First time doing Wright Stuff...some questions

carrrot
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First time doing Wright Stuff...some questions

Post by carrrot »

Hi...
I am thinking of doing Wright Stuff this year (or trying out for it, anyways) and have some questions. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

1. For kits... I’ve looked around the forums/YouTube and it seems that Freedom Flight (FF), J&H, Lasercut planes, and Guru are the big ones. I am trying to build a decent plane and am wondering which kit I should get. I’ve heard that FF and J&H are harder to build (correct me if I’m wrong)....but are better in terms of the actual plane design? I have not done Wright Stuff before. Also, FF and J&H are on the expensive side.

2. Before starting to build, I should do some reading, yes? Would the forums here and these two guides...linked below be enough? Or is there anything else worth reading?

https://freeflight.org/wp-content/uploa ... nglert.pdf
https://freeflight.org/wp-content/uploa ... Manual.pdf

3. How long will it take to build? How long will it take to trim? (Again, I am not looking for a spectacular plane...I just want a good one).

Any information would be appreciated. Thank you.
Last edited by carrrot on November 7th, 2021, 5:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First time doing Wright Stuff...some questions

Post by bjt4888 »

Carrot,

Congrats on joining the Wright Stuff fraternity!

I have coached four high school Teams for the aerospace event (Wright Stuff, Glider and Helicopter) for ten years to some pretty successful results and my teams have used the Freedom Flight kits, the J&H Aerospace kits and the Lasercutplanes kits. I also like the Guru Engineering kits. Lasercut emphasizes simpler construction and lower cost. The other kits are a little more complex, but more competitive at the bigger championships.

If I were you, I’d read the entire Scioly.org forum for the 2015 year and the 2016 year. Those years, the rules had a lot of similarity to the 2022 rules.

The heart of the event is not the airplane design, but the amount and quality of the test flying you do. There’s lots of information bout testing in the 2015 and 2016 Wright forums and they don’t take as long to read as you might think.

It takes my team about 12 hours for four students to build four airplanes. Testing, if you read and study first (and ask questions here) can usually lead to some pretty good success in just a couple of three hour sessions in the gym. To achieve national level performance, many practice sessions, many different rubber motor variations and many propeller variations will need to be tested. Especially study material that explains proper rubber motor winding technique. Making connections to your school facility staff is critical as you will need them to shut off the gym air handlers.

Enjoy,

Brian T
Last edited by bjt4888 on November 7th, 2021, 7:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: First time doing Wright Stuff...some questions

Post by carrrot »

Thank you for your detailed response!

I have another question - I was thinking of buying supplies and I was wondering whether 3M 77 spray adhesive or CA accelerator (to make the glue dry faster) are completely necessary (they are not very cheap, and I am just getting started).

I would really appreciate it if anyone could provide any information. Thank you.
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Apollo (December 7th, 2021, 8:43 am)
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Re: First time doing Wright Stuff...some questions

Post by CookiePie1 »

carrrot wrote: November 9th, 2021, 4:44 pm Thank you for your detailed response!

I have another question - I was thinking of buying supplies and I was wondering whether 3M 77 spray adhesive or CA accelerator (to make the glue dry faster) are completely necessary (they are not very cheap, and I am just getting started).

I would really appreciate it if anyone could provide any information. Thank you.
The spray adhesive is used for the covering, so I would say it's pretty necessary. Accelerator is less necessary, but when you're building an intricate part or something that's hard to hold in the same position, it can be very helpful. Just my two cents.
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Apollo (December 7th, 2021, 8:43 am)
South Brunswick High School Captain '22
2020 Events: Protein Modeling, Ping Pong Parachute, Wright Stuff, Sounds of Music
2021 Events: Protein Modeling, Sounds of Music, Ornithology
2022 Events: TBD

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Re: First time doing Wright Stuff...some questions

Post by bjt4888 »

Agree with cookie. If bonding Ultrafilm covering to flying surfaces, 3M 77 is the best option. If bonding heavier covering like tissue or grocery bag plastic, you can use UHU glue stick. Heavier covering is not the best choice however if you want a competitive airplane.

We rarely use CA accelerator.

Brian T
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Re: First time doing Wright Stuff...some questions

Post by carrrot »

I see - thank you both!
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Re: First time doing Wright Stuff...some questions

Post by carrrot »

Sorry, I have another question.

I was planning to read relevant forums before building my plane. Which year of Wright Stuff has the most similar rules to this year? (Is it 2016-2017?)

Thank you.
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Re: First time doing Wright Stuff...some questions

Post by bjt4888 »

Carrot,

Please don’t apologize for asking questions. You may ask as many as you like. WS is a difficult event to achieve high level performance. The 2015 rules are the most similar to this year. Same size propeller, 24 cm. Similar size wing and stabilizer. Larger motor at 2.0 grams, which is why my teams flew in the mid to high 3:40’s that year. 2016 had a 1.5 gram motor limit (same as this year), a smaller propeller at 20 cm and much smaller flying surfaces (wing and stabilizer).

Now I’m back to the workshop to cut custom rubber density for two of my teams practices on Sunday (they asked for something a little thicker than last session).

Brian T
Last edited by bjt4888 on November 12th, 2021, 2:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First time doing Wright Stuff...some questions

Post by carrrot »

Great, thank you!
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Re: First time doing Wright Stuff...some questions

Post by carrrot »

I've got another question.

In terms of applying glue, I've read that you should never apply directly from the glue bottle, which makes sense to me. I have read about both putting a drop of glue on wax paper and then using a toothpick to apply the glue and about using a piece of wood with two pins in it that are quite close together instead of the toothpick. (There is a picture of this below). Which one is better?
cyaapp.jpg
cyaapp.jpg (3.36 KiB) Viewed 2411 times
Another note:
I tried using the toothpick on some scrap wood earlier and it did not seem to pick up much of the glue drop. (For reference, I am using Gorilla super glue, medium viscosity.) However, the pieces of wood stuck together decently (as in, when I tried to break it, I only snapped some wood off the top). although I could still break it relatively easily if I wanted to). I also assume you would need less glue for something like wing ribs and more for propellor connection or something like that?

I would appreciate any help. It is also possible I am reading a little too much into this.

Thank you.
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