retractable water rudders?
01-05-2005, 06:50 PM
#2
RE: retractable water rudders?
"Scale" operation is for the water rudders to be retracted unless the plane is in "displacement"(slow taxi) mode.
For this, a separate retract servo would be used.
Most model rudders (ernst, williams) are loaded in the down position by rubber bands so they will kick up at high speeds and upon meeting an obstacle. Ernst rudders have provision for scale-like cable retraction.
It's kinda neat to retract the rudders: at idle, the plane will weathervane into the wind. With big rudders DOWN, sometimes the plane will pivot around the rudders and refuse to turn upwind.....making necessary a long hike or boat ride to the downwind end of the lake.
For this, a separate retract servo would be used.
Most model rudders (ernst, williams) are loaded in the down position by rubber bands so they will kick up at high speeds and upon meeting an obstacle. Ernst rudders have provision for scale-like cable retraction.
It's kinda neat to retract the rudders: at idle, the plane will weathervane into the wind. With big rudders DOWN, sometimes the plane will pivot around the rudders and refuse to turn upwind.....making necessary a long hike or boat ride to the downwind end of the lake.
01-08-2005, 11:07 PM
#4
RE: retractable water rudders?
I'm not sure what you mean about sailing high wings, but High-wing trainers such as the LT-40 make excellent floatplanes. The Sig Kadet Senior is probably the all-time greatest. I have been flying a Senior Telemaster for a few years and it's wunnerful..
They DO tend to catch a crosswind and blow over. All is not bad, for if a high-wing trainer flops over it floats on the wing, with the engine wet.
If you are flying in a windy place, the less dihedral and the lower the wing you have the better. Astro-Hogs and 4*s are good. Probably the best windy-weather plane is the delta-winged NORTHSTAR from Balsa USA, because it sits incredibly low to the water. It is something for an advanced flyer, tho, because it is quick and and I have seen them to be disorienting in keeping track of upright and inverted.
They DO tend to catch a crosswind and blow over. All is not bad, for if a high-wing trainer flops over it floats on the wing, with the engine wet.
If you are flying in a windy place, the less dihedral and the lower the wing you have the better. Astro-Hogs and 4*s are good. Probably the best windy-weather plane is the delta-winged NORTHSTAR from Balsa USA, because it sits incredibly low to the water. It is something for an advanced flyer, tho, because it is quick and and I have seen them to be disorienting in keeping track of upright and inverted.
01-09-2005, 08:53 AM
#5
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RE: retractable water rudders?
I think you would have to have a lot of skill to sail... neither rudder is particularly effective in displacement mode. It may have a lot to do with the scale of our models vs the size of the air and water molecules we are operating in. Plus, even a large scale floatplane is only a couple of feet above the surface vs 10 to 20 feet for a full size, so wind catching ability is more limited..
