and thus behaves like most modern gliders and can therefore be flown in windy conditions, where any Gentle Lady would have to be left at home! What prompted me to write originally was the lack of price estimates for electric models and gliders. A Hitec 3 SS is perfect for most simple gliders and also for many electric models, even for many IC-powered gliders, so $300 is a fair guess for the cheapest electric model, including radio, batteries and chargers. For conventional gliders, say a GL, with all sundries (covering, et cetera), plus a cheap radio, is about $200 (a Zagi is roughly the same), while a IC-powered GL would fetch about $350 (model, radio, batteries, starter, ...). So I think the choice often is governed by two factors: The salesman, who wants to sell the maximum amount of stuff, and the buyer's purse. If all works well, the buyer ends up with a good plane with a cheap radio, say Zagi + Hitec 3 SS, but very often ends up with a 40-size ARF with a computer radio, that before the beginner has soloed under controlled circumstances have will have been reduced to rubble! Thank the powers above that my third start into this hobby (about ten years after the second try) coincided with the foamies revolution! I bought a wooden glider kit first, but then a Zagi LE landed in my lap - haven't looked back since then! And I have just returned to wooden glider kits, as they agree with good flying and landing ability :-)! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Graupner fan update.
I consider the Graupner fan I wrote about recently nearly ideal - selfcontained, podded and very sturdy, even though very light (less than 2 oz for a 3" fan - exclusive motor, harness and ESC)! Anyway, you should know, by now, that I installed the fan in a Zagi THL, reinforced according to my design with CF rods, and covered with Oracover and some vinyl for effect! With 8 x 500AR (I think, might be 8 x 1000AR) I ended up at just below a kilo according to my fish scales, not too accurate, fly off weight, including a 1500 mAh Nimh flight battery (orginally for a cordless phone). I almost always launch with a bungee, even more so when using fans! First flight was a glide test and durability test - my dear pulled and I said when to let go. Perfect! First time she ever saw a model fly, live, I think! The launch was perfect I pulled a lot of elevator and what a flutter - my, my, my! This Zagi THL has been through three seasons, three motors and two fans, without repairs, except to one servo the other day - I reversed the battery and just one Hitec HS-80MG died! Not the ideal moment for such an event, I must say, just before going on a long trip and the day before the maiden flight with the BIG fan! Neither Aveox ESC, motor, Futaba Single Con. 4-channel rx nor the other Hs-80MG suffered - I think a gear might be broken in the bad one - if one moves the arm manually it suddenly comes awake but behaves erratically. Borrowed an excellent Weller soldering station from my gal, fixed some leads and in the early morning hours before the trip when home to salvage an old HS-80MG, well used from a Ridge Runt wing. Some hot glue as extra fixture to the fan and servo, in addition to scrap EPP we were off - for a long eventful day-long treck by car, in the summer heat and eventually was ready for powered flight. The aforementioned flutter was of a magnitude and power I never seen before - the hasty replacement of the servo might be the cause, but the increased inertia made it look like a crow fighting the winds, not the speedy, destructive flutter I've seen before by Zagis. It lost speed quickly and landed promptly! A new try and this time on power - we were in the lee of a ridge on a blustery 15-20 mph day, so the rideg was rough, but it worked, it worked! A few more flights and the power was gone, and the flights were shorter than any I've experienced with 400, plus 4:1 gearbox and a 11 x 8" folder. So, just as before, about 200W out gives plenty of speed and climb, this gave speed, but not out and out performance with around 125-30W. The revs were evdiently a bit low and I don't see how a 600 would have managed to fly it. My smaller, 2" Graupner fans, with the same motor, gives more rpm, less power and lomger endurance. The smaller, with a stock Speed 600, gives flight sustain- ability for a while on the same battery pack! I could have saved a lot of weight if I've used a modern Aveox ESC, but the one I had didn't want to play ball, and I needed the longer leads! An BEC would have saved a lot of weight, too! So I think ten RC2000 (or BIG Nimhs) in a slightly bigger airframe would be nearly perfect! That is a Mongo Jr, and as I have two fans it will be a stunner!:-)! So Aveox + Graupner = true bliss :-)! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] At last - if works!
