The simplest gliders. How to make a glider with your own hands

It seems that people always had a desire to fly through the air, it was this that prompted scientists to create many wonderful aircraft, but not all of them were safe, they could fly over long distances. Among them - and such an amazing device as a glider, which is relevant to this day. He gave rise to a whole sport in which competitions are held. Many have heard of him, but even have no idea what he is.

What is a glider?

This is a kind of non-motorized weight which is much heavier than air. The movement in it occurs under the influence of its own weight. The glider makes its flight using the aerodynamic force of the air flow on its wing. He seems to be floating in the air. There are various models of this device: by the number of seats - single, double and multi-seat; by appointment - educational, training and sports. There is no airframe engine, this is the simplest aircraft.

For takeoff, a towing aircraft is used, which attaches it to its side with a cable. After lifting the tug into the air, the glider also soars. Then they unhook the cable, the machine flies alone. Many people note that glider flights are just great, because everything happens in silence, without the annoying hum of the engine. After a beginner recognizes in practice what a glider is, he wants to fly it again and again.

There are two options for flying on this device: soaring and gliding. Gliding is a descending flight of a glider that is very similar in feel to a sleigh or cart descent down a steep slope. Soaring involves an application that is created with the help of air flow and supports the aircraft while moving in the air.

A bit of history

It was the flight on a glider that opened up new possibilities for mankind to soar in the air, because it was still very far before the invention of the aircraft. These aircraft did not previously have cockpits for pilots or retractable landing gear. In some models, the pilot simply lay on the platform or controlled the aircraft while standing on his hands, using the movements of his own body. Of course, this caused some inconvenience during the flight. These aircraft were able to maintain their relevance at the present time.

Many amateurs are thinking about how to make a glider with their own hands. It would be nice to have such a device in your arsenal for personal flights. Children will be very happy with such an invention and will find it a good toy. And flying on a glider of real size can give a lot of wonderful sensations of light soaring in the air.

Choosing the Right Model

A home-made device must certainly have some important qualities that can be found out when studying a suitable option in a store.

What will the glider look like? It is often difficult for a beginner in this business to achieve the correct design, which is why it is so important to adhere to the general rules.

For those with a minimum of experience in design, it will be quite difficult to make a model, so it is recommended to pick up something light, but with no less elegance than store-bought counterparts. There are only two main designs of this aircraft, the creation of which will not require much effort and expense. For these reasons, they will be the best choice.

The first option is based on the principle of the designer, it is assembled and soars into the air right at the test site.

The second option is prefabricated, has a holistic design and is stable. Its creation is a rather painstaking and difficult work. Not every glider pilot is able to make one.

Glider drawing

At the initial stage, you need to make calculations and think carefully. For those who want to make a glider with their own hands, the drawings of the finished plan need to be viewed. It is also necessary to determine in advance the materials that will be used in the future design.

For different models of gliders, a completely standard set of resources is needed: small blocks of wood, twine, high-quality glue, ceiling tiles, a small piece of plywood.

Size of the first model

The first design of the airframe will be quite light, its nodes are fastened with ordinary clerical rubber bands and glue. It is for this reason that it is not necessary to observe accuracy in design here. You need to follow a few basic rules:

• the total length of the airframe must not exceed 1 meter;
• the size of the wingspan is a maximum of one and a half meters.

Other details are at the discretion of the glider pilot.

Second Model Format

Here it is really worth thinking about the quality of the manufacture of the model. It is very important that all the details are calculated to the millimeter. The glider drawing must correspond to the created model, otherwise the structure will not soar into the air. This model must have the following parameters:

• maximum aircraft length - up to 800 mm;
• the wing span is 1600 mm;
• the height, which includes the dimensions of the fuselage and stabilizer, is up to 100 mm.

After all the necessary values ​​​​are clarified, you can safely proceed to modeling.

Training is half the battle

Before you start designing real aircraft, you can practice and build a paper glider. You can make it from a small sheet of paper and a match, it will fly great. It is only necessary to adjust the small plasticine weight on the nose of the model. For this simple design, you will need a notebook sheet of paper, scissors, matches, a piece of plasticine.

First you need to cut out the body of the glider according to the template, and then bend the wings along the dotted line upwards. Next, carefully glue the match on the inside of the model so that the match head protrudes beyond the nose of the center of the wing and does not have protrusions at the back. After the glue dries and the match is fixed, the airframe adjustment process begins. It is necessary to select a plasticine weight for it in such a way that it regulates the flight process. This balancing is attached to the edge of the match.

A simple type of glider

The basis for the glider (its wing-shaped part) is cut out of the ceiling tiles. After that, rectangles are created from a similar material. This is done in such a way that there is enough for all the details: the wing should have dimensions of 70 x 150 cm, the horizontal stabilizer should be 160 x 80 cm, and the vertical one should be 80 x 80 cm. It is necessary to cut out the main parts very carefully.

The perimeter needs to be turned with toilet paper so that everything is extremely smooth and there are no notches. Each narrow and thin edge needs to be rounded, so you can give the design a little elegance, its aerodynamic properties will also improve. Ribs can be created from simple chips, only carefully turned and give them the desired shape in advance. After all these manipulations, you need to carefully glue the piece of wood to the middle of the wing so that it does not go beyond the edges. The main part is almost ready.

