SoaringDigest

Radio C ntrolled

February 2017 Vol. 34, No. 2

 February 2017
CONTENTS Vol. 34, No. 2
Front cover: John Hey's A4 Skyhawk, designed by Phil
Cooke and Matt Jones for the 2016 PSSA mass build, drops
its tanks at the SW bowl of the Great Orme, North Wales, 31st
December 2016. Photo by Shona Meade
Nikon D200, ISO 320, 1/4000 sec., f5, 185mm

Jim Marske's Pioneer 4 25

An update on the progress being made on the prototype.

Modelflight Midway Cup 27

4 E-LilAn II Full coverage of the thermal duration event held in
Chuck Anderson's LilAn is motorized by Charlie Bair.
Horsham, Victoria, Australia, and sponsored by the
12 Tom's Tips - Dremel EZ407SA Radio Control Gliding Association (RCGA) of Victoria.
Changing sanding bands made easy.
On the ’Wing...
Book review Examining Variables Related to the Control
13 Programming a Spektrum DX9 of Tailless Aircraft 45
for a Six Servo Sailplane with a Motor PRANDTL-D and formulating the appropriate wing twist
One of the latest offerings from Sherman Knight and for swept wing tailless models, current research by the
Red Sailplane. KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and an overview of a
technical paper concerning the aerodynamic center and
17 Researching the IVSM Poster Child: moment components for swept wings.
Ross Stevens RS-1 Zanonia
Vince Cockett relates his experience in documenting
this classic sailplane. This article originally appeared Back cover: A striking photo from the Modelflight Midway
in Bungee Cord Winter 2016, reprinted with additional Cup by Elsinore Mann. We felt it deserved to be presented
material by permission. on a full borderless page. Complete coverage of the event,
sponsored by the Radio Control Gliding Association (RCGA)
of Victoria, Australia, begins an page 27 of this issue.
Nikon D90, ISO 400, 1/2000 sec., f14, 18mm

2 R/C Soaring Digest

 R/C Soaring Digest
February 2017 In the Air
Volume 34 Number 2
This has been an exciting edition of RC Soaring Digest to put
together, for several reasons.
Managing Editors, Publishers Bill & Bunny (B2) Kuhlman
Contributing Editor Spencer Webster First, we would like to introduce Spencer Webster as a
Contributing Editor to the staff of RCSD. Spencer has a
Contact bsquared@[Link] background in both journalism and desktop publishing. He's
[Link] familiar with InDesign and has experience in editing and
Yahoo! group: RCSoaringDigest proofreading, making him ideally qualified for this role. He's
FaceBook: [Link]
already been put to work and is responsible for the entire layout
of "Tom's Tips" in this issue.
R/C Soaring Digest (RCSD) is a reader-written monthly publication
for the R/C sailplane enthusiast and has been published since Next comes the first of our own "On the ’Wing..." columns since
January 1984. It is dedicated to sharing technical and educational August of 2009 (more than seven years ago!) when Part 2 of our
information. All material contributed must be original and not
infringe upon the copyrights of others. It is the policy of RCSD Windlord XC project was published. We did get some additional
to provide accurate information. Please let us know of any error work accomplished on the wings at that time, but there was
that significantly affects the meaning of a story. Because we not enough progress to warrant another installment. The OTW
encourage new ideas, the content of each article is the opinion
of the author and may not necessarily reflect those of RCSD. We column included in this edition is not related the Windlord XC
encourage anyone who wishes to obtain additional information project, but instead has a rather technical bent. We hope
to contact the author. those readers fascinated by tailless aircraft, both powered and
——— unpowered will derive some benefit from the column. Our desire
at this point is to get back to work on the Windlord XC airframe
Copyright © 2017 R/C Soaring Digest
Published by B2Streamlines
as soon as possible. Making the task easier is the fact it's still on
[Link] the building board.
P.O. Box 975, Olalla WA 98359
All rights reserved We are always looking for materials to be published in future
editions of RCSD. The deadline for the March issue is February
——— 15. As usual, reminders will be automatically sent out through the
RC Soaring Digest is published using Adobe InDesign CS6 RCSoaringDigest Yahoo! Group.
Time to build another sailplane!

February 2017 3
 E-LilAn II the evolution
Charlie Bair

My good friend Chuck Anderson and

I have been working for a number
of years on an RES soaring model
Chuck named the LilAn. Chuck is
unquestionably the main designer of the
model going back to 2001.
The wing structure is a basic soaring
design using Mark Drela ideas for the
wing design. Drela’s “Bubble Dancer”
design is a great performer and is very
similar to the commercially available
AVA.
These models weigh in around an
incredible 31 ounces. The very low wing
loading allows them to literally dance on
even small bubbles of lift as the name
implies.
Since Chuck and I need a rather sturdy
model, many features of Drela’s Bubble
1 Dancer were altered to add durability to
the model.

