combatman

Hey guys,

I took the Seagull Models Spacewalker II ARF (43" long, 60" wingspan) and modified it a bit for my girlfriend. She loved the idea of having a Cheshire Cat stuffed animal as the pilot, so I fashioned extra large (6" long) windshields out of butyrate plastic to deflect a lot of the airflow over him. The butyrate is 0.03" thick and is angled at 45 degrees from the fuse. The windshields are secured to the fuse with 2 screws on each side, and they are screwed into plastic tubes glued into the wood of the fuse for extra bite.

Does anyone think that, aside from adding a lot of drag, that these may cause uncontrolled flight?

Unfortunately, I am unable to upload a pic.

Thank you,

Dan

Sir Fliesalot

My Feedback: (2)

No problem. Go fly!

crasherboy

Cool, I have a funnster with a clown for a pilot! [I didn't mean I was the clown!]

rmh

It may have a wobble from side to side - if the shield blanks the vertical fin
this is easily demonstrable with paper cup tied to top of fuselage.

hauckf

Dick's right. At a club fun fly we all attached a paper cup on top of our planes and had a bomb drop contest with paint ball bombs. The Lanier Dart I was flying was very difficlult to control with that cup on top.

Rotaryphile

A draggy cockpit will mess up the airflow over the tail feathers. The pitch characteristics will not be much affected, but yaw resistance will be degraded considerably. The fix would be to increase the vertical tail area to compensate for its reduced effectiveness, by 20 percent or so. The controllability of many models can be improved by increasing vertical tail area. A few years ago, NASA, concerned over a high accident rate among light aircraft, tested a bunch of them, and was appalled at their poor handling, which did not even meet minimum military standards. They tried adding vertical area to the vertical tail, and up forward too, with good results. I have improved the handling of many R/C models simply by increasing the vertical tail area.

BMatthews

If you find that you need some extra vertical tail area but the fin is already made up you can add tip fins to the stabilizer as well. They should likely be about 3 to 4 sq inches each and use a shape that flows visually with the main fin.

DT56

My Feedback: (18)

"Does anyone think that, aside from adding a lot of drag, that these may cause uncontrolled flight?"

Perhaps, but at least it will keep the bugs off the cat's teeth.

da Rock

And the fluctuating airflow over the cat's head will actually smooth the cat's hair.

Once it is combed, however, expect the reduction in drag to result in higher airspeed.

rmh

all this talk over a little *****?

BMatthews

Also raising an old and moldy thread from the grave.....

DT56

My Feedback: (18)

Even old and moldy threads can appreciate a good "rise" every now and then!