Now you need to start preparing the body of the glider, this design is quite simple and consists of a thin stick and small stabilizers. The rounded squares need to be glued together so that a kind of letter "t" comes out in three dimensions. It attaches to the tail. With the help of such manipulations, you will make a frame, it remains to attach everything with the help of ordinary stationery rubber bands. A glider drawing will come to the aid of a novice designer, relying on which, everything can be done with high quality.

Complex aircraft model

Creating a children's glider is not difficult for beginners. But more serious models require special efforts and much more time to design. Therefore, people who are wondering how to make a glider on their own should study the process of building an aircraft in more detail. This will help create a solid design. Having a ready-made model, beginners will be able to evaluate in practice what a glider is, what advantages it has.

Toy model with a small motor

The fuselage of this model is made from finely planed matches and pasted over with ordinary cigarette paper. A piece of plasticine for adjustment is placed in the nose of the model. Wings, stabilizer and keel are cut out of thick cardboard paper. Anyone who knows what a glider is may be seized with doubt when this "squiggle" will be in his hands. However, the work is not yet completed.

Now it remains only to spread the cardboard wings and fix a little plasticine on the nose. After that, you can check in practice how this model flies.

The capabilities of this match design are very limited, it makes flights with a decrease, in the air it may require constant adjustment. It is much more interesting to launch gliders into the air that can soar in the air on their own, so you can additionally make a rubber motor for them. It takes less than half an hour to make this important detail. To do this, you need to carefully make small indentations in the fuselage from matches, where the front propeller bearing and the rear hook will be inserted. Both of these parts are made from ordinary soft wire. The latter must be carefully wound with a thread exclusively at the points of its junction with the fuselage. These connections are carefully smeared with glue.

After that, you need to cut a motor screw from the rail with a knife, the length of which is 45 mm, the width is 6 mm, and the thickness is 4 mm. In the center of the screw, you need to skip the wire axle, the end of which is bent with a hook for the future rubber motor. Two threads pulled out of a clothesline can be used for a rubber motor, they must be wound by 100-120 revolutions. A device with such a simple engine will soar into the air very quickly.

After a beginner makes a glider with his own hands, more complicated drawings will no longer seem so complicated to him. Good luck!

I had a drawing of this model for several years. Knowing that it flies well, for some reason I could not decide to build it. The drawing was published in one of the Czech magazines in the early 80s. Unfortunately, I could not find out either the name of the journal or the year of publication. The only information that is present on the drawing is the name of the model (Sagitta 2m F3B), the date - whether it was built or the drawing was made - 10.1983, and, apparently, the name and surname of the author is Lee Renaud. All. No more data.

When the question arose of building a glider more or less equally suitable for flying both in thermals and in dynamics, I remembered the blueprint lying idle. One careful consideration of the design was enough to understand that this model is very close to the desired compromise. Thus, the problem of choosing a model was solved.

Even if I have a ready-to-use drawing of some model at my disposal, I still draw it with my own hand, with a pencil on graph paper. This helps to thoroughly understand the structure of the model and simplifies the assembly process - you can immediately develop the sequence of manufacturing parts and their subsequent installation. Therefore, the construction began with a drawing board. Minor changes were made to the design of the airframe, which made it possible to fearlessly tighten the model both on the rail and on the winch.

Intensive operation of the glider in the summer of 2003 showed that it is predictable, stable and, at the same time, agile - even without ailerons. The glider behaves quite satisfactorily both in thermals, allowing you to gain height even in weak flows, and in dynamics. I note that the model turned out to be too light, and sometimes the airframe needs to be loaded - from 50 to 200 grams. For flights in strong dynamic flows, the glider has to be loaded more - by 300 ... 350 grams.

For beginners, the model can only be recommended if the training is carried out in conjunction with an instructor. The fact is that the model has a relatively weak tail boom and nose. This does not cause any problems if you somehow know how to land a glider, but the model may not withstand a strong blow to the ground with its nose.

Characteristics

The main characteristics of the airframe are as follows:

Materials required for crafting:

• Balsa 6x100x1000 mm, 2 sheets
• Balsa 3 x 100 x 1000 mm, 2 sheets
• Balsa 2 х100х1000 mm, 1 sheet
• Balsa 1.5 x100x1000 mm, 4 sheets
• Duralumin plate 300x15x2 mm
• Small pieces of plywood 2 mm thick - approximately 150x250 mm.
• Thick and liquid cyacrine - 25 ml each. Thirty minute epoxy.
• Film for covering the model - 2 rolls.
• Small pieces of 8 and 15 mm balsa - approximately 100x100 mm.
• Pieces of textolite with a thickness of 1 and 2 mm - 50x50 mm is enough.

The production of the glider takes less than two weeks.

The design of the model is very simple and technologically advanced. The most complex and critical components - the attachment of the consoles to the fuselage and the swing arm of the all-moving stabilizer - will require maximum accuracy and attention when building the model. Carefully study the airframe design and assembly technology before proceeding with its construction - then you will not waste time on alterations.

