BillL

Thanks for all the replies to my previous post (Bird of Time - wing tips). I've got the Dynaflite kit, not sure what specific airfoil it uses. Sounds like a little washout couldn't hurt. It's good to hear that this is a forgiving model as I'm just now getting back into flying gliders after a ten year hiatus. If I can bend your ears a bit further on those wing tips, I'd like to ask another question. The manual says, at one point, "If you plan on landing on the wing-tips very often you might want to add sheer webs all the way to the tip" then goes on to remind the builder that lighter tips equals better responsiveness. Now, I don't plan on any wing-tip landings but you know what that's worth. The above quote gives me a sense that there might be a weakness here that needs babying. I intend to fly this plane for purely recreation purposes, so the utmost responsiveness isn't a requirement, but I don't want to glom on a lot of unnecessary structure either. I realize this plane cannot be made bulletproof (alas) and must be flown with care. When these BOT's land in an "unplanned manner" what is it that's most likely to break? The wing-tips? Is there anything that you would beef up or do differently if you were to build another one? Any thoughts out there concerning the line between prudence and overkill? What the heck!... Why don't I just open this right up and say I'd like to hear from anyone who'd be willing to share their experiences of building, launching, flying, landing, crashing, or repairing these beautiful Birds so I can learn from you. There, I said it.
That wasn't so hard,
Bill

Oh yeah, my thoughts on adding spoilers is to Y-harness HS-81's from the root bay of each wing, flex-cabling from there to trailing-edge-stock hinged off the back of the main spar. Yea's? Nay's? Three bays? Four Bays? Inboard? Outboard? Can Monokote be used as the hinge?
(Pick a question, any question!)

Alex J

Pictures and building guide here: http://isoar.ca/~andrewm/rc/bot/

It doesn't get much better than that!

Alex