Rocket-powering a foam wing

[Adrian A]

You can see some photos of the wing I mentioned in the last message at https://picasaweb.google.com/107158031171199223319/PlasterBlaster2011#slideshow/5675422560708112674 starting eight slides in.

Note that some of the covering appears to be coming off the starboard upper surface.

You should probably start a new thread if you pursue this, I've never flown a wing so I can't contribute much.

Agreed, so here it is.

Thanks for the link to the pictures.

Normally wings have winglets glued on the tips. Do you recall if this one had them and then they were ripped off in flight?

I'm having second thoughts about going up to I impulse for this, because of cost and concern that it could get out of sight. Did that flight on the I80 seem maxed out?

 

[mikec]

Normally wings have winglets glued on the tips. Do you recall if this one had them and then they were ripped off in flight?

I'm having second thoughts about going up to I impulse for this, because of cost and concern that it could get out of sight. Did that flight on the I80 seem maxed out?

Good eye. I think the same wing, earlier flight, appears in a couple of shots here: https://fotos.nahcpj.com/pb10/day1 -- images 105 and 118 -- and it looks like the winglets were there just before landing. I've seen this boosting before though I don't remember these flights, and while I think flying it under thrust is way beyond my comfort level, the guy flying definitely makes it look easy. Now that I'm thinking about it, it might be an H70. If the winglets came off in flight I didn't see it or hear about it.

Cesaroni H54 might be a good option?

 

[Adrian A]

I think a G54 or H54 would be better choices, at least to start with.

The E I flew, maybe an E20, was very controllable during thrust after the first flight where I learned I needed to start with elevator up, since the motor (which was duck-taped on top) was producing a downward pitching moment. The flight wasn't all that high or long, so I think I could go up to an F or a G without too much stress. I should start with another E to learn how it will handle and then go up from there. I'm interested in mounting the motor in a real rocket airframe and then mounting that to the Bee for this build, so I can learn how the elevons work with a fixed tail.

An an aside, I highly recommend building a Bee and taking it to a slope soaring site. With a standard build it works in any wind from about 8 mph to about 30 mph, and it's pretty much indestructible. I usually don't bother landing it; I just fly it until I crash it and then toss it out again. Combat is a lot of fun, and an excellent way to build your flying skill. I'm working on dynamic soaring, which is very challenging but rewarding. The fastest that a Bee has been measured doing DS is 165 mph. A Bee is reasonably inexpensive (especially with a HobbyKing receiver), but it does take some time to build.

 

[burkefj]

You don't have to have winglets on wings, if you run them a little nose heavy and then run a little reflex, the drag from the reflex will keep it straight. I've built a completely flat B2 and if I ever got any side to side sway I just pulled back on the stick a bit and it would damp it out. Lots of people have built them.

But, many wings do have winglets.

Frank

 

[Adrian A]

You don't have to have winglets on wings, if you run them a little nose heavy and then run a little reflex, the drag from the reflex will keep it straight. I've built a completely flat B2 and if I ever got any side to side sway I just pulled back on the stick a bit and it would damp it out. Lots of people have built them.

But, many wings do have winglets.

Frank

One of my goals for this is to keep the wing in shape where I can take the rocket off and still use it for regular combat and DS flying. In those applications, the winglets really help at times.

Last night I realized that attaching the flying wing to a long rocket with a motor wouldn't work very well (though it would look cool). The problem is that if I locate the rocket on the wing so that the CG is at the correct place on the wing for gliding, the whole thing will be unstable during the boost because the fuel weight will shift the CG backward.

So, to do this so it will work I'll need to locate the fuel on the glider's normal CG so that it doesn't shift during the burn. And now I realize that the Zagi in the first post had an advantage by using a hybrid; the motor weight shifts backward during the burn. My motor mount should only go back as far as my shortest motor. I have an aborted 29mm carbon fiber nosecone that should do pretty nicely. I think I can strap that on with some u-bolts made from threaded rod, and put some rail guides on it, too. I have a pretty good stock of 29mm motors of various sizes that I can put to good use in that mount, including the CTI G54 longburn.

 

[Adrian A]

I'm getting ready to fly a rocket- boosted Bee at a low-powered club launch tomorrow. I don't think they have a rail, and I don't have any spare rail buttons if they did, so I decided to make my own glider launcher. At Home Depot I bought two 6' aluminum shower curtain rods and two straight 2x2s. The rest was from my scrap wood pile. I decided to mount the motor under the wing, and it will ride in a channel between the 2x2s. The two aluminum rods are spaced wider and will hold the plane down. I'm planning to lean the whole thing against a fence post or something.

I'm a little concerned about counteracting the pitch-up torque from the motor thrusting beneath the CG. But I think I'll have more time and opportunity to counteract it and keep the plane out of the dirt during the boost, by launching nearly horizontally. I have a couple of F32s that I want to use up. I might start with a reloadable E for the first flight, though.

 

[Adrian A]

The flights went reasonably well today. I decided to start out with a reloadable E28 for the first flight. I have my pitch trim on the throttle stick and I started with it pitched down, being worried about the motor off-axis thrust. It turns out the aerodynamics provided plenty of control authority, so I fought and mostly lost with the pitch-down trim on the first flight. The second flight went pretty well too, and I asked someone to hold my camera for a video of the third flight:

https://youtu.be/jl3BIcE72Ng

I was having some intermittent glitches with my right elevon, which I think is why the landing was lame. But hey, it's a foamy so it's rarely landed anyway.

On this flight, I did get it going a little past vertical on the launch and then overcompensated a bit nosing it back over. Next time I think I'll use lower rates. The speed changes make the control sensitivity vary widely.

Here's the launcher I made last night:

the two legs on the back end fit into place by happy accident. I don't even need to screw them down; they just wedge themselves in.

With the Bee installed:
https://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk205/adamsona
/Rocket%20gliders/IMG_3166.jpg

Closeups of the motor mount:

Clearly, this is not a fresh Bee.

The two humps in the back are sections of bluetube couplers that I installed so that the wing wouldn't be pitched up too much while it's on the launcher.

 

[sylvie369]

An an aside, I highly recommend building a Bee and taking it to a slope soaring site.

Any recommendations on which model and where to buy one? I'm very interested.

 

[garmtn]

Hi, I built one from "curtain rods too". Not very sophisticated but, it works. Today I went to my local hobby shop for some balsa to build a "A" powered boost glider. After gathering up all my wood I took a stroll over to the "RC Plane" area, just to look. Low and behold I found a full-sized plane wing for 50% off or $5! Asked clerk if I could open the box, and she said sure. Well, I had just put some A10-3's on the counter opened the box and this thing is huge! The "stabilizer" looks like it would b just the right size for my main wing and the rest can b made from 1/16 ply. My question is what is the best glue to use for a "foam wing"?? I'm trying to decide on a boom material now. I have black fiberglass tubing, basswood and balsa. Any suggestions? (as far as the main wing, I may use it for a "rocket glider", like "D" powered).

 

[Adrian A]

Any recommendations on which model and where to buy one? I'm very interested.

I missed this post earlier. Google Windrider Bee2 and you'll find what you need. The Predator upgrade kit from Canuck Engineering is highly recommended even if they don't have the Bee2 kit in stock.

 

[sylvie369]

I missed this post earlier. Google Windrider Bee2 and you'll find what you need. The Predator upgrade kit from Canuck Engineering is highly recommended even if they don't have the Bee2 kit in stock.

Thanks. Looking.

 

[fyrwrxz]

Dang, Adrian! What's all that white stuff all over the ground, shredded foamy wings?? Too much dedication for me!