The description of the model is designed for modellers who already have basic skills in building radio-controlled models. Therefore, constant reminders "check the absence of distortions", "carefully do [something]" from the text are excluded. Accuracy and constant control - things for granted.

Manufacturing

Note that, unless otherwise noted in the text, all balsa pieces have fibers along the longer side of the piece.

Fuselage and tail

Let's start building the glider with the fuselage. It has a square section; made of balsa 3 mm thick.

Take a look at the drawing. The fuselage is formed by four balsa plates 3 mm thick - these are two walls 1, as well as the top 2 and bottom 3 covers. All frames 4-8, except for frame 7, are made of 3 mm thick balsa.

Having cut out all the necessary details, we will tinker with the manufacture of frame 7 from three- or four-millimeter plywood. After that, having installed the frames on the drawing covered with a transparent film, we glue the walls to them. Having removed the resulting box from the drawing, we glue the bottom cover of the fuselage, and then lay the bowdens 9 for controlling the elevator and rudder (and, if desired, a tube for laying the antenna).

Let's take a look at the forward part of the fuselage. We will collect the nasal boss 10 from scraps of thick balsa, a removable lantern - from balsa with a thickness of 3 (walls 11) and 6 (upper part 12) millimeters. Control equipment is not installed yet. The only thing to do is to try it on in place. If necessary, you can remove frame 6, which is more of a technological than a power element.

We pass to the middle part of the fuselage, to which the wing is attached. We have to make a plywood box 13, linking together the wing spar, the fuselage itself and the towing hook. The details of the box are shown on a separate sketch. It consists of two walls 13.1 and a bottom, represented by a re-glue of parts 13.2 and 13.3. We stock up on two-millimeter plywood, a pair of jigsaw files - and start.

Having assembled the box "dry", we adjust it to the inside of the fuselage, and then glue it. We will make cuts for the connecting guide of the consoles later, in place. In place, other holes are made in the box.

After mounting the box, you can glue the top cover of the fuselage 2.

One of the most difficult stages of the fuselage assembly begins - the manufacture, fitting and installation of the keel and stabilizer rocker.

As you can see from the drawing, the keel (it is quite small, since the rest is the rudder) is formed by a frame of front 14, rear 16 and top 15 edges, made of two-millimeter balsa and glued between the sides of the fuselage.

The stabilizer rocker 17 is mounted in the frame, and then the side lining is glued to the frame - the walls of the keel 18 are made of balsa 3 mm thick.

The removable halves of the stabilizer are mounted on a power pin 19 made of steel wire with a diameter of 3 mm, and are driven by a short pin 20 (steel wire 2 mm) glued into the front of the rocking chair. The rocking chair is made of textolite 2 mm thick, or plywood of the same thickness. Between the rocking chair and the walls of the keel, thin washers are installed, dressed on a power pin.

In appearance, everything is simple - we cut out all the details and assemble them together. Be extremely careful!!! Once the keel frame is assembled and the trim is glued to one side, you will begin to install the elevator arm, connect the bowden to it, and get ready to glue the keel wall on the other side.

This is where the main ambush awaits you: if even a drop of cyacrine gets on the rocking chair, which is installed between the walls of the keel without large gaps, write wasted. The rocking chair will dry up tightly to the wall, and the keel assembly will have to be repeated again. You should be especially careful when gluing a power three-millimeter steel pin - cyacrine can very easily get inside the keel through it. Use thick glue.

After assembling the keel, do not forget to glue the textolite pads 21, which fix the power pin from skew.

In conclusion, we will install forkil 22 and skin the fuselage.

The assembly of the rudder and stabilizer is so simple that it does not present any difficulties. I will only note that the holes for the power pin in the halves of the stabilizer after drilling are impregnated with liquid cyacrine, and then re-drilled.

Note that the fronts of the rudders are made from solid pieces of balsa (8mm thick on the rudder and 6mm thick on the stabilizer). This greatly simplifies the process of assembling the model, but does not add extra mass, because, as already mentioned, the glider is too light without it.

Having assembled and profiled the rudders, "roughly" hang them in their places and check the ease of movement. Everything is fine? Then we will remove them, put them away and move on to the wing.

Wing

The design of the wing is so standard that it should not raise any questions at all. This is a type-setting balsa frame with a forehead 8 sewn up with balsa 1.5 ... 2 mm thick, ribs 1-7 from two-millimeter balsa with shelves made of balsa 1.5 ... 2 mm thick, and a wide rear edge 11 (6x25 balsa). Spars 9 - pine slats with a section of 6x3 mm, a wall of balsa 10 with a thickness of 1.5 ... 2 mm is mounted between them.

It should be noted that the spar, in general, will be flimsy for such a scale - in case you have to tighten the glider on a winch. For manual tightening, its strength is quite sufficient.

I, in order to avoid "firewood", had to glue strips of carbon fabric on the outside of each of the spar shelves. After such an improvement, the glider allowed itself to be pulled on a modern winch for gliders of the F3B class. The consoles, of course, bend, but they hold the load. As long as they keep it, at least...

