Wonderful Wonder
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Wonderful Wonder
I have always liked the looks of the Sig Wonder and after seeing an expert pilot throw an e-powered version all over the sky I hoped to build one some day. This year I built the kit for an OS.15LA engine and my heart rate hit the red line in the first two flights. It was just too sensitive in pitch for me. So I decided to make a drastic change. I cut off the stock tail with twin fixed rudders and added about 5 inches to the fuselage. I then made conventional tail surfaces and added a servo for a moveable rudder. This has turned out to be the most fun model I have ever flown. Great big loops and 3-roll 80 degree Victory zooms. My fellow club members, most of whom think no plane with less than a .60 engine is worth building, were lined up to watch me fly it even though I am not an expert. There is a small photo of the model in Randy Randolph's column in the January, 2003 issue of Flying Models.
Dave Segal
Dave Segal
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Wonderful Wonder
Dave,
I just got my latest issue of FM. Saw your kit-bashed wonder. Looks great! I bet it makes for a hell of a smoother flier. Do you find it is less affected by the wind now? Thats the only thing I disliked about my wonder, it seemed to get tossed all over the place in the slightest breeze.
Andrew
I just got my latest issue of FM. Saw your kit-bashed wonder. Looks great! I bet it makes for a hell of a smoother flier. Do you find it is less affected by the wind now? Thats the only thing I disliked about my wonder, it seemed to get tossed all over the place in the slightest breeze.
Andrew
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Wonderful Wonder
> Do you find it is less affected by the wind now? <
I can't compare to the first two flights but in about 25 flights since the conversion I have not been concerned about winds of 10mph or so. The weight of the stretched plane is 32 oz. including one ounce of nose ballast.
Dave Segal
I can't compare to the first two flights but in about 25 flights since the conversion I have not been concerned about winds of 10mph or so. The weight of the stretched plane is 32 oz. including one ounce of nose ballast.
Dave Segal
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Wonderful Wonder
The aft end of the stretched fuselage measures 11-5/8" from the wing trailing edge to the fuselage end. (Measure from the wing TE and not from the aileron TE.) The extension plus the weight of the added rudder servo made it tail-heavy. I moved the engine forward by placing a 3/16" lite ply spacer behind the engine mount and put 1 oz. lead under the engine. If building this version from scratch you might extend the firewall forward about 1/2" to minimize the ballast. The plane is balanced at the point specified in the plan.
The horizontal tail spans 14". Its chord on the fuselage centerline is 7" and the chord at the tip is 5" Within these dimensions the elevator chord is 1.5". The vertical tail is 5" high with a chord of 7" at the bottom and 4.75" at the top. Within these dimensions the rudder chord is 2.25". The elevator hinge line is at the end of the fuselage so that the elevator overhangs the rear of the plane. The rudder is set so that its TE is at the elevator hinge line.
Dave Segal
The horizontal tail spans 14". Its chord on the fuselage centerline is 7" and the chord at the tip is 5" Within these dimensions the elevator chord is 1.5". The vertical tail is 5" high with a chord of 7" at the bottom and 4.75" at the top. Within these dimensions the rudder chord is 2.25". The elevator hinge line is at the end of the fuselage so that the elevator overhangs the rear of the plane. The rudder is set so that its TE is at the elevator hinge line.
Dave Segal