Klingon D7 Battlecruiser "Vengeance"

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As usual, I make mistakes..... :facepalm:

Sanded the gap too much between the foam wing additions, leaving a gap between them and the tube. Used small amounts of 5 minute epoxy to fill the gap.

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You don't need to add epoxy, the side plates will tie it all together without adding weight. There is low stress on the neck unless you power prang it.

As usual, I make mistakes..... :facepalm:

Sanded the gap too much between the foam wing additions, leaving a gap between them and the tube. Used small amounts of 5 minute epoxy to fill the gap.

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Hmmm........thinking the Model Master Tropical Torquiose does a fairly good job of matching the early KDSF colors [Klingon Deep Space Fleet].

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Are you going to bevel or radius the leading edge, I think that will help the drag quite bit....I like the color.

Frank
 
Well, I have to deal with a design issue: The Battlecruiser is set up for a launch rail, BUT......I use a launch ROD.

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The design of the nose means that I cannot just glue a launch lug to the body tube. I am thinking I need a launch lug that is offset from the body, so that it will miss the nose/bridge.

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If you don't ever lunch from a rail just remove the buttons and slice off the nose skid and glue a lug on the bottom, or glue a 7" long 5/16" square stock spruce to the bottom tube between the buttons to get clearance and then glue your lug to that. You can use screws to go into the body tube to secure it so it is removable, or just get a rail it's so much better.
 
Sanding the leading edges, rounding the wingtips. I like to do this outside, so the foam dust gets blown away.

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What is funny is that I looked at the last pick and thought, "That needs for rounding."
 
There is a tab on the front of the boom, that acts as a "nose landing gear". Tried to remove it, but it is well in-place. Decide to offset launch lug.

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Servos, battery, receiver installed. Note that I got a bit carried away with paint, and had to sand off paint for a gluing surface.

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Rudder gluing. Marked location, used slow foam CA so I had time to get the rudder set like I wanted.

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I ended up needing three of the 7 gram weights in the nose for proper balance.

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Had an All Up Weight [AUM] of 11 oz (315 grams?). (Motor, battery, ready for launch).

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Wej..........Cha..........Wa.............QAPLA!!!!! ("3....2....1....Success!") :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

Had a successful first flight this evening. The model performed well; it really 'floated'. Responded well to the controls. A slow glide.

Only issue was my initial settings. Dynasoar recommends some down trim on the elevator. But my Pegasus rocket glider (Dynasoar) needs no down trim on launch, so I used very little down trim on the D7 Battlecruiser. My Battlecruiser needs more down trim at launch, probably at least 1/8".

I also wonder if I have a little TOO MUCH nose weight. Need more flights to verify this. (Dynasoar recommends two of the 7 gram nose weights; I used three of them.)

Landing pic:

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Very cool, yes I've found both of mine need downtrim on boost. For nose weight I don't spec a number of weights, just the CG, I'm using two but will depend on your build. Also I use a balancer, I saw your pic using fingers, that's not very accurate you can be off 1/8 to 3/16" using fingers.. If the model isn't pitchy on boost you can remove a bit at a time, if it's floating well on glide I'd leave it alone.
 
T'kuvma would be proud

I have not watched Star Trek: Discovery, but my wife said it was good. Got to get to it!

By the way, I am a Klingon Kommadore:

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On the left is my Dynasoar Battlecruiser rocket glider; on the right is a Cyberplanes D7 radio control model. (Sadly, I think Cyberplanes is out of business.)
 
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