Clone Crusader Swing Wing Introduction and gauge of interest for a kit

[burkefj]

Indeed!

On the X-15, an alternative to elevator actuation could be to instead have the ejecting power pod take away the nose weight differential needed to convert from stable rocket to stable glider.

For my RC version it is much simpler to just use trim, zero risk of a pod hangup, and I fly where there are too many hazards to eject something plus I fly by myself often so cant watch two things, for free flight sure.

 

[BABAR]

Really great work with these! Hilarious landing on that video at the top. I made an Estes one once upon a time; yours flies a little better.

The ejecting power pod with ventral fin plus elevator actuation technique seems like it could be perfect for a boost glide X-15 model, since on the real thing the lower portion of the ventral fin dropped off (on a parachute!) before landing. Wonder whether anyone has done that.

It is possible to do a pop pod with minimum diameter and shed ventral (and other) tail fins which may be essential for boost but superfluous for glide recovery.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...lider-and-new-gyskelion.38883/#post-361971The

 

[BABAR]

Indeed!

On the X-15, an alternative to elevator actuation could be to instead have the ejecting power pod take away the nose weight differential needed to convert from stable rocket to stable glider.

YES! Using a long pop pod you can put plenty of ballast on the front of the pod (I even remove the bulkhead base of hollow plastic nose cones to extend usable length into the nose, with nose either glued or taped firmly in place to the glider segment.)

The pod with motor, unneeded tail fins (especially ventral), and nose ballast weight gets ejected with pop pod so weight needed for stable boost is subtracted from glider for rebalancing for glide. It’s a nice trick.

 

[aerostadt]

I flew the Crusader last Saturday on a C6-3 and it flew good. Actually, it flew too good. Everything worked good. The pop-pod separated and the chute opened nicely. There is plenty of room for the chute and it can be packed loosely. The wings opened and I could see the glider flying away, but I soon lost it. I talked to someone else later and he had the same experience. He saw the glider for a few seconds and then it was gone. The same thing happened to me a year ago to the day with a small boost glider Wind Lance from J & H Aerospace. We could see it for a few seconds and it was gone. My video skills were not good, so the attached video is wanting.

 

[dvdsnyd]

Bob,
Thanks for sharing!
Really exciting to see someone else complete the model and fly it!
Glad it performed well for you! You are the first account I've gotten of someone flying one of the kits!
I'm bummed that it flew away on you! I wouldn't have that possible!
Like we were chatting about, it's a difficult model to hand toss. Getting a gauge of if it will make a nice turn, or even glide well is kind of difficult.
I may need to try to figure out a good way to make it turn reliably. Not terribly sure how to do that yet.

 

[kjohnson]

A small piece of 1/16" square balsa strip glued to one wing tip parallel to the leading edge might be enough to induce a turn. Basically adding a small spoiler to one side. Doesn't have to be long- about an inch.

kj

 

[aerostadt]

Like we were chatting about, it's a difficult model to hand toss. Getting a gauge of if it will make a nice turn, or even glide well is kind of difficult.
I may need to try to figure out a good way to make it turn reliably. Not terribly sure how to do that yet.

Dave,
As we talked about, I put a little bit of clay in the nose and using the fixture the c.g. looked pretty good. The Crusader had no problem launching straight up. I hand tossed the glider in the back yard and the glide was nominal, but not exceptional. In my experience boost gliders that sorta glide with hand tossing, can end up doing spectacular when launched as a rocket. Who knows the winds might have been strong higher up. I tend to think that ejecting the pop-pod might give the glider a large forward velocity that can help gliding. I am tempted to say if the modeler is uncertain about the field he is flying on, they might want to fly with something smaller than a C6-3 in the Crusader. Perhaps, a little weight on one wing might help. Our field had a lot of brush, which can help hide a rocket. However, my Crusader looked like it was headed for Salt Lake City, so even if our field was all grass, I think the glider would have landed far away.