Are all saucers so...uhm...low flying? Tried a Cinco on an A8-3...lackluster.

Hey guys! So, we put together an Art Applewhite Cinco today, and flew it on an A8-3 engine. It didn't go very high, but the tumble recovery was without any damage. It was close enough to the ground to clearly see the ejection charge make a nice plume of fire from the forward end! A little anticlimatic, but at least it didn't invert and chase anyone. ;-) ! Is this the norm for these sorts of designs?

You will like a C6 more. But yes, saucers are very draggy and tend to be 'low and slow'. I have a few.

Yup, it's the norm by design. Want fast and high, go with a 3FNC rocket with small, thin fins...a saucer is the opposite of that. Great for small fields and demo flights.

Saucers are the definition of low and slow. Most kids love seeing saucers fly.

AlfaBrewer said:

Saucers are the definition of low and slow. Most kids love seeing saucers fly.

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So do most adults.

Admittedly I like odd rocs, but I think everyone enjoyed AlfaBrewer and My H97J 29mm Saucer drag race. So much smoke!

Just finished a 54mm Stealth,J145 here I come!!!

SirNomad said:

Hey guys! So, we put together an Art Applewhite Cinco today, and flew it on an A8-3 engine. It didn't go very high, but the tumble recovery was without any damage. It was close enough to the ground to clearly see the ejection charge make a nice plume of fire from the forward end! A little anticlimatic, but at least it didn't invert and chase anyone. ;-) ! Is this the norm for these sorts of designs?

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Come to think of it, all those things you mentioned are pretty much norm; however the ejection charge may differ depending upon motor (ex. if you use -0 or -P or use a reload without ejection charge). Of note is that you have to be careful about the delay when using the lower power motors with charges...if it is too long, it may fire off just before or after it hits the ground, which is a no-no for several reasons. Additionally, the ejection/boost charge will scorch the top of the rocket.

the trick to getting any altitude with a saucer is to use a motor with a long burn. fortunately long burn motors tend to produce lots & lots of black smoke which is also a crowd pleaser.
Rex

Long burn is great, so long as the thrust is sufficient to keep it going up. I tried an F10 in my Priority Stealth. It had a long slow burning arc all the way to the ground, and then some. G80 was a whole lot more impressive!
-Ken

Loves "K's" and "L's".
1500 feet on a "K"
2500 feet on an "L"
Parachutes for a longer shows
Can go on (1) 54, (3) 38's and (3) 29's with airstarts.

In a word, yes.

jimzcatz said:

Just finished a 54mm Stealth,J145 here I come!!!

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You know we all want footage of that!

dlb said:

Loves "K's" and "L's".
1500 feet on a "K"
2500 feet on an "L"
Parachutes for a longer shows
Can go on (1) 54, (3) 38's and (3) 29's with airstarts.

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NICE!!! :eyepop:

I like I49's in my 12" saucers.

This is a saucer I've always dreamed of building... This one doesn't show it, but it would have a 54mm motor mount in the middle and 38's on the wings.

"Are all saucers so...uhm...low flying?"

Only when the aliens are doing close-to-earth observation...

KenECoyote said:

"Are all saucers so...uhm...low flying?"

Only when the aliens are doing close-to-earth observation...

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Very nice!

rstaff3 said:

Very nice!

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Thanks Dick!

Here's a shot from it when it was really flying low right overhead:


And one when it landed in my living room...had nice blinking colored lights. :grin:



Sadly the little alien crashed (all that wacky low flying) and was found frozen not too far from me...

Alien: "E-a-a-r-r-r-t-h...t-t-t-o-o-o...c-c-o-o-o-l-d!"

That belongs in the Yeti thread

rstaff3 said:

You will like a C6 more. But yes, saucers are very draggy and tend to be 'low and slow'. I have a few.View attachment 273603

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Yeah, you have JUST a few! LOL!

Kirk G said:

Yeah, you have JUST a few! LOL!

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Nice !

I flew the old Estes flying saucer back in the day with a 24mm mmt .

My first saucer was the Centuri paper saucer.

Kenny

KenRico said:

I flew the old Estes flying saucer back in the day with a 24mm mmt .

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Yeah, there's nothing like a Snitch on a G80!

well damn you guys. This thread just caused me to just order 4 saucers from Art Applewhite.
We went to a club launch in the spring- and my kids loved the saucers and asked me to get some, I never did.

Bought 2 for me, and 1 for each of them to build with my help. Should be fun!

I love Art's stuff and was blessed to be an early beta tester. My two current favorites are a Stealth that flies on 18mm motors and an original 7.5" USAF saucer that I modified to fly on 29mm motors. The latter actually features wooden internal fins....don't think any of his current offerings do so. The Delta is a model that never was released for production.

sooner.boomer said:

Yeah, there's nothing like a Snitch on a G80!

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Well back in the day i did make a bigger saucer and flew it on 29mm with Kevin Funk...his night launch favorite.

After seeing Hardlines light up Snitches at GHS a few years ago i brought them back ...but now with a 38mm .

I did tell Andy Woerner about them and my techniques - he followed through with making and releasing the Wocket.

So far have flown on Hobbyline Gs, Dark Matter, Metalstorm, Skidmarks, Blue Thunder, iMax and even a longburn H45 .

This weekend in Las Vegas , we are drag racing Saucers on I55 mellows..so it is on !

Kenny