Mounting Tail Boom?

[krajesj]

I'm trying to design a SP400 glider to ship to Florida for vacation flying. I wanted something to fly that required minimal building = max flying time.
I've tried building foamies out of construction foam, but these were always "dogs", always too slow and unstable to build if I'm on vacation, as not a lot of tools for this where I stay.
I'm now thinking of a balsa stick/sheet wing mounted on a clear plastic shipping tube fuselage, with aluminum arrow shaft tailboom and V-tail. I think I have enough experience to build it, but I'm stuck on the tailboom/tail assembly. I think I'd want it to be removeable from the fuse, but it would have to be able to align the fuse/tail assy. when assembled. The end of the arrow shaft is a threaded hole (~10-24 thread) that I might be able to use somehow for the assembly.
I'd like the wing to be about 5 feet span, polyhedral, and able to be "taken down" for shipping, as it is hard to ship oversized.
Any ideas would be appreciated and helpful. I'd rather build than buy.

[Dave Robelen]

Hi Krajesj,
I have had good success by drilling a hole in a block of pine that is a tight slip fit over the boom. I then trim this block to the minimum size and Shape it to suit the tail feathers, either a V tail or conventional. The V tail is especially nice and neat. if you drill a small hole through the block and boom when it is all aligned, you can fit a pin that will always bring it back there.
Regards, Dave Robelen

[krajesj]

Thanks for your reply. That sounds like a good idea for the tail. What are your ideas for the tail boom to fuselage connection?

[Dave Robelen]

Hello Krajesj,
If it were me I would mount the tailboom in a tapered balsa block that has been trimmed round to match the pod tube and blended down to match the boom. The front of this block could be trimmed to be a snug fit in the pod. A pin or key would prevent slipping around. It would be handy to mount the tail servos on the front face of this joiner, maybe on a wooden "blade" that protrudes forward from the center of the joiner. This way the servos and linkage would stay with the tail assembly.
Regards, Dave Robelen