Wright Stuff B

[killerninja999]

would putting a tad more weight on one side do the same as more length. thanks

[jander14indoor]

would putting a tad more weight on one side do the same as more length. thanks

No.

Adding weight causes the plane to bank to the side the weight is added, causing it to turn that way. Problem is, flying banked is not efficient.
Adding length the the left side is done to prevent the plane from banking against the torque of the prop (spinning the 'normal' way). It also adds drag to the long side helping it turn to the left. Thus the tendency of indoor free flighters to turn left.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[binary010101]

I was wondering about the different ways to make a plane turn, and which might be best for Wright Stuff. The wiki talks about two methods.

1. setting the wing and stab at different angles.
2. turning the rudder/vertical stabilizer so the whole plane yaws

I've also read about a third method:

3. setting the propeller thrust line at an angle (like 3 deg left to turn left)

Is there any common wisdom on whether any of these methods are best? What are the pros and cons? I've seen method #1 mentioned in the Ron Williams book when he talked about building the EZB, but I think he's talking about creating a roll torque to counter the propeller torque. Method #2 could be done a number of ways, but does this create more drag than the other methods? What about method 3?

Our team "twists" the main wing on our plane.

[WrightStuffMonster]

I was wondering about the different ways to make a plane turn, and which might be best for Wright Stuff. The wiki talks about two methods.

1. setting the wing and stab at different angles.
2. turning the rudder/vertical stabilizer so the whole plane yaws

I've also read about a third method:

3. setting the propeller thrust line at an angle (like 3 deg left to turn left)

Is there any common wisdom on whether any of these methods are best? What are the pros and cons? I've seen method #1 mentioned in the Ron Williams book when he talked about building the EZB, but I think he's talking about creating a roll torque to counter the propeller torque. Method #2 could be done a number of ways, but does this create more drag than the other methods? What about method 3?

Anyone of these methods will work to make the plane turn but to get maximum times I always thought it was best to use all of them together. Generally I would have a fixed amount of angle in the thrust line and turning of the rudder and would adjust the turn using stab tilt to fine tune turn angle. There are other factors as well that can change the turn of your plane such as washin and wing offset. Generally I like to make sure my plane is flying level throughout the flight by adjusting washin and then tackle turn radius. I have always found that planes that fly the flattest generally get the highest times.

Someone really needs to update the WS wiki.

[Dark Sabre]

Feel free to

[whiskers]

my friens were in this event in january and probably beat yo

[whiskers]

my friends were in this,it was REALLY hard and NOT fun so be ready

[Pleiades]

Um.. ok. What exactly was the point of that? This event can be hard at first after you get used to stuff then it becomes easier. And it can be fun!!

[andrewwski]

Wright Stuff is a lot of fun. Competing in WS was probably the best part of high school for me.

It's not an easy event, and it requires a lot of time and dedication. But it can be very rewarding.

[chia]

well, i'm a perfectionist anyhoo. even building a simple kit took me hours
our plane better fly well, we spent ages trying to figure out what was wrong with the other one my partner built for the tryouts (though it's really just because of lack of dihedral )