Kingsnake's 2 meter glider.




First flight was 4 seconds. After launch it did a big loop and landed in a tree. I went through poison oak and nettles to find a deer near the tree my glider was in. As I was climbing the tree my girlfriend had a black and yellow spotted spider the size of a silver dollar jump on her. She freaked out and took off, leaving me alone for a series of thermal flights that were breathtaking and peacefull. The highlight of the day was climbing to about 100 feet in a hammerhead, followed by an inverted recovery (very fast upside down) exiting with a snap roll.
No fuel spills or fire hazards, easy landings, no noisy engines. It is has the peacefull aspects of sailing. Gliding is relaxing and exciting.

TX-Kingsnake
White >+

I forgot to mention affordable. The sail plane kit and everything except servos and radio was all under $150. The crashes are rare and the landings are soft. No cost for fuel or engines. It survived 10 landings and a tree with superficial damage. Recharge the batteries and take to the sky. If you don't have hills you can use a launch kit consisting of a 100 yard bungee and string. This lifts you high enough to hit the thermals.TX-KingsnakeWhite >+

groovy G!Nice work, and I like the TX skin!!!S!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX Squadron XO

Outstanding!   Another TX takes to the RC airwaves!So is that glider you have there considered to be a trainer or intro type craft?  I'm still new to the hobby and there are always a thousand questions to ask.Looking good, I'm glad you are enjoying it!TX-Deck out.

Did you paint the pic for the sake of TX or is it really painted in the TX logo scheme??  Awesome!Regards,TX-Rahman"BLUE 2"

It is an intro glider. However, it has spoilers making it 3 channel. It handles well but the next glider I get will be 4 channel, rudder, aielerons, elevator and spoilers. OK Rah you busted me on the star, I had to photoshop the star on because I have yet to find a white star decal.TX-KingsnakeWhite >+

That looks like fun! What did it cost with the radio and everything and how much construction is involved? I was looking at some of those at the hobby shop, but figured I start with the cheap plastic models first, lol.Anyone got tips for painting models? I didn't bust out for an airbrush so I'm going to attempt to paint the TX colors with some paintbrushes. Is that even doable? I'm thinking I can get the dark cammo splotches on with a sponge or maybe dabs with the brush. I've finished a 109G14, La-7 and working on a 190F8. Almost ready to paint.Oh, are the dark splotches black, or a really dark gray?S~TX-Seeker

14 shades of BLACK.   When you think you have enough BLACK, add more.(sound advice originally offered by TX-Zen)TX-Deck out.

On second thought, and in all seriousness, there is more to it than that.   The TX skins start with a base color of dark gray, then there is a lighter gray camo pattern on top of that, then the final layer of camo is.....      BLACK.TX-Deck out.

4 channel radio with 4 servers, about $170. Construction time of an ARF 2 meter glider, one week of not flying IL2 at night plus one weekend day to fine tuning and loose ends. TX-KingsnakeWhite >+

That is a pretty darn good deal.   An intro ARF glo-fuel setup (that is worth anything) will run somewhere between $250-$300.   The saving grace is that if you don't destroy the radio gear and servos, you can use them in the next plane, saving some cash down the line.I'm intrigued by the glider scene, although they are fairly rare in the Houston area from what I can tell.   We need a few more mountains.   Actually, a single mountain would be a really good start.  I know, mountains are not required for gliders, but I would still like to have one around here.TX-Deck out.

If you have an extra set of servos and a receiver from a previous crash I reccomend an electric park flyer. The light weight electric engine takes you up without a bungee launcher. ALMOST READY-TO-FLY90% PREBUILT AND COVERED54" WINGSPAN WITH SPEED 400 MOTOR IS PERFECT FOR PARK FLIGHTHIGH-QUALITY FIBERGLASS FUSELAGEhttp://www.quicktechhobby.com/prices/airplanes/EFLITE/ascent_electric_park_glider_arf.htmTX-KingsnakeWhite >+

Same glider. I am adding ailerons because turning with the rudder is like walking around in wet socks. http://members.cox.net/messerschmitt/a/Plans10-1-07.zip

I would add the ailerons to the outer portions of the wing, the bit that is angled upwards. The challenge will be cutting the aft portion of the wing structure without compromising it. In fact, you can't cut it without compromising it, so you will need to add some reinforcing to the wing at the joint. Also, be sure to pay attention to the linkage geometry. . .you don't want the servo horn so far beneath the plane of the aileron horns, and you also want the holes in the control horn to be in line with the hingeline, not aft of it as they are in your plans.S!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX-Squadron XO

