ORIGINAL: Montague

I like the sliding bracket. Is that just for setup, or do you want to fly with it that way? If you fly with it that way, I'd put the wing rods under the metal rails. That does mean you'll be landing on them, but they can take it. Or use a metal hook system like a lot of guys use on that type of fuse. But I'm not sure I'd rely on that metal bracket to hold shape in very high-Gs, and especially not in a mid-air. So I'd make sure that the wing is holding directly to the rails, and the bracket is just there to keep the box from moving.

****I have the same concerns. this was setup for first flight adjustments. I'm thinking it will hold for the first few trimming flights. The redesign saddles will screw into the rails?? ****

Also, you might think about a way to keep the box from flying forward on a nose-first arrival. I've seen a number of Axe-style planes punch holes in the fuel tank as the box comes forward, pushing the tank and throttle servo together and into the engine. Often times, the plywood wing saddle box dies in the process as well, but it kind of depends on exactly what hits what. In any event, look at what will happen should the fuse do a lawn dart, and see if you can reduce damage.


**** good point! With my concerns about the CG being right, A lawn dart could happen. Maybe for now I'll pop a couple of screws up through the rail in front of the saddle. I'd rather destroy the saddle than the servo and tank..*****

about the size of your plane, it's not small over all for a .15, but I think your wing area is a little small for a competitive SSC design based on what I've seen. The problem comes from the SSC rules requirement of a minimum weight of 2.5lbs (40oz). At that weight, and the intentionally limited power, SSC planes need to have a light wing loading to perform well.

*****I have 3 good sets of wings to play with. The pinks are my first attempt at finishing. The others are larger. 10" root with 5.25 tip and 32" long each. On one, instead of cutting in a 1/4" x 1/4" spar I cut the whole front of the wing off lengthwise and spliced in a 1/4" piece of pine. This wing is solid as a rock and weighs about the same!
I;m waiting to finish the 3rd wing. I'm not sure how strong I have to make it by adding a spar??
My pink wing has some flex to it but I stopped the spar about 7-8" from the wingtip and think that will be a weak point when the wing flexes.*****

Speaking of which, I can't tell from your pictures what your wing saddle looks like. If you have a flat bottom on the airfoil, make sure you aren't setting the flat part of the airfoil down parallel to the metal rails. Doing that gives you a ton of positive incidence, which you probably don't want. You'll probably want a little negative, maybe a degree or two.

****** I used the same file for the saddle and the clark Y template. I kept the centerline of the airfoil parallel with the fuse rails so I would think its at 0 incedence?? This is what I mean about that 1st toss, so many factors involved.*****

The good news is that the Clark Y has fairly nice stall handling.

btw, I meant to ask earlier, you said you used the Clark Y, was that the actual Clark Y template from an airfoil library, or do you just mean a generic flat-bottom airfoil? A lot of folks in RC models seem to call anything with a flat bottom (like on many trainers) ''Clark Y'', even though it isn't actually the Clark Y airfoil.

******I actually used illustrator to trace a pic I got off the web labeled as a clark Y so I'm not 100% sure.. I now have profili And I'm trying to gather some common profiles and create templates out of them for a friend to laser cut out of formica.******