ORIGINAL: MHester
Well I didn't get 2nd at the nats, my friend did [8D] (I didn't go) But soon....
Yes I added about 1/2" to the elevator all the way across, and used about a 10 deg throw with 80% expo. That made for a SUPER stable plane.
The trouble is now it's TOO stable, it just won't handle the snaps and spins cleanly. Oh it'll do them, but exits are always a guessing game which way it'll be pointed. You really have to dig deep to get that thing to snap.
So with the new wings and tail, it should resolve that problem. I clipped 2" off the wings of my first 3, then the one that burned had an additional 1" clipped as well. It was getting there, but by then the stab was too big, and needed to be downsized. Which brings me to my current arrangement......
This isn't really a new thing, I've seen T2Ks with patriot wings, prophecy wings, all kinds of crazy stuff. Thing is that fuse and rudder are almost perfect. it also has the added benefit of stealthing the wings if they're off a little, allowing you to slip slightly in a crosswind without getting busted. I can't tell you how many rounds I took doing that
That plane just puts the judges to sleep.
Okie dokie, I'm off to build a chin cowl.....
-Mike
MHester, go and get them with your Tempest. What a sweet thing that would be if you could win some of the plastic bottles with a lovingly handcrafted balsa plane. In fact there isn't a single plane of the French kits now in fashion I would trade my Typhoon for.
I enjoy building, so I don't mind testing a few different wings on it (also it can be a lot of fun), so I will stick with this plane.
The last time I assembled a fiber glass kit I got so bored with it that it took me a year to complete what shouldn't have taken more than two months.
The best snap-spin plane I have tried is the Kyosho Majestic. Just a tiny little plane, but so capable. No matter how bad the spin entry was, this plane would fall in and out of spin without any effort. So I scaled up the Majestic wing and my original plan was to have two sets of wings for the Typhoon, but it just didn't look right. So I would rather like to stay with the straight trailing edge and reduce the wing area. Maybe take off an inch all around.
Another idea is to take two inches off the root.
The funny thing was, when scaling up the Majestic wing, it just started to look like the Magic wing. The double taper was similar. Hmmm maybe Hanno got it right all those years ago.
The Magic is a plane I know well and it would snap and spin very well, but not as easily as the Majestic. Also the Magic would glide forever compared to the Majestic so it must be the wing loading what is making all the difference.
But of course I can only compare planes I know.
Also, aren't the scale guys snapping their heavy planes everywhere, because of the high wingload.
Thank you for your information about improving the Typhoon, it is well appreciated.