"SPAD" Simple Plastic Aircraft Design

[KENNYGLIDE]

Gluing corflute is always a problem due to low surface energy of polyethylene.. there are glues available but the price is through the roof as it is an industrial product... not too sure about CA... Tried some experiments once but not real successful... Could have been due to brand of CA or surface preparation. Hot glue comes undone when left in a hot shed... Or in the sun for long periods but I have not found this to be a problem. Contact didn't seem quite as strong as hot glue when it comes down to it... But is a popular choice as it is easier to use... I have just dismantled a corflute plane and found the hot glue to be very strong where it has taken hold. I used sandpaper on the corflute before I used the hot glue gun on this particular plane.. on my next build I will flash the corflute first with the butane torch and wipe it down with Windex and see how that goes using hot glue for the fuselage and contact for the wings.

[KENNYGLIDE]

Best corfute glue i have found after numerous tests.....contact for the wings,very hot glue gun for the rest....sand a bit with 120 grit non clog sandpaper....wipe down with acetone ,let it dry ,and it's ready to go...hot glue is not convenient on the wings because it sets too quickly....in my latest build (THE DAGGER) I used the wooden metre stick from Office Works....takes the place of the recommended American yard stick...cost around $7.....seems to be very strong so finger crossed. The last Dagger clapped its hands ,i was using a very light aluminum spar,the good news was that quite a few of the corflute parts survived ,tail feathers,ailerons ect and all other accessories survived a very hard nose in....made the rebuild fairly easy.

[KENNYGLIDE]

    First Dagger ready to go.....flew very well....

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I had some really great flights with this plane but unfortunately the aluminium spar was not quite strong enough to handle a WOT  steep dive and pull out.....next one will use a wooden metre rule from Officeworks.....Best news is many parts were were undamaged so i can use these on the next build.

[KENNYGLIDE]

Flew the Dagger yesterday ....still got a pitch problem .....1 click of elevator up trim and it climbs quite steeply 1 click down and descends fairly fast....no middle ground.....no level flight.....Greg noticed there was a lot of downward thrust on the motor....i felt it may be the wing shape (didn't notice the thrust problem even though it was quite pronounced)...I have put a few washers under the bottom of the engine mounting to reduce it...so fingers crossed for Sunday's flight.....

[Celwin]

Can you even notice the elevator move when you adjust the trim while on the ground?

[KENNYGLIDE]

Arrr haven't checked that.....will check before i fly........see if the. altered thrust angle makes a difference after the BBQ tomorrow....if not ill make a new wing...symetrical aerofoil this time.

[Celwin]

I can't see how the aerofoil could affect such a sensitive trim change.
My first thoughts were the C of G is too far back, but last time it flew it slowed down to a crawl and didn't drop a wing proving the C of G is fine where it is. A symmetrical wing tends to have a nicer stall characteristic and isn't as sensitive to changes in pitch, meaning a higher angle of attack before stalling and/or dropping a wing.
It might make a more sluggish affect on your pitch, which is what you're after.
It would also be worth bringing some lead to put in the nose to make certain it isn't a C of G thing.

[Peter T]

Hi Kennyglide, I see you are still doing spad builds, go for it. Im about to embark on a flying wing for a FPV drone. If you are interested, I can send some pics and let you know how it goes.

[KENNYGLIDE]

Hi Kennyglide, I see you are still doing spad builds, go for it. Im about to embark on a flying wing for a FPV drone. If you are interested, I can send some pics and let you know how it goes.

Yeah Peter... good to hear you are are still looking at the SPADs... sounds interesting .. would love some pics...?

[Peter T]

    then hope this works,

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well l cant get 2 on the one post, so here is the other one.

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actually flys really well, fast or slow? the other wing is more like the Assassin, with a 200mm spreader in the middle to take a big battery and the FPV equipment. I will get some pics when l see it again.