Just trying to get my bad plane to fly

[Dinoswarleafs]

Hey!

I have two left hands who has only tried Lab events and study stuff through high school. In my last year I thought I'd try a build event 100% for fun, and it seemed Wright Stuff was the most intro friendly. I bought an FF kit and tried to create my own plane, but I messed up in a lot of places since I have two left hands. I've tried reading through the kit but I can't find anything about planes not being able to fly at all. I've read a few forum posts but it seems the posters are already finding some success and with a few tweaks got it to be at least a minute. I'm honestly crossing my fingers I can get it to fly for a minute, and don't really care for placing. I'd just be embarresed if I can't get it to fly at all =(

Problems:
Despite both the wing and stabilizer being shifted to the left, the plane decides it likes going to the right
Mr. Rebel plane decides it won't fly no matter how many spins of the .108 rubber band I put

The mass is 9.08 grams which is on the high side, but I'm just interested in getting it to fly so I'm not too concerned about getting optimal mass.

Flight w/o propeller - https://streamable.com/gtnr7
Flight w/ propeller - https://streamable.com/c61t6
Front view - https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... 214743.jpg (I thought I'd clean up the edges after I can get the plane to function)
Back view - https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... 214854.jpg (The rudder is so screwed. I imagine this is the reason for the right turning?)

I understand I'm not really equipped to handle this. I'm just doing this for fun so any results would be pretty cool. Thanks for dealing with me and my ineptitude.

[JasperKota]

First - I'm not sure flying in a small space like that is recommended. Try a much larger, open space like a gym. I also don't recommend flying without a propeller, gliding can just cause extra damage when it crashes.

About turning right, is your horizontal stabilizer tilted properly? It should be tilted in a way that the left side is slightly higher than the right (viewing from a back view). I can't really tell from your picture but it seems like you have the opposite. Also, try tilting rudder, offsetting it just a bit to the left. I can't really tell what you mean by it's "screwed" in the picture.

How much are you winding (it doesn't seem like that much from the video, but I can't tell)? Motors can take a surprisingly large amount of winds, I would try winding more first, but test in a more open space. Before you can get access to a testing space, brush up those edges and sand down the uneven mylar edges.
Don't be discouraged! Wright stuff was my first build event and the first test flight it crashed into a wall and broke the front hook - it's now my favorite scioly event.

[Dinoswarleafs]

First - I'm not sure flying in a small space like that is recommended. Try a much larger, open space like a gym. I also don't recommend flying without a propeller, gliding can just cause extra damage when it crashes. .

Oh I have a gym at school I can fly it in I'm just trying to get it to work at home before bringing it in the gym. I won't glide it in the future.

About turning right, is your horizontal stabilizer tilted properly? It should be tilted in a way that the left side is slightly higher than the right (viewing from a back view). I can't really tell from your picture but it seems like you have the opposite. Also, try tilting rudder, offsetting it just a bit to the left. I can't really tell what you mean by it's "screwed" in the picture.

Oh snap what? I don't have the instructions with me at the moment, but I could have sworn I was instructed to tilt the stabilizer a further degree down left than the wing. viewtopic.php?f=299&t=13674&start=15 This forum post with a similar problem has a diagram that shows them both tilted to the left. I could be wrong though so I'd love to try changing it if I actually did mess up that badly t-t

How much are you winding (it doesn't seem like that much from the video, but I can't tell)? Motors can take a surprisingly large amount of winds, I would try winding more first, but test in a more open space. Before you can get access to a testing space, brush up those edges and sand down the uneven mylar edges.
Don't be discouraged! Wright stuff was my first build event and the first test flight it crashed into a wall and broke the front hook - it's now my favorite scioly event.

Oh I haven't focused too much on counting winds. Truth be told I haven't constructed those rotating machines to crack the rubber bands since I'm just trying to get a hang of this right now rather than optimization. I'll clean up the edges since I have some free time tonight

Thanks for the advice! I thought I was gonna be flamed since I'm kind of being a jackass at this tbh T_T

[JasperKota]

Yep it looks titled down in that diagram because that's a front view, with the propeller in front, looking at your plane from the back, the stab should be tilted with the left side higher. Fixing that should cause your plane to turn to the left.

If you're hand winding you're definitely not winding enough -- try 50 winds on a 15:1 ratio winder meaning like 550 turns of the propeller for a test flight if you're winding by hand. That's probably why your plane hasn't been flying, just not enough winds.

[Rossyspsce]

Yep it looks titled down in that diagram because that's a front view, with the propeller in front, looking at your plane from the back, the stab should be tilted with the left side higher. Fixing that should cause your plane to turn to the left.

If you're hand winding you're definitely not winding enough -- try 50 winds on a 15:1 ratio winder meaning like 550 turns of the propeller for a test flight if you're winding by hand. That's probably why your plane hasn't been flying, just not enough winds.

What happens if I have wing and stab titled with the left side lower and I get a left circle with decent times?

[DatSciolyBoi]

Honestly right turning or left turning circles don't really matter.People usually go with left because the manual is set up for that.

[Dinoswarleafs]

Yep it looks titled down in that diagram because that's a front view, with the propeller in front, looking at your plane from the back, the stab should be tilted with the left side higher. Fixing that should cause your plane to turn to the left.

If you're hand winding you're definitely not winding enough -- try 50 winds on a 15:1 ratio winder meaning like 550 turns of the propeller for a test flight if you're winding by hand. That's probably why your plane hasn't been flying, just not enough winds.

Ah thanks so much man! I wound it up for like 10 minutes and it flew a lot better. I can't see it's full behavior because of my room so I'll try it in the gym tomorrow you're awesome.

I think I should build that lever think. I got a full workout from that lol

[JasperKota]

Honestly right turning or left turning circles don't really matter.People usually go with left because the manual is set up for that.

I think the reasoning behind why every Wright stuff kit instructs to make it turn left is because with the rubber motor and propeller, turning right actually causes the plane to fight the torque and for an indoor model it's generally better to make it turn left (many outdoor models turn right however).

What happens if I have wing and stab titled with the left side lower and I get a left circle with decent times?

If it ain't broke don't fix it? If it's not causing you any problems and the plane is flying fine I don't see a reason to adjust it, tilting the stab the other way might make your circles too tight, but that's just what I would do.

[klastyioer]

id like to offer to help out with anything as well so if you need help just quote this message or pm me

[Dinoswarleafs]

id like to offer to help out with anything as well so if you need help just quote this message or pm me

Oh snap really? Thanks! I can't send a video of its flight right now, but while turning the plane around 500 times (rn I'm doing it by hand. I'll see if I have the materials for crank later) it seems to fly 15 feet total while gradually declining and turning right through out the process. What characteristics should I measure that would be helpful to know :0?