Courier

[Bark65]

I took a break from the Frog Raven project and built a plane called a Courier. The plans were in the Don Ross book. I had the opportunity to fly it today. I cranked 800 turns in the 3/16 inch rubber and managed to get a decent flight out of it. The plane turned out heavier than it was suppossed to. 30.1 grams. I used bass wood instead of balsa for the motor stick. Also had to substitute 1/16 inch sheet balsa ( craft store does not sell 1/32 balsa) for the wing and tail sections which added to the weight. I stick built another stab and tail and as soon as I get them covered I'm going to build another Courier on a balsa motor stick. Placing the new components on the scale along with the original wing got the weight down to 17.5 grams. Finished weight should be slightly over 20 grams which should give a much better flight profile. Will post photos as soon as I get the film processed. It sure is great to finally see something fly.
Bark

[Dave Robelen]

Hi Bark,
First you crawl, then walk, and finally run. Nobody said free flight models were all that easy, but they sure are satisfiying when you get nice long flights on a quiet evening. You probably are still winding by hand, but there may be an option. I use a battery drill with a hook in the chuck, and it gets the job done very nicely. Adding a simple wire torque meter between the winder and the motor will take you first class.
Regards, Dave

[Bark65]

Hi Dave,
You were right about the drill. It was taking forever to hand wind. The drill does the job in less than 2 minutes. I cut the 1/16 inch sheet tail off of the heavy Courier today, cut it down to an 1/8 inch frame and recovered in Japanese tissue. Before I cut out the wood the peice weiged 2.1 grams. After losing the extra balsa, the weight dropped to less than 1 gram. Now the bird balances out much better. Should improve the flight some. Will find out tomorrow.
I'll post a flight report tomorrow night. Thanks again for the drill tip.
Bark

[Bark65]

I flew the Courier tonight. I added some more nose weight so the plane balances forward from the center point of the wing. This small change has proven to make a huge difference in flight times as well as elliminating stalls. The plane now climbs to an altitude of about 20 feet and flies in a large right circle. The plane dips up and down a few times after I launch it then flies nice and level. It loses some altitude after the launch from this dipping motion. I'm still using the 3/16 inch rubber and winding it with my cordless drill. It's been challenging to figure out how to get this plane to fly. This is what has been keeping me interested in free flight. I'm amazed at how minor changes like bending an aileron tab or elevator tab can dramatically affect flight performance. I'm definitely hooked on free flight for awhile.
Good flying,
Bark

[Dave Robelen]

Hi Bark,
It sounds like a bit of downthrust would do a lot of good. This would help break those dips under power, and give more speed for a higher climb. I have been hooked on free flight for a very long time. Watching a flight, and then deciding what to change to make an improvement has always been fascinating. Besides, once it is flying, all I have to do is watch.
Regards, Dave

[Bark65]

I'll try bending the prop hanger to add some more downthrust next time I go to the field. I made my prop hanger out of a large paper clip by wraping it around a 1/8inch dowel. I removed the dowel and inserted the plastic prop bushing into the wire loops. Cheap, easy and it works. It took some trial and error to get the right angle on it to get the bird to fly. I thought about adding a bit more downthrust but was afraid to mess with things since I got very consistant flights with the current position tonight. I had 6 flights that were almost identical in length and pattern. I'll let you know how things work out when I get to fly it again. Weatherman is calling for lots of wind tomorrow. Might have to wait for Saturday or Sunday. Thanks again for the advice.
Bark

[Bark65]

I had a chance to fly the Courier last weekend and added some more downthrust. It did make the plane climb slightly higher than before which seemed to produce a slightly longer flight. Not sure how long it flew.. never timed it with a stopwatch. I think I've reached the limits of what this plane will do flight wise. The plane is severely overweight due to wing construction and using the basswood motor stick. I recently built another wing for a second Courier. I used the same rib pattern, shaved some wood off the bottoms of the ribs, used a 1/16" X 3/16" T.E, a 3/32" square L.E. and a 1/16 X 18" spar. This dropped the weight down considerably. Matched with a balsa motor stick and stick built tail surfaces, this plane should fly much better than the first. Building light seems to be a skill that takes some time to learn. Hoping to cover the wing and fly the plane this weekend. I did let a 6 year old kid fly the Courier that day I took it to the park. You should have seen the smile on his face when he tossed the plane in the air and wathced it get airborne. He ran after it as fast as he could. When the plane landed I think he stepped on the stab because when he brought the plane back to me it was cracked in half. It was worth it to see the excitement on his face. No big deal, it will be an easy fix.
Bark

[Dave Robelen]

Hi Bark,
It's good to hear of your continual improvement with the model. It has been said that that a model part is built too light when it breaks too often. Finding the right combination of wood thickness and grade for a part can be as satisfying as getting the trim worked out for a good flight. I wish I could have seen that kid, it has been too long since mine chased models with me. It was interesting, free flight models held their interest much better than R/C. Perhaps it was because they could be more independent at an early stage? I still see rubber powered free flight models, and decent 1/2A control line planes as a good introduction for kids. R/C is too complex for a young person to figure out for the most part, and control line is nice and physical with a direct connection between the pilot and plane. And of course, free flight offers the magical sight of a light model silently climbing into the sky with no controls. Have fun,
Dave