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Post by Pij on May 22, 2008 17:13:11 GMT 10
I have been wanting to build a corflute slopey. There are a few plans on the 'net, eg the Beetle www.rcsail.com/beetle.htmthe Dazi www.zipworld.com.au/~dazb/dAzi/dAzi.htmland a few deltas. Too many flying-wing designs are intended for powered flight. I have a feeling a plank may be better than a chevron, though I do like the Dazi construction (with a few reservations). The Beetle is a plank with a nose, which helps with balancing, but the nose design does not directly lend itself to a folded leading edge. My other problem is that the designs are generally for 3mm Corflute. I have a quantity of 5mm available. If I just scaled up a design intended for 3mm, I might go some way towards meeting a similar wing-loading, but of course making it bigger makes it heavier again, and needs stronger spars. If I make it as a plank, it would be good to be able to open it up in the future to replace the ribs (or other structural elements) to try a new profile. Does anybody have any plans, ideas, or opinions on all this? |
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Post by thevon on May 22, 2008 17:50:07 GMT 10
Personally Pij, I've helped several guys who've made them and wanted help, and all 3 of them flew like dogs! Sorry to be the pessimist!
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Post by Pij on May 22, 2008 19:51:12 GMT 10
Ok, thanks for your honesty. Like others, I may just give it a try anyway.
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Post by felix on May 22, 2008 19:55:33 GMT 10
pij because of the properties of coreflute (rough texture and not overly stong) it would be more suited to perhaps a slow flyer or powered aircraft,both of which have been done with good success.a conventional wing or plank really relies on a smooth wing surface to fly well. then again if you do go with a wing or plank i look forward to seeing how it goes,can't break new ground with out going against popular thought i guess  |
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Post by Pij on May 22, 2008 21:17:53 GMT 10
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Post by jase on May 22, 2008 22:18:33 GMT 10
I've seen someone get hit in the head at SC with one of these planes... needless to say the person came off 2nd best...
they aren't real safe for slopies.
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Post by felix on May 22, 2008 22:42:34 GMT 10
from what i heard it also had a solid wood nose too.....even a 200mph composite can be safe as long you fly at sites that are not crowded like SC.from what i've read pij's sites tend to be a little isolated  |
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Post by Pij on May 22, 2008 22:49:19 GMT 10
I certainly wouldn't want to get hit by a coreflute slopy, either. A wooden nose? That's scary. Pinocchi-slopy?
It's the cut edges of coreflute that scare me the most. Can be a bit knife-like to me. One reason, then, that I would like a rolled leading edge, not a cut LE like the Beetle. Maybe if I wanted a "nose" on it for balance, I could use foam or something. Or just have no nose. That leads to a very plank-ish plank.
A little isolated? I dunno, I actually had a flying partner today. Had to convince him, first.
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Post by felix on May 24, 2008 23:15:20 GMT 10
hey pij i must apologise and eat my words lol.....flew and trimmed a coroflute delta today called the muji (?) and must say it was brilliant!! reasonably quick,absolutley tiny but flew so rock solid.
i may have another plane i my to do list soon lol.
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Post by Pij on May 25, 2008 1:31:03 GMT 10
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Post by lucky on May 25, 2008 10:00:11 GMT 10
Check out the 3D rotating Mugi on the first link! Thats a cute little stealth bomber thing if i ever saw one. Yep, can't see any reason it couldn't be a good little flyer. |
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Post by Pij on May 25, 2008 11:27:54 GMT 10
I am of course interested in building one of these, particularly if somebody else was going to try one at the same time. but the problem is, I would have to get 3mm coreflute ( I think they are all 3mm). I have a quantity of 5mm on hand, which I got on the side of the road, folded it to fit in the car, brought home, brushed the dirt off the groceries I put it all over, then some days later hosed and scrubbed the coreflute clean. So my thoughts have been towards how to use the heavier coreflute in a slope glider, whether to simply scale up one of those delta or chevron designs. But I keep thinking a plank may be the best way to use it. A big plank. Maybe with a part fuselage. Only issue with them is being made out of coreflute if you hit someone it's going to hurt and could well draw blood. For that reason I don't think they are suited to SC. That's one of the reasons I'm thinking of a plank. The beetle has a nasty taped leading edge, of 2 sharp layers of coreflute. The deltas and chevrons can have a rolled LE, but they come to a point at the nose - looks dangerous. I'd like a leading edge entirely rolled-over, no sharp edges or points. Also, no reinforcing or ribs forward of the main spar, so the entire LE zone is compressible on impact. To reduce the rigid-impact element, the rolled LE should be a large diameter (compared to the thickness of the coreflute). Also, to achieve the rollover, the coreflute needs to be at least notched. One way would be to strip the LE rollover area down to a single thickness instead of the double-layer corrugated sandwich. HUGELY less rigid. It should then make a pretty forgiving safety zone bumper. It would just be a layer of plastic, not really coreflute any more on the LE. |
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Post by felix on May 25, 2008 16:05:36 GMT 10
it was actually the mugi i test flew.....as for it being dangerous i seriously doubt it.the thing only wieghs about 100g soaking wet and they aren't exactly a screamer.awesome flyer though.
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Post by Pij on May 25, 2008 17:39:39 GMT 10
Are they really that light? Amazing! Might be the light-condition sloper I need, too. But I still don't like the idea of corflute coming to a point. Maybe it could be done with a foam nose point.
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Post by felix on May 25, 2008 17:48:33 GMT 10
lol maybe not THAT light but seriously light all the same.a foam nose would be a worthy addition at a crowded slope but anywhere else use a bit of common sense and don't fly into yourself lol.
as for being the light wind sloper you need? i doubt that.it was having trouble below 10knots.it did fly but was quite a handful.being a delta and having a small wing area it is not as efficient as your duck would be.
one hint though,when i test flew it i noticed that in a straight line (after finally trimming it) it flew fine but during a turn it really wallowed and lost hieght and speed.got it down and realised the fins are heavily canted outwards and therefore not really effective.came to the conclusion that it was slipping in the turns badly.once they were stood up some more,in a turn,it would slip a little then the yaw would kick in and tear the nose around! much better and he had is 7 year flying just fine on his own after a few minutes.
great little plane and the more i talk about it the more i want one ;D
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