I know some believe they work to reduce stall speed. But has anyone actually seen a study that says whether or not wing tip plates do anything aerodynamically other than protect the tip if you tip over. I don't recall seeing them on any real plane.

If anyone knows. How big do they have to be in relation to the wing to be effective. 1/4", 1/2", huge? We are talking about a Super Hots here with a 54" wing span and relatively fat wing.

I would like them if they are actually effective; but for aesthetics(?) I don't want them if they don't do anything. thanks.

You could use some velcro straps and try different sizes.
If they dont work just get rid of the velcro.
A buddy of mine uses them on a big bird (9 foot span)that he uses to get sailplanes up in the air. He sais it makes a big difference, stall speed is much lower. They are about 3 times as fat a the wing, the shape doesnt matter, square or round make your choice.
I have never seen a study, im interested in aerodynamics but dont know much about it (yet, gonna go for civilian pilot study next year)

Hope this helps

The answer is yes and no. Tip plates fool the wing into thinking it has a longer span thereby reducing induced drag a little. They also add wetted area increasing form drag a little. Induced drag is mostly a factor at high angles of attack, whereas form drag is more of a factor at high speeds (low angle of attack). As for reducing stall speed, to the degree that the wing sees itself as having a longer span it may reduce it a little, but the tips add weight, which increases stall speed, so the net effect just depends. There are more simple ways to reduce stall speed, the most effective of which is reducing weight.

For the typical R/C model, drag isn’t really a major factor because they are so overpowered to begin with. In fact, for aerobatic aircraft, a little drag isn’t a bad thing as it helps control speed on the down line. 3D aircraft spend most of their time at low speeds where drag is not much of a concern either. Stall speed is only a consideration when landing, and if the airplane is reasonably light, landings are not a problem.

If you just want experiment by all means try tip plates, but if for aesthetics or other reasons they don’t appeal to you, be assured that you are not missing much by not using them.

OK, I should have done a search. Lots of info available on several posts. I need to re-phrase the question to: How do tip plates affect aerobatics; things like snaps, spins, etc.

IF-- you are doing an aerobatic setup and fine trimming for roll couple with rudder -- tip plates set at an angle - say 45 degrees, will change effective dihedral.
We have tried it and used it.
The first attempt at checking this , was using a very soft balsablock, cut to 45 and pinned to the tips.
This fixed an adverse roll couple.
We then simply reshaped the existing tips .
As for any other effects -as noted above - they are really not worth anything on models.
On small models most effects are seen from changing overall weight and wing length.
A model such as a 4 Star, is a better aerobat with the outer bays removed from the wings -
IF-- remember IF the model is kept very light.
Tip plates were used on a few full scale planes -- The tiny planes built by Roy Stitts (I think) in 1949 or so - had tip plates - these were extremely short winged affairs.