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Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 14:32:46 -0000
From: "Sergey Borovik"
To: Subject: [FFML] Disappointing Whitewings flying day
Message-ID: <000201c00c45$d8d3a680$389401d4@mcbmsab.mcc.ac.uk>
I flew Whitewings Racers today shortly after noon. It was something of a
disaster. The 524 fuselage folded on the first landing after spiralling out
of the sky with a time of 4s catapult launched. The 519 lost its wing after
a handful of 5s flights. For some reason, it too nosedived out of the sky
immediately after every launch, despite all my attempts at adding mass, bending
the horizontal stabilizer, etc. The 520 flew in a merely acceptable manner,
getting 8s hand launched and 10s, 15s, 15s with a catapult. But it was very
unpredictable at other times, looping the loop, doing victory rolls and so
on. Once, I launched it only for it to vanish into the Sun. I peered upwards
and six seconds later nearly lost an eye as the plane came down like an arrow.
Before doing myself any further injury, I lost the Whitewings catapult I was
using. My 0.5m 1/8" Tan 2 catapult was ineffective as the acceleration proved
too great: the planes just tumbled down. So I contented myself with hand launching
the 525 and getting exactly five seconds every time, regardless of deformations
applied. At 1:30, a dog started sniffing round my briefcase 100m away and
the lady owner poked at it with a stick, so I went home. Luckily, the briefcase
was dry. I guess this is why I like flying the weird ones. Times of 10s or
greater are either acceptable or to be applauded, but with a racer, it is
a bit humiliating, even if it is in the afternoon.
Sergey
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Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 10:14:00 -0400
From: "Chris Taylor"
To: Subject: Re: [FFML] Disappointing Whitewings flying day
Message-ID: <00ef01c00c43$37f948c0$240167cf@voicenet.com>
the problem is the assembly. These airplanes should hand toss for well in
excess of 30 seconds easily without much effort. Victory rolls mean warped
wings. Also likely your fuse is warped (spiraling) you do need to make sure
all parts are FLAT as they dry. the glue will warp them otherwise. to insure
this try this. After I assembly a part I but it between 2 sheets of wax paper
on the table and crush it under many heavy books (5 phones books works fine)
1 hour later I return to a dry crisp straight component. This is the biggest
killer of whitewings (warps)
Good Luck Chris http://www.nerys.com/
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Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 16:48:20 -0600
From: "Stan Huyge"
To: Subject: Re: [FFML] Disappointing Whitewings flying day
Message-ID: <00c901c00c8b$12501700$151f0818@cospgs1.co.home.com>
gey, Sorry to hear about your bad day flying. We all have them though. I
went out one evening last week and had some rough luck myself. It turns out
that paper airplanes don't like high humidity much at all. No big surprise
there if you think about it but to watch your airplanes turn into noodles
is a bit weird. They wouldn't do anything that they were supposed to. Just
when I thought I was going to get some decent flights out of my Oblique wing,
the wing creased and it would flutter on every launch. I have since repaired
it with an additional layer of cardstock on each side but it hasn't flown
since. The best my Oblique has done is probably about 5 seconds. Its a very
loopy airplane.
What I've found about whitewings that do something different on each launch
is that they either have a crease somewhere that needs to be stiffened or
that something is loose. Oh, and high humidity will do it too.
The fact that your 519 lost its wing after a few 5 second flights doesn't
surprise me at all. The wing was loose and probably fluttering during launch
until it finally came off.
I recently had to replace the rubber on both of my whitewings catapults.
The original rubber for these is 2 loops of 1/20 sq rubber. Since Tan II is
1/20 thick, an equivalent replacement is a single loop of 3/32 Tan II. I've
been using that for the past few weeks with no problems. In fact, your overpowered
catapult may be the root cause of your recent flying problems.
BTW, I did have a good flying session on Saturday. I lost my 512 Finch OOS.
I had it on the clock for about 3 minutes before it drifted so far downwind
that I couldn't see it anymore. I *really* like the Collection series (AG
stock # 1501). All of the racer designs are of the MOST (Modified Saddle Type).
The Finch in particular seems to have a higher aspect ratio wing. Mine flew
really well right off the board. They quit making this set so if you see one
you might want to snatch it up.
I've also gone to using Elmers carpenters glue (yellow aliphatic wood glue)
for attaching the wing and the stab. It dries harder than the thinned Duco
that I had been using. Its also tackier so I end up with a harder stronger
bond. I may even get brave and attempt to laminate a fuselage and wing with
the stuff too.
Stan
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Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2000 00:52:15 -0000
From: "Sergey Borovik"
To: Subject: [FFML] Whitewings construction methods
Message-ID: <006201c00c9c$6351a360$659401d4@mcbmsab.mcc.ac.uk>
I did actually flatten everything with a single phone directory. The problem
is, I couldn't reflatten anything in the field, so after the first couple
of unlucky flights (the initial landings were of the cartwheel variety), the
performance stayed poor. Looks like I will have to reflatten and try again.
Sergey
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Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2000 01:35:18 -0000
From: "Sergey Borovik"
To: Subject: [FFML] More on Whitewings
Message-ID: <009b01c00ca2$66f5e480$659401d4@mcbmsab.mcc.ac.uk>
>It turns out that paper airplanes don't like high humidity
>much at all.
I hadn't given it much thought. The 524 that suffered a folded fuselage was
a bit too flexible for my liking immediately before and after the unfortunate
flight. It was straight when I launched it, but I guess the stresses were
enough to bend it and send the plane into a dive. It had rained the previous
night, so there would have been humidity. But the other planes were straight,
flat and rigid, so what happened to them can only be speculated about. It
could have had something to do with the breeze shifting every few minutes
or minor deformations as a result of the first few impacts.
>The best my Oblique has done is probably about 5
>seconds. Its a very loopy airplane.
That's pretty much what I got that time when I tried it and failed. I will try again. Who
knows, it might work.
>What I've found about whitewings that do something
>different on each launch is that they either have a crease
>somewhere that needs to be stiffened or that something
>is loose. Oh, and high humidity will do it too.
Here is a strange but perfectly serious question: do you think
that ironing them without steam will work?
>In fact, your overpowered catapult may be the root cause
>of your recent flying problems.
I still have a 1m long 1/16" strand of Tan 2 that I can use in a single strand catapult. It certainly
gives the planes a smoother launch. I will get back to using it once I fix
my planes and build a few new ones.
>BTW, I did have a good flying session on Saturday. I lost
>my 512 Finch OOS.
I had such hopes for a Pair Plane that I built (makes a good thermal tester),
but I managed to lose it indoors on the "last" flight before trying it outside.
It fell into a hollow roof beam, and is still there, the T-tail sadly poking
out. One day, I might retrieve it with a mass on a string.
>They quit making this set so if you see one you might
>want to snatch it up.
I will look out for it, but my model shop doesn't have much in the way of
Whitewings - only a few racers and lots of airliner profiles that nobody ever
buys.
I would like to buy a replacement Future of Flight set, and possibly a Science
of Flight set. Does anyone know of (or is) a UK source of these?
Sergey
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