Bi-Slob

[