4 R/C Soaring Digest

Winch launched competition soaring the wing joints after we had some failures to get to a 200 meter altitude but
models need to undergo dreadful loads there. required more than 30 seconds unless
from launch to landing. Some of the There is a center panel, and right and launched in lift.
greatest of these are the winch launch left outer panels. While these features LilAn 7 was the second LilAn I built and
and landing themselves. result in increased weight, the model the center wing panel was damaged in a
Chuck also considers what he calls “door soars well. I wonder at times if it’s worth launch incident at a contest at Louisville
loads.” These are the structural loads reducing weight to extremes just to add in 2014. A new wing center wing panel
imposed on the airframe as it strikes ballast so we can handle winds. was built for winch launching. The
doorways while loading and unloading Over the years we have built and flown damaged wing was repaired and saved
the model from shop to vehicles. Don’t nine of these models, some enduring for an electric sailplane.
tell me you have not encountered these. hundreds of flights and a number of I’m attaching this photo of the crashed
As for winch loads, I speak for myself. contests. model [Photo 2] to point out that no
Nearly all my soaring mishaps have Previous articles in this publication detail matter how bad it looks, it’s probably
occurred on launch. Usually this is from specifics on the design, construction, repairable. Sometimes after careful
an overzealous foot on the winch pedal. and flying. Now the popularity of electric examination, repairs may be less than
While I prefer to actually land my models, powered gliders prompted us to add a first suspected. When center spars
during contests it’s far too tempting to motor to our LilAn design as shown in the are broken, the repaired structure may
put the nose on the goal landing spot no photo on the title page [Photo 1]. be useful in an ALES model. LilAn 7
matter what the speed or sink rate. Very and E-LilAn II use the same outer wing
hard on carbon booms, and V mounted The first E-LilAn was created by adding panels.
stabs. So, it seemed wise for us to back a Radian size prop and motor to LilAn
Number 5 just for fun in order to fly I flew the E-LilAn in local ALES contests
off the 31 ounce goal, and add some and was unhappy with the climb in ALES
durability. without having to haul a winch to the
field. mass launches.
Chuck initially built a mold to make a I bought a CLM-Pro fuselage and a Max
fuselage with an integral tail boom. The LilAn 5 wing was damaged by flutter
in an over aggressive zoom launch and Products geared motor to build a new
The horizontal stabilizers pivot on the electric sailplane using the repaired LilAn
vertical stabilizer instead of a more fragile wing repairs never completely solved
the winch launch flutter problem. This 7 wing.
V-mount.
gave us a good use for wings that were The new prop and motor combination
Wing construction is a rather standard weakened by mishaps and were not gave enough power to compete in ALES
single spar made up of carbon fiber reparable with sufficient strength to contests reaching 200 meter altitude in
caps epoxied to a balsa shear web and withstand winch loads. well less than 30 seconds. This model
is wrapped with kevlar tow. We added a performed well at the 2015 Mid-South
longer wrap of lite fiberglass cloth near While underpowered for ALES
competition, it still had sufficient power contest. If the pilot had performed as well
maybe it would have placed.

February 2017 5
 Here are some of the details we worked through to put this model
together.
We were pleased with the quality of the fuselage from [Link].
The sleek slender design of this fuselage made installation of the
components a challenge. My partner Chuck Anderson constantly
emphasized that there was no significant aerodynamic benefit in
such a skinny design at the airspeeds this model would be flying. OK,
Chuck, but it looks cool. We have to acknowledge that Chuck does
have many years of wind tunnel testing experience.
So, here are a few of the tricks and methods we used to get
everything packed in that cool skinny fuselage. The stab, fin, and
rudder are the same as the LilAn Omega and the construction is
covered in the April 2016 issue of RC Soaring Digest while installation
is covered in the May 2016 issue.
2 The Max Products geared motor fits nicely. It’s small overall diameter
slips neatly into the nose. The power leads come out the back of the
motor, another nice feature. Surely this installation is a piece of cake.
The crash of the LilAn 7. Well, maybe not. There is very little space to work with around the
motor location in the nose. The mounting holes on the front of the
motor are very close together. Locating the holes on the fuselage
firewall is a challenge. We were not satisfied with the initial attempt to
mount the motor directly to the firewall.

6 R/C Soaring Digest

 3
Machined fender washers.
5
The assembled motor and mount unit.

Getting the motor properly aligned was be shaped to hold the motor securely to
difficult, so we came up with a much the front of the firewall. [Photo 3]
better solution. A metal motor mount will A nut plate made from a second steel
provide greater strength and stability. washer placed behind the firewall was
There are a few metal motor mounts used to hold the assembly in place.
available for some motors, but not this [Photos 4 & 5] Four 4-40 cap screws
one. were used to hold these parts together.

4 Beautiful mounts can be made with

modern CNC machines, but I do not have
This combination provided a strong and
secure mount. It also provides a means
access to such high cost equipment. We of adjusting the thrust line if you so
chose to work with common steel fender desire. A little down thrust or right thrust
Completed motor mount. washers. With just a standard machine can be added to help provide the power
shop lath and drill press, the washer can on characteristics you like.

