The Black Arrow

[Jmk89]

A beginning made on the next steps:

1.     second part of the tailplane casing glued in place
You cannot view this attachment.

2.     the plug piece glued between the two vertical spacers
You cannot view this attachment.

3.     two upper side pieces shaped from 2.5mm balsa using the tail rib template to guide the scalpel blade
You cannot view this attachment.

4.     the upper side pieces glued onto the top of the sloped centre ribs of the tailplane
You cannot view this attachment.


Just need to:
1.    sand the plug so it fits the front fuselage
2.    sand the top side pieces so they flow neatly down to the tail
3.    cover the tail casing
4.    add hooks and tail skid to the tail casing.

[Jmk89]

Now the following have been done:

1.   The plug is cut and sanded down so that it fits in the rear hole in the fuselage
You cannot view this attachment.

2.   The upper side pieces are sanded down to follow the line of the upper longerons
You cannot view this attachment.

3.  The tailplane is plugged into the end of the fuselage.
You cannot view this attachment.

[Jmk89]

Covered the tail covering and put the thing together to do a bit of test gliding in the back yard.  No photos yet.

CG was at about 50% of wing chord (no CG marked on the plan) and without adjustment there was a straight dive.  Added tail weight - needed 5.5 gms before we got a decent glide. So I added 3mm increase to wing incidence (it was set with 0 ° according to the plan) and she only needed 3 gms of clay.

Decided to put 2 or 3 coats of banana oil on the tail structure.  We will see what the weight of tail plane is in the morning when that dries.

I hope to go and test out at the paddock with the KeilKraft grass tomorrow - rain permitting.  Photos will be supplied!

Current weights:

tail -  7.5g
wing - 11g
fuselage - 41g (including 4 strands x 400mm x 6mm rubber)
prop and noseblock - 10.5g

[dputt7]

Hope the weather is fine and you have a successful trial.

[Jmk89]

Too damp today. The forecast for tomorrow is better. So fingers crossed!