Wow, I'm on the same page with Dean! Cool!

Funny, but that's exactly how I designed my first plane. I took some basic measurements that I knew were sound, drew a straight line on a piece of paper....made tick marks where I wanted specific measures, and connected the dots. And that's where it started. By now it's really changed a lot, but I had to start somewhere.

Refining is an ongoing process, and you're never actually "done". That's one thing I think people don't quite get about pattern designs, is that they are not static. They are dynamic. Even the gurus are just more experienced and have just simply tried more things over the years. Some work, and as Dean mentioned, some do NOT work....but on a different design, the thing that didn't work may be just the ticket. And that's the problem. You can't just change wings on a plane and expect it to fix everything. You have to change or at least slightly tweak almost everything. The better the plane flies in actual testing, the less tweaking is needed. But we are a bunch of perfectionists, seeking perfection knowing full well it's unattainable. But along the way some darn fine pattern planes get made!!!

I have a question, one that I'm pondering right now. How does the thickness of a vertical fin/rudder come into play? It seems in general that a thicker one may be better for some of the current designs, but I'm wondering to what degree. Of course, I have about 5 different fins and rudders made to play with and see for myself

Yeah....I'm just the crazy one that posts this stuff knowing how many people are either not interested or completely disagree. I just hope it helps somebody out there.

-M