February 2017 7
You may wonder about those steel parts pilot holes may even be better to obtain to spare. So, now I needed to build a
on a soaring machine. Just so happens the best accuracy stepping up the size of washer with four threaded holes and as
that this weight put the model in ideal the holes with each drill. Finally enlarge you can see there is not a lot of material
balance. I always hate adding lead to the these holes with the correct size drill for to spare.
nose. the motor mount bolts. Another fender washer would be too thin
The CLM Pro fuselage pod calls for These steps can all be accomplished (.063 inches) to comfortably drill and tap
a 38 millimeter diameter spinner. My with simpler tools if you don’t have the 4-40 holes with sufficient strength to
favorite source for these is Esprit Models lathe and a CAD program to produce hold the assembly together. There is a
([Link]). I prefer an aluminum the necessary geometry. It will surely “rough and dirty” rule of thumb that the
spinner with no cooling port at the front. take a bit of finesse to get this step done minimum number of threads needed in
I find the cooling port unnecessary and accurately enough for a good fit. a situation like this three threads. A little
troublesome to keep clean after landings. I initially used cap screws (4-40 in the figuring tells us that three threads of a
I guess it was just lucky that there is a case of my motor) to hold the motor 4-40 machine screw would require 3/40
standard size fender washer available to the washer while completing the or .075 inches of thickness.
with a 38 mm diameter. Maybe CLM Pro assembly. The fender washer is too thin, but good
knew this? It does take a bit of careful news!
machining with simple hand tools and a The next step is to make the second part
small engine lathe if available. shown in the photo to bolt the fender It turns out that a standard steel washer
washer to the firewall. We might call the is available with a diameter of exactly
I used a small lathe to enlarge the center second washer the nut plate. It will have 38 mm and is .100 inch thick. Thick
hole to fit the motor snugly. threaded holes. enough to have four threads of 4-40 size
The problem that remained was to locate It should be noted that with this motor (4/40 = 0.1). That will do the job.
the mounting holes accurately. My motor installation plan, the motor itself will pass The outside diameter of this washer
required very close spacing in relation to through the firewall. The firewall center fits beautifully up against the back of
the center hole. This is clear in the photo hole is thus enlarged to allow clearance the firewall because the fuselage pod
of this part. for the motor to pass through. gets bigger as you move back. The hole
I laid out this geometry using an It may be helpful to hold off on this step in this washer needs to be enlarged
AutoCAD computer aided design until completing the nut plate, which can considerably so it will fit over the motor
program. Then I overlaid the accurate be used to guide the enlargement of the diameter.
plot from AutoCAD over the washer hole in the firewall. Enlarging the washer is best done in a
carefully placed. I center punched the small engine lathe. This is a bit tricky
four holes locations through the plot. I chose to use 4-40 size machine screws
to bolt the fender washer to the nut plate. since there is not much to grip on to hold
A drill press was used to drill the A glance at the nut plate in the attached the washer in place on the lathe.
mounting holes with a drill smaller than photo shows that there is not much room
the final drill to make pilot holes first. Two

8 R/C Soaring Digest

If you don’t have such equipment, there With the pilot holes drilled through, In technical terms, this reduces the
may be a local high school that teaches disassemble the mounting parts, and drill moment of inertia about the roll and yaw
some of these skills. The teacher may be out the fender washer to a size for the axis. Not wanting to lose the crisp roll
willing to have a student do this job for mounting bolts to pass through freely. characteristics of our design, we wanted
practice and all you’d have to lose is a Use a tap drill to drill out the holes in the to keep the servo on centerline.
10-cent washer. nut plate. Do not use an oversize drill for That combined with two other servos,
Next, the holes need to be located for the these holes because you want maximum radio, ESC, and ALES controller created
four machine screws that hold the mount strength in the threads in the nut plate. a challenge to get all these components
to the firewall. This needs to be done Some machinists drill these oversize to into the small space in that cool skinny
carefully since there is little material for make tapping easier, but in this case fuselage.
the threaded holes. you need to take pains in making these Our solution was to mount these
This is clear as you view the picture of threads as strong as possible. components on a removable tray that
the nut plate. The exact spacing of these Clean up the parts with a file and emery would slip back into the fuselage behind
holes is irrelevant as long as the holes cloth to remove burrs and finish the parts the canopy access opening. The tray is
are matched up on the mount’s fender off. held in place with four wood screws.
washer. Put the final assembly together. I This worked out well, and also provided
Here is how I went about this. used cap screws up to this point for workable access in case repairs or
First I mounted the motor to the fender convenience, but the holes in the fender adjustments need to be made.
washer with 4-40 cap screws. This may washer must be countersunk and flat In tight quarters it’s easier to slip the
be different if you have a different motor. head machine screws substituted for final mounting tray in and out than to try to
assembly to provide clearance for the access components anchored in place.
Locate the centers of the machine prop and spinner parts.
screws on the nut plate. Drill them out In fact the receiver in this installation
with a pilot drill smaller than the tap drill This mount held up well for many flights, is totally out of sight when installed.
size. Then, place the nut plate over the and should last a long time. [Photos 6 & 7]
motor and slide it up against the fender The motor can be removed if necessary LilAn Omega Part 4 in the May, 2016
washer. for maintenance or replacement when RC Soaring Digest has more details
Rotate it to the position you wish to use necessary. about servo tray and spoiler pull string
and clamp it in place while you use the Our favorite method of operating the two installation in CLM-Pro fuselages.
pilot holes in the nut plate to locate the outboard spoilers on the wing is to use First flights went smoothly with the usual
holes in the fender washer. You can use pull strings connected to a single servo in small trim adjustments.
this assembly to guide the same pilot drill the nose. I found some of the features of the Castle
to drill through the fender washer. The best handling qualities are obtained Creations ESC interesting.
by minimizing the weight off centerline.

February 2017 9
 6 7
The servo tray in place. Notice the spoiler activation ELilAn II on the contest circuit.
system which is driven by a single servo and is
entirely adjustable.

10 R/C Soaring Digest

 On the first few launches, the motor would shut off
prematurely, but would restart. The Castle ESC actually
records lots of inflight data, and this can be displayed on
a PC using the Castle Link device that plugs into the PC
with a USB connecter.
Inspection of the stored data revealed that my prop,
motor, battery combination was overloading the 50 amp
max of the ESC. It was cutting off power to protect itself.
A small reduction of prop pitch solved the problem.
I’m getting good smooth climbs now as high as 200
meters in about 20 seconds. [Photo 8]
Since many contests limit the climb to 150 meters, there
is plenty of extra time to hunt for good air while climbing.
I’m pleased with the performance of E-LilAn II. I flew this
model at the 2015 Mid-South contest and it performed
flawlessly. Now if I could just find lift quicker and stay in it,
I’d do well.
Oh well.

