...So it's been several days since the last update, and by several I mean a week ;) Since the last chapter I've Built a 1/2 scale prototype glider to prove the concept, and well...it works! At first the glider was only to throw around and see if the design was somewhat valid, but eventually I got bored with that and with a little help from my friend Scott, we now have a radio controlled half scale missile-glider!
I hand cut the parts from 3mm Depron material.
In this picture most of the framing has been done, only excluding the two outer bottom skins.
aaaaand the finished test glider! Note the pinned control surfaces on the tips. it's almost always necessary to trim an aircraft to optimize performance.
Showing the rear side of the test glider.
note the control surface deflection
Then, after I was satisfied with the glider performance, I started designing and building this model:
it currently awaits being sheeted in 3mm depron. I still need to cut the holes for the rocket motor tube, as well as installing the radio gear and the nose block.
Oh, and we can't forget the glide test of the 1/2 scale RC model! Dropped off an RC 747 no less (thanks for the tow Scott!). We had a storm front moving through at the time, so Windy conditions were about. In order to make the glider penetrate we added (6) quarters to the underside located slightly in front of the CG(Center of Gravity). In the video I had to dive at a fairly steep angle in order to have enough forward progression to keep it out of the treeline, which killed my flight time...but the glider is controllable and stable. Overall the test was a success, and I am happy with the design. We'll see what comes about in the time future. I don't plan any immediate large scale attempts because competition season is starting, but I promise to blog about the larger models when I get around to designing/building them.
great work!
ReplyDelete