J.N. Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I hope this is not viewed as the same as “how long is a piece of string”.I am building the electric flight Whizzza from all balsa sheet, a RCM&E plan The wing is 10mm, the tail section and fuselage is 4.5mm with doublers here and there. I am aware that all up weight is important and it appears to me that there is some redundant weight due to the type of construction and would appreciate if the experts can indicate which areas to look at. I thought maybe small areas of the wing, fin, tailplane and fuselage could be removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 hello JN.......what you would save in weight.......will be next to nothing.......i would leave as is......perhaps carefull selection of the wood will save a few grams...but nothing as such......the whizza's are sports models as such and need a bit of strength..to put up with the day to day use etc..... ken anderson ne...1......... whizza dept... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Hargreaves - Moderator Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I'm with Ken here.....the Whizza is a basic quick build sports model & designed to take a bit of rough & tumble.....I'm sure tyou could reduce the weight slightly but only by a few grams.....why bother...? In the early days of electric flight weight really mattered & you would agonise over whether to take the case off your Rx or not to save a gram or two.....but things have changed.....we have lots of easily available power now-a-days steve h......pr7......never thought I'd agree with ken dept...!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 JN, I'm with the previous two. With all the power we have on tap these days, there's just no point in agonising over the odd gramme or two. tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 Hi JN. If you can save weight, save it at the tail end. I ended up putting quite a bit of lead in the nose for balance, it ended up at the heavier end of the quoted range.Still flies very well but fast and sinks like a brick when the power is off, due to the lead no doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worden Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 JN As Nev says saving weight at the tail end will eliminate any need for nose weight and also that the lipo can be moved to a more convenient position away from the motor. As said before, use the lightest balsa you can find for the tailplane, fin etc. but you can also help by cutting holes in the tail surfaces as I did on one of my Whizzzas. You can just about see in this photo the ones in the fin and rudder but I also did the tailplane and elevator. I also used a lightweight covering on these surfaces (Solarfilm Lite). This didn't seem to affect strength in this area and I can assure you it got well tested (300 was watts/lb)! In fact when it did meet it's end, the tail was the only part that remained mostly intact. Good Luck! Worden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly boy3 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Hi Worden, a little off thread, but thats what I call a first class covering job on your Whizza. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worden Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Thanks FB3, very kind of you to say so. It was just film with solartrim cut lettering and numerals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.N. Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Posted by Worden on 23/11/2011 19:24:10:JN As Nev says saving weight at the tail end will eliminate any need for nose weight and also that the lipo can be moved to a more convenient position away from the motor. As said before, use the lightest balsa you can find for the tailplane, fin etc. but you can also help by cutting holes in the tail surfaces as I did on one of my Whizzzas. You can just about see in this photo the ones in the fin and rudder but I also did the tailplane and elevator. I also used a lightweight covering on these surfaces (Solarfilm Lite). This didn't seem to affect strength in this area and I can assure you it got well tested (300 was watts/lb)! In fact when it did meet it's end, the tail was the only part that remained mostly intact. Good Luck! Worden Last week I ordered a wodge of standard Solarfilm to cover my Whizzza and was unaware of Solarfilm Lite. I have just looked at the Solarfilm website and I presume this is the same as Solarfilm Solite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worden Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 That's the stuff JN, it is very light and easy to use but certainly not as durable as heavier films. I only used it on the tail surfaces, you need something a little stronger for the underside, especially with no undercarriage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.