8 Here’s wishing you a great soaring experience in 2017.

February 2017 11
 T om’s
ips
Every once in awhile I find something that
makes my work easier. This is one such
product. It hasn’t been out too long, and
I figured I’d share it with those who don’t
know it exists.
Just slide the band on. It is very loose
and goes on with the push of one finger.
Dremel EZ407SA
Tom Broeski, T&G Innovations LLC, tom@[Link]

To remove, simply pull it out.

If you have ever struggled with changing

sanding bands on a Dremel tool, you will
really appreciate this item.
These can be a real Slide off the band and you are ready to
pain, especially if you start all over.
change bands 10 to Continue pressing and the band locks
20+ times a day as I firmly in place and doesn’t slip at all.
often do.
This unit goes in your Dremel and you
pull the rubber holder out.

You can shop around since prices range

from $4.99 at Amazon to $9 at Lowes,
Home Depot or Ace (where I bought my
first one).

12 R/C Soaring Digest

 Book review

Programming a Spektrum DX9

for a
Six Servo Sailplane with a Motor
Sherman Knight, [Link]

Frustrated with the programming The guide starts off explaining how to
challenges that come with Ailerons import the files into the radio, rename
and Flaps on a sailplane? Tired of and organize them. The with the radio
conflicting “how to” posts on line? If in your lap, the guide walks you through
features like Differential, Adverse Yaw, how the programming works from a
Elevator Compensation, Aileron to generic perspective.
Rudder mixing, Snap Flaps are new to There is a new section on all the
you, then this Guide and SPM file are things you can do with telemetry like
for you. automatically announcing altitude at
Everything you need for your Six Servo push over at the top of the climb.
Sailplane with a Motor is provided. This Next, the guide shows you how to make prepared templates for three, five and seven
bundle includes a 159 page Guide, simple modifications to the linkages Flight Modes.
three prepared SPM files for different and how to use Global Features to There is an new section on speed controllers
wing configurations for you to import setup a neutral sailplane that is ready with 4 different methods. Each method is
into your radio along with 23 new Flight for programming. After performing this described in full or each is available with just
Mode voices and a reorganized Audio step, the preset values in the SPM file a couple of modifications of the prepared
file. All the rates, mixes and Flight Mode are going to be very close. template. There is even a method with Flaps
features are already programmed. and Throttle on the same stick.
The guide then explains the Flight
This latest version includes Cascading Mode Features in the prepared The next section discusses the way to
Priorities to reduce pilot load in the templates, how to build them from modify the prepared template for your
event of an emergency bailout. scratch and how to modify the sailplane.

February 2017 13
The last chapters are intended for the pilot stepping up to
a aileron sailplane for the first time and discusses the new
terminology that comes with an aileron sailplane, what the new
control surfaces do and why and how to overcome issues like
adverse yaw.
Finally, the Guide explains and how to make the critical CG
determination so the final elevator trim setting for each Flight
Mode work together and how and when to use the different
Flight Modes.
The features include in the prepared templates include:
• As a safety feature, the radio will not turn on until you retract
the flaps and turn off Launch Mode (so the motor does not
accidently start during startup).
• Elevator and Ailerons on the right stick and Rudder and Flaps
on the left stick.
• Five flight modes are active, Speed, Thermal, Cruise, Launch,
and Land.
• Throttle Cutoff on Switch H.
LAUNCH MODE: (announced with voice)
• Launch Mode switch starts the motor. Please remove the “Bubble diagram” of the DX9 identifying the various sticks,
propeller before you start programming. switches and knobs by function and actions.
• Switch Selectable with priority over all other flight modes.
• Differential rate of 70%.
• Appropriate changes in Rates, and Aileron to Rudder mix.
• Camber Slider is off.
• Aileron to Flap mix is inactive. • Appropriate changes in Rates, Differential and Aileron to
• Launch Mode Switch starts and stops the motor. Rudder mix.
• Launch Mode Switch starts the timers. • Aileron to Flap mix is available with adjustable Flap
• Throttle Cut Switch announced with voices. Differential.
• Snap Flap is active.
CRUISE MODE: (announced with voice) • Additional down elevator to help push over at the top of the
• Neutral trailing edge Camber Preset. zoom.
• Camber Slider is active. Camber Slider only droops the trailing • Voice announces altitude automatically at pushover at the top
edge. of the zoom.

14 R/C Soaring Digest

SPEED MODE: (announced with voice)
• Reflexed trailing edge Preset.
• Camber Slider is active. Camber Slider only droops the trailing edge.
• Appropriate changes in Rates, Differential and Aileron to Rudder
mix.
• Additional down elevator to help push over at the top of the zoom.
• Snap Flap is active.
• Aileron to Flap mix is available with adjustable Flap Differential.
• Voice announces altitude automatically at pushover at the top of the
zoom.
THERMAL MODE: (announced with voice)
• Drooped trailing edge Camber Preset.
• Camber Slider is active. Camber Slider only droops the trailing edge.
• Appropriate changes in Rates, Differential and Aileron to Rudder
mix.
• Aileron to Flap mix is available with adjustable Flap Differential.
• Snap Flap is active.
LANDING MODE: (announced with voice)
• Pulling the flap stick below 92% automatically activates Landing
Mode.
• The 92% kick point can be modified.
• Adjustable Flap travel.
• Two methods to match Flaps so they move together.
• Either Flaperon or Crow.
• Flap to Elevator compensation expo curve with seven points.
• Appropriate changes in Rates, Differential, Aileron to Rudder mix.
• Extra down elevator to help push over in the landing zone.
• Master volume on the Right Knob. (if knob is available on your radio)
• Option for cross trims, placing the elevator trim on the Flap Stick Screen grab of page 33 of the 159 page manual.
side.
• Appropriate voices for each flight mode and telemetry if a telemetry
module is installed.
• A timer that keeps track of just the accumulated motor run time.
Timer switch is linked to the Launch Mode Switch so the timer starts
automatically when you switch into Launch Mode and stops when you

