flybaby101

hi guys ,

at the moment i fly alot of 2metre gliders and recently i have taken up bush walking as some excercise to get my knee right again after a serious injury . recently i have thought about making a glider that i could fold up and put into my backpack around 2metre where the wing folds into four sections and the body hinges at the end of the boom with a removable v-tail ...

any comments suggestions would be appreciated as the slopes i have seen are quite good

drawings and pics if any would help fuel the design...

dug[8D][&:][:-]

BMatthews

For sloping you don't need a two meter. Lots of slopers have great fun with 36 to 60 inch models. And for the ultimate in porability you can't beat a flying wing. You'll probably want one that uses a fuselage for a better grip on the windier places and you'll want one with a slippery wing section for the best possible speed and penetration in a lighter package that can still scratch in the lighter winds. Ballast would be good too. And to keep the amount of dead weight down a smaller model also makes more sense. With a flying wing there would also be a lot less joints to worry about.

flybaby101

well actually I was trying to avoid the whole flying wing thing as i want a 1.5 or 2m model that can also be used as a thermal glider/trainer on a bungee , the whole principle is to have a traditionial model that can be unfolded and fit into a backpack fo easy transport. because when i was a kid and even now the good flying sites are out of town about 5-6 k away and what stops most young pilots going to fly is having access to these sites. i propose to build a 2m glider of pod and boom design that folds down to fit into a backpack so when a young flyer wants to go fly they just simply push the wingtips down and the centre up , un-clip the set clevises on the fuse fold the v-tal and unbolt the hinge at the rear of a pod and fold foward and slip the fuse inbetween the wing sections and viola , it fits into a backpack and can be strapped on for easy tranport on a bike or bus and doesnt look like your trying to be astro boy when you go to your site...

[:@][&:][:'(]

dug

Mel Francis

The folding concept is interesting, but the multiple hinging and locking mechanisms might drive you crazy, and wind up weighing too much to be practical.

How about linking the main sections of your glider with telescoping tubing sections?...Perhaps carbon fiber tube sections?

BMatthews

Yeah, I didn't pay too much attention to the hinge talk because I figured you were just using the folding idea as a way to indicate you wanted a model that breaks down. But Mel is right. It would be MUCH easier and lighter to use joiner rods for the wing sections. A 3 panel tip dihedral design would then break down to three flat panels of just over 2 feet long. A spoiler or flap could easily be incorporated into the flat center section. The fuselage is a problem. If you use pushrods then the servos won't want to be any futher back than the rear of the wing so your fuselage joint will be just in front of that with the reciever forward of the joint. Uncoupling the fuselage at the joint and pulling out the servo wires a short way will let you fold the fuselage at that point. I would also suggest an all moving horizontal tail with conventional rudder. The rudder could be hinged with a V rather than an X meeting so that the pushrod clevis can be undone and the rudder folded over to lay against the fin for a shorter tail section. The stabilators would just slide off with the axle rod in one leaving only a hole in the fin. Lots of flat parts that plug together.

All this is very normal and standard other than the fuselage joint. I can see that some thought will be needed for that part to ensure a tight and accurate fit. The only other way it would work is to use two of the "larger" parkflyer servos of about 8 to 9 grams each mounted right IN the tailboom with extension wires so the fuselage joint could be further back behind the wing's trailing edge.

Hmmm..... that would fit on the rear seat of my motorcycle nicely too.

Gotta go do some CAD doodles now....

PS: Even if you make a larger thermal capable flying wing it would still be smaller to pack up and simpler to do than a conventional model design. Don't toss the concept out without considering it. I know the common flying wings these days are stunt types but a proper thermal design would be a lot better than the typical Zagi or one of it's clones. And it would break down to a smaller package.

Mel Francis

Wow Bruce, I hope Dug is paying attention, as it looks like you have his solution!

All you need then is a backpack, hard-shell case lined with foam, to protect the bits, while in transit.

