Aero Modeller

858

OIBCULAR
TOW Part3
Elton Drew discusses his latest devices for modern A/2 g liders
Thus, it was decided that additional rudder ofset for the circular tow mode should be a feature, and the hook shown in Fr?rtes 10 and I I was prcduced for installation in my 'hack' fuselage in place of the 'Russianhook' variant. The aim was to produce a system more versatile than either the Russian hook (including the Burroughs adaptation) or the offset hook systems,in that straight tow should be possible in gusting wind and/or at high speed. In fact, provided that line tension is maintained, it could be operated as a conventionalstraight tow nodel if desired. St\tdy of Figure 1l will explain the operalion of this system - the illustrations show an all-moving fin as used on the author's circular tow models, but obviously the system is applicable lo the convenlional Iin and rudder arrangement.

lT WAS THOUGHT that a better solution than the adnittedly very simple ofset tow-ring might well lie with a combination of the Russian hook and the 'spring and ring' system, especially after the draw. backsof the former method outlined in the August issue,and so now wolk beganalong theselines. I was by now coming to the conclusionthat my original priorities had been wrong! Positive line lock was still the prime requirement, but
F i a s r . l 0 - A u th o r'! l .t.rt ci..ol.r tow d.vic. (utilirt "rprinr :nd rina" ?.1c...)

good circular tow belraviour was now considered to be an attribute preferable to catapult tum. In fact, the latter could be obtained to some degree by the simple expedient of setting up the straight tow with a slight bias in the direction of the glide turn. High-speedreleases could then result in a useful altitude gain, and lhis in fact can be obtained on a conventionaltow-hook systemat the risk of some deterioration of the slraight tow properties.

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859
For straight tow the hook pivots forward against stop A which is used to adjust th rudder strajght tow position. To facilitat a catapult releas, a slight bias in the direction of the glide tum may prove advantageous,mthe. than a dead straight tow settrng, Stop B efrects both circular tow and glide rudder sttings - the differencebetweenglide tum and the tighter circular tow turn is rcgulated by stop C. In practice, the desired circular tow setting i9 first achieved and the glide stting adjusted, by meansof saopC, rlativ to this. The auto-rudder line adjustment is a worthwhile 'optional extra'. It facilitates both fine tuning of the system or can be used with coarsp adjustments to effectively move the 'hook' position fore or aft. The latter adjustment is, of course,carried out in cotjunction with movement fore and aft of slops A and B. This hook provcd an immediale succss. After only s few fli8hts I was sumciently confident to use it in comDetition. the fitst tim I had usd ciicular tow of any description in actual competition. The weather appearcd ideal for circular tow iniaially overcast, later turning to drizzle aDd rain, little drift and light thermal activity, the latter to con. lirue even duriog the rain but never very frqueot, For the frsa four flights I thought that I had lhe complete aoslver to the prevailing conditions. It seemed almost too easy! The tactical advantage over the oppositioD, all straight towing, was enomous. One could use thei. models as cooveltional markers, but in the light lift and with small numbers flying positive indications by upwind models were few. The

September 1975

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obvious lchnique was to tow up alongside any likely lookinS model, then go into the circular mode to assss th ai(. If favourable, one could catapult otr, gaining a useful heiSht incrc{se relative to lhe marker model. If unfavourable, one could carry on towing indefinitely until either lift was sensd or 3omeone els, committed to straight tow, would be obliSdto run upwind and launch arlother 'iodicator' model. An infallible system - then thhes startd going \{rong, as only they can under contlst conditioN ! Having previously had many flighb trying to larn how to release a semingly permalently 6xcd hook, I now, unexpectedly and somewhat per. plexingly, found several ways in which to release the modcl unirttentionally. The first was to ellow too much slapk to develop around me, catch it on a sleve button atrd binSo! - away went the model from about halfline heidt. Thc nexl fiasco was attributed to carclcssness in not followinS my usual practiceof unfurling the pennalt befor each flight. The twisted pennant rolaled on the lioe and the final unfurling tum suddedy releasing the last twist of line scross the pnnaot prcvided an impulse to the spring, and another flight spoilt. The final unintentional releas was thought to be due to allowing the model to get too low and too far dorrnwind- the line angle thus becoming very acute, and with the model pointing down. wind there appears to be I po$sibility that the hook tip fould th fuslage undelside, thus being pushed f.om lhe riog. Not too likely, but no other exDl.nation could bc fouDd. Thus, tliis first contot outio& whilst not entirely succesful, had
Th. .{.o .odd.r ll.. 'tot.b!.k|.' dlc.nd t.r t rilon.d trom . lOlA rcr.i br|! tsb. - a .how. In th. chn vi.r ol th. .ll.movi.t fin dEw. i. Flrur. ll .t ritha.

shown the enormouspossibilities and scope of the system - and, pelhaps more important, it had highlighted some pitfalls. It did also indicate that the latter were perhaps mainly du to lack of familiarity wilh the system and that lhey could be ovrcome with more pmctice. Results were sumciently encourag. ing to irnmediately re-equip Leading Lady with a similar device in plac of the Russian type hook origirElly installed. (To be conlinued)
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Part 4 - concluding Elton Drew's fascinating insight to modern A/2 glider flying, with a close look at his specially
Nylon screw for t/p odiustment

For fuseloge front end detoils ond wing mouoting see Fig.l I

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lncidence3/8in.