February 2017 15
toggle out of Launch Mode. Start and stop as often as you
like and this timer will only track accumulated motor run time.
• A second timer that keeps track of accumulated flight time.
Timer switch is linked to the Launch Mode Switch so the timer
starts automatically the first time you start the motor and
continues running when you toggle out of Launch Mode to
stop the motor.
• If you have telemetry: (Either a TM1000 or one of the new
telemetry enabled receivers)
• Telemetry can be recorded for later playback.
• You can track signal quality (by each individual antenna)
between the transmitter and receiver and voltage without
additional sensors.
• Add either an altimeter or variometer sensor and the
transmitter will announce altitude when you push over at the
top of the zoom.
• Add a current sensor and the transmitter will announce the
gas remaining in the tank. (current left in the battery). This a
WAY better method than tracking voltage.
• Add a GPS sensor and you get straight line speed, distance
from the pilot and location in the event you lose the aircraft.
• Setup sensors for RPM (either motor or propeller if you have
a gear box) or motor temperature. You can record telemetry A
that is automatically saved to the SD card for later play back.
• Switch D is setup to call out altitude on demand and mAh
used on demand.

Red Sailplane is owned by Sherman Knight whom has been

writing guides and templates for JR and Spektrum RC radio
systems since 1991.
Six Servo Sailplane with Motor for the DX9 is available directly
from <[Link]
Regular price $ 24.95
Bell X-2 Starbuster
<[Link]

16 R/C Soaring Digest

Researching the IVSM 2012 Poster Child:
Ross Stephens RS-1 Zanonia
Vince Cockett, vincent@[Link]

I have been creating three-view drawings

Portions of this article — text, of various gliders over the last six years,
Profiles illustration and three-view usually at the request of authors of new
— are reprinted with permission books.
from the Winter 2016 edition of I came into this by accident through
Bungee Cord, “the voice of the modeling scale radio controlled gliders
Vintage Soaring Association,” and running a website dedicated to
Simine Short, Editor. the hobby: <[Link]
Additional materials are courtesy [Link]/>.
of Vince Cockett. Modelers always want as much detail
Detailed documentation for the as possible for their creations, because
RS-1 Zanonia can be found at: if they find out later that their model is
<[Link] / incorrect, it will haunt them forever.
<[Link] Therefore, when tasked to make three-
VINTAGE/Documentation/Zanonia/ views, my priority has always been for
[Link]>. as high an accuracy as possible at the
Very large renditions of the current time.
Zanonia 3-view and fuselage What I have learned is that almost all
Profiles are available within a three-views have inherent inaccuracies,
single three page PDF from: usually made by copying very old
<[Link] drawings used by magazines to provide
Supplements/Cockett_Zanonia. a “likeness” to the gliders of the time.
pdf> / <[Link] For my drawings, I accumulate as many
three-views of the subject as possible,

February 2017 17
as many photos as can be found, and then I read up
about its history.
A good example of my findings was the Wien, flown
by Robert Kronfeld starting in 1929. The instruments
and cockpit arrangements were never properly
known, but the Wasserkuppe Museum had made a
mockup with the information available at the time.
What I had discovered about the Wien encouraged
the Museum staff to redo their cockpit and even
create new instruments to match my findings and
drawings.
For the Zanonia, after an initial inspection, it became
clear that an in-depth analysis would be required.
On first glance, it appeared that the rudder shape
was incorrect. Fortunately, the one and only example
of this glider is on display in the National Soaring
Museum in Elmira, whose Director, Trafford Doherty,
helped my project immensely by providing measured
details and constructional information. And Simine
Short provided articles and photos from previous
issues of Bungee Cord.
To summarize, all other Zanonia three-view drawings
were dimensioned using the metric system, but the
glider was built in feet and inches, giving rise to some
very odd measurement conversions.
Furthermore, the existing three-views, when laid on
top of one another, appeared to have a common
ancestry, showing the same errors. Even the wing
chords, which measured approximately 3-foot
6-inches, should have been 4 feet.
So, the lesson to share is to question all three-views,
even mine, and not take them as gospel, but only as
a guide.

18 R/C Soaring Digest

These photos were taken by Fred Loomis, a local Elmira, NY,
photographer. Loomis spent the week at the hill, took photos of
everyone and everything, developed the film and sold postcards
from his tent, shown below, to the many visitors a few hours
later. This was his summer income and entertainment.

