Category: Gliders

Some minor adjustments with the tape. Hence the coverage of the graphics. Using the ‘Bear’ brand red cloth duct tape from Bunnings worked perfectly as it’s ultra sticky and durable. It’s available in several different colours.

Testing the wing out in slightly stronger wind. Shouldn’t really be a problem. The lift to drag ration seems to remain about the same in the 10-40kt range. Didn’t run the calcs on anything more as yet. Either way it’s proving that V3 should work well. With the variation in the spanwise shape it modified the elevons to the point that the insides were not as per design (foil distortion) and it made a noticeable difference, but this will also be fixed in V3.

One thing I find about existing hobby equipment is that often the shipping packages don’t really work as repetitive use storage boxes. Here I am working on making a shipping / storage box which will be both these things. The kit will come in 5 pieces, but once you start flying it you’ll probably leave the wingtips attached. Thus this storage box will allow the plane to be broken into 3 and stored with the box entirely closed. It will also be stackable so that a modest amount of load could be put on top of the box.

Talking about useful boxes. The Turnigy i10 transmitter comes in a fairly sturdy box. It’s still cardboard, but it’s coated with quite a strong plastic paper and the inside is a rugged polyethylene, which does not deteriorate. Polyethylene would be my choice, but the issue with shipping Gemot is keeping the entire package under 1kg. This is to keep the shipping costs available to WingFocus reasonable at this point in time.

Looking at V2 and scratching my head on how to improve the flyability of the design, I took to it with a blade and a roll of packing tape. It was already flying well as it self rights and doesn’t go into dead spins (tip stall). The other day I was teaching Shervin to fly and we were trying to put the wing in the worst possible positions to see if we could lose control. Fail on failing!

Now it’s even more stable. Yesterday there was not much wind, but it went very well. This video shows some very hairy flying failures in areas of bad air and almost every time I could still regain control. Again I was trying to make it fail by flying wrong.

Till next blog.

Dion.

The latest incarnation of Gemot V2. CNC milled EPS foam core covered in a paper laminate. The paper is ordinary A4 80gsm copy paper. The hinge points on the control surfaces are ‘Bear’ brand PVC duct tape (the black sections in the photo). There is no reflex in the control surfaces as stabilisation is managed by the foil shape itself. It’s a very forgiving wing to fly as it want to self stabilise from even the most awkward stalls. The flap allows the wing to slow down and grip in much lighter air.