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Been toying with an idea for a quad wing glider for quite a while so I thought I’d give it a try. I like oddroc gliders that don’t look like they ought to fly—but do. Just a sport flyer for kicks and giggles. Though I’ve seen some bi-plane designs (one wing stacked on top of another) I’ve yet to see a model with 4 wings in a linear configuration. There’s every reason to believe it may not work…and for so many reasons, like airflow disruption between the wings (e.g. downwash), instability of back-to-back airfoils, locating the CG in the wrong place…well you get the idea.
This may end up being a short build thread but I just couldn't resist following through to see if it’s a workable concept or just wishful thinking. Doesn’t hurt to try right?
Below is the rough sketch of what I’m thinking about. To minimize major downwash problems from the forward wing I’ll mount it on the bottom of the fuse, and mount the aft wing on the top. Also thinking of making it a Y-tail, or possibly a V-tail to lessen weight. Unlike my other scratch built explorations, this one will be a boost glider, both to reduce weight further and to simplify things (since there’s already enough parts that have to work together to make it glide-stable).
Considering it’ll have two sets of wings, I’ll be using 1/16” balsa for all the flying surfaces to keep weight down. Given that, I may tissue the wings so they won’t shred even though I’m only going to be using 13mm motors. Probably won’t bother airfoiling the wings at this stage.
This may end up being a short build thread but I just couldn't resist following through to see if it’s a workable concept or just wishful thinking. Doesn’t hurt to try right?
Below is the rough sketch of what I’m thinking about. To minimize major downwash problems from the forward wing I’ll mount it on the bottom of the fuse, and mount the aft wing on the top. Also thinking of making it a Y-tail, or possibly a V-tail to lessen weight. Unlike my other scratch built explorations, this one will be a boost glider, both to reduce weight further and to simplify things (since there’s already enough parts that have to work together to make it glide-stable).
Considering it’ll have two sets of wings, I’ll be using 1/16” balsa for all the flying surfaces to keep weight down. Given that, I may tissue the wings so they won’t shred even though I’m only going to be using 13mm motors. Probably won’t bother airfoiling the wings at this stage.