Wing assembly begins with the manufacture of ribs. The ribs of the center section are processed in a "package" or "package". This is done as follows: we will make two rib templates from plywood 2 ... 3 mm thick, cut out the rib blanks and assemble this package together using M2 threaded studs, placing the templates along the edges of the package. After processing, such a solution will provide the same profile over the entire span of the center section. In the drawing, the center section ribs are numbered "1", and the ribs of the ears are numbered from "2" to "7".

With the ribs of the "ears" we will do differently. Having printed them on a laser printer with maximum contrast, we will attach the printout to a balsa sheet from which we will cut the ribs. After that, we will iron the printout with a heated "to the full" iron, and the images of the ribs will be transferred to the balsa. Do not forget only that the paper must be laid with the image on the balsa, and it is better to sand the balsa itself with a fine sandpaper first. Now we can start cutting out the printed parts. At the same time, prepare the details of sewing the forehead 8 and the center section 12, cut the strips of balsa for the shelves of the ribs 14, prepare the blanks of the front edges 13 and the walls of the spar 10, profile the rear edges 11. Please note that the walls of the spar 10 have a direction of wood fibers different from other parts - along the short sides. Upon completion of the preparation, we can start assembling the wing, without being distracted by the manufacture of the required parts.

First we make the center sections. We fasten the lower shelf of the spar to the drawing, install the ribs on it and install the upper shelf of the spar. Then we glue the walls of the spar of three-millimeter balsa 15, located in the root of the wing. After that, we wrap the resulting box with threads. Lubricate the threads with glue.

We will carry out a similar operation on the other side of the console - where the "ear" will be attached. Only the walls in this case will be made of two-millimeter balsa. Having glued the balsa walls of the spar, we wrap the resulting box. In the future, it will include the guide for attaching the "ear"

Please note that the root rib adjacent to the center section is not installed perpendicular to the spar and edges, but at a slight angle.

The next step is gluing the trailing edge. Needless to say, this operation, as well as the next one, is also carried out on the slipway.

We assemble the front part of the wing. The order is as follows: the bottom lining, then the top, then the wall of the spar of balsa 1.5 or 2 mm thick. Having removed the resulting console from the slipway, we glue the leading edge 13. Pay attention to how the wing strength for twist increases sharply after the “closing” of the forehead.

The final stage of the center section assembly is gluing the rib shelves and balsa lining of the wing root (three central ribs).

The assembly of the "ear" is completely similar to the assembly of the center section and therefore is not described. The only thing worth noting is that the rib adjacent to the center section is not installed vertically relative to the wing plane, but at an angle of 6 degrees - so that there is no gap between the "ear" and the center section. The root part of the "ear" spar is again wrapped with threads with glue.

Now let's pick up a narrow long knife and a needle file. We have to make holes for the guides of the center section 15 and the "ear" 16 in the boxes formed by the spar and its walls - two in the center section and one in the "ear". Having cut through the balsa end ribs, we level the inner surface of the boxes with a needle file. We do not glue the "ear" with the center section yet. Completely similarly, we assemble the second console and proceed to the manufacture of guides.

The center section guide bears the entire load applied by the lifeline to the model during tightening. Therefore, it is based on a strip of duralumin 2 ... 3 mm thick. It is processed in such a way as to enter the box designed for it without effort and backlash. After that, a plywood overlay similar in shape is glued to it with a thirty-minute resin, one or two - it depends on the thickness of the used duralumin and plywood. The finished guide is processed so that both consoles are put on it with little effort.

The rails for attaching the "ears" to the center sections of the wing are made from three pieces of 2mm plywood glued together to give a total thickness of 6mm. After you make the guides for the "ears", the "ears" can be glued to the center sections. It is best to use epoxy for this.

It remains only to glue the "tongues" 17 and the fixing pins of the consoles 18. For the "tongues" two-millimeter plywood is used, for the pins - beech, birch or thin-walled aluminum or steel tube.

That, in fact, is all. It remains only to cut out windows for the guide, "tongues" in the center section of the fuselage and drill holes for the wing fixing pins. Keep in mind that here it is necessary to control both the absence of mutual distortions between the wing and the stabilizer, as well as the identity of the mounting angles of the left and right consoles. Therefore, do everything slowly and take measurements carefully. Think about it: maybe there is a technology that is convenient for you that allows you to avoid possible flaws when cutting windows?

Final operations

Now you should make the cover of the center section of the fuselage compartment 23. It is made of balsa or plywood. The method of its fastening is arbitrary, it is only important that it be removable and firmly fixed in its place. After the cover is made, we drill a hole with a diameter of 3 mm in it and the connecting tongues. A pin with a diameter of 3 mm, inserted later into these holes, will not allow the consoles to move apart under loads.

To increase the strength of the fuselage at the point of attachment of the wing guide, we will have to make another structural element 24, formed by four spacers inside the fuselage, made of 3 mm plywood. Inserting guide 15 into the holes prepared for it, glue these spacers close to it. We got a certain "channel" for the guide. He will not let her walk too freely in the holes and at the same time add rigidity to the fuselage. Glue the fifth piece of the "three-ruble note" about 100 mm closer to the tail. It turned out that the balsa fuselage in the center section was reinforced with a closed plywood box. This scheme has fully justified itself in practice.

