Spectre (oz7805)

About this Plan

Spectre. A 92in wingspan powered glider for lightweight single channel radio, and .074 to .15 mills.

Quote: "Sameness can be a bore after a while. Personally we can take just so many of the typical contest R/C designs before they all tend to blend together into a streamlined trike-geared symmetrically sectioned functional type aircraft, one just like the other.

The rules make it so, and the same can be said for Freeflight contest types, Controline Stunters and every other category. To compete, you have to build to a fairly conventional pattern, and that pattern of excellence grows more clearly defined with each passing season.

We are not knocking anything. These aircraft are the finest that our present knowledge can create, but they do tend to fall into a typical pattern, that best for performance for the event in question.

So, to heck with it all. Time to try a new breed of aircraft, time to explore the unknown a bit. What is easier than a big powered flying wing?

For those who have never experimented with a wing design, consider it very similar to a conventional aircraft configuration. The engine out front, wings creating lift. No tail to stabilize the model, so the wing is swept rearward, and the wingtips replace the stab. A reflexed upsweep of the tip airfoil substitutes for the normal incidence required. Rudders mounted at the tips provide stability. }lard to make them effective in the center of the model, as it would be too close to the center of gravity.

Elevons, a term blending elevator and ailerons control the flight attitude. Raising the port elevon, depressing the starboard will result in a turn to port, as that tip is forced down, and the right tip increases its lift.

We chose a fairly large size for this design as a large wing is not as big as you think. It spans 90-odd inches, shich gives it a good soaring capability..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

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