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Post by sean on Apr 24, 2007 19:21:23 GMT 10
Hey guys, just found this on the web, it's called the Thorn and is CNC machined from 100% poplar! All up weight is around 1650g... A bit heavier than Andrew's Drongo Looks a bit like a baseball bat with wings. www.planeinsanemodels.com/prototype.htmThis would rock at Mt Mee in heavy winds, and with a layer of clear paint would look the part too. The price is not too bad, a bit more than a really nice EPP model, and way cheaper than a high performance mouldie and of course much stronger. Wood is also much nicer to work with than composites. Hmmm... Reading on RCGroups it sounds like all that weight gives it some nasty traits and it sounds like a nightmare to land, but overall very tempting.
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Post by sean on Apr 24, 2007 19:28:39 GMT 10
Just re-read Andrew's Drongo post. Glenn (Zipper) says he ballasts his Drongo up to 2KG and it flies in 15kt winds, so this plane doesn't sound as crazy as you'd first think.
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Post by thevon on Apr 24, 2007 19:46:53 GMT 10
Sounds like a great idea to me. I'm all for it. What about the idea of having a hardwood leading third of the wing, then the back 2/3 of a lighter timber. Or, why not cut the wing out of hardwood and then cut holes in the back half and solarfilm over the holes??
But the hard part to me seems to be getting a computer cutter.
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Post by callun on Apr 24, 2007 19:49:31 GMT 10
Wood is a little less user-friendly too. If you cut EPP a bit small you end up with a nice tight fit around your servos or radio gear, but not with wood. Ya kinda have to go with everything he's advised to use or be prepared to modify your gear or plane to fit non "oem" (in a manner of speaking) equipment.
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Post by thevon on Apr 25, 2007 6:32:56 GMT 10
Well you could make the holes a bit bigger, glue a plug of h/density EPP in, then cut out the servo hole and hot glue the servos in .. then if you need to replace them etc you can always put a fresh piece of EPP in. (assuming you're happy to iron some film over the cutout)
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Post by st on Apr 25, 2007 7:35:04 GMT 10
I've been wanting to go to the hardware to pick up a nice piece of quarter grain pine for exactly this reason ;D Just haven't got around to doing it yet. A bit of careful hand planing and a wing should emerge! Solid wood is pretty easy to repair - either fill and sand or if really bad cut out a bit and glue a new bit in. I've got a router so servo pockets and the like shouldn't be any problem. I'd recommend that the sky is clear when launched for the first time
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Post by ding on Apr 25, 2007 8:02:54 GMT 10
I've been wanting to go to the hardware to pick up a nice piece of quarter grain pine for exactly this reason ;D Just haven't got around to doing it yet. A bit of careful hand planing and a wing should emerge! I'd recommend that the sky is clear when launched for the first time I'd be more worried about the innocents having a walk on the foreshore than the planes already in the air LOL
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Post by st on Apr 25, 2007 8:10:35 GMT 10
What are you implying about my building/flying skills I don't think shorncliffe (or any shoreline site) would be choice of location for maiden More likley Bradenburg rd or Mt Mee. You're right though, perhaps compulsory helmets for bystanders on that day? ;D
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Post by sean on Apr 25, 2007 10:15:21 GMT 10
I've been reading more about this particular plane on rcgroups. It seems its very hard to land without splitting the wood somewhere, mostly around the wing mounting bolts, the tips and the tail. The heavy weight means you can't slow it down for landing (high stall speed), so the combination of speed, weight and no shock absorbance makes even a good landing a big hit. I reckon a bit of strategically placed glass could possibly fix that but this fragility does take away a lot of this plane's appeal Also, a few who have flown it think the heavy wings give it a lot of inertia in roll, which makes controlling it at low speeds a difficult task. On the plus side its said to have incredible energy retention, and be very exciting to fly. I personally wouldn't fly something like this at Shorncliffe though You could kill someone or put a big hole in someone's house/car....
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Post by callun on Apr 25, 2007 14:12:55 GMT 10
Definitely. I was reading one of the forums linked in the article and one guy summed it up by saying you have planes for locations. If you've got a piss-poor slope you don't want a 2kg slugger looping around, and if you've got a roaring slope like Mt Mee or Beechmont, your bees and the likes aren't necessarily the right choice either.
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Post by windsock on Apr 26, 2007 8:09:23 GMT 10
I agree that different gliders are better suited for different locations. For example if I had the choice between my Ozprey and a Bee at Mt Mee, I would always pick my Ozprey. With that said you can still have loads of fun with a Bee in these locations . It’s only been recently that I have got something quicker to fly at Mt Mee, before that I was only using my Bee and it was great. I guess it can be a issue when there is a range of other planes flying around which are faster than the standard Bee. When it's like this you are trying to avoid any crashes with quicker planes - this can take the fun out of it sometimes. I found this now and then at Maleny. I guess on the positive side there is so much sky to use up at Mt Mee that crashes are reduced compared to other locations.
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Post by callun on Apr 26, 2007 20:13:35 GMT 10
Gee Whiz! Sean and Steve had a mammoth collision at Shorny yesterday! Surprisingly, given Sean's speed, he came off considerably worse off! Kinda looked like a bat outta hell as it spiralled to the ground.
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Post by thevon on Apr 26, 2007 21:00:22 GMT 10
Sheesh, sounds bad! Always a worry. Need good peripheral vision! Sometimes when flying at Maleny there have been guys there flying composites which were absolutely ripping it up, and they seemed to have a death wish for their planes, - they were diving down thru the combat pack so fast. Made me a bit uncomfortable flying my nicer planes when they were there actually. Sometimes nice to have the place to yourself, or at least with sensible flyers!
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Post by sean on Apr 26, 2007 21:03:19 GMT 10
He he, that was pretty funny The Bat tumbled end over end into the slope but thankfuly sustained no damage. It was fun listening to you guys flying combat, and with each pass up and down the slope the Bat would fly through what looked like a swarm of Bees... It's just like Gerard says above, having a plane that flies at a different speed to everyone else's makes it harder to avoid a midair.
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Post by callun on Apr 26, 2007 21:29:04 GMT 10
We were havin a ball flying combat - at least I was. I've made no secret of the fact that it's my main interest (at least at shorncliffe) whilst flying. Steve and I have some pearlers! Absolutely hilarious fun. I love these planes.
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