sailplane conversion ?

[kidhickey]

Been thinking of TRYING??? To convert a new SLING 2M To electric,??
Any and all info will be appreciated, Thanks......Kid

[Beemerider]

Is this the plane...Fling 2M?

http://www.greatplanes.com/airplanes/gpma1062.html

I converted an older 2M to electric and it worked out well. If yours is the above you'll need to be careful in motor and battery selection. Looks like a very slender fuselage nose section. Maybe others will chime in with more experience with that bird. My gut reaction is yes you should be able to do it. And you'll like it!

[kenchiroalpha]

Hi
Glad to make your acquaintance
http://www.bayrc.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8514
Take care
Yours Hank

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by kidhickey

Been thinking of TRYING??? To convert a new SLING 2M To electric,??
Any and all info will be appreciated, Thanks......Kid

Back in the mid 1980's I converted all of my sailplanes to electric launch. All of them worked out very well. Two were 10 foot Craftaire Viking Sailplanes that could and did fly a number of 2 hour plus flights. Also included were a half dozen other models ranging from the old reliable "Gentle Lady" to several 100 inch models, a 112 inch model and those Vikings.

Several things to be aware of.
1. The motor must have a folding prop. A windmilling prop is a LOT of drag.

2. Most motors have a rotating "Can" that must be accounted for in the crowded nose of the fuselage. Can't have any possibility of wires touching that can.

3. Electric launches can put your model very high in the air, far higher than a winch or hi-start launch. It is very wise to outfit your wings with a set of spoilers. Eventually you are going to get into high lift, and no way to safely get your model back on the ground. Diving can result in wing flutter.


My models had balsa and ply fuselages, so I just cut off the nose, and fabricated a new nose to fit my motor and battery pack. You will likely have to move the servos back to allow room for the motor/ESC/battery pack. The extra weight added was minimal, since the nose usually was packed full of lead shot for balancing the model. That was back in the days of heavy geared brush type motors and Nicad batteries.

Once done, and you get the cg correct, these electric launches work out very well. Just be careful on the launch, the power of these motors can require a lot of down elevator during climb out so the model doesn't loop on you.

Best of luck.

[Wildflyer]

What kind of info are you looking for?

I converted my Fling 2m to electric, and it works great.

I cut the nose off in my big miter saw to give me about 4 degrees down thrust.
Figure out what size a spinner you are going to use, and use that size on the vertical axis of the fuse, you can fill in the sides if you want with balsa then paint. I haven't got to that yet.

Motor mount is dependent on the style of motor. I had a 28mm motor with a mount that uses set screws in from the sides, I was able to fasten the back mount and then drilled holes in the sides of the pod to tighten the set screws into the tail part of the motor.

Keep it light and it works great.
The Fling 2m seems to have the CG a little further back than other planes, but that's where the plane likes it.

[kidhickey]

Thanks , Chief, I,am going to go the same way, This was really good to see one all set up. I was allso a Navy man, Black shoe, A/O VA165 A-6 Squardren, And a special thanks to the Moderator, Gramps, who moved my post to the right fourum............
kidhickey

[kidhickey]

Thanks Dennis, vERY HELPFUL Info

[kidhickey]

What do you mean by a set of Spoilers?

[kidhickey]

Got any pics, because you TOTALLY confused me?..........sorry.I,m NEW

[tom1968]

Hello Kid,

In this thread:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1292472
go to Post 7 and there's a good photo of a sailplane with its spoilers open. Spoilers are little panels on top of the wing that can be opened if your plane needs to come down faster, usually if you're in a really strong thermal and can't get down, or for landing in a small space.

How much building and flying experience have you got? Are you planning to fly this as a real sailplane (high launches and thermal hunting) or more as a trainer?

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by kidhickey

Got any pics, because you TOTALLY confused me?..........sorry.I,m NEW

Nope don't have any photos, that was 25 years ago. But Tom1968's thread shows what they are. These spoilers are very effective.