some have seen it already...this is a plane that I made from scratch after copying a superstar ep wing (superstar ep is high wing plane) then deciding to try to make a fuselage...it still has the stock dihedral and is a flat bottom airfoil...the plane is 3 channel (throttle, rudder and elevator) and has the firewall and tail in the same place as my superstar ep that I converted to nitro and fly regularly (this one will be nitro powered as well, OS 25) I kept the same wing incidence as the original high wing plane. and total weight is 3.2 lbs. does anyone have any predictions as to how it might fly? will it be a tipstaller? fast?slow? sluggish? if I have to I can make a new wing, remove the dihedral and add ailerons. but with this dihedral the highwing version turns very well...will the low wing be different? any input is appreciated...thanks

pic 2...oh stats are 400sq in, 48" span, 3.2 lbs and 37 " long

no input?

The dihedral may be insufficient because the wing's now under the fuse. But I say fly it. Just be gentle in the turns until you get a feel for it.

Seems that wingspan and weight would perform well.

Good Luck,
Dennis-

here is an update...engine installed and made a canopy for it...

pic2

Kit bashing is great fun and a little challenge that makes it far more enjoyable than just building a kit, It s my favorite way to come up with new planes for just sport flying.

king for the reasons Dennis has already mentioned it might be a little slow to couple into a roll with rudder imput but you have a reasonable setup and I would just go ahead and fly it after all that is part of the joy of experimentation. There may be a possibility that you will need to increase rudder area but then agine that setup may just impart the qualities you are looking for.

If you want to later try ailerons then fine but don,t build a new wing. Just add full span strip ailerons to the trailing edge and if you like saw it in two and reduce the dihedral but this is not really neccessary.

Your early post said 3.2 lbs. is that without the engine and radio. If so I would strtive to keep the weight down to no more than about 24oz a square foot. This will impart a gentle stall. If the airplane comes out a little heavy athen consider twisting in about two to four degrees washout on both side while someone irons out the wrinkles while you twist, that will also minimise tip stall behavior.

In the mean time 'Bash' away
John

thanks...and the 3.2 lbs is complete ready to fly with a full tank of fuel...the strip ailerons added to the trailing edge of the wing is a great idea and a lot easier than making a new wing...thanks! will the dihedral pose a problem if I add ailerons or is it best to remove it?and yes kit bashing is a lot of fun and in the end you have something that nobody else has. thats what makes a hobby, creativity.

is this going to be a problem? the prop is VERY close to the sides of the fuselage. it doesnt hit, but it is only about 1/8 from it. I was trying to cover as much of the engine from the sides as possible to give it a clean look. is this going to hurt thrust or anything?

pic 2

pic 3

OK now HMMM,

400 Sq inchs divided by 144 gives about 2.7 Sq feet and that goes into 51.4 Oz's total weight to give around 19 Ozs. per square foot of wing loading. That is if I,am not to ringy tonight from working with some nitrate dope.

19 oz's a square should give you a fine little flyer.

Having a bit more dihedral is not going to be a problem at all. just a little less stable in inverted flight which was no issue before you decided to go with ailerons, for that airplane its not worth bothering with.

The fuselage cheeks while not a real problem to my eye looks a little odd with the spinner backplate behind the cheeks, I think I would be a bit uncomfortable with that little clearance. But then agine I,am just old and set in my ways.


Enjoy
John

well after careful thinking I decided it was best to just make a new wing and add ailerons (the strip on the trailing edge of the wing was a good idea but due to limited room for linkages I had to re-engineer a wing and add them) I left the dihedral as it is to help with stability as this is my 1st low wing/aileron plane. pics soon...

does this look like it will work? I will have to use a small servo to operate them and a compact linkage as I am running out of room inside the plane but I think it will work...now to recover the wing. also here are some higher res pics...

red circles are hinges ( nylon pinned type) white tube is only a plastic sleeve on the actuator wire that way I can glue it in place...then epoxy to fill gap and wood putty to smooth...

whole plane 1 pic

whole plane 2 pic...oh ya, camoflage tube is aluminum arrow shaft. that's how I reinforced my wings they are wrapped with fiberglass cloth and epoxy in center and thick CA'd to each spar.

Mr. King I see absolutely no reason that little guy is not going to be a fine little floater. The reason I say floater is just eyeballing by photo's and your figures it looks as thought you have a nice low wing loading. Also Just eyeballing agine you also have a lowspan loading due to a rather high aspect ratio (which is the span divided by the chord). Span loading is the span divided by the total weight. The way a low span loading will manifest itself in powered aircraft that are relatively low powered is the power on rate of climb will be improved and thats a good thing.

Not sure if that is a new wing or the old one but for the next one if it were me I would put the spars a little further aft and forgo the arrow shaft, Yes it will improve bending loads but do little for torsional (twisting) loads. and a wider 'D' tube section will improve torsional strength. The 'D' is what is formed by top and bottom spar with the sheeting wraped around to the leading edge and on the bottom back to the bottom spar, in effect a 'D' section tube. Yes the film covering will take a considerable amount of those loads. What you have now will work just fine. I would caution you to avoid very high throws on the ailerons for your first flight. Best to keep the throws rather benign the first flight.

Enjoy

John

it does have some fairly big ailerons for the size of it but due to space inside cabin and a few other factors I had to do them this way. I figured I would just reduce the throws to compensate for the large ailerons and then adjust as needed...thanks for all the helpful info also! you have given me lots of useful pointers.

after looking it over should I sheet the bottom half or the rear half of the wing? just use thin stuff though...

No I think it will be no problem at your weights and power and the film coving will add a lot of torsional strength. When your 'bashin or scratchin' it always best to avoid the temptation to overbuild. "Light airplanes crash less and when they do, they crash better".

John

well I took the wing off the plane and grabbed it by each end then gave it a twist both ways and it has zero flex. I mean it is stiff...so I think it will be ok also...the arrows are there because this wing is made in 2 halves and joined together with a 8" long piece of 1/4" steel rod in the center. it doesn't have a 1 piece spar from wingtip to wingtip like most planes (and also the first plane I made that used this wing folded about 140 ft up on me) so the arrows are there to prevent that. I have the same exact wing ( no ailerons) on my high wing trainer and I TRIED to fold it many times and no luck. they make a big difference and are extremely light. here is a pic of my trainer plane also .25 powered

1 more...

all finished and I got a new computer radio w dual rates for it...maiden flight today!

And I am willing to bet three burned out glow plugs aginst a stale glazed donnut that she's a sweet flyer too.

John