Astron Skydart II WIP

[Gunstar]

Here is my Skydart I'm building. I've papered the fins and put some paint on the stuffer tube to make it easier to spot in the sky and on the ground.

Open to any suggestions on improvements/modifications. I've heard it tends to tip over on accent and go horizontal so I'm toying with the idea of using a full tube on each side where the air inlets are to act as tube fins. If anyone has done that let me know if it helps, or if there is better way to deal with it.

 

[Gunstar]

Also, the fin marking guide doesn't make sense to me, the ST lines are both down toward the bottom but the instructions say to center the air intakes over those lines. It looks more like the bottom edge of the air intakes should line up with those lines.

 

[GlenP]

The paper looks better over balsa fins, but for any glider, you typically want to keep the weight down as low as you can. The added weight of the paper on the fins won’t help it glide. But, it will still fall, with style!

 

[Gunstar]

The paper looks better over balsa fins, but for any glider, you typically want to keep the weight down as low as you can. The added weight of the paper on the fins won’t help it glide. But, it will still fall, with style!

Yeah, I used full page label paper to keep the weight to a minimum. I'm fine if the altitude/range are less than optimal, I want to get it back. I just don't want to have rename it the Astron Lawndart.

 

[dpower]

The altitude / range is dicey on this kit even when built light, it'll be interesting to see how yours flies. Good call on the bright stuffer tube, I painted mine fluorescent orange. Last one was fluorescent blue, and still lost it somehow. I don't think full length tubes would help but they might hinder the up part. Best performance would be leaving the nacelles off all together, but doesn't look nearly as cool, and it's still going to be somewhat of a brick. The important part is to get a straight up flight.

Mine always goes in the direction of the rudder. Before the next flight, I need to figure out how to get a little negative angle on the elevator.