JERRYR708
Well-Known Member
Just completed my Estes Tercel Glider.
This was my most time consuming rocket build yet. Thanks mrichhcirm for the great tips on your build thread.
It took a long time sanding the airfoil on the main wing. I sanded the balsa sheets thin for a weight reduction so that I could put a nice paint job on it. When I was done with the airfoil, I set the wing on a table and it tended to lean on one side. I had to sand off some balsa on the heavier side to get it to balance evenly on both sides.
I used a very small amount of CA so that it wouldn't spread everywhere I didn't want. I put a fillet of Tight bond on all the joints and cleaned up the joints with CWF.
I ran a thin needle through the balance point, filed the sharp point off the one end and used my fingers to balance it. The tail was a little heavy, so I sanded some of the tail end to balance it, rather than add weight.
I took it to a grassy park area for a hand test launch and it glided very nicely on a non-windy day. (it was so still that not a leaf was moving-that type of day). I tested it again on a breezy day toward the wind and it flew nice into the wind, but it tended to tumble a little as it flew away from the wind.
I believe these gliders are temperamental and need near perfect weather conditions. I will bring mine with me and reserve it for a day with no winds which means getting at the site at 6:00 in the morning and setting this off first thing.
This was my most time consuming rocket build yet. Thanks mrichhcirm for the great tips on your build thread.
It took a long time sanding the airfoil on the main wing. I sanded the balsa sheets thin for a weight reduction so that I could put a nice paint job on it. When I was done with the airfoil, I set the wing on a table and it tended to lean on one side. I had to sand off some balsa on the heavier side to get it to balance evenly on both sides.
I used a very small amount of CA so that it wouldn't spread everywhere I didn't want. I put a fillet of Tight bond on all the joints and cleaned up the joints with CWF.
I ran a thin needle through the balance point, filed the sharp point off the one end and used my fingers to balance it. The tail was a little heavy, so I sanded some of the tail end to balance it, rather than add weight.
I took it to a grassy park area for a hand test launch and it glided very nicely on a non-windy day. (it was so still that not a leaf was moving-that type of day). I tested it again on a breezy day toward the wind and it flew nice into the wind, but it tended to tumble a little as it flew away from the wind.
I believe these gliders are temperamental and need near perfect weather conditions. I will bring mine with me and reserve it for a day with no winds which means getting at the site at 6:00 in the morning and setting this off first thing.