F3Wood (badly need a name ! )

[Fred]

So, after the week end, we had a bit of a chat on the car park about a wood sloper...
Was already working on one for a little while (on the pile of projects!).
So, here is the "3 views" of the model, and I'll try to keep the design/developments on the forum, like that, you will see almost the entire designing process, and that can give some ideas !  

So, if you have any changes or features you want to see, just let me know here!

Wing Span is 2500mm
Lenght is 1340mm approx
All wood!
Removable cone for access to ballast and radio
Profile... Still working on it, have a few options
Full house glider
V tail

And I think we already have 2 beta builders!  

[DennisZ]

Wing Span is 2500mm
Lenght is 1340mm approx
All wood!

Hi Fred,

if you don't mind, I 'll replicate it in Depron (with some carbon bits).

[Fred]

Hi Dennis,
Built in depron, you will definitively have some rigidity issues, and the thin profile will not really help, as with a 3mm depron sheeting, you don't have a lot left for the spars (you will need a structured spar in carbone tubes) and the servos for the flaps/ailerons.
Fuselage in 6 mm depron with wood "corners" should be ok though.

But why not !    Can be tried !

[DennisZ]

What is the name of this profile ?
I'll be using Profili to print ribs in the right scale.

[joe]

Great project!
We might see a bunch of these if they build easy and fly well!
Foam or built-up wing??
Maybe for a name you could use the name of a tree?? as it is a woody??
Spruce, Ash, Alder, Fir, Elm, Hawthorn etc..

[Fred]

Dennis, I will give you all that once finished.  

Hey Joe, I give it a try anyway, was in my head for a while now, that need to be done!
Will go for a bigger one after that I think, something like 3.2m...

All wood, ribs etc, but why not wood fuselage, and sheeted wings, everything is possible. I'l do the templates for the wings, for those who don't have a cutting machine  

[Fred]

Just to compare...
3.10m against 2.5m...
Root chord goes from 20cm to 26cm...

I like them big!  

[Happy Days]

Well, I can understand you liking them big Fred, after all you're not exactly a "little" fellow yourself , are you :lol:

But to be serious for a moment, (for a moment is about as long as I can be serious for ) I think this is a very interesting project. I've spent ages searching the net for my birthday present and I can't find any company supplying what I want :!:

As I said to you at the car park Fred, what I would be very happy to buy is a model with say,..... 2.5mtr span, good penetration, full house wing, reasonably acrobatic, and of wooden construction.
From experience I've found wooden covered foam wings are very strong, (they must be to withstand my crashings) and a "box" section fuse is both easy to build and to repair.
I notice in your drawings you're thinking of a V tail. Personaly I'd like to be able to do Stall Turns, is that poss with a V tail??? :?: I also wonder how well a removable nose cone would protect the battery and servos in the event of one of my ,.......... :?: mmm, how can I put this delicately, "Unconventional Landings" :oops:

As for the wing profile, I don't understand enough of these matters yet, (may be I'm too young) but one with large control surfaces would be best I think?

So,.....I shall be watching this thread with great interest and anticipation Carry on the good work Fred!

[Fred]

Hi Keith, thanks  

For the V tail, yes of course, you can use the rudder (and that's mandatory even!    ) and the glider will be designed like that, with 2 servos in the front for the V tail, everything else in the wings !

Best way not to harm the nose, is not to crash !    There will be a plywood frame at the front, so that should be pretty solid, but we can always change that, remove the cone, and do a opening on the top for radio/ballast access instead...  :?:

For the control surface size, you must respect a certain ratio, depending of the wing profile used. Here it is about 22% of chord.
This is not a 3D type machine, more for speed runs and dynamic (why not thermals as well.. full house wing!)
My main aim on the design, is that I want it to be able to fit in a small bag! Wings in 4 parts, removable tail, and the longest bit will be the fuselage. I want a machine that I can carry/bring anywahere with me!

So, what size ? 2.5m or 3.2m ?  :?:  Tempted by the big one, but we can always go for both and compare...

[Happy Days]

Okay Fred, I suspected there would be some basic laws to dictate the size of the control surfaces.

Like the idea of a 4 part wing, I've only got a little car :lol:

You and I could spend the next thousand years debating the merits of thermal flying vis slope soaring. As I said to Alan a few weeks ago, it's a case of Horses for Courses (But high wind slope soaring is the best )

As for size :?: well,.........my other 'arf recons that what matters isn't the size of the ship,..... but the motion of the ocean! :lol: Surely the smaller of the two would be more agile in the air? (And that takes my vote)

As for names for this little beauty, why don't you go classical...Aphrodite  A Greek goddess with the most beautiful body. (Also the goddess of love and lust.)(Not that that influenced my suggestion :oops:)

[Happy Days]

How much dihedral are you thinking of using on this bird Fred?

[Fred]

Ah women... Always the good words to keep us happy !    

For the dihedral, first plan was 0 degrees for the middle section, 2 degrees for the panels, and 40 degrees for the winglet...

Now, I have to compute all that, but I would like to try 0.5, 1.5 and 40 degrees, to have some sort of elliptic dihedral...
Just to see the effects...

But anyway, I keep in mind that this is not a fully molded wing, so effects in a computer, will be totally different on the reality due to the building method...

[Peter]

That's exactly the sort of glider I had in mind Fred - I'd be up for the 2.5 m  version - how about a three-piece wing with flat central section?

Great day last Saturday - that one will last in the memory for a while!  Good to see everyone there.

[Fred]

Hi Peter,

Always good to see people at the slope, especially on a day like the one we had ! Perfect!  

For the central panel, I had plan to have it in 2 parts with wing joiners as this is solid (plywood frame...) and easy to setup (+ that gives you a bit of room in the center section of the fuselage).

But, can be done in one piece, bolted on the fuselage.
I'll change the plan so  

[Brian]

' GREEN MACHINE '