All rnovingfin

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| 3.3/ 4in 5"3/ 4in Left Glide l0swg wire ioiners l/l6in. Woshin lefi inner ponel 3/8in. Woshoutboth tips Glossfibre boom ( ' Spec iol' lin, o. d. r oper i n gt o l / 4 i n )

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LDADING
I I

LADY

byElton Drew

ponelsa circular tow derivative of 'Lavoly Lady' Ftor cenrre

THE ORTGINAL Leadins Ladr design wascen(redspeci6cally around a Russian-typetowhook installation principally for us in and intended 'calmish' air. It was not intended as a purely slill-air machine, but it was to be as aerodynamically clean as possible if only for 'design exercise satisfaction' rather than for any practical advantages.Thus, the desiSn requirement was to produce a machine having a high 'still-air time' potential without any undue concessions being made to stability, reliabilityand'thermalability' and, ofcourse, able to take fulladvantage feature the hook mounted in the confines of a very small pylon, and thus virlually fixed in position. I wanled lo be sure that the position chosnwould be right first time, and referenceto a known layout was the easiestmeanslo ensurethis. Apart from the obviously completely different fuselage and allmoving fin, the only fundamental changc from Lively LadJ is Ihe revised posilion of the dihedral breaks and the adootion of a flat which centre section.Thesechanges, result in a slightly different wing plalform as the tips are taperedfrom the dihedral breaks, arc inlerrelated.The inlention was to incrqrse torsional rigidity of the wing to combat the possibility of flutter occurring under high-sped catapult releaseconditions. Accordiogly, the

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areas, momenl arm and cG, principally because lhe design was to

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L. E. 3 / 8 x t / 4 i n . in bolso(topered tips)

Spors:- In'b'd ponelsl/4 x l/l6in. spruce Iips l/4 x l/6in. bolsotoperingto l/8 x l/6in A llwebs l/ l6in.bolso Wing Ribs:l/l6in. bolso (exceptot centre - l/l6in ply) L . E . l/ 8 in . s q .
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.[[AIIING I,ADY'

wing and tail plan ribs drawn full size

centre panels fcaturc a torsion box, achievedby lhe addition of /oin. sheetbetween lhe'l' beamspars. To keepthe momentof inertiaas low as possible with this heavier forn o[ construction. lhe inboard Danels where reduced in length. Bnding strenglh was also increasedwilh the addilion of tapcred spruce fillets to the front spar over lhe inboard rib bays. This was only a precautionary measure, the Llfelr,l,a./.t structure as has nevet given cause for concern in bending, although fluller does occur quile readily, thouglr this, too, has never produced problenrs, ln order to utilise my standardwing. building board, with fixed dihedral angle incorporated, it was decided to us tip dihedralonly, lhe longer tip panels giving lhe same total dihedral for the fixed wing dihedral break anglc. The flat centre section also fitled in conveniently with the pylon wing attachment method chosn. This was to bc a springloaded knock-off device inspired by Thoman's famous ,{qrrila design,but

adapted to suit a srrall airfoilsectioned pylon. A vcry low drag wing mounting resullcd, relaining most ol the resihence and knock-olf abilityof a conventional rubbr-band attachmenlwilh a positivelocation the latter achievedby use of an 8BA nylon screw shear pin. This adequately holds the wing for normal flying and landing loads, but shears readily on an impact. The hearl of thc model is a nylon 'plug'insertedin lhe pylon lop and attached lhrec l0BA countersunk by screws. Sec lhe explodcd view in Figwe 12. This plug carries the wing lixings and the main towhook pivot, thereby transferring towing all loads directly from wing to towline. The original Russian-type hook was laterreplaced the'spring by and ring' adaplalion of the type illustrated and describedearlier ( FErrr? ,/0). The 20swg duIal pylon is slotled and epoxied into the lin. diameter dural lube front fuslage. This houss thc Seelig timer, access to which is gained by sliding lhe whole