Now it's time to glue and process the ends of the "ears" 19. After that, you can start balancing the model, and check if one of the consoles outweighs.

The fit of the airframe is not too complicated. If you are doing this for the first time, read the instructions for using the film. It, as a rule, describes in detail how to use this particular film.

Installation of radio control equipment should not cause any particular difficulties - just look at the photos.

Do not forget that the stabilizer on the model is all-moving. Its deviations in each direction should be 5 ... 6 degrees. And even with such expenses, it may turn out to be too effective, and the model - "twitchy".

The angles of deflection of the rudder should be 15 ... 20 degrees. It is advisable to seal the gap between the rudder and the keel with adhesive tape. This will slightly increase the efficiency of the steering wheel.

The towing hook 25 is made of a duralumin corner. Its installation location is indicated on the drawing.

From lead plates with a thickness of about 3 mm we will cut weights - in shape they should repeat the center section of the fuselage. The total weight of the "weight" should be at least 150 grams, and better - 200 ... 300. Using the number of plates in the fuselage, you can adjust the model to different weather conditions.

Don't forget to center the model. The location of the CG on the spar will be optimal for the first (and not only) flights.

The airframe described here was made without ailerons. If you think you can't live without them, put them on. If it does not seem - do not fool yourself, the model is controlled by the rudder quite normally.

However, the drawing shows the approximate size of the ailerons. You can think over the fasteners for the aileron steering machines yourself. Of course, from the point of view of aerodynamics and aesthetics, it is best to use minicars.

Flying

Tests

If you assembled the model without distortions, then there will be no special problems with the tests. Having chosen a day with an even light wind, go to a field with thick grass. After assembling the model and checking the operation of all rudders, take a run and release the glider into the wind at a slight angle of descent or horizontally. The model aircraft must fly straight and respond to even slight rudder and elevator deviations. A properly tuned glider flies a minimum of 50 meters after a slight hand throw.

Start on the rail

When preparing to start from the rail, do not forget about the block. The glider is quite fast, and in light winds there may be problems with the lack of speed of the puller, even when pulling with a block.

The handrail diameter can be 1.0…1.5 mm, length - 150 meters. It is preferable to place a parachute at its end, rather than a flag - in this case, the wind will drag the lifeline back to the start, reducing the distance you or your assistant runs in search of the end of the lifeline.

After checking the functioning of the equipment, attach the model to the rail. After giving your assistant the command to start moving, hold the glider until you have enough strength. The assistant, meanwhile, must continue to run, stretching the lifeline. Release the glider. At the initial moment of takeoff, the elevator must be in neutral. When the glider gains 20..30 meters of height, you can slowly start to take the handle "on yourself". Do not take too much, otherwise the glider will leave the lifeline ahead of time. When the model aircraft reaches its maximum height, vigorously give the rudders down, introducing the model aircraft into a dive, and then back. This is the so-called "dynamostart". With some practice, you will realize that it allows you to gain a few more tens of meters in height.

Flight and landing

Keep in mind that with a sharp giving of the rudder in any direction, the glider is prone to some course buildup. This phenomenon is harmful in that it slightly slows down the model. Try to move the rudder stick in small smooth movements.

If the weather is almost calm, the glider can not be loaded. If you are having trouble flying upwind or getting into a thermal, add 100-150 grams to the model. Then you can choose the mass of the ballast more accurately.

Landing is usually not a problem. If you have built a glider without ailerons, try not to make large rolls low above the ground, because the model responds to rudder deflection with a delay.

Curiously, additional loading has practically no effect on the model's ability to hover. A fully loaded glider holds up well even in relatively weak updrafts. The longest flight time in thermals achieved during the operation of the model is 22 min 30 sec.

And the same additional load is simply necessary for flying in dynamic flows. For example, for a normal flight in the "dynam" in Koktebel, the glider had to be loaded to the maximum - by 350 grams. Only after that did he gain the ability to move normally against the wind and develop amazing speeds in a dynamic flow.

Conclusion

Over the past season, the model has shown itself to be a good glider for amateurs. However, this does not mean that it is completely devoid of flaws. Among them:

• too thick profile. It would be interesting to try using E387 or something similar on this airframe.
• lack of developed wing mechanization. Strictly speaking, initially the glider contained both ailerons and spoilers, but in order to simplify the design and develop precise landing skills, it was decided to abandon them.

Nevertheless, the rest of the airframe worked out "perfectly well".

Currently, an electric glider based on the described model is under construction. Differences in the reduced wing chord, modified profile, the presence of ailerons and flaps, fiberglass fuselage, and much more. Only the general geometry of the prototype has been preserved, and even then not everywhere. However, the future model is the topic of a separate article ...

In this age of computers, the Internet, home robots and mobile gadgets, traditional modeling is not as popular as it was 20-30 years ago. But hardly anything can compare with the feeling when a model assembled by your hands from improvised materials successfully floats / rides / flies. In this article, we will consider the manufacture of a simple paper glider.

