I have seen Troy Lawicki use one that retracted into the fuse. Good thing too since it was made from aluminum and the forward edge was sickle shaped. The bottom edge could have chiseled someone's head open! He used it in the correct manner thou, he allowed the plane to slide on the grass before exposing the hook. When he pulled the switch, the plane stopped within 6 inches!!! [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Has anyone thought or made a retractable skeg? I realize this might place too much >stress on the retract mechanism, but it could be triggered to lock in the down >position with a simple spring and lock type setup. Just a thought, then you wouldnt >have the extra drag during flight. > > Greg > > Michael Neverdosky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > ScrollSander wrote: > > (Are Rec vehicles plane magnets?) > > YES! > > > So now you see my backgound thoughts, let me state a few advantages and > > disadvantages of skegs. > > Advantages: > > Stops you right away near the spot, preventing fly-thorughs for blown > > landings at contests. > > Perpetuates the spike landings and exact inch measurements for landings. > > Keeps the servos from stripping and the flaps from being damages. > > Give you better control on landings > > There are more, no doubt. > > > > Disadvantages: > > Stops you short of the spot, when you are truely short on your landing. > > Places sharp, small radius edges projecting from the fuse if the planes > > should have to come into contact with people. > > Gives you less control on landings in crosswind situations, perhaps causing > > the plane to flip over. > > There are more, no doubt. > > I wonder why someone would go to great trouble to build a very slick and > clean fuse, designed to follow the airflow around the plane in flight > and > then just put gobs (technical term) of drag on it with a skeg? > > Remember that a skeg does not just help somewhat in getting the plane > stopped > on landing, it also adds drag, weight, reduces the directional stability > of the plane > and also is ugly. > > Now that the skeg makes the plane less stable on final, you might want > to > increase the size of the tail to compensate. Of course this adds to the > weight > and drag of the plane making the skeg less attractive. > > > In all, my opinion would be to keep the skegs. You could define skeg size, > > but that may only increase fuse diameter to permit the flaps not to hit the > > ground. > > I personally prefer to have a plane designed so that the flaps do not > hit the > ground. A slightly taller fuse will be stronger and stiffer even at the > same > weight. The additional wetted surface drag is offset by having a lot > less > turbulance than a skeg. > > Using a skeg makes doing a touch and go very very difficult. Which is > more useful? > I think that should be up to the pilot. > > > It does not matter, just as long as I know what I need to have to be > > competitive, and what I need to practice with. > > Good rules make for good contests. > What the rules are is far less important than that the rules are clear > and > defined ahead of time. > > > Of course, you could get rid of any landing points whatsoever, have a 100 > > foot qualifying circle, in or out. We all could get a plane into a circle > > without dorking or spiking it, couldn't we? Heaven forbid! > > How about a hand catch option? A hand catch by the pilot gets a 110 > point landing, > a dropped or damaged plane in a hand catch attempt gets zero landing > points. > > > Good Thermals and Troublemaking. :) :) :) > > Sounds good to me. :-)) > :-)) > > michael N6CHV AMA 77292 > 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-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
