DonStegall

My Feedback: (1)

The Viper 500 wing is a good wing. The only real problems with it are the weight and the ailerons. The weight can be anywhere from 18 to 19.5 ounces out of the box. And the ailerons having only a 1" chord have resulted in many people losing control as they get slow on landing. The weight is more of an issue for the clubs running Quickie 25 as many have adopted a 3 pound 4 ounce minimum weight limit.

I'm going to attempt to build a better wing for the Viper and other planes that use the S8064 airfoil. I will keep a close eye on weight and strength. This wing will not be as strong as a Viper 500 wing. But it should be up to Quickie 25 and AMA 424.

I'm going to start with my Light wing. This wing has .007" x 1" carbon fiber laminate on top and .007" x .75" on bottom with fiberglass on the trailing edge. It also has 1/64" plywood on the trailing edge. Because I am using contest balsa, I have made the decision to start using at least 36" of 1/2 ounce to 3/4 ounce fiberglass between the skins and the cores. On the S8064 wings I am using cloth between the entire surface of the balsa and foam.

With this wing all trimmed up, except for the last bit of trailing edge, the weight is 9.5 ounces. It needs a leading edge. Even though I cut the cores for a 3/16" LE, I am going to put 1/4" on it just in case I sanded down or trimmed down any little bit too far.