My profile P51 has 1 1/8 inch dihedral, per panel, with the bellcrank mounted in the wing and the leadouts with adjustable guide all internal to the wing. The leadouts exit the tip, on the centerline---with more dihedral, the leadouts could exit slightly below the centerline.

This "sorta/maybe" gets back to the old "Where should the bellcrank be mounted?" question;  the answer is "makes no difference"---the real question is "Where do the leadouts exit the leadout guide with respect to the Center of Gravity, (both horizontal and vertical CG)?

Doest this make the picture muddy enough??

Cheers,
Jim

Guess this is where the novice in me comes in....I thought the bell crank was best put at the thrustline with leadout exits parallel to the bellcrank.  So I sketched it out on the plans I rx'd from John in Houston and as long as the bellcrank remains as high as possible at the root, the exits to the leadouts will come out below the tip former.  This is given a non-scale stunt rib section as the model was designed.  Thanks for the advice!

Kirk

I'd put a little dihederal in the wing, drop the wing 1/2" or so, then bring the LO's out the bottom of the tip rib. Use a side mounted engine, light wheels, and you should be close. Hang it by the LO's to be sure. Lots of variables, like will the canopy be clear plastic or balsa (big weight difference, usually), how heavy the wheels & LG struts are, etc.    Steve

Kirk,

Since most CL models, other than contest scale types, do not have visible dihedral, any visible dihedral is more noticeable than you'd think. Unless you really want to have just about scale dihedral, you can apply enough that the impression is achieved, and still keep the 'works' inboard.

As to bellcrank location: Vertical location is more important than fore and aft location, because we can't adjust it. What matters is where the leadout guides are with respect to the vertical and horizontal CG. To me, ideally, the leadout guides should be even with the vertical CG, and straddle a rearward line about 3° to 5° aft from the horizontal CG to match the trail angle of the lines as they meet the wingtip. NOTE - the CG determines the yaw, not the bellcrank anchor...

The lines can carry only pull; they can't push, even on the leadout guides. The pull 'aims' at the CG at the angle they trail when they get to the wing. That's the angle aft of the CG to aim the pull straight at the CG in most cases. Maneuvers cause some brief changes, but quickly return to standard. If the pull, aimed through the leadout guides is too far forward, it will tend to swing the fuselage until pull does point to the CG - that's nose-in, which isn't good. If the guides are too far aft, the model yaws nose-out, which is draggy and not good in other ways. When they're right, the model has the least unwanted yaw in steady flight.

Of course, if the leadouts aren't properly aimed at the CG, there'll be more wear and drag from the leadouts rubbing on the guides. And that's the only advantage from locating the bellcrank in a particular place - less wear on the leadouts and guides when the bellcrank pivot is about on the horizontal and vertical CG...