All this discussion...

Here is a photo of some that really worked. This is a 15 year old ARF Extra. It was a tip stalling fool. It was so bad my buddy didn't like flying it. Another guy at the field suggested stall strips. These are 1/4 tri stock, faired in with microballoons & Epoxy. He later painted over them and most people didn't even notice they were there. They turned the plane into a nice landing plane that Bob flew for several more years.

Don't let any of the guys who haven't tried them tell you they don't work.

If you need to worry about putting stall strips on a plane, then you're not ready to fly that plane. Think the jetjocks have stall strips?

Hi Ed,
How many % of each wing is covered with the stall strip? Also is the loriginal eading edge is 1/4 as well?

Thanks
Borna

I"m new to flying models. But I can tell you from experience they make a difference on a real airplane. i used to fly a Jodel, that didn't have them on, and if you did a power stall, the stall was so violent, that the first time i did it, I slammed my head against the canopy. It took me by surprise. The right wing would drop first because the prop turning that way and the aircraft would be at 120 degrees before recovery. We installed stall strips, and you would never know it was the same airplane. The strips were supposed to be on this airplane and they weren't put on when it was built.

dapam03

Hey, what would experienced full-size pilots and manufacturers know. Or those "I had them and they worked great" modellers. I'd be listening to the "I've never tried them but I'm happy to can them" types.....

Airbags in cars don't work - just don't crash....yep, that's good robust logic alright.

Stall strips work.

Good Lord,

If stall strips were ineffective on models, then I suppose washout should not be used on model wings either?!?

As most of us know, many designers, especially of scale models, use washout in the tips of their designs to help make the stall more benign.

With respect to stall strips, yes they can be used with good effect on a model.
Before implementing their use, make sure you laterally balance your plane, across the wing tips.

Then the trick is to test fly the plane and try to determine which wing needs the strip. This can be determined by seeing which way the plane falls off in a power off stall as you simulate a landing flare, up at altitude.

If the plane always falls to the left, apply a small stall strip with tape to the right wing.
You are trying to get both wings to stall at the same time and have the plane stall straight ahead.
The only way you can determine size and location is thru trial and error. Unless you can tuft your plane and install a camera to monitor the airflow.

I used this method to help tame a nasty tip stall on a Great Planes 72" CAP 21 back in the mid 90's.
Worked like a charm.

Tommy, so you are saying to add the stall strip to one side of the wing?
So why on the full size plane they have it on both sides of the wing?

Also on a 57" wing, normally speaking how long and wide should be the stall srtip?

Thanks
Borna

The location and size of a stall strip is totally dependent upon the findings of your test flights.
Not all planes have them on both sides and you will notice that they are also not always in the same location from one side to the other.

It could be that whomever installed the stall strips did not do extensive testing to optimise the minimum footage of stall strip needed to cure unwanted tip-stall. If they tried a symmetrical configuration of stall strips and it worked to eliminate tip-stalling without increasing stall speed significantly, they may have just decided to call their first try a finished product.

The F4U Corsair had only one small stall strip on the right wing. I would guess six inches long. On a 57 " plane I would think a stall strip made of trangle stock could be about an inch or two long placed about a quarter of the length of the wing out from the root would be a good place to start. If the plane always stalls to one side, put the stall strip on the high wing( thats the one that stalls last). This will then cause that wing to stall sooner and will compensate for engine torque.
Gary