Stephan and I have been bouncing ideas back and forth over shortening the length of the RCP Mig29 V4 to even further bring it even closer to the look of the latest prototype/offspring of the Mig29, the Mig35.
So from my favorite website for Mig paint schemes http://www.mars.slupsk.pl/fort/mig/, I found some different views of an old Mig from 1983 when it first entered service.
I remember when Dave Powers did the promo on the Mig29 V3 that he had said they went with the more 1970s style Mig (which was when the first Mig29s were under development). The Mig 29 V4 kept much of the same look although with the added 0.2 sq ft of wing area, the wing started to move towards looking more like the Mig 35.
So below I found this 3 aspect view of the Mig35. Much the same, although some very noticeable differences in the wing shape and that the back end seems more "short coupled" in that the tail section seems much closer to the back end of the wing.
So I started crunching some numbers from wikipedia to determine the ratios between wing spans and lengths of the two planes.
- Length: 17.37 m (57 ft)
- Wingspan: 11.4 m (37 ft 3 in)
- Height: 4.73 m (15 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 38 m² (409 ft²)
- Length: 17.3 m (56 ft 9 in)
- Wingspan: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
- Height: 4.7 m (15 ft 5 in)
- Wing area: 38 m2 (409 ft2)
So looking quickly at these numbers, the Mig35 has almost 2ft more wingspan, yet the same wing area as the Mig29 and is just a tiny bit shorter (3").
So hopefully I am approaching the math the right way here. If I look at the Mig 29 and take length in ft divided by wingspan in ft - 57 divided by 37.25, it equals 1.53. The RCP Mig29 V4 has a wing span of 27, so if I multiply 27 x 1.53, the length to be scale should be 41.3 inches, according to RCP, the V4 is 41" long, so those dimensions are actually pretty bang on for a "scale" original Mig29 (assuming my math isn't off in left field, I did use a dollar store calculator... :) ).
If I do the same calculation for the Mig35, length divided by wingspan, 56.75 divided by 39.25, it equals 1.44. So again, applying the same number to the RCP Mig29 V4, 27" wingspan times 1.44, it should be approximately 39" long.
Now 2" is a lot to take off, but I have a couple ideas maybe to keep things a bit scale and won't really know how it will look until I get out the plans and start drawing lines.
If I look at the wingtip of the Mig35, it is more curved than the Mig29 which is almost completely straight but swept.
So, if we ended up adding say 1/4" on each end of the wing to give it a more curved appearance, the ratio would give us a plane that is 39.6" long, so only need to lose about 1.5". Although the elevons on the Mig35 are a different shape than on the Mig29, I think we are already pretty close with the latest NAMC modded elevons that Stephan designed and we probably shorten the Mig29 by about 1/4-1/2" just with those smaller elevons.
So, looking more closely at the Mig35, I think the biggest amount of shortening can happen in the back end, pulling the tail section forward by almost an inch. The current distance between the trailing edge of the wing and the front of the horizontal stabilizer on my stock Mig29 V4 is 2 and 3/8", so moving that forward by 1" would definitely make it look more like a Mig35.
What I am also thinking is that because I want to put the NTM Prop Drive motor in my next Mig, I might move the motor further forward, by anywhere between 1/2 to 3/4", again, I need to look more closely at the plans. Since all the V4 Migs I have built thus far all need more weight forward since my CG has been up to 3/4" ahead of stock, shifting that heavy motor forward should help this. I might also move the bulkhead in the nose section forward by 1/2 to 3/4" to maintain the room needed in the electronics bay. Then maybe a slight shortening and reshaping of the nose and I think we have a Mig35... :) The NAMCV2 vertical stab shape and size (regardless of which rudder we use) is already much closer to the Mig35 vertical stabilizer, so I would just continue with the NAMCV2 tails on the "morphed" Mig35 (although maybe slightly smaller, again, will have to see what it looks like).
When I look at the Mig35 wing, it is almost "F15ish"
So what I am thinking here is again, take some more measurements, leave the portion close to the wing root the same chord, then angle inwards very slightly from the wing tip to create that look of a "break" in the trailing edge.
Anyway, more picture study to do, then get out the plans and start drawing some lines and see what happens... :)
Stephan and I have already discussed that shortening up the Mig V4 should make for a snappier plane in the pitch for sure, moving the motor a bit forward towards the CG might also help this. How will it effect other parts of the flight envelope like high alpha? Not sure, but only testing will tell. The RCP Su30 seems to do very good high alpha with the motor further forward, so maybe that will help on this newly modified Mig. I'm not too worried about high alpha with this next build as it will be a heavier, high speed, aerobatic, kick butt war machine with the NTM Prop Drive motor... :)
Just had another look at the elevons, we could widen the chord of them just a bit to make them look even a bit more scale, but being careful not to make too much more area in the back end or EPPE (elevon polar pitch effect) or wind vaning in cross wind turns could again be a problem. This would make the horizontal stabilizer portion just a bit bigger without making the moving portion any bigger, so might even add a bit more stability on the back end...so many ideas... :)
So as I said, more "brain storming" to do, then do some more measuring, drawing, but I think it is very doable and I would be excited to see how the newly "morphed" plane works out. Hmmm, haven't gluing anything on my FRC F15 MK2 yet...do I continue with the Eagle, or build the Mig? Best sleep on it... ;)
Here is a little motivational Mig35 video from the MAKS 2013 airshow...very cool... :)
Cheers,
Scott
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