Such a glider is made only from improvised materials and the manufacturing time takes no more than an hour (see the figure below). The hardest part is the adjustment. But if everything is done according to our recommendations, the model will fly well. An increase in the size of the wing in terms of span and chord will not affect strength in the least. Therefore, the dimensions of the model can be safely increased by one and a half, even twice. She has another feature that characterizes her aerodynamic qualities. Pay attention to the wing profile. Its unusually large concavity increases lift. That is why, for a given size and weight of approximately 60 g, its flight performance is twice as good as that of a sports model of the same class. Launched with the help of a 30-40 m long rail, the glider will last more than a hundred seconds in flight.
The airframe model is collapsible. It consists of three parts: wing, stabilizer and fuselage. So it is more convenient to store and transport it in a paper or plastic bag.

And now get acquainted with the manufacturing technology. Put sheets of drawing paper on the table. Draw on it in full size the contours of the stabilizer 1 and wing 5 according to the dimensions shown in the figure. Do not forget to give allowances for item 1 folds. Then cut out the blanks with sharp scissors. Make sure they don't accidentally get crushed. To give the wing the necessary curvature, the blanks should be pulled with force over the edge of the table. It is done like this. Lay the workpiece on the table so that the front edge is parallel to its edge. With your left hand, lightly press it against the table top, and pull it down with your right hand, causing the paper to bend over the edge. Repeat this operation several times, gradually increasing the bending angle. Then, with the outer side of the tip of the scissors, easily push the fold lines on the blanks of the stabilizer and wing. The wing and stabilizer are ready.
Next, cut out two paper blanks for ribs 6 and one for rib 7. Shape them as shown in the figure. Lubricate them with clerical glue or PVA glue and glue to the wing. The adhesive connection of the parts will turn out to be more durable if the gluing points around the entire perimeter are also pinned with pins. It is not recommended to finally glue the ribs 6 if the central part of the wing is skewed. When gluing rib 7, pay attention to the lower plane of the wing - it must be perfectly flat. In order to prevent warping of the workpieces, after gluing, stick the pins only from above. After gluing the ribs, immediately place the wing on the bottom surface on the table. Wing endings should be made without bending the paper. Otherwise, they will not be strong, and then you will need to further strengthen them with paper gaskets. Stabilizer 1 is assembled from two blanks, after bending the edge of one of them, as shown in the figure. Glue the front edge of the folded edge and press it with a small load.
The fuselage is made from one wooden lath with a section of 8X8 mm square or round. The ends should be removed with a sharp knife into a cone. The finished fuselage must be cleaned with sandpaper. The stabilizer and wing put on the fuselage must not scroll. To prevent this from happening, paper tubes should be twisted and glued onto a square blank. The best material for tubes is thin notebook paper. Preliminarily, paper blanks 2 and 8 are formed by rolling them tightly at the ends of the rail. Then twist the tube with your fingers, turn it 2-3 turns and, after smearing it with glue, twist it again. Wrap the workpiece with thread or rubber band until the glue dries completely. Then, with sandpaper, it is necessary to clean the edges that are hard from glue. Finished tubes are glued into the wing and stabilizer. Holes for these tubes are pre-pierced with a sharp pencil in the places shown in the figure.
To ensure the flight of the model, immediately after assembly, the following conditions must be met. The plane of the stabilizer must be glued in relation to the lower plane of the wing at an angle of 3-5°. That is why the gluing of the tubes into the wing and stabilizer must be carried out as carefully as possible. If you still get some discrepancies, correct them by bending the fuselage rail. Of course, to fully refine the model, more careful regulation of the position of the fuselage, which is bent relative to the wing and stabilizer, will be required.
In flight, models of the “duck” scheme (this paper glider was made according to such a scheme) are prone to pitching up, i.e., turning up the nose, which leads to an increase in resistance and a drop in speed.
In such cases, either the angle of installation of the stabilizer relative to the wing is changed, or the area of ​​the stabilizer is reduced by cutting it with scissors, or the tips are slightly bent upwards.
The center of gravity of the airframe must be ahead of the leading edge of the wing. Therefore, if necessary, attach an additional weight - a piece of plasticine - to the forward part of the fuselage. Carry out the necessary centering of the model by running it by hand. If the glider dives steeply, then you need to increase the angle of the stabilizer or reduce the weight of the load. If the model plans well, you can start launching it on the rail. To do this, use thread and glue to install hook 4 on the fuselage. To make the model fly in circles, adjust the angle of inclination of the wing plumage.

Based on the materials of the book by V.A. Zavorotov "From idea to model".

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SCHEMATIC MODELS OF THE AIRPLANE AND Glider

Soviet aircraft modelers built hundreds of the most interesting models of aircraft and gliders, from schematic to jet and radio-controlled.

The schematic model is the first step into "small aircraft". Schematic models of this class are called because they basically reproduce only the scheme of a real aircraft or glider. Such a model aircraft, equipped with a rubber motor, can fly a distance of at least 75 meters. A well-made glider model stays in the air for up to an hour.

The design of the described glider and aircraft models is so simple that it can be built in a school aircraft modeling circle, in a pioneer camp or at home. The main details of the model: wings, stabilizers, keels and others are made from ordinary pine planks. The pine going to these parts must meet the most elementary requirements - to be straight-grained, without knots, dry and not resinous.