Can't wait for the CAD dwgs....

dcairns

Carbon tubes can work, but it is a royal pain getting them lined up!![:@] Especially in my case with a swept, tapering wing. Also consider that while they are very stiff, they easily split lengthwise. So any crushing or spreading force at the ends can be fatal to the tube. A carbon tube with both straight and spiral wound fibers would get around this problem, but such tubes do not slide inside each other very well. The spiral windings make the outer surface uneven.
There are a number of ways to join wings, and most any of them would work for an undemanding situation. On a 2 meter plane, the weight penalty won't be significant, so don't worry too much about that. On the other hand, if you are looking for something that can carve hard turns and do aerobatics, the weight of the joiners might become significant.

BMatthews

Dcairns, you need to use some carbon or kevlar tow fiber wound around the ends of the tubes. That'll prevent the splitting.

When I make built up wings I line the two panels up and build the center areas and joiner receiver tubes into the panels wth the receiver tubes in one piece using aluminium K&S tubing. In inner face ribs are left with about a 1/16 inch gap. Once everything is in place and glued up I cut through the tubing in the gap and voila, two wings with truly matching joiner receivers.

flybaby101

i do like the idea of the flying wing design , but i do want to use the model in competition so it has to meet some standards meaning it has to have a fuselage and tail. i have worked out a light method of joining and hinging the parts which is to use some 3mm audio jacks epoxyed into the roots of the wings which are pinched in a tube when un-folded and are very secure also to make sure the parts dont tear apart they are secured with some 3mm bolts into a hardwood joiner located on the main spar which is reinforced with some carbon fibre , with regards to the body and pushrods im going to use some micro pin hinges glued inside the nyrod inner where the body joins and the body is recessed to fold up into itself and is secured by a bolt either side of the end of the boom. to test the theory i am making a hand launch prototype with some micro servos as a testing ground as i think it will be uniuque

ill post a photo once finished

if you have any other ideas or picture send them

dug[&:]

BMatthews

Well, best of luck. Audio plugs are only thin brass plated over. I can't imagine loading up such a little bit of stuff. Or if you're using it for the electrical connections then another good luck. I've had far too many get dirty and cause intermittent noise in my headphones to trust them.

And who says you can't use flying wings in competitions?

Wireh

I have only just become a member and spotted this post, hope I'm not too late.

I have spotted and am about to buy a folding R/C wing. This is called the CARBON FALCON and seems to be available worldwide.

Hope this helps.

flybaby747

goodnes i almost forgot about this thread until i was looking through my just recently recovered hardrive on my new computer . ive almost built over 50 planes since then , got a computer radio , and then went back to a normal one as i just wanted to fly and got sick of programming , might be worth the effort to try get something done........ also i am now known as flybaby 747

geeps[X(]

doug

aeajr

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Here are some different thoughts

The Seeker - $79 kit - smaller than the ones above
This one breaks down for easy transport
http://www.liftworx.com/pages/seeker.html

Hyper DLG - - ARF $250
Two piece wing and removable H-stab for easy
transport. R/E/A
http://www.nesail.com/detail.php?productID=3059

The Spinner XT - An EPP DLG - R/E/A
Primarily if I wanted a slope plane that was also a DLG
http://www.upslopesailplanes.com/Spinner.html

evan-RCU

I fly alot on airliners and wanted a sloper to take with me so I made this up. The fuse is a Nano Flo fiberglass one and the ribs were from the Flo but I increaded the span to 36" and made the wing two piece with a carbon fiber joiner. The stabs both come off and the longest piece is the fuse at 22". It all fits in a box 6x2x23 except for the transmitter and charger. I put a removable tow hook on it to for thermalling. It has a respectable 5.2oz per square foot loading.

simpleton

I like the way some camping tents are assembled using a length of bungee thread inside fiberglass tubes with an aluminum joiner tube.I've always wanted to try this idea on a glider.

evan-RCU

Great idea!!!!!!!!!

Wireh

Have you looked at the CARBON FALCON? http://www.ansaproducts.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=CF001

BMatthews

The idea with tents is to prevent the pole parts going astray, getting lost and using too many bits on one tent arch and not enough on the other. But with a model there just is not the need and the idea of tieing the parts together that way put limits on the packaging options. Far better to just have separate parts that plug together with suitable rods and tubes or tubes in tubes.

Flybaby, I also lost track of this thread. By now I hope you realize that you can't get one plane to do it all.

Drew360

My Feedback: (1)

i think a RuNt would be PERFECT for ya