Kellet Flight Report
10-10-2005, 02:25 PM
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Kellet Flight Report
Today I completed flight number 192 on my Kellet I believe I can get to 200 before we have snow. I have made some flights with blades that I got from Aerobalsa They are the 2 3/4 X 36 inch ones When I first tried them I had finished them with a coat of Sig Finishing Resin and sanded and painted the Kellet ready to go with the blades is in one picture. Well this did not work very well The machine was basically out of control for the whole short flight Fortunately I managed to get it to the tall weeds and got it down with a minimum of damage See pictures A broken prop and some tail damage and some fake cylinders knocked off . So I did some rework on the blades to stiffen them up I added a piece of 1/8 piano wire and a layer of pylwood to the bottom See picture. The pywood is .020 stuff we used to cover our foam wings with This took away the under camber at the rear of the blades but in my opinion this is way to thin anyway. Well the two flights today were beautiful I think that I may have gotten a little more lift but it flew so well everyone was indeed impressed. My Kellet is overweight at 9 1/2 lbs It has gained weight due to some rebuilds and renforcing here and there. I don't know what difference a wider blade would make but they sure work great now
10-10-2005, 06:38 PM
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RE: Kellet Flight Report
Albert,
I had used the the A of A blades for the Kellet on my Giant Whistler which were of the 36" varity then I tryed the blades that Phil P. made from fiberglass using SG 6042 airfoil at 25" and I had to keep adding more down elevator trim 3 times.
I would say that you were getting more lift from the those GOOD Aero Balsa blades. They do have more lift then anything I have tryed.
I did test fly another Kellett t Muncie and the wind was good and it got off in good shape and flew well.( Rich Anderson Built it)
jim
I had used the the A of A blades for the Kellet on my Giant Whistler which were of the 36" varity then I tryed the blades that Phil P. made from fiberglass using SG 6042 airfoil at 25" and I had to keep adding more down elevator trim 3 times.
I would say that you were getting more lift from the those GOOD Aero Balsa blades. They do have more lift then anything I have tryed.
I did test fly another Kellett t Muncie and the wind was good and it got off in good shape and flew well.( Rich Anderson Built it)
jim
10-10-2005, 09:27 PM
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RE: Kellet Flight Report
I to, believe that the 36 inch long areobalsa blades need wire in them, like yours. I run the wire the full length of the blade. There are those that witnessed my blades lift my 13 pound gyro at Muncie this year. On my test handle I have achieved as much as 30 pounds lift, with a 14 MPH wind. There are those that were at Muncie, that witnessed many crashes of my gyro, and none of my blades were broken when I left for home, bent yes, broken, no. ( but I do have more reinforcements in the blade, than just the wire in the leading edge).
You might find that now that you have wire in the leading edge, that you can put up to one degree positive pitch on the blades, and you will achileve even more lift. Should work especially well for you, seeing that you prespin your blades.
You might find that now that you have wire in the leading edge, that you can put up to one degree positive pitch on the blades, and you will achileve even more lift. Should work especially well for you, seeing that you prespin your blades.