February 2017 19
20 R/C Soaring Digest
February 2017 21
 Photos from the Groenhoff Collection, National Air and Space
Museum.
Upper left; An unidentified man stands on the left side of the
Zanonia, giving a sense of scale. Smithsonian Collection Online.
<[Link] tinyurl/3pdX20>
Above: The Zanonia on the flight line at the National Contest
held at Harris Hill in 1948.
Left: Two unidentified men stand on the left of the Zanonia.
<[Link] tinyurl/3pdX20>
Opposite page: An unidentified man stands at the left of the
Zanonia cockpit. This photo was probably taken at the National
Contest, Harris Hill, in 1948.
<[Link]

22 R/C Soaring Digest

February 2017 23
The Ross-Stevens RS-1 Zanonia over
the beach at Torrey Pines California,
circa 1948. Piloted by John Robinson.
Smithsonian Collections Online.
<[Link]

24 R/C Soaring Digest

 Jim Marske’s
Pioneer 4
Jim Marske, jim@[Link]

Jim’s Pioneer 4 is the newest in

his Pioneer series and features
several improvements of the
Pioneer 3 featured in the January
2017 issue of RCSD.
The Pioneer 4 is heavier, has a
higher aspect ratio and slightly
less wing area, and sports a
new airfoil. Additionally, the wing
structure differs greatly from
the Pioneer 3 in that rather than
having composite wing ribs and
fabric covering, the Pioneer 4 uses
a foam core which is used through
the entire wing and is covered in
’glass, just as in aeromodeling. It
has a retractable wheel and built-
in skid plus water ballast capability.
The Pioneer 4 made a few low
hops off the winch before winter
PIONEER 4 -15
stopped operations. With the new
laminar airfoil Jim expects the L/D
TAILLESS SAILPLANE
DRAWN BY: SCALE:

to reach 50 or better.
J. Marske, 21 Mar 14 1/18 P-400

The plan is to cast molds off the

prototype wing for the production
units.

February 2017 25
26 R/C Soaring Digest
 Radio Control Gliding Association (RCGA) of Victoria Australia

Modelflight Midway Cup

Tom Dupuche, President RCGA, tomdupuche@[Link]
Photos by Elsinore Mann

Horsham, Australia is located in the State The competition is run to the Australian and bragging rights for the next 12
of Victoria halfway between the South Open Thermal Soaring rules which are months.
Australian state capital city of Adelaide a 10 minute flight in a 12 minute working The event also doubles as the Victoria
and the Victorian state capital city time plus F3J landing points. State Thermal Championships so the
of Melbourne and has become the The event runs over the first weekend overall competition winner is crowned
location for the meeting of pilots from of December each year with the winning state champion.
both states to compete in the annual state walking away with the Midway Cup
Modelflight Midway Cup. While the rivalry is strong between the
states so too is the camaraderie and

February 2017 27
each year pilots enjoy heading back to Saturday morning and the forecast didn’t Sunday morning and we again started
Horsham to swap stories, do lots of flying disappoint - very little wind and blue at 8:00 am, but the conditions were very
and see who will emerge as Midway Cup skies greeted the pilots as they arrived at different to Saturday.
champions. the Burnt Creek Road field. The early groups were regularly won with
A huge thank-you to the team at WMAA; Well organised pilots meant that we got six or seven minute flights and a number
Adam, Rolf and Vic for hosting us and underway just after the planned 8:00 am of the groups throughout the day proved
providing such great hospitality. Equally start. After tricky morning conditions the very difficult.
a thank-you to the team from Modelflight day turned very thermally and all rounds Positions were mixed up all day and it
<[Link] who were won with at least one pilot flying out certainly wasn’t a landing competition
sponsored the event and provided the their time. and made for some exciting changes to
prize pool and event support. the leaderboard.

The event is run by

the Radio Control Gliding Association (RCGA) of Victoria
and hosted at the
Wimmeria Model Aircraft Association (WMAA) field.
As is the norm, pilots arrived on the Regular downwind launches proved Four rounds were flown on the Sunday
Friday and met at The Exchange Hotel for challenging, but with the wind moving and there were four different leaders
dinner and pilot registration. around all day there was no option to through the day.
The Exchange has now become the move the flightline. At the end of day When the dust had settled and 12
regular meeting place to start the one we had completed eight rounds and rounds were complete it was South
South Australia vs Victoria rivalry and this the scores were very close. Seconds Australia who won the Midway Cup for
year was no different. separated the top few. their first time by 105 points - 35,044
With Victoria leading two wins to zero, Saturday night dinner was at a local to 34,939 (scores of the top three pilots
South Australia were out to set the public house - the Bull and Mouth from each state make up the state score)
record books straight and had great Hotel. Good food, good beer and good and Jamie Nancarrow who emerged as
representation with 14 pilots. company meant for a great night. Victorian State Champion.

28 R/C Soaring Digest

An overview showing a few models in the pits, winches and a number of contestants.

February 2017 29
30 R/C Soaring Digest
February 2017 31
32 R/C Soaring Digest
February 2017 33
34 R/C Soaring Digest
February 2017 35
36 R/C Soaring Digest
February 2017 37
38 R/C Soaring Digest
February 2017 39
40 R/C Soaring Digest
 Simon Morris flying for South Australia
team 1. Simon is an icon of Australian
thermal gliding having flown every
single LSF National Championship
(39 in total since 1978) and
every single Modelflight Midway Cup!

February 2017 41
42 R/C Soaring Digest
 Greg Potter (left) of South Australia
accepting the Modelflight Midway Cup
on behalf of South Australia.

The top three finishers left to right:

Tom Dupuche (Second Place),
Jamie Nancarrow (First Place) and
Andrew Meyer (Third Place)

February 2017 43
 



            
      
            

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

                   

 
                  

                   
           
  
 
 
   
               
    
        
                   

                   

 

44 R/C Soaring Digest

 On the ’Wing...