To build models, it is enough to have: a planer, penknife, pliers, round nose pliers, a file and scissors.

SCHEMATIC MODEL OF THE Glider

Working drawings of the airframe model are given on sheet No. 1.

The main dimensions of the model:

wingspan - 940 mm,
model length - 1000 mm,
flight weight - 150 g.

The model, like a real glider, does not have a motor. She makes a flight, supported by oncoming air currents.

SCHEMATIC MODEL OF THE AIRCRAFT

Sheet No. 2 shows the complete working drawings of the model.

The dimensions of all parts and details are given in actual size.

The main dimensions of the model:

wingspan - 680 mm,
model length - 900 mm,
flight weight - 75 g,
screw size 240 mm.

A rubber motor is used as the engine. The propeller installation consists of a propeller with an axle mounted in a bearing and a rubber bundle. The rubber bundle is made of six threads of rubber with a section of 1 X 4 mm.

Before proceeding with the construction, carefully read the working drawings of the model and the text. Prepare the necessary material and tools.

HOW TO USE THE DRAWINGS.

Our drawings are working, and all the details on them are drawn in full size. Therefore, in order to set the size of a particular part, it can be superimposed directly on the drawing.

PROCEDURE FOR MANUFACTURING PARTS OF THE MODEL.

When building models, you should go from simpler parts to more complex ones. First, cut out the rail, then make the keel, followed by the stabilizer, and then proceed to the manufacture of the wing.

HOW TO BEND PINE EDGES.

To make roundings of the wing, stabilizer and keel from pine planks, make a blank, and to bend the ribs (wing cross bars) - a template. The method will be as follows: planochki planed according to the drawing are steamed in boiling water for 5-10 minutes, and then bent on a blank, their ends are tied and left in this position until completely dry. The ribs are bent on a special template (see drawing) and fixed on it with a tin bracket until dry.

JOINTING ROUNDINGS WITH EDGES.

To splice the curves of the wing, stabilizer, keel with the corresponding edges, cut their ends obliquely so that when they overlap each other, they do not exceed the section of the edge. Lubricate the splices of the rounded edges with glue and tie tightly with a thread.

HOW TO PAPER WING AND TAIL.

Before pasting, the model is assembled and its parts are verified. After the distortions of the stabilizer wing and keel are eliminated, they are covered with tissue paper. Wings and stabilizer on the top side, keel on both sides. Tighten the wing with two people. Holding the paper by the corners, place it over the glued wing and smooth it over the ribs and edges. The paper is glued first on one half of the wing to the central rib, and then on the second part. Make sure that wrinkles do not form during tightening. After the glue dries, cut off the excess paper with a knife or fine glass skin. Sprinkle the covered wing and tail unit with mist.

ADJUSTMENT AND STARTING MODELS.

Before launching a model glider or aircraft, it must be adjusted. To do this, take the model behind the wing by the fuselage rail and, pointing slightly down, release it from your hand by slightly pushing it forward. The model should fly 10-12 meters. If the model lifts its nose up, move the wing back a little; if the model is too steep to land, move the wing forward. When flying the model with a list to the right or to the left wing, align the keel or straighten the wing as it is warped. If the model turns to the right or left during flight, adjust the keel turns.

Experienced aircraft modelers say - give us a decent penknife and we will build a flying model. And we advise you, before you start building a model, stock up on such a tool: a penknife, a planer, a hammer, a set of drawing accessories (ruler, square, compasses, protractor, pencil, rubber band).

In FIG. 123 shows a general view of a schematic model of the airframe. The model has the following main parts: rail - fuselage, wing and tail, consisting of a stabilizer and fin. Consider this model carefully, familiarize yourself with the parts of the model and remember their names.

Production of working drawings

To facilitate the construction of a well-flying model, we will have to draw in full size the following parts of it: the wing, the front of the fuselage, the stabilizer, the keel and the wing mount.

Working drawings of details are drawn only by contours.

The working drawing of the wing (Fig. 124) is done as follows: two parallel horizontal lines 900 mm long are drawn at a distance of 160 mm from each other. The upper horizontal line is divided into equal parts, 75 mm each. With the help of a square, perpendiculars are lowered from the marked points to the lower horizontal line. These lines represent the locations of the ribs. On the first and thirteenth ribs, it is necessary to find the middle and describe the rounding with a compass with a radius of 80 mm.

The stabilizer (Fig. 125) is drawn in the same way as the wing. The keel (Fig. 126) and the fuselage (Fig. 127) are somewhat different. In view of the complex shape of these parts and the difficulty of making a life-size drawing of them, we divided the drawing into cells to facilitate work and obtain the correct shape of the parts. The actual cell size is 10X10 mm. Cells must be correct, not skewed.

Materials for building a model

Now you need to prepare all the necessary materials. The model is made of pine, linden, aspen, walnut or willow twigs. The raw material must be dried before processing. For greater strength, the joints of the parts, as shown in the figures, in addition to gluing with carpentry or casein glue, are carefully wrapped with thin threads. Paste over the model with newsprint or any thick paper.

Model making

The construction must begin with the fuselage, then the keel, stabilizer and wing are built.

