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catapult launch large easy to build free flight glider

Discussion in 'What plans are you looking for?' started by Rowedent, Sep 21, 2012.

  1. Rowedent

    Rowedent Member

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    our club is going to help 200 kids build and fly gliders and rubber powered planes. I am looking for plans for a 24" wingspan foam glider that can be launched from an rc style catapult. It must be very simple to make and require minimal trim.. Any ideas?
     
  2. rcav8r

    rcav8r Moderator Staff Member

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  3. Rowedent

    Rowedent Member

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    Thanks, i will give the f16 a go. Thanks for your help.
     
  4. rcav8r

    rcav8r Moderator Staff Member

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    They all flew well, but if I remember correctly that is the one that flew the best....
     
  5. navionflyer

    navionflyer New Member

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    I'll agree that the F16 flies the best.

     
  6. Rowedent

    Rowedent Member

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    Any ideas on the best way to catapult the plane? Where to attach the tow hook and what angle to launch at... I have a 25 foot bungee and would like to see the plane really go! The kids will be impressed. We plan to have five catapults set up and launch in fleets and i need to start building the launch platforms.
    The kids will also be building and flying the 'squirrell' rubber powered plane also, but i want them to have two planes in case one gets broken too soon. I always take atleast two planes to the rc field.
    We plan to make the planes from 0.25 inch foam board (without paper laminate, much like depron, but cheap.
     
  7. navionflyer

    navionflyer New Member

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    You might want to use a bamboo skewer to make the fuselage stiffer. Maybe a paper clip hook (thread and CA to the skewer) and then glued to the fuselage. Your CG will be off (probably won't need the nickle). I would definitely try it out long before the event.

    I was thinking that if you took a bamboo skewer and attached rubber band to the end, the kids would then have their own catapult to take with them.

    One thing though, the F16 wing span is nowhere near 24" (I think I got about 4-5 of them on one sheet of Blu-Cor). If you plan on scaling it up you will probably need a wing spar of some kind.
     
  8. Evil-Tunes

    Evil-Tunes Moderator Staff Member

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    I have cut a notch out of the foam on these just in front of the CG and used a rubber band to launch them. The best we got was a basketball court length. I think if you Scale them up you should get some better wing loading. CG will be the key :dance3:

    Cheers
    E-T
     
  9. Rowedent

    Rowedent Member

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    I will have to try scaling it up significantly. It needs to be big to impress the little guys. Maybe paper sided foam will give it more rigidity. I,d like to see them go 50 yards. I tried scaling up a whitewings p51. It did not do too bad, but would nose in after it lost its momentum. This significantly reduced the lifespan. Tried modifications to the stabilizer incidence which resulted in disaster due to the high speeds from the catapult. As a hand toss it was ok. I also tried a scaled up rcpowers f22. As a hand toss it was fare... It looked good though. It only lasted one try on the catapult.

    Anyway, i appreciate y`alls help!
     
  10. Rowedent

    Rowedent Member

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    I didn't have my phlatprinter working yet so I ended up getting 200 sling wings from Steve Corbin to give out to the kids . The event is this Thursday. I bought one of the sling wings in an airshow in LA while in the USA. I tracked it down to a patent held by Steve that he filed when he lived in Missouri. Turned out that he was now in San Bernardino and I was passing through there on my way out of town. I stopped by his place and he fixed me up. A great guy with a powerful understanding of aerodynamics. The thing fly's great, the only problem will be getting them out of the trees!
    Hopefully my replacement belt will arrive tomorrow and I will be able to cut out some F16's to give away as prizes.
     
  11. Evil-Tunes

    Evil-Tunes Moderator Staff Member

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    [​IMG]


    Like These????


    Cheers
    Glen
     
  12. Rowedent

    Rowedent Member

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    yea, red and white, about 16 inches, but no printing. Tomorrow's the big day, 15 knot winds which is a shame - hopefully no rain. The kids are building 'squirrels' as well. 13 tents, 200 kids, 400 planes plus a full size helicopter. We were going to have the local redbull flugtag entry but decided it's best not to push redbull on the kids...just aviation.

    I just got the suburban all loaded ready for an early start.... :twitch:
     

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