Very interesting Snake Stringer thanks for posting. I have been working on my flying. I also am building a DPCM Dr1 I have a build thread. Anyway for my next build will be either a Guillow's Cessna  180 or  Lancer reduced to peanut size.

pb_guy wrote on Dec 11^th, 2015 at 7:31pm:


"DITTO"

You're actually doing fine, Wid.  Going back to "basics" is always a good idea when one feels lost or just wants to improve (one of the reasons I often go back to "toy" S&T models ).

Please start a new thread with your Bird Dog to keep the Stuka one from getting mixed up.

My posts are kind of like my flying all over the place. Anyway I have a question about the wings of the Sterling Bird Dog. I don't know if anyone has built this kit.or not. The plans call for wing spars of 1/8 x 3/16. Anyway I weighed it at 2 grams of lumber. That would make a very heavy but strong wing. Long story short I am thinking about modifying the wing.

Sterling models claim that all their designs are flight tested. Now the Q. Should I build per the plan or should I modify.?.

This is too funny.  When I was kid I also wanted them to fly in a straight line and they went in circles, well sort of.  Now I want them to circle and they go straight.  How do they know?

Terry

Lots of great info shared by the members here!  Widdog...
You might want to check out the "How to Fly Model Airplanes-Flight Trimming" section.  Lots of step by step insight on getting your models to fly so you can get them back.  Of course once you get them trimmed and they are flying good...watch out for "Hung"!  The Free Flight God of Thermals, he likes to take them OOS! (0ut Of Sight)

Sky9pilot

Hey Wid,

Great job on improving your flights!

A couple of comments. First, the indoor guys you were referring to in the video post are flying in the UK and they do not fly for endurance. They have to take off, fly for a minimum of I believe 15 seconds and then have a realistic landing. It's more about the take off and landing with them for flight points. Outdoors is in most cases about endurance. So while you can do very well with a low and slow approach out doors (Dave Livesay was big on that), you would need an extremely lightly built plane for that. You'd have to exclude any of the Guillow's models you like.
The other comment is about your flights you are posting. It is best to try and get a circular pattern. I have had a couple models that liked to wander as well but that is very scary depending on the size of the field you fly. I have found that a wandering flight in the power was either a loose nose block or a slight stall that causes the plane to fall off on a wing tip and head the other way until it catches enough speed to correct itself. Also, I'm not sure what your trimming method is but it looks like you are having some issues in the glide. You need to first balance the plane at the CG and leave it there. DO NOT ADD WEIGHT TO COMPENSATE FOR STALLS OR DIVES. You must use elevator adjustments until you get a good flat glide when you toss it about 20 feet ahead of you. After the glide looks good you then try power flights. If you stall use only thrust adjustments at this point. Sometimes you may need to add or take away wash out but mostly once the CG and the glide are established it's all thrust. I hope I was helpful

Steve

I did increase the prop size from 6 inch to 7 inch. It did help.
https://youtu.be/Mi69BFwqwHM