I decided to try dyeing the balsa before covering with translucent film and chose pale pink to complement the ‘heather’ pink Solarfilm I’d bought for the underside.
I should have known that pink and yellow makes orange. Will orange and pink really GO together??
Rather than use plastic hinges I thought stitching might be nice.
After covering I dropped the radio gear in and discovered to my surprise that my little 4-cell NiMH battery was too heavy for the nose so it had to go above the switch in the fuse top.
Here’s the radio installation (plus the 2 flaperon servos in the wings). The nose is completely empty!
I avoided unsightly bands going over the fuselage top by adding a (sort of) 3rd wing dowel – so some of the wing bands also hold the top on.
For the finishing touch I simply taped a strip of film to the cutting board, taped a paper print of the word ‘mediator’ over the top, and cut through with a scalpel.
Bottoms up!
Finished weight under 850g/30oz. Wing loading only 9.5 oz/sq’ which is less than my Kloudrider!
For inspiration: thanks to George Aldrich (Peacemaker) and Steve Lange (Le Fish).
What a pretty little model even if pink and orange do not like each other! Beautifully designed and produced David .
Interesting to hear about flight tests….is that possible? I would imagine it will need pretty sharp reactions . Do you have a formula for deciding C of G ?
John
Thank you John. Even although I say it myself, I’m really very very pleased with how she looks. How she flies might be a different matter!
I’ve not flown a zero-dihedral glider before but I have flown similar powered models in the past so I’m okay with the prospect of flying something with no built-in stability. I guess highly aerobatic models are sensitive by nature. I’ve reduced the flaperon throw to 20% and will reduce the elevator throw too before her maiden. I can always increase them later.
My rule of thumb for cg (provided the wings are not swept) is 1/3rd back from the LE then suck it and see.
Happy to post a comment about her test flights.
Comments on the Model Flying Forum are saying the plan should be published in RCM&E! (rather premature)
Thanks for your interest John.
I once had a similar model called the Phantom made from the plans handbook. No dihedral,mid wing and aileron/elevator only I was uninitiated with ailerons then and could only get it to fly a few yards without hitting the deck. I was at BH and persevered getting further each flight.
However once I got the hang of aileron control and stopped panicking it became my favourite model and flew really well.
John
I will see if I can google a pic
PS, I once used stitching on a vintagy glider’s elevator and was really pleased how the method gave a solid but very free hinge.
J