Lots of people watch us rolling & tumbling through the air in combat with small, maneuverable, rugged little wings.

Here are some notes for those who’d like to join the fray.

The most prevalent wing in our combat sessions is built from a $29.95 24-inch wing kit, available from Mini SpeedWing.

But you’re welcome to fly anything in combat, as long as it’s not too fast or too big.

And size doesn’t matter much. Last week Patrick Schindler’s 4-foot Zagi joined the fray, flying slowly through our cloud of gnats. Despite our best efforts, we largely failed to hit this large gentle target, though Mike Nadler did score two boinks.

Small & Slow. Big means less maneuverable. Fast means you consistently overshoot the aerial arena. So smaller and slower is optimum, as long as you have enough power to loop, roll and climb vertically.

Frank Ducker wields a cut-down styrofoam wing. Carlos Garay has fought with a Super Flea. Dave North started with a flat-airfoil Slow Fly wing.

The Mini SpeedWing comes with everything you need except servos, battery, speed control, motor, receiver and prop.

Typical setup:

• Two servos: Hitec HS 55 or smaller.
• Castle Thunderbird 9 speed control
• Medusa 12mm 4000KV motor or equivalent. I’ve flown motors by Medusa and Feigao, in addition to custom-wound tiny outrunners.
• I use 2S LiPo batteries. My favorite size is a ThunderPower 2S 730MAh.
• GWS 3×3 prop unless you choose a 3S LiPo, in which case you probably want a GWS 3×2 prop.

You can find everything you need in local stores except, perhaps, the Mini SpeedWing. If you can’t find a Mini SpeedWing locally, order it online.

Target weight for a little wing is less than 6 ounces, including battery.

Not in the Manual. After building six or seven wings, I’ve developed a number of departures from the stock instructions.

I use Goop as my primary adhesive. It’ll dissolve styrofoam, but it’s EPP friendly.

To join the wing halves, I slather Goop on each part, let them sit for a few minutes, then press them together. Goop is contact cement, but I like to work with it while it’s still somewhat liquid. Weight the wing down on a piece of wax paper on a flat surface for 24 hours as it dries.

In joining the wing halves directly, I ignore the wooden keel supplied with the kit. It’s a handy motor mount and provides some strength, but I don’t think it’s worth the added weight. It also interferes with my next two steps. (It’s also deadly in collisions. Leave it out if you intend to use the wing for combat.)

A Stiff Ribbon. To Increase stiffness, I arc a ribbon of carbon fiber from wingtip to wingtip. The CF strip I usually use is a ribbon, .22″ (5.7mm) wide by .039 ” (1mm) thick. First I pin it in place, mark the arc with a pencil, then slice a channel in the foam with a straight razor blade or Xacto knife. I then insert the ribbon and glue it with CA, again weighting the wing so it doesn’t warp. You could also use two lengths of 2mm CF rod, one on top and one on the bottom of the wing. After the CA sets, I usually smear Goop along the top of the ribbon to seal it in place.

To hold the battery, I gouge out a rectangle of foam at the nose of the wing. You can do this using a razor to outline the excavation, then plucking out the foam with forceps, tweezers or pliers. Or you can use a solder gun and a shaped copper wire to melt the hollow for the battery.

Adjusting the CG. I also cut out a motor indentation in the trailing edge of the wing. Moving the motor forward allows me to get the right balance point without adding lead to the nose of the wing, and it shaves off a bit of weight.

Perry Lee at AeroMicro gave me a good and simple idea for a 12mm motor mount. I cut a slot in the foam for the motor, then widen the slot a bit for a heat sink. I glue a 12mm motor heat sink in place with Goop, then slide in the motor. The only trick here is making sure your thrust line is parallel to the bottom of the wing.

To strengthen the wing for combat collisions and occasional lawn dart incidents, I reinforce the leading edges with filament tape.

Apart from that, follow the kit instructions.

Going Naked. I covered my early wings with lightweight iron-on film. These days I’m more inclined to save half an ounce and a couple of hours of work and leave the wing uncovered. I might paint it or use markers to provide pattern so I can recognize my wing in the air.

Even if you elect not to fly combat with a little wing, it’s an easy build and a fun fly. It’s also rugged and portable—a perfect suitcase plane you can take anywhere.

Safety Note
If you’re building a plane for combat, keep it light and don’t add hard reinforcements such as carbon fiber rods on the leading edge of the wing. These add weight and create an unnecessary hazard for your opponents. All you need is a bit of tape on the leading edge.

Tags: Baylands, Combat, Flying, Tools, Wings.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 7:30 pm and is filed under Baylands. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.