nose ofl forward of the pylon (see photograph). Thc tiner is activated directly from lhe hook lalch mechanisnr on releaseof tlre towline. The rear fuselage is a glassfibre boom speciallyproduccd by Lauric Burroughs, and is an cxtendcd version of his standard Wakelield boom. This, dcspilc its largcr front end diamcter, considerably is lighterthan a convcntional A/2 glassfibre rodi the larger dianrcter pcrmitting a thinnerwall thickncss. This boom is attached by tlrree l0BA countersunk screws, being rcmovablc to providc access the'works'. 1o The'all-noving' fin follows a practise I have used from linle to timc ovcr reccnt ycars. My interest was arousedby an articlc by George Xenakis in the American Nclrbrrl Free Flight Socicty Digcst, pointil\g out that such a fin would be less snsiliveto airspcedchangesin that the lifi generaled by a synrmetrical seclion would not increase at the same rate as lhat due to the section presentcdby a conventional fin and rudder, which is in eflect a flapped section. Thus. such a fin should be lesslikely to promote a spiral dive, the baneofmost A/2 flyers from lime to lime. Furthcr, a symmetrical section has lcss drag than a flapped one. Small, but perhapssigniJicant advantages. However, lhe main attractionlor mc wasthcir simplicity of construclion and ready inlerchangeabifily if required (see Figtre 1J).
Th. ....mbl.d onit (d..wn oppo.itc) in...ll.d i. 'L..di.r Nor. l.dy'. rhc .diu.tm.nt .toD. .nrl th. hol. for th .p?i nr .om pr ...or tool , Al .o v i .i bl . i t on. of thG tO l A.ount.r .unk .Gr .v . which r.t.inr th. ...r a1... fibr. boom onto th. du..l .ub.. Th. timcr i. hiddcn f.om vi.r b.hind th. d.t.Gfi.bl. tront

927
One frequenlly expressed cotnment timer start mechanism,togetherwith is lhal such fins must be more critrcal the wing attachmcnt Delhod, etc., to adjuslment lhan the conventional and I do regardil asa very rewarding, fin and rudder. In fact, I have found shall we say, diversion front lhar the rcverselo be true and have ben aspectatone. rather surprisc\i irt lhe large olTsts To linish, and to cnable this requiredwilh all-moving fins, and design lo be viewed in its correct their docilily. perspective, perhaps it should be Despitebeingcompletedin early statedthat it was neverintended as a 1972,the modcl has not ttccnllown complete substitute for my convene\tensively date.lt is und('ubtedly lional A/2s, rather to supplement to aerodynamicallyvery clean. and them, particularly in circumslances despite ils closc relationship to a when a specialised circular tow standard a,e/,y ,Ld.t shows very machinecan be used to advanlage. different flight characteristics. In In producingand flying it, I have particular, evcn lhough sectionsand learnta lot - nol all of which is of a CG posilion are idcntical, the flying positive nature. However. olten speed is definitely faster. With the 'negalive' lessons are thc nlost limitedflying undertaken, assessment valuablc. of stillair' potentialis dilliculr,but indications are that il is slighlly End piece It is hopcd and, indccd,intcnded highcr than a srandardLhely Laly even without lhe catanult heighl that lhis series o[ articles has proadvantage. Whether the additional vided sonrefood for thought rcgardconplexity of the model, as a ing lhe use of circular k)w dcvices. practical conlcst machine, is worthwhile is certainlyopen to question. I nrustadmit,I became intrigued with the challenge prcsentedas a design 3 ,; it' ; exercise with regardto the installation of thc hooks and the hook-activaled ::i
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October 1975
One feels that Brilish A/2 flyers, in the main, are too conservalive in their approach to lhe game- it is all loo easy ro dismissanyrhingother thanslraightforward lactrcally based' flying as bcing unnecessary and unrewarding, arguinglhat lhe simple direct approach is lhe right one for our condilionsand conlest 'scenc'. Many adopt the atlitude that the British contest calendar provides numerousgl,derevenlsand lhus. il condilionson any partic lar day do not lend thenrselves tactical to flying, Ihcn theclrances lhat thoseof lhe arc nextweekend will. [t is an undoubted fact thal thc contest days which are ideally suited lo a specialised approach, be it a spccial still-air design, circular tow techniquc or whatever, are linrited.

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Aero Modellsr
However, the author feels that with our rather insular tendancy to ignore, or too readily dismiss, such as developments circular tow, we are in danger of lalling way behind in A/2 technology. lt is my opinion that we should give more attention to such techniques, and not only adopt them but, more importantly, adapt them to suit our particular requirements.This is surely the way to improve the breed, not only with reeard to A/2 flying in Britain, bul also to improve our relative standing alongside A/2 flyers internationally. Both A/2 flying techniqueand model dsign has tended to become very stereotyped in this country ovcr recent years. This must restrict the interest,and indeed challenge,ofered by this class of model. The

928

adaptationofdevicessuch as circular tow can provide a vital stimulus in design,conslructionand operation of a gliderand the polenllalbenefils are enormous. Study of various foreign nragazines and newsletters over recent months indicates the development .,1 . and usage of circular tow is given much more attention than in Great Britain. As a final point, I would mention that at the 1973 World Championships circular tow was employed by many conrpetitors,not F i 8.1! least of all by Ekhtenkov, the Russian winner, and the runner-up, All-novi.r fin .lGtrilr Krejcirik from Czechoslovakia, both from countries where the systen has been largely pioneered and is kov's world Championship vicrory extensively used. will not be lhe lastto be gained using We can be certain that Ekheten- ctrcular tow-