RE: SPEED PLANE ATTEMPT
It is close to finished, a couple more coats of clear and then I can do the accent colors on the fin stripes (florescent orange) they are now white, and the same wing pattern on the bottom as the top in the orange as well. That just leaves the battery hatch needing a coat of paint, Iw ant it to look like the cargo bay doors on the shuttle (you may have noticed the shuttle like paint job) and it will be ready to go as far as the finish. I've taken a lot of time trying to get as smooth a finish on it as possible, and have am just now sanding it before the last coat of clear lacquer goes on, the orange is an enamel so it goes on last so right after I buff out the last clear coat it goes on. Other than that all that I have to do is install the servos and linkage and it will be ready to try out. I just hope that the structure I used helps the flutter issue that took out Mike's first one, and limited the top speed of the second version. I was concerned about the stiffness of my control surfaces so I embedded some .02 carbon fibber rods in the elevon skins, so it is about as rigid as I could make it not using a lot of composite construction. From the beginning I had it in my mind if it held together I could use it for a plug to make a mold. I had sent Mike that same photo, he likes how it looks, he has taken some time off from flying for a bit but we have stayed in touch. He has two other versions of the design ready to go, one is close to his first two versions, and the second one is a BWB version, both of them came out pretty nice, it will be interesting to see how those work out.
Your design looks really well thought out, it clear to see you have worked out a lot of details before you started.
I think your 200 estimate is very conservative...
It will be interesting to see where it tops out.
Any estimate as to the AUW for this bird?