Sidewinder (oz6412)

 

Do you have a photo you'd like to submit for this page? Then email admin@outerzone.co.uk

User comments

Here are a couple pictures for the Sidewinder [more pics 003-006]. I built a bunch of these, I found some old parts I had cut out in the early '60s and made an electric one.
Paulpd1 - 20/05/2016
Included are some pix of my Sidewinder, built from plans on your site [more pics 008-013]. Mine has just completed its first test flights as of yesterday, flew very well, needing almost no trim. Pic was taken just AFTER its first flight, to avoid bad karma. You mean you never heard of the curse if take a picture just prior to the first test? How many models have you seen destroyed on the maiden flight? They all had many camera shots just before takeoff. Don't do it. You have been warned. Construction photos are OK, just avoid pics right before flight. The plans were beautifully, professionally drafted, old school, but not by the designer. Mine had errors with the ribs, two on each side had to be modified to fit, but I got it done. Another potential problem was the C/G position on the plans, not sure if it was correct. Soooo many plans have it wrong. I know how it's done because I've committed the same offense. I always draw my plans first, then make any changes while building. Sometimes I pencil in the C/G location but forget to change it after flying. Seldom does it remain where I first drew it. Plans show all sheet balsa over the entire model, but I used it only on leading and trailing edge, with capstrips in between, easier and lighter, 2-1/2 lbs ready to fly. My Sidewinder was a little tail heavy on the first flight, flew better after moving the battery forward about 1/2 inch. But during construction, I expected it to be tail heavy, with my lighter Rimfire 15 motor instead of the original Veco 19. She turned out badly nose heavy and I had to extend the battery waaaaay back to balance. You know the rule: "Nose heavy planes fly poorly, tail heavy models fly once". I still have some adjustments to make, elevons are too sensitive and more color needs to be painted on the top, yellow is harder to see than the blue on the bottom. Mine is covered with Doculam, painted with Rustoleum, easy and cheap. Sidewinder is slower than the Holy Smoke I flew years ago, but still pretty fast on a burner pass. Motor pulls 38 amps from a 3 cell 3000 battery with a 10 x 7 APC prop, dropped down to a 10 x 6 for lower speed. More than enough power for its 2-1/2 lb weight. Sidewinder is probably my last delta, construction hurt my back bending over the plan, too wide in any dimension for comfort.
Doug Smith - 21/05/2020
Nice build. I have printed off the plans and intend on building an electric version also. Would the model benefit from a rudder control? You have fitted elevons, would elevator and ailerons like the original perform the same?
Mike - 06/07/2021
Mike, I'm glad you're building a delta, if your experience is like mine, few others have ever seen one. It's easy to fly, just not easy to see, it disappears when head-on for landing, no fuselage. Keep it close for the first few flights. I think separate ailerons and elevator would work fine. It was easier for me to use elevons. Don't use cheap servos, they need to be very tight. I originally used 9g metal gear servos to withstand nose gear abuse, but had to replace the elevon units with better models because of too much slop. Some 9g servos are better than others, but all have enough power. I should have installed a rudder to help takeoffs and landings. I keep trying to feed in rudder but nothing's happening. Grass field where I fly is not easy on nose gears, I think a rudder would help. I don't try to ease it off the ground, just blast it off with plenty of power. You MUST land with full UP elevator, if you hit the nose wheel first, it bounces all the way down the runway. You don't need much control surface movement, 1/4" each way is enough. I used some expo on elevator for easier landings. As with all deltas, the ailerons get more sensitive with speed, but elevator gets less. Doesn't seem right but that's the way it is. Elevator and ailerons follow the bottom curve of the airfoil to give a slight UP effect, not much. I had to move my battery pack way back in the tail to balance. Hatch is just in front of the fin but the battery ended up underneath it all the way back. A paint stirring stick with battery taped to it was used to insert the battery. Be thinking about balance all the time when building. Don't use servo extensions buried in the wing, they will go bad. I soldered extra wire to my servo leads, no connectors to fail. Hitec sells servo wire with the right colors, solder and use heat shrink. I didn't cover all of my wing with 3/32" balsa, just 3" in front and 2" in the rear, rest capstrips, very strong and light. Motor wires had to be extended a few inches to reach the ESC under the hatch. be prepared to modify the ribs somewhat, mine didn't fit well near the middle. Not hard but an annoyance. You will note the designer did not draw the plans, but someone else did for the magazine. He did a nice, professional job, just not always accurate. Yes it's a pain to build, but you'll be rewarded with something nobody else has, really easy to fly. It fits easily in the trunk of a Toyota, nothing to assemble, it's a one piece airplane.
Doug Smith - 06/07/2021
That is a lot of advice, will read over a few times to appreciate what you have taken the trouble to pass on. Hope my effort is half as good as yours. Will post photos if successful after I have finished. My current build from modelflying.co.uk The only free plan to download of a Bede BD 5. Small wingspan fun park flyer. Thank you,
Mike - 16/07/2021
Mike, I flew my Sidewinder again two days ago. It's a great model in the wind because of its speed, the whole reason for its existence. Lee Harding showed up with his radar gun and we all had to guess how fast our models were. I guessed at about 50 MPH for the Sidewinder, but it blasted by at 75, surprised me. Funny you should mention the BD-5. Sometime in the 70's one of the guys who I worked with, bought a BD-5 kit. It's hard to believe how small it is, barely big enough for one (slim) person. Ed had to lose weight so he could put gas in it. Ed sold his, partly assembled like most, don't know if any ever flew, problems with the snowmobile engine. I did see the jet version fly, same one James Bond flew thru the hangar. I built a small glider from Ed's plans, did not fly well, needed more fin and rudder, you might increase the fin size a bit, no one will notice. Dihedral won't matter, use what you like.
Doug Smith - 17/07/2021
Add a comment