My apologies to the list for this long message, but Jeff's email address doesn't seem to work. Jeff asked: >What do you think of the dove? I have the Dove I, not the Dove II. The Dove I looks like a scaled-down open-class composite plane. The wings taper down near the tips. Everyone comments that it is a very nice looking plane. This is probably not optimum for a 2-m plane where a wider chord is more efficient at low Reynolds number. The Dove II has a wider chord near the tips and more wing area. It probably flies better. That being said, I have greatly enjoyed my Dove I, my first full-house plane. ========================================== >Is the weight listed at www.nesail.com for the Dove II actual flying >weight (26 ounces seems light for a 2-meter glider with 6 micro servos, >receiver and 600-mAh receiver pack)? My Dove I came out at 26-oz with 6 microservos and a battery around 500 mAh. The fuselage is very narrow so fitting everything in was a challenge. Instead of the "special" battery pack sold by NSP, I bought a pack in a "stick" configuration, i.e., four batteries end to end. This pack fits nicely along the bottom of the fuselage with the front end far up into the nose. The small receiver is not hard mounted, but rather it sits loose above the battery. Before choosing a receiver and battery pack, I suggest that you check out the geometry so everything fits and balances. I only needed a small amount of lead in the nose to balance the plane. ============================================ >Since the listed torque outputs seems close, what would be the pros/cons >of using all Hitec HS81MG versus the suggested five HS85BB and the one >HS85MG? (HS81MG's are a bit lighter and faster, but I would assume >that unless you're using gyros, that servo speed is not much of an >issue). I used 6 microservos similar to the HS80. So far, I have stripped only one gear set. Two HS81MG servos might be better for the flaps. Being a high-wing plane with fairly narrow flaps, the tendency to hit the ground on landings is less than for many other full-house planes. =========================================== >How strong is the wing on the Dove II? Can it handle a hi-start with the >3/16 inner 5/16 outer diameter tubing? (I use 50 feet of tubing, 200 >feet of monofilament fishing line). The wing appears to be quite strong. I wouldn't try zoom launches on a winch, but you shouldn't have a problem with a high start. Your high start is probably too weak for a good launch with the Dove. I have launched my Dove on a much stronger high start and into a strong wind without any problems. For a discussion of what size high start you need, and my experience with the Dove I, see: http://www.charlesriverrc.org/articles/design/dickwilliamson_histartphysics.htm I did have problems with the wing tips breaking off at the polyhedral joint. A couple of strips of fiber glass over the joint solved this. Also, the two-piece wing gave me some grief, so I permanently joined the wing halves and fiberglassed the joint. I think that the Dove II comes with a one-piece wing On the Dove I, the rear wing hold down is two nylon bolts that go through the very thin rear part of the wing. This part of the wing broke easily whenever the wing tips hit on a landing. I moved the rear mounting point forward to a beefier part of the wing and eliminated the problem only to encounter another. The fiberglass fuselage would crack around the mounting points when the tips hit. My final solution has worked very well. I use a single hold-down bolt and line the wing saddle and underside of wing with rubber and sand paper so that the wing is quite secure when flying, but can rotate if a tip hits the ground. This solution was inspired by observing the construction of a Mantis. ============================================= >How strong is the fuse on the Dove II...do the 2-meters fly in >contest where skegs and "dork" landings are used? Is the Dove this >type of contest glider? The fuselage seems quite strong with the exception of the wing-mounting issue discussed above. I haven't flown the plane in a contest, but it would probably do quite well in light winds. ============================================== >Last Dove question...the Dove is pretty light... what kind >of winds can it handle? Would occasional slope usage be risky >for this model (local slope winds range from 8 to 25mph, but >10 to 15mph is the normal range). Despite its light weight, the plane flies reasonably fast so it can handle reasonable winds. Winds up to 15 mph are probably OK. The narrow fuselage and wing-mounting design make it difficult to add ballast for windier conditions. I would worry about crash landing the plane in aggressive slope situations. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dr. Richard C. Williamson Phone: 781-981-7857 Room C-317 FAX: 781-981-0122 Lincoln Laboratory Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Massachusetts Institute of Technology 244 Wood Street Lexington, MA 02420-9108 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