Examining Variables Related to

the Control of Tailless Aircraft
Bill & Bunny Kuhlman, bsquared@[Link]

It’s been several years since we’ve presented our On the

’Wing... column in RC Soaring Digest. This has been primarily
due to our inability to make any further progress on our
Windlord XC project. Still, we remain focused on the history,
current technologies, and potential of tailless aircraft.
We’ve recently run into a couple of publications which definitely
deserve sharing with RCSD readers, particularly in light of the
recent work by Al Bowers and the NASA PRANDTL-D.
For those needing reminder of the importance of the
PRANDTL-D experimental findings, here’s an excerpt from
the September 2016 issue of NASA Tech Briefs <[Link]
[Link]/component/content/article/ntb/tech-briefs/
aerospace/25358>:
“Adverse yaw, present in current aircraft design, is the
horizontal movement around a vertical axis of an aircraft
in the direction opposite a turn. As an aircraft banks,
differential drag creates adverse yaw. Pilots must employ
some form of yaw control to counteract this effect.
Unfortunately, this yaw control introduces another form Al Bowers and the wind tunnel configuration used for
of drag that degrades performance. However, a wing researching a model of the Prandtl-d are seen from above.
with proverse yaw (that is, force in the same direction Photo credited to David C. Bowman at
as the turn) does not need such control and thus helps <[Link]
optimize aircraft efficiency. tunnel>.

February 2017 45
 “The Armstrong team (supported by a large contingent “Let’s assume for a moment that you want to build an
of NASA Aeronautics Academy interns) built upon the RC model of a flying wing. Like a Horten. But you don’t
1912 research of the German engineer Ludwig Prandtl to know how to create the twist. Or maybe you’ve built
design and validate a scale model of a non-elliptical wing a few Zagi-like aircraft, and every time you designed
that reduces drag and increases efficiency. Known as something that looked like a Horten it didn’t fly well at all
the PRANDTL-D wing, this design addresses integrated ( if it flew at all). What went wrong?
bending moments and lift to achieve a 12 percent “The problem is the twist. I spent TWO DECADES
drag reduction. The approach to handling adverse yaw figuring this out. There is a precise solution. This isn’t
employs fine wing adjustments rather than an aircraft’s precise. But after looking at the numbers, I think this is
vertical tail. close enough.
As a proof-of-concept, the PRANDTLD team “A twist approximation
demonstrated “proverse yaw during a live flight test in
June 2013. The remote-controlled aircraft had a bell- “This will get you close and will give you a BSLD for a
shaped spanload and no vertical surfaces of any kind. model. Some of this is guess-work on my part. But it
shouldn’t be too far off.
“The key to the innovation is reducing the drag of the
wing through use of the bell-shaped spanload, as “I assume you can do basic aero calculations, like lift
opposed to the conventional elliptical spanload. To coefficient and mean aerodynamic chord. I also assume
achieve the bell spanload, designers used a twisted and you’re using quite a bit of taper (tip chord is 10% to 50%
sharply tapered wing, with 11 percent less wing area of the root chord), you’re using moderate sweep (15
than the comparable elliptical spanload wing. The new deg to 25 deg), and fairly high aspect ratio (at least 6 or
wing has 22 percent more span and 11 percent less higher).
area, resulting in an immediate 12.5 percent efficiency “NEVER NEVER NEVER do this for an aircraft intended
gain. Furthermore, using twist to achieve the bell to fly a person!!!!! This is a crude approximation to use
spanload produces induced thrust at the wing tips, and for a model ONLY!!! If I hear about any one trying to do
this forward thrust increases when lift is increased at the this for a full size aircraft I will show up at your shop with
wingtips for roll control. The result is that the aircraft rolls a saw and cut your mold/wing up into little tiny pieces!!!
and yaws in the same direction as a turn, eliminating the I don’t ever want a single one of you getting hurt flying
need for a vertical tail to provide yawing moment. When something this crude!!!
combined with a blended-wing body, this approach “First figure out what your design lift coefficient is going
maximizes aerodynamic performance, minimizes weight, to be. This is where your aircraft is going to spend
and optimizes flight control.” most of its time flying around. Motor aircraft will be
For we aeromodelers, Al has been kind enough to provide a somewhat faster (lower CL, like 0.4) than gliders which
“thumbnail” of the twist paradigm we can use to construct tend to fly slower (higher CL, like 0.6). This is a critical
our own tailless models from designs with no vertical control number, you need to remember this number really well
surface. He posted the following on the Horten Flying Wing (like your birth date or your wedding anniversary!!!). And
Believers FaceBook page: I assume you’re using thin symmetric airfoils (or nearly

46 R/C Soaring Digest

 so). If you’re using a cambered reflexes airfoil at the the foam will spring back and have the correct twist). Or
centerline that tapers linearly to a symmetric at the tip, you can cut a big fancy mold and lay up skins and build
you need to offset the twist by the zero lift AOA (this is in the mold bed.
the aerodynamic twist). “Make sure your elevons are all in the last 25-30% of
“Second, calculate the total amount of twist you need the span out towards the tips. Also remember that the
for your wing. This number is 20 times your design CL. elevons needs to have straight hinge lines! Otherwise
Example: if your glider has a design CL of 0.6 you will you won’t be able to deflect your elevons.
need a total twist of 12 degrees. “After you get your model built start out with your CG
“Now comes the hard/weird part. You need four control way far forward, maybe set to 10% cmac. As you test fly,
points on your wing along the span. The four control move the CG until your trim needed for level flight is with
points are: no elevon deflection.
“At the centerline, 0% span “Enjoy your BSLD aircraft! Let us know how well this
“At the quarter span, 25% span works, and post pictures. A month from now there had
better be dozens of baby Hortens flying around!”
“At the half span, 50% span
While we’re talking about overcoming adverse yaw in tailless
“At the tip, 100% span aircraft, the question arises as to how to overcome this
“Now set the twist at the 0% span (centerline) to zero. tendency when not using a bell-shaped lift distribution.
“At the 25% span (quarter span) you need your CL in In the past, there have been a wide variety of mechanical and
degrees of WASH-IN. Example: our glider example with aerodynamic techniques designed to overcome adverse yaw
a design CL of 0.6 has 0.6 degrees of wash-in. while banking. These have included split flaps at the wing tips,
“At the 50% span (half span) you need zero washout. as seen on the Northrop B-2 “Spirit,” projecting rods extending
from the wing tips, and differential deflection of inboard and
“At the 100% span (tip) you need 20 times your design outboard control surfaces.
CL in degrees of washout. Example: our glider example
with a design CL of 0.6 has 12 degrees of washout. The latter requires a rather complicated mechanical control
system, as the movement of two or more surfaces on one wing
“Now plot this on a piece of graph paper and get varies depending on whether the commanded action is to pitch
a French curve (I know, that’s very old-school and the nose up or down and/or roll the aircraft.
antiquated) and draw a curve through those points.
That’s your twist you need for a BSLD. If you’re fancy These complicated mechanical control setups were actually
with a computer you can draw a cubic-spline through used on several Horten designs and have been used effectively
those points and get your twist curve. on a few models as well. Modern computer systems can be
used to alleviate the mechanical complications in both full size
“To build, you can twist your building board or use a and model aircraft.
curved foam board jig to build on. Or you can make a
series of wedges with an inverse twist and hot wire the In light of these technical electronic advances, research is still
wing (when you release the foam from the inverse twist, being concentrated on differential control surface deflection to

