Wright Stuff B

[bernard]

How do you find the center point of gravity on your plane? Also what are good places to buy your propellers? ;)

Attach motor and propeller to your plane, then find the point along the fuselage at which if supported by your finger would allow the plane to balance. Freedom Flight models sells propellers.

[jander14indoor]

I ran into another supplier for SO flying materials, Helicopter and Wright Stuff, at a clinic this past weekend.
Retro RC http://retrorc.us.com/

He's taken over an old time supplier of Free Flight kits and supplies and has developed a number of his own products. He has a WS kit, helicopter materials kit, Helicopter rotor jig, stooge kit, a variety of other useful jigs, even a build your own winder. Including custom stripped rubber AND a nice make your own prop kit. Lighter than what you can buy, around 1.2 gm for the prop and you can customize the blade size, shape and pitch to match to a fixed rubber size.

Prices seemed reasonable, no personal connection other than I liked many of the products he had at his table.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[blind_bandit24_16]

What is the best type of adhesive to use? We've been using standard super glue but it hasn't been working as well as we would've liked it too.

[bernard]

What is the best type of adhesive to use? We've been using standard super glue but it hasn't been working as well as we would've liked it too.

What are you bonding? Balsa wood to balsa wood? Super glue will cure the fastest. Many flyers use Duco cement dissolved in acetone (50% v/v). When using Duco in acetone, pre-coat pieces, allow them to dry, then bond pre-coated pieces together with more adhesive.

[jander14indoor]

For WS, its not so much the type as how much and having good joints beforehand.
ANY of the glues will work, but you must not use too much. To minimize how much you need, you need tight joints to start with.
Personally, for WS and working with students I like thin super glue for speed. Key is not to use much.
See also, https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/fil ... weight.pdf an article that started on scioly.org way too many years back now that goes into this in some depth.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[blind_bandit24_16]

For WS, its not so much the type as how much and having good joints beforehand.
ANY of the glues will work, but you must not use too much. To minimize how much you need, you need tight joints to start with.
Personally, for WS and working with students I like thin super glue for speed. Key is not to use much.
See also, https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/fil ... weight.pdf an article that started on scioly.org way too many years back now that goes into this in some depth.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

What glue are you using for the wings, not the joints, but applying the wing material to the frame?

[bernard]

For WS, its not so much the type as how much and having good joints beforehand.
ANY of the glues will work, but you must not use too much. To minimize how much you need, you need tight joints to start with.
Personally, for WS and working with students I like thin super glue for speed. Key is not to use much.
See also, https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/fil ... weight.pdf an article that started on scioly.org way too many years back now that goes into this in some depth.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

What glue are you using for the wings, not the joints, but applying the wing material to the frame?

When I first started, I used a glue stick on the frame, then attached the wing covering; occasionally when not careful, joints would break.

3M's Super 77 spray adhesive is a popular choice among flyers. If you use mylar film or OS film, a light spray of adhesive over your wing frame is enough. Be warned this adhesive will always remain sticky, so do your spraying over newspapers and outdoors or in a workshop. Joshua Finn has a helpful tutorial for this, though he is constructing an F1D, a class where weigh is more critical hence why he avoids using more adhesive than necessary: https://youtu.be/TqR7_C1wO88?t=8m6s.

[Sciencevale]

How do you find the center point of gravity on your plane? Also what are good places to buy your propellers?

A good place to buys propellers is the freedom flight website

[friesareties]

This is more of a rant than a question, but I'm getting increasingly frustrated as I go along trying to build my plane (freedom flight kit). I messed up the wing center section, so unless I glue awkwardly, the wing tips aren't going to be evenly tilted. There have been a couple minor cracks, but I patched it up with some glue. I'm having to bridge the horizontal stabilizer ribs with super glue to meet with the carbon fiber (either my fixture is inaccurate rip or I just didn't curve it correctly), and I've only started a couple days ago. The slight bit of relief I have is that this is the first plane of the kit.

So the question is - how much of success is brought by how well the plane was built, and even if it's not that great of a plane, can testing and adjusting still bring upon decent results? I know it probably varies a lot depending on the plane, but I'm beginning to think I'm fighting a losing battle.

[bernard]

This is more of a rant than a question, but I'm getting increasingly frustrated as I go along trying to build my plane (freedom flight kit). I messed up the wing center section, so unless I glue awkwardly, the wing tips aren't going to be evenly tilted. There have been a couple minor cracks, but I patched it up with some glue. I'm having to bridge the horizontal stabilizer ribs with super glue to meet with the carbon fiber (either my fixture is inaccurate rip or I just didn't curve it correctly), and I've only started a couple days ago. The slight bit of relief I have is that this is the first plane of the kit.

So the question is - how much of success is brought by how well the plane was built, and even if it's not that great of a plane, can testing and adjusting still bring upon decent results? I know it probably varies a lot depending on the plane, but I'm beginning to think I'm fighting a losing battle.

The quality of a plane matters. A poorly build plane with asymmetric wings, warped edges, or other blemishes may have difficult flying stably and may be difficult to trim. With that said, this is your first plane. Finish it, and if you make more mistakes, rather make them on this plane than your second. Try flying it, practice winding motors, practice loading motors. If it nosedives and breaks a wing spar, glue it and keep practicing.

When I competed several years ago, my first plane was the most difficult, yet it was amazing. In 14'-19' cafeteria, it flew 1:45 on its first flight. The same day, a schoolmate grabbed it mid-flight and the plane was done. Things (for lack of a more general) may happen to your first plane. Perhaps you may already dislike it and are willing to try some more extreme settings on it. Play with it; experiment.