I have for a while battled with a Graupner electric ducted fan pod, Graupner # 1374, that is designed for 600 motors (like the Graupner Speed 600 BB), and have previously tested a similar fan (Graupner # 1379) which is designed for 400s. I modified one of my 400 fans for one of my Aveox 1114/4Ys, just needing to drill out the collet to take the slightly thicker shaft of the Aveox. Worked OK, but I figured out that fitting such a motor to the 600 size would be a much better idea. The design is neat, made out of CF epoxy with a 5 blade rotor and a four blade stator (seven stator blades on the 400 size). Rotor diameter is 58 mm for the 400 and 75 mm for the bigger unit - the smaller weighs just over an oz and the bigger less than two! The motors are fitted to an aluminium 'lid' that screws into the centre of the rotor, and the cables are supposed to go out at the sidem but I run mine out the back (three power cables, plus the five for the control electronics, takes quite some room)! I sawed a slit in the nacelle and the centre body so I can run the cables out behind each other in an orderly and low-drag fashion. With eight 500AR cells and the smaller one consumed about 12A, while the bigger has not yet been tested with an amp meter, but the static pull is amazing! With more cells it would run even better, but I'm afraid it might desintegrate! I first used one of the microprocessor-controlled ESC, but nothing happened, it blinked one with its red LED and that was that, so I now use an oldfashioned one, twice as big and much heavier! The 600 fan fits to the 1114/4Y very well, but you have to drill new holes for the securing bolts in the aluminium 'lid' and do the previous mentioned cut for the cables! Glory to Dremel cut-off wheels! And a slight enlargement of the lid's centre hole to fit the front bearing housing on the 1114/4Y - I think the 1000 series would fit as is - but I have none to try on! The advantage with using a thinner motor is that cooling air has ample access thrpugh the cooling holes in the lid and similar holes the rotor's centre :-)! Very well though out! I'll test it later with a Kyosho car motor! If the ordinary cansized Aveoxes had a 3.2 mm axle I would try those, but alas, there is no chance that the fan-securing collet of the bigger can be drilled out that much! So one duff Aveox L60 ESC ... But a great fan! Will be test flown on a Zagi THL and then migrate to a Mongo Jr, together with the other one! And the batteries will be 2.5 Ah Nimhs or RC2000s - much better endurance! This will be fun! Eventually the powerplants - together with the ESCs the Mongo Jr, et cetera, will become part of a Beriev Albatross (Be-40 ?) or Be-200, semilscale flying boat :-)! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [RCSE] Sirius
On Fri 09 Jun, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 6/9/00 7:12:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Needs Sirius' URL, ph., and address, please :-)! Try: www.siriuselectronics.com/ Rich PS, you may not need the / Thanks, everyone who assisted me :-)! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Wing loading formula
Wing loading formula - the nonscientific way - no need to use a Cray or similar :-)! Basically it is just weight through wing area - if the wing is tapered, you have to project a root rib on the centre line (if the wing doesn't pass right through, that is): For a rectangular wing area is width x span For a tapered wing (root width (see above) + tip width)/2 x span (but see below for an easier way to do it). For extremely complex planforms it becomes more complicated - my recommendation is to take the building plan and cut out one wing panel as exact as you manage. If you have a good scales you weigh the plan. Now cut a ten by ten inch square of the same plan. Weigh it! Now you'll divide the wingpanel weight x 2 with the square's weight and you have a fairly exact measure of how big the wing is if you multiply the result with a hundred :-)! Doesn't matter if the wing is less than 100 sq. inches - the method still works! If your scales aint that exact you should make a template out of cardboard of the wing outline and ditto with the square - same piece of cardboard must be used as to ensure it weighs the same per sq. inch! And then redo the division of weights - as above! In most cases it is just enough to measure the width at half-span (that is halfway between the tip and the wing root) and multiply by the span of the wing! Works with tapered wings, as well as with rectangular, as well as with swept wings like Boomerangs and Zagis! Yours, Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Re. decalage and washout?
The zero lift angle should still be negative, and decalage is measured by the profiles respective zero lift angle, not their bottoms! For most stabilisator airfoils they are the same, as flat plate is very common, but flat plate wings are rare! And even the angle from LE to TE isn't the zero lift angle, unless the airfoil is symmetrical. I doubt you have the tips at a negative decalage, but you might. Under high loads many wings twist and asume a more or less zero-lift angle on the outer panels, thus reducing maximum lift, thus prevents wing breakage under load! Test by fly fast on a slope so you can stand behind the aircraft and at the same level. IF the wingtips do bend downward you do have a problem, if not, let it be for the time being! Could always be adjusted by reheating the covering! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Re. Rules and common sense
There are several things that could make model flying safer to the unwary public, while freak accidents, whether provoked by intentional interfering, or not. For instance flying models in a public spot while intoxicated should, in my mind, be as severely punished as drunk driving. But people do fly while drunk and kill bystanders - or just people staying in the area. That modellers fall out of trees or get maimed by pylon models during a race is just part of the game, but what about gliders that suddenly go out of control and crash far away from the pilot, carried aloft and away by thermals or wind. What then? Or when an model air show goes wrong and models end up in the public, with props achewing and wings abeating? Who's in charge then - who takes the costs and blame? Another scenario is when two models involved in a midair hurt people on the ground - what then? Does the club's insurance kick in, or what? A guy here got into trouble and called on his fellow pilots attention, so limping back to the airfield he almost did it - but not quite. Over the parking lot he crashed and his model made a sorry mess of an Audi - The cost, when done by the cheapest means possible, was about $3,000. Both were insured and the pilot's home insureance would have kicked in had he been deemed to be reckless and/or without any control, but he was almost in control, so no money, and the same ruling gave the national organisation's insurers (that normally cover those costs not covered by by your home insurance)! So the two ex-friends had to work it out on their own, and their respective spouses had a thing or two to say about model airplanes - bye, bye, new fur coats! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Power to weight for a motor glider
How many watts per lbs (or kilo) should a scale motor glider have to look realistic in the air? 25W per lbs? It is a DAW Ka6E I plan to power :-)! Approx. 3 meter span. Just read a review of the Graupner Katana motor glider and the reviewer wrote that the roll before lift off was some 70 yards!! To me that sounds massive, but is it? I've seen jey models take off in far less! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] First flight (New Zagi owner ...)