Here the hinge is in line with the control horn. I am still off by 1.2 degrees between the aieleron movement up and down. The linkage geometry is tricky. The trailing edge will have to be spliced to a new spar in order to maintain the structural integrity. http://members.cox.net/messerschmitt/a/WINGPLANANDSECTIONS10-2-07.zip

I meant to mention before that you also might not want the ailerons to go all the way to the tip of the wings. . . it will be easier on you to leave one section between the last two ribs intact. Hopefully that leaves enough span for some aileron authority.P.S. only one e in aileron. . .:-PS!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX-Squadron XO

Aileron aileron authority=enough? http://members.cox.net/messerschmitt/a/AILERON10-3-07.zipS!

hmm. . .it's not much is it! That would probably work, but if you could, I'd probably want to try to extend them if pssible. . .the problem will be that you will need lots of travel of those surfaces to get much roll response, and that will cause a greater drag penalty than a longer aileron would.Also, bevel those surfaces. . and close the gap between the aileron leading edge and the trailing edge of the wing.Sorta like this: S!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX-Squadron XO

After changing the linkage as you mentioned and beveling only the aileron I got 58 degrees up and 58 degrees down of aileron rotation. That is huge, maybe too much. I might be maneuvering in a very tight range on the stick. What roll rate will a 9 inch aileron poduce with 58 degrees of aileron deflection?  http://members.cox.net/messerschmitt/a/SERVOARM10-4-07.zipS!

You only bevel enough that you can get maybe 30-40 degrees of travel. That would mean no more than around 15-20 degrees of bevel per surface. . . obviously you don't need to use all the travel of the surface, but it sucks to need more and not be able to get it with a rebuild. I'd probably go with 15 degrees as the compromise. The reason to not overdo the bevel is that it will make it harder to retain structural integrity the more steeply you bevel. I just looked at your plans, the reason you have so much travel is that you have a huge gap between the aileron and the trailing edge of the wing. If you have a 10 degree bevel on only the aileron, the travel should be about 10 degrees with no gap. . .a bigger gap means you will get more travel than you have bevel. Here is an interesting page that shows various types of hinglines. You don't need anything fancy, just a standard hinge setup such that there is next to no gap. http://www.robart.com/how_to/hinge_points.aspxS!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX-Squadron XO

With little gap and a bevel the rotation point is still 50 degrees up and 50 degrees down. Aside form moving the horn aft, not in the same center point of rotation as the hinge pin, I am befuddled as to how I could reduce the rotation of the ailerons to 30 degrees up/down. http://members.cox.net/messerschmitt/a/50%20deg%20rotation%20animated.htmlCool graphic, you like?S!

That is a very cool graphic. . . and that looks perfect to me. It's nice to have a little margin for error. You could do with less bevel if you needed to maximize the amount of spar there, but I think what you'd drawn there should probabl;y work just fine. You just need to be certain that the hingeline has sufficient strength at the spar, and a decent place for the hinges to affix.If you needed less or more travel you just adjust the pushrod positions on the horns. As an example, moving the pushrod at the aileron horn down a hole would reduce the surface travel.S!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX-Squadron XO

I tried moving the pushrods down a hole and it didn't make enough difference. This link compares moving the control horn aft against aligning it with the hinge. Is this out of alignment option posing a threat? It sounds goofy to move the hinge out of alignment with the control horn. Out of all the options I have tried for the linkage it seems closer to a rotation within reason. http://members.cox.net/messerschmitt/a/rotation%20comparison.htmlS!

Don't move the horn aft, keep it on the hingeline.S!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX-Squadron XO

Maiden flight of the Cappuccino 2.6M Extreme Triple Carbon. These were taken about a year ago at my local thermal flying site where I could put it on a winch and trim it out - of course this is a speed machine, not built for thermal flying, it's built for going 230 mph in high winds so it didn't stay in teh air long after a launch. Zoooooom

(http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2680/66/1/556322657/n556322657_2497969_3055128.jpg)

(http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2680/66/1/556322657/n556322657_2497968_5131021.jpg)

(http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2680/66/1/556322657/n556322657_2497970_214688.jpg)

My first control tower combat soaring session. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSjf8YbeGWc

 ;D

That's way too cool.  Looks like a lot of fun..

Thanks,

S~

Gunny