Having some experience with F3B (multi-task r/c gliders), I'd point out that you are seeking max L/D (distance), instead of the min sink (duration) that most other indoor glider designs are going for.
Built up and light might not be the way to go. Molded / solid surfaces, with more mass, might be better.
A built-up Gentle Lady sailplane might out-duration my molded F3B ship in dead air (assuming similar launch height, which isn't a good assumption), but it sure isn't going to out-distance it :)
Unfortunately, that's about the extent of my sailplane knowledge. Maybe one of the aerodynamicists here can chime in.
--- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, Manuel Cisneros <macs8953@...> wrote:
>
> Over the last couple of years I have built a couple of specialized
> gliders for a friend of mine who's company has a yearly contest that
> involves tossing a glider off a 20' platform inside a large atrium and
> awarding a prize to the glider that goes the longest distance. The
> atrium is ~250' X 80' and about 40' tall. No, the atrium is not open to
> the public and is only usable for the glider contest as it involves
> flying a straight line across the length of the atrium, anything that
> circles doesn't do too well, I've tried.
>
>
>
> The gliders I've built are based on Oldenkamp's Zweibox, I think the
> lines (curves?) of this glider are aesthetically superior to most other
> HLG/CLG/DLG designs I've seen. I stretch the wing to 22" but otherwise
> the planform is per the original plan from MAN. The wing is 1/8" sheet
> with molded in undercamber and polyhedral, the tail feathers are 1/32"
> thinned at the tip to near translucency, and the fues is medium 3/32".
> This results in a glider that flies the length of the atrium and
> consistently hits the opposite wall at about 5'-6'.
>
>
>
> The first year one of these gliders was flown at the contest the 2nd
> place glider flew about halfway across the atrium, as I mentioned above,
> my glider hit the opposite wall. The next year someone entered a glider
> that made it almost all the way across the atrium, landing about 5'
> short of the wall. Last year another glider hit the wall about 3' below
> my most recent glider, I took this as a slap in the face and am about to
> start building a new glider for this year's contest.
>
>
>
> What I am shooting for is building a glider that will hit the opposite
> wall at around 10' (25:1 glide ratio). I'm not sure if this is
> possible, but I'm going to try.
>
>
>
> I think an indoor style, built-up design is the way to go. Does anyone
> have any pointers at indoor towline designs I can take a look at? Since
> these gliders are suppose to be tossed rather than launched (the spirit
> of the contest is such that the glider never goes above launch height)
> the model only has to be sturdy enough to survive gliding, not launching.
>
>
>
> Any ideas?
>
>
>
> Manuel.
>
Received on Fri Aug 27 2010 - 14:12:10 CEST
This archive was generated by Yannick on Sat Dec 14 2019 - 19:13:46 CET