First, try to find a slope! Take off the propeller! Then throw the plane slightly downward and try to fly in an even manner down the hill (with nil spped visavi the air it will just fall out of the sky)! And use a forward CG (as per instructions)! Later you can experiment with relaxed stability! Typical beginners errors: Not understanding how controls change when you fly towards yourself (your RC car experience should make that easy). Doing too big and erratic control inputs (smooth and soft is the word - like you're are trying to arouse your bed partner - apply force only when your on top of things :-)! Trying to fly too slowly! Glide ratio is much worse at low speed than high speed, so try to keep the speed up! If you're getting close to a stall push the stick fully forward till the aircraft is more or less vertical, so it picks up speed fast and you regain (hopefully) full control! After three, four flights down the hill (unpowered) you're ready for power - if it wants to fly too far off just pull full elevator and full aileron - it sure will descend rapidly but with little speed! And without a propeller in place there very is little that can break! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Pics (re: Unbelievable photo) - off subject
Yep. Don't think the still and the movie is from the same event! The still seems to be taken at some altitude in rather clear weather, while the F-14 is flying in less spectacular weather close to the surface! I had that F-14 mpeg before (with particulars about when it was taken), but I had hoped this mpeg was another, as it had another name (original name is F-14_1/mpeg)! Alas, wasted some money downloading it again ... Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Together they die - The Loss of the French Connection
If you're going to die in your plane there are worse ways ... Art Scholl once started to roll his Pitts at low altitude while travelling from one point to another on his busy aerobatic display shedule. The problem was that he was at such a high altitude, even if the was just a few hundred feet off the ground that the plane didn't make it - no Pitts ever will, so he crashed into the ground with an almighty bang - luckily there was no fire. People nearby rushed to help him out of the smouldering wreck, but they hesitated for a while as they heard the terrible curses emitting from the wreckage: 'You idiot, you moron, why did you suddenly forget all about density altitude? Why, why, why? You weren't 600 ft above sea level, you were over 6,000 ft over sea level!' He didn't break anything that day, except his pride, his means of income, and his reputation as an infalliable pilot. Maybe the French Connection had a similar mental lapse? We'll never know ... Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Spoileron/aileron reaction
It is not that easy to predict how a model behaves when spoilerons are activated, just as flaps and dive brakes can create various reactions. Spoilerons (which in essence are ailerons, or flaps, just moving upward, instead of both upward and downward). Many aircraft, model and full-size, pitch up with the developement of flaps (or flaperons), like the DAW S1-26 HLG, as the flow over the wing hits the stabilisator at a different angle than before - and the nose down momentum of the flap is more than amply compensated by the stabilisator. A T-tail is probably less affected by the the downwash behind the flaps - and a few aircraft run out of elevator power when full flaps are deployed, unless a lot of extra incidence is cranked in - my friend's B-17 acts just like that at low speed, due to the great shift of CG as the gear goes down and forward to lock down, plus the flaps momentum adds up to more than normal elevator power. Most spoilers and spoileron, and crowed ailerons, result in a nose up momentum, but there might be exceptions :-)? Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Stalling and speed of sound
The two limiting speeds for any subsonic aircraft is the stalling speed, where flight is no longer sustainable and the aircraft's top Mach speed, a speed relative to the local speed of sound. As you climb upward these two creep slowly close and closer, to eventually meetm and making subsonic flight impossible. But before it goes that bad you'll have a higher ground-speed if you go higher, a fact the jetliners take advantage of, of course! IC engines, like glow or ignition engines, fare badly as altitude increases, as they eventually get starved of oxygen. Those flying electric models at high altitude will notice faster flights and higher propeller revs and possibly longer endurance, but not much else to worry about. Any non turbo-charged engine will have to be continiously monitored and the needles readjusted if you plan to break any records :-)! So higher stalling speeds, higher cruise speed, and higher tops speed, if the model is a normal one. A very fast one might run into compressibilty problems at the top of Mount Everest, had you planned to take your Vindicator there :-)! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] T-33
I have a friend who swears by it (and any other Kyosho he's tried: their choppers, gliders, et cetera), and he certainly flies his stock! But if you mount one of AstroBob's brushless 05s in it (there is a special version), you'll have a rocket! Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[RCSE] Single stick
To Graupner's MC-16 and up (equivalent to the bigger JRs) one can replace one stick handle with one that contains a stepless trimmer (like a single stick :-) ). The only problem is that it does not neutralize itself, but I think I am going to solve that too! I too prefer single stick, or one and a half stick, having flaps/throttle on the left and the rest on the right. As I am quite ambidexturous (sp?) I can now use either hand and still have access to either hand for holding models, shaking hands, et cetera! I woukld think the same is available to JR radios? Tord, Sweden -- If reply difficulties - use [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tord S. Eriksson, Ovralidsg.25:5, S-422 47 Hisings Backa, Sweden RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
