RCU Forums - View Single Post - Scaling to Keep Flying Characteristics
View Single Post
Old 08-21-2011 | 08:02 PM
  #3  
jeaton01
My Feedback: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
From: Woodland CA
Default RE: Scaling to Keep Flying Characteristics

I agree that is a good resource. One other factor he did not address is mass distribution. In full scale airplanes the major weights are generally located closer to the CG than in models. In other words the moment of inertia is greater relatively in models than in full scale and this makes them less maneuverable and less stable. It's better to build a light model and ballast it at the CG to get the proper scale weight than it is to build heavier wings and tails and have to add weight in the nose to balance the model.