Search found 257 matches

by calgoddard
February 14th, 2024, 7:13 pm
Forum: Flight B/C
Topic: Flight Optimization
Replies: 4
Views: 310

Re: Flight Optimization

Prancing - You said your primary airplane weighs around 9.2 grams. The minimum weight of the airplane under the rules is 8.0 grams. Your airplane is 15% overweight. It is easy to build both a Division B and Division C 2024 Flight event airplane under 8.0 grams using one of the kits like the J & ...
by calgoddard
March 13th, 2020, 2:52 pm
Forum: Wright Stuff C
Topic: Wright Stuff C
Replies: 887
Views: 160266

Re: Wright Stuff C

The system won't allow me to add to my last post. Unless you are trying for an AMA record, the particular design of the LPP is not critical. I know that Chuck likes Bill Gowen's Carbon Penny. For many years the Limited Penny Plane by Cezar Banks, another legend in indoor free flight, was a very popu...
by calgoddard
March 13th, 2020, 2:35 pm
Forum: Wright Stuff C
Topic: Wright Stuff C
Replies: 887
Views: 160266

Re: Wright Stuff C

Xiangyu - It is much easier to build an LPP near the 3.1 gram minimum weight than you might think. The 12-inch diameter prop is made of balsa wood and typically weighs only about 0.70 to 0.80 grams. A plastic prop would be way too heavy for an LPP. See this link for instructions on how to build an L...
by calgoddard
March 3rd, 2020, 11:53 am
Forum: Wright Stuff C
Topic: What's Next???
Replies: 9
Views: 4350

Re: What's Next???

I too endorse the recommendation that WS fliers try their hands at the Limited Penny Plane (LPP) event. I have built a number of LPP models and really enjoy flying them. Bi-planes are not allowed in the LPP event so that makes an LPP model easier to build to the minimum weight and easier to trim tha...
by calgoddard
March 1st, 2020, 6:31 am
Forum: Wright Stuff C
Topic: Wright Stuff C
Replies: 887
Views: 160266

Re: Wright Stuff C

Without the benefit of any testing, to me the newly introduced 8 cm diameter Ikara prop would seem likely to be more efficient than the indoor 15 cm (six-inch) Ikara prop cut down to 8 cm in diameter. The P/D and blade plan form of the former prop were probably specifically designed for a WS 2020 mo...
by calgoddard
February 26th, 2020, 11:43 am
Forum: Wright Stuff C
Topic: Wright Stuff C
Replies: 887
Views: 160266

Re: Wright Stuff C

NorCalplaya - Increasing the spacing between the wings of a biplane would decrease the aerodynamic interference between the wings and increase the combined lift of the two wings. This may be why the spacing between the wings of the J & H Aerospace WS 2020 biplane is relatively large for a biplan...
by calgoddard
February 25th, 2020, 5:45 pm
Forum: Wright Stuff C
Topic: Wright Stuff C
Replies: 887
Views: 160266

Re: Wright Stuff C

In the case of exceptional students with expert coaches, like coach Chuck and his students, its probably OK to compete with a biplane under the WS 2020 rules. For all others, I recommend competing with a monoplane under the WS 2020 rules. A biplane suffers aerodynamic interference between its two ov...
by calgoddard
February 20th, 2020, 10:42 am
Forum: Wright Stuff C
Topic: Wright Stuff C
Replies: 887
Views: 160266

Re: Wright Stuff C

In my opinion the many disadvantages of utilizing a biplane configuration in the WS 2020 competition far outweigh any potential advantage of its theoretical lower wing loading. See my December 10, 2019 post explaining this in detail. Apparently, most students competing in the WS 2020 event who build...
by calgoddard
February 19th, 2020, 10:19 am
Forum: Wright Stuff C
Topic: Wright Stuff C
Replies: 887
Views: 160266

Re: Wright Stuff C

Ikara has just come out with an 8 cm diameter prop supposedly designed for WS 2020. The new Ikara prop has two blades. It has wide chord blades that are much sturdier than the thin plastic blades of the typical indoor Ikara prop. The blades also appear to have a much higher pitch than the typical in...
by calgoddard
February 19th, 2020, 10:16 am
Forum: Wright Stuff C
Topic: Wright Stuff C
Replies: 887
Views: 160266

Re: Wright Stuff C

I need to correct the last sentence of my post on February 15, 2020 regarding Larrabee props. My subsequent research confirmed that Professor Eugence Larrabee of MIT developed design theories for minimizing induced loss in a propeller to achieve maximum efficiency for a given power input. However, h...

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