Had two of my favorite Russian park jets at the field again today... :)
I reached a big milestone with my Mig29 V4M3e3 or Mig35 NAMC as Stephan has been calling it... :) Today I flew the 100th flight of this plane since it's maiden flight 3 weeks ago today... :) I guess you could say I like flying this plane! :/ Anyway, I have rambled enough over how great I think this plane is in several previous posts, so I won't go on about it here again. I am however thinking of doing a build discussion and final setup video shortly to discuss what I think is my final setup after a bit more tweaking and tinkering with expos and travel. These 100 flights have not only been incredibly enjoyable, but educational as well, so I hope to share some of that on the blog in video format.
I have been flying my FRC Su35 MK2 a lot lately looking for any other subtle changes I might make over what I already discussed in this post http://migsrus.blogspot.ca/2014/07/time-for-another-namc-modified-frc-su35.html I have been doing so much flying and other summer type things lately that the build has not progressed much, but that's OK as it has allowed me to gather a bit more data at the field and bounce a few more ideas around in my head before cutting foam... :)
It is very beneficial that I have been flying the Su35 MK2 alongside the Mig29 V4M3e3 since the Mig has proven to be such an amazing performer that there are some other things I think I will cross over to the Su35 other than the fixed horizontal stab idea.
The rudders on the Su35 MK2 already have the vertical hinge and vertical trailing edge that Stephan and I are such big fans of on these Russian park jets, but they are quite large in relation to the plane and to the ones we currently have on the Mig29 V4M3e3. The hinge line for the Su35 MK2 is 6.25" long and when I look at my expos and throws for my Su35 rudder, I am at 75% on both. So what I am thinking is that a smaller rudder, probably the same dimensions (4" x 2") as the Mig29 V4M3e3 rudder would still be very effective and allow me to reduce my expo and increase the throw a bit.
Now that I am relieved that Stephan has built and flown his version of this plane we modified, I know that it wasn't just me enjoying and realizing the benefits of our ideas and build execution. It is proof that I wasn't just dreaming it all... :)
I'm thinking that an inboard rudder like on the Mig29 V4M3e3 on the Su35 MK2 would give a cleaner setup as well. Stephan and I are both realizing as we dial in our mods that with smaller surfaces sized "just right" we end up with very efficient and precise controls. The surfaces end up smaller and don't have to move a whole lot to work very well and thus they cause less drag and turbulence, making the overall flying experience more precise and stable. So this will be another experiment in trying to find that control surface size that is "just right", not too big, not too small. We found that 3"x2" rudders on the Mig29 V3M3e3 were not as effective as 4"x2" on the Mig29 V4M3e3, so I think that is a good starting point for the Su35 Mk2 as well.
Another thing I may research is whether the vertical stabs can be downsized at all without losing too much stability. I know that in real life the Su is bigger than the Mig as you can see in these pictures
I also am aware that for stability purposes that the vertical stabs on most park jets are bigger than scale size for added stability, but I am interested in doing some math to compare and see if perhaps a little "nip and tuck" could be done on the Su35 MK2 vert stabs to reduce drag without losing too much stability.
When comparing the two models, the vert stab on the Mig29 V4M3e3 is 6.25" tall and on the Su35 MK2 it is almost 7.25" tall and just comparing wingspans, the Su35 MK2 is about 4% smaller. I know that sometimes the numbers I throw around is like splitting hairs, but if 1/4" addition on the back of a KF4 airfoil can make a huge difference, I just never know how these little nuances can make a difference in a plane. So time to get out the ruler and dollar store calculator and do some "figurin' "..:) to see if some slight modifications can be made there.
The ailerons on my current Su35 MK2 (which are modified from stock) work very well, but while I'm doing all the comparisons and "figurin' " on the rudders/vert stabs I may also look at the size ratio between the wing and aileron on the Mig29 V4M3e3 and see how it compares to the aileron size/wing size ratio on my current modified Su35 MK2. Again, minor details, but one never knows what results one might get, and it is only sometimes through the risk/reward of experimentation that we find out... :) Also, with the reduction in moving surface I plan on the elevons, maybe slightly larger ailerons will give a better, more balanced response in the roll axis and maybe also help with slow flight/high alpha if I should want to explore those more as well with flaps/spoilers/spoilerons/flaperons.
Anyway, a very successful day at the field to achieve 100 flights with my new Mig and to evaluate and gather further data for my upcoming Su35 MK2 build... :)
Cheers,
Scott
No comments:
Post a Comment