Dan, Many of your questions have answers and much more info on RCgroups.com on the Handlaunch forums. See:http://www.rcgroups.com/hand-launch-96/
As for the other questions, most are using composite winged planes because of their stiffness, airfoil accuracy, and ease of building. There are many built up plane kits out there, of which the DL50 is nice. there are build logs for it as well as others Whig you might find helpful. As for the separate rudder and elevator, sub-rudders assist with reducing boom bending, hence building a rudder and not having to split it for an elevator is nice. As for elevators, again, you have a much lighter and stronger structure. However, one of the best real reasons is transporting the plane. You can remove the elevator and the fuse then lies flat in a box, or whatever. The tailfeathers are quite light and delicate, so this prevent hanger rash! As for aerodynamics, you still have the intersections of the surfaces, so drag is not really that much different. In some cases you can uses an all moving stab, and that helps with obtaining the best incidence for launching and thermaling. There are other reasons, so again, I invite you to look at RCgroups, and you can pour through all the old posts and questions. There are lots of pictures, so that helps alot too. Chris > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: [RCSE] Several DLG questions > From: "Dan Ashenfelter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Tue, August 12, 2008 5:00 pm > To: <soaring@airage.com> > Gentlemen: > Before flying season fades into the sunset, I would like to build a DLG. At > this point in my life I have more time than money, so I am looking at a > built-up entry level kit rather than spending $300+ for an ARF or a > high-performance kit. > I have been researching quite a bit over the last several days, and the > conventional built-up kit selection is rather sparse. Right now, the most > likely candidates are the QF2 from Mountain Models and the Gambler AF from > Wright Brothers RC. I have also considered the relatively low cost ARF > Apache from SoaringUSA.com > As I researched built-up DLG's it seemed that most of them were 50" span or > less rather than the usual 1.5m span that dominates the higher end models. Is > this for structural integrity or mostly for personal convenience/choice? As a > novice DLG flyer should I look toward shorter span models or stick with the > 1.5m ships? > I am also curious to understand why the vertical and horizontal tail surfaces > are separated on most DLG's. Aerodynamically I know that fewer intersections > helps with drag, but are there other reasons for doing so? > I have been flying r/c for 36+ years so I am not a novice to model flight but > DLG is a whole new world for me. > If anyone on the exchange has experience with the models named above (or > similar kits) or can offer a novice DLG pilot some practical advise on span > choice, Rudder/Elevator vs Rudder/Aileron/Elevator, polyhedral vs dihedral > models or any other area that might prove helpful, I would be very grateful. > Thanks > Dan Ashenfelter > Fort Dodge, Iowa 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