February 2017 47
overcome adverse yaw. One of the latest
of these research projects is being done
at KTH Royal Institute of Technology
<[Link] in Stockholm,
Sweden, as noted in the latest edition of
the T.W.I.T.T. Newsletter.
Here’s the text from the KTH “Control
of Tailless Aircraft,” along with the
associated photos:
“Researchers
“Glora Stenfeldt, [Link].
“Prof. Ulf Ringertz
“Flying wings, or tailless aircraft,
Wind tunnel model displaying a differential flap deflection.
can be designed to have very low
radar signature. The particular
shape, and especially the absence
of a vertical tail, require rather
unconventional concepts to
ensure that the aircraft is laterally
controllable in all flight conditions.
“A common approach to generate
yaw control moments without a
vertical fin is to create asymmetric
drag by means of differential flap
deflections, that is, by deflecting
two flaps on only one wing in
opposite directions. In contrast to
a conventional rudder deflection,
the resulting yaw moment is
not linearly dependent on the
deflection angle. Furthermore,
the efficiency of this technique
depends substantially on the flight
condition, notably the angle of
attack. Oil-flow visualization at low (left) and high (right) angle of attack.

48 R/C Soaring Digest

 “As part of this research project, extensive wind tunnel pp. 1033-1043, “Estimating the Subsonic Aerodynamic Center
experiments are performed in order to evaluate the and Moment Components for Swept Wings,” by W. F. Phillips
effectiveness of aerodynamic control surfaces in a and D. F. Hunsacker.
variety of flight conditions. For this purpose, two light Abstract: An improved method is presented for
carbon-fibre composite wind tunnel models have been estimating the subsonic location of the semispan
developed and built. One is equipped with electronically aerodynamic center of a swept wing and the
actuated control surfaces and can be mounted in aerodynamic moment components about that
different rigs allowing model rotation, while the other will aerodynamic center. The method applies to wings with
be used for unsteady pressure measurements. constant linear taper and constant quarter-chord sweep.
“The image shows two photographs of oil-flow The results of a computational fluid dynamics study
visualization experiments, where oil with a fluorescent for 236 wings show that the position of the semispan
agent is used to visualize the characteristics of the flow aerodynamic center of a wing depends primarily on
near the surface. From the pattern of oil accumulation aspect ratio, taper ratio, and quarter-chord sweep
on the surface, conclusions can be drawn with respect angle. Wing aspect ratio was varied from 4.0 to 20,
to the location of flow separation lines and the local taper ratios from 0.25 to 1.0 were investigated, quarter-
magnitude of skin friction.” chord sweep angles were varied from 0 to 50 degrees,
One of the primary concerns modelers of tailless aircraft is that and linear geometric washout was varied from − 4.0
of CG location. As readers may know from prior installments to +8.0 degrees. All wings had airfoil sections from
of this column, CG location is quite critical in some tailless the NACA 4-digit airfoil series with camber varied
designs, particularly high aspect ratio planks. Additionally, the from 0 to 4 percent and thickness ranging from 6 to
general trend toward airfoils with lower pitching moments, 18 percent. Within the range of parameters studied,
sometimes approaching close to zero, is becoming more wing camber, thickness, and twist were shown to have
evident. The advantage of these newer sections is that the CG no significant effect on the position of the semispan
may be moved further back, thus improving efficiency through aerodynamic center. The results of this study provide
a reduction in the static margin in addition to the use of airfoils improved resolution of the semispan aerodynamic center
with less drag than those with greater reflex. and moment components for conceptual design and
analysis.
Jim Marske, designer of the Pioneer series of full size tailless
sailplanes, has devised a moveable CG system which has This is an excellent treatise with more than 30 references,
proven to be extremely effective in practice as the CG is shifted informative illustrations, and formulae for the mathematically
forward for high speed flight and rearward for thermalling. inclined. The complete paper can be downloaded as a PDF
from <[Link]
Wing sweep can be used to increase the CG range, but as
with planks, the static margin varies with the location of the More next time!
wing aerodynamic center as the angle of attack changes.
This variable receives in depth coverage in an AIAA Journal
of Aircraft paper published in Vol. 45, No. 3, May-June 2008,

February 2017 49