Mayflies in February

Discussions related to sail plane models.
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JohnOSullivan
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Mayflies in February

Unread post by JohnOSullivan » Sun Feb 05, 2017 10:42 am

Just finished the sailplane version of my new 2 metre MAYFLY design.
Finished up at 16.5 ounces - reasonable light at 3.9 ounces/ sq. ft.
Ended up with 1.1 oz noseweight.

now to finish the electric fuselage and start the electric wing.
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P1100128.JPG
John
MAAC #5401 L
MACI (Ireland) IRL#26

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bdg
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Re: Mayflies in February

Unread post by bdg » Sun Feb 05, 2017 12:45 pm

Looking great! Are you planning to market these?

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AndrewS
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Re: Mayflies in February

Unread post by AndrewS » Sun Feb 05, 2017 1:05 pm

Very nice, John.
Done any hand tosses etc yet?

Andrew
Andrew Smith,
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MAAC 76250

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JohnOSullivan
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Re: Mayflies in February

Unread post by JohnOSullivan » Sun Feb 05, 2017 1:38 pm

Detailing the plan is a fiddly job, ensuring that all the steps are clear to those with little building experience.
As well, It will take time to do a construction manual. I have oodles of construction photos which will help in this phase.
So far I have spent at least twice as much time massaging the plans as it took to build the model.

Had thought about kitting it, and still might, but I will be at least making plans (and possibly a short kit) available.
The structure is much simpler than the current German designs which are extremely laser or CNC machined with complex jigsaw interlocking pieces.
With the simpler design, it gives up nothing in terms of structure,Airfoils or performance potential.
I believe it can be built for about half the cost of current German basic kits which cost in excess of $200 Can plus shipping and still require covering etc.
John
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CF Av8or
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Re: Mayflies in February

Unread post by CF Av8or » Sun Feb 05, 2017 10:32 pm

Looks lovely, John!

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Scooterboy
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Re: Mayflies in February

Unread post by Scooterboy » Mon Feb 06, 2017 10:07 pm

Yes, it does look great, and probably flies great too. Knowing who designed it.
However; don't you think it should be covered in white?
White planes seem to fly better don't they?
Just poking.
It's very nice indeed.
Kevin

saboo
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Re: Mayflies in February

Unread post by saboo » Wed Feb 15, 2017 9:20 pm

Hey John.

You might want to consider designing it with interlocking structures that are most easily done with laser. I feel that within the next 4-6 months there will probably be someone around with a laser to cut ribs and formers etc. Probably 1/16th balsa for most of the parts so even a 5W laser should be able to cut that in one pass.

It would be difficult to make the intricate cuts using jigs and templates, but with a laser, the complexity just implies a slightly longer cut time.

Because a laser is so fast, you would be able to cut to order every time. No need to batch build and tie up inventory in finished items. Get an order, cut an order. So if you had 2 or 3 designs, you always would have virtual inventory to sell. It would become physical inventory, a short time after an order was received. More importantly shortly after the money was received.

I seem to recall seeing an aerosmith or similar named laser cut kit around the field several years ago. Very light and stiff. If I recall, the fit was so snug, that it could be almost all assembled before having to apply the glue.

Just a thought.
Nothing like the smell of electrons in the morning ;-)

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JohnOSullivan
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Re: Mayflies in February

Unread post by JohnOSullivan » Thu Feb 23, 2017 4:30 pm

Project nearing completion. One wing left to finish. Add wing sheeting, capstrips and covering and its ready to go..
RC gear installed in both models and is working.
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P1100193c.JPG
John
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JohnOSullivan
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Re: Mayflies in February

Unread post by JohnOSullivan » Fri Feb 24, 2017 4:58 pm

Got out to Shannon this afternoon and flew the Electric Mayfly.
It flew perfectly without any vices. only drawbacks were that I did not have the motor brake active and had to put up with a windmilling propeller on glide which affects the glide ratio severely. Also discovered that the 460mah batteries faded fairly rapidly under power from 165 watts to under 100 watts. Am now fitting 850 mah batteries with some added weight. Weight with heavier battery is 17.8 ounces, still a very low wing loading. (4.3 oz/sq ft)
John
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JohnOSullivan
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Re: Mayflies in February

Unread post by JohnOSullivan » Sat Mar 18, 2017 9:21 pm

Had the Mayfly Electric out today and it performs very well. I got some climb data but screwed it up in converting it to a graph. However here is a table of climb performance and a graph from Feb 26. There was thick fog that day and it was difficult to keep it in sight.
The notable thing about the flights was that weak to moderate small thermals were present in spite of the fog.
Similarly, at Porters Lake today there were reasonable thermals and Jeremy Dann and I made the most of them
Attachments
Mayfly altitudes February 2017.jpg
Mayfly Flight 2 26 Feb 17.jpg
John
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