At 11:25 PM 9/21/1999 -0500, you wrote:
>I weighed the stock Boomerang elevons before I sanded them down and glassed
>them. It was, 3/4 oz., bias on both sides, with finishing resin. The net
>gain in weight was no more than a couple grams.
It isn't the weight that matters. It's where the weight is located. Any
additional weight aft of the hinge line is bad news as far as flutter is
concerned. Since most of us use tape hinges, all the weight is aft of the
hinge line.
I remember getting flutter in a pattern ship when I cut a 1/8 inch strip
off the trailing edge of the ailerons to reduce sensitivity. This was BCR
(before computer radios.) Since it was a pattern ship and the fix was a
field repair, I slapped a quick coat of 5 minute epoxy on the bare balsa to
seal it from the messy engine exhaust. The extra weight of the epoxy was
enough to induce aileron flutter during a split S. Fortunately, only three
of the five aileron hinges broke and I was able to get it on the ground
without further damage.
Chuck Anderson
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