TheAviator
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2009
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And it noses down sharply on a turn.
Sounds like you're trying to fly too slowly and doing a mild tip stall on turn entry. Don't be afraid to put the nose down a little.
I went back and saw that your glide mass is somewhere in the 140 grams range. That's definitely going to want to glide faster than you think.
From there I start to toss discus style - but just an arm sweep, not the spin and hop dance to put real energy into it. Again, if I tossed low, I could get a short, straight flat glide, but I haven't mastered the transition out of an arc at the top of an upward aimed throw. It would stall and dive, and full elevator wouldn't pull it out in the 20-30' of altitude it had. I didn't ever throw it into the ground, but 2, including the last, went a bit squirrely with a roll.
Yeah, the trick with a discus launch is that you want to push the nose over when you still have enough kinetic energy to maintain level flight. As scary as it seems, if you can't do that, you need to throw harder. Also, with a discus launch, you want to hold a momentary switch to pop the elevator up as you throw with the nose level. This rotates the plane nose up after release. When the nose gets to the attitude you want, you release the switch. If you're a right-handed thrower, it should be on the upper left corner of the Tx and vice versa. Last time I had a Spektrum transmitter I used the trainer button for this purpose.
I -really- wish that Joshua had a build version without the electric prop that calls out where the blasted thing is supposed to balance as a straight up DLG glider (not a DLG 'hotliner') and as a rocket boosted glider. With noseweight and a C3 in it, mine balances at the front of the aileron servo cutouts. That seems a little aft compared to the build video - and seems to be at about the 1/3 chord that people talk about. It seems reasonable - but I'm starting to think it's not right for this glider.
If it doesn't feel right, don't be afraid to move the CG forward. I fly farther forward CG than a lot of people that fly performance sailplanes and I do just fine. It's as much a matter of personal preference as anything else.