wonwinglo
SMF Supporter
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 6,754
- Points
- 113
- First Name
- Barry
Before we move on there are still a few points to be taken into consideration regarding the fuselage,kit designs normally show the rear motor peg way back which is not always the best position for it,what we need to consider is will the extra length of the rubber motor add too much weight at the rear and thus necessitate more nose ballast ? if so then we must consider moving the peg position closer to the nose,the compromise between extra rubber or more power to lift an even heavier airframe aloft ? if the fuselage is long as say a Fairey Battle then a mid point position between wing trailing edge and tailplane leading edge would work reasonably well,if we build a Curtiss Seagull with a short stubby fuselage then go for the furthest position possible.
The next point concerns asthetics only,when the rubber motor is lubricated it will kick quite a lot of the sticky mixture inside the fuselage including the cockpit area and mark the canopy,the answer her is to place a small thin bridge across the fuselage sides to act as an effective barrier,sometimes easily overlooked.
Where we hold the model prior to launch requires a small piece of sheeting inserted between the stringers at that point otherwise the tissue covering will almost certainly be broken,this will also help whilst winding the motor.
All of the above is on the assumption that we are installing a rubber drive,if an alternative power unit is used such as a Co.2 motor,air bottle,electric or even Tee-dee power then things are different,all of the weight will be where we need it forward of the centre of gravity,these various installations will be discussed in more detail some other time,as they need to be taken into consideration before the build stage.
The next point concerns asthetics only,when the rubber motor is lubricated it will kick quite a lot of the sticky mixture inside the fuselage including the cockpit area and mark the canopy,the answer her is to place a small thin bridge across the fuselage sides to act as an effective barrier,sometimes easily overlooked.
Where we hold the model prior to launch requires a small piece of sheeting inserted between the stringers at that point otherwise the tissue covering will almost certainly be broken,this will also help whilst winding the motor.
All of the above is on the assumption that we are installing a rubber drive,if an alternative power unit is used such as a Co.2 motor,air bottle,electric or even Tee-dee power then things are different,all of the weight will be where we need it forward of the centre of gravity,these various installations will be discussed in more detail some other time,as they need to be taken into consideration before the build stage.