The fuselage rail is made from pine, linden, aspen or from straight walnut (or other species) rod, pre-cut and dried.

At the junction of the rail with the "load", it must be given a square section of 10X10 mm. The cargo is made from two boards of any kind of wood, processed with a knife and cleaned with glass and sandpaper. The thickness of the boards is 8-9 mm.

The junctions of the rail with the body are wrapped neatly with threads and then smeared with glue. The boards are connected to each other on both sides with cardboard overlays for glue and carnations or wire brackets. After final finishing, the body and rail can be painted in any color. The hook for launching the model from the handrail is made of 1 mm wire. The hook is driven into the lower part of the body (see Fig. 127).

The keel and rounding of the wing and stabilizer are made from the same type of wood as the entire model. Planed planks 2-3 mm thick and 10-15 mm wide should be straight-layered, without knots, otherwise they will break when bent. Before bending the planochki, it is recommended to soak for an hour in water (preferably hot). The soaked strips are bent on a cylindrical object - on a round piece of wood, a bottle, etc. Then you need to tie the ends of the strips with a thread and put to dry.

After drying, the rounding blanks are split with a knife into two parts and processed to the desired sections. The front and rear edges of the stabilizer are chipped from the same material to a section of 4X2 mm. The outer edges of the edge are rounded off. Their ends are ground on a mustache (Fig. 128) and attached to the roundings with the help of threads and glue. The transverse plank (rib) of the stabilizer (Fig. 129) is made larger than the width of the stabilizer. These tips extending beyond the contours of the stabilizer serve to tie the stabilizer to the fuselage rail.

The edges of the wing with a section of 7X4 mm are first planed, then processed with glass and sandpaper so that they get an oval section. Further, on the edges, according to the drawing, the places where the ribs should be placed are marked. In the middle, under the central rib, a 12° bend is made. The bending points are preliminarily well moistened with water, after which they are carefully and steeply bent over a spirit lamp or smokehouse. The bend must be the same on both edges (6° each).

For the manufacture of ribs planochki 1 mm thick and at least 10 mm wide. The blanks are soaked in water and bent in a specially made machine (Fig. 130). The method of bending the ribs is shown in Fig. 131. The ends of the ribs are clamped on the shoe with a bracket made of tin (Fig. 130, A). The dried curved strips are split into several parts and planed to a width of 4 mm. The central rib is made somewhat thicker than all the others.

The tips of all ribs are sharpened with a knife. On the edges, in places where there will be ribs, a puncture is made with the tip of a knife (Fig. 132) so carefully that the tip of the pointed rib fits tightly into it. The inserted ribs are aligned - they must all be the same height. The joints of the ribs with the edges are filled with glue. After drying, the wing is carefully straightened and the central post is tied to it (Fig. 133). It should be tied with threads smeared with glue as tightly as possible and strictly perpendicular to the leading and trailing edges of the wing (Fig. 134). The correct installation of the rack is checked on a flat table: the base of the rack is placed on the table, tightly tied to the table, and the height of the wing ends is measured. If one of the wing consoles is higher, then the rack is moved to the other side until they are aligned.

Before proceeding to close-fitting the model, the wing, stabilizer and keel are carefully straightened. The model is pasted over with newsprint or thick writing paper. The keel is covered on both sides. The wing is fitted in parts: first one half, then the other. Excess paper on the wing and stabilizer is not cut along the edge, but tucked in and glued; strip width - about 20 mm. After gluing and drying, the wing, stabilizer and keel are lightly sprayed with water using a spray bottle for better paper tension.

The manufactured parts of the model are checked, distortions and minor imperfections are eliminated. The stabilizer and keel are installed on the rear of the fuselage rail and tightly tied with threads. The stabilizer is attached directly to the fuselage rail. The wing is installed near the fuselage load, having previously determined the center of gravity of the model; it is not difficult to do this, one has only to put the fuselage (with tail) on the edge of the knife and move it until balance is achieved. The place of the center of gravity is marked with a pencil. The wing is set so that the front third of it falls just above the center of gravity. The wing strut is attached to the fuselage rail and tightly wrapped with thread.

Adjusting and running the model

The assembled model is checked by eliminating the distortions of the wing, stabilizer and keel. The correctness of the installation of the wing and tail unit is verified by looking at the model from the front. The stabilizer and keel must be located strictly perpendicular to each other.

You need to adjust the model in an open area in calm weather or with a weak even wind. The model is launched from the hands strictly against the wind, with a smooth push, lowering the nose of the model a little down.

The adjusted model can be launched from a hill or from a mountain, with a wind speed of no more than 5-6 m / s. The model also flies great when starting from the rail. You can also launch the model from an air postman raised on a kite. It is very easy to kite the model. At the very end of the rail-fuselage, a loop is made of thread, which is inserted into the postman's lock. The postman with the model climbs the rail to the kite up to the limiter, while the model hangs with its nose down. When the postman's lock is activated, the model first dives vertically for 8-10 m, and then exits the dive itself and begins free flight.

One such model, built by Valya Larionova, hovered for 15 minutes at the Moscow city competition of flying models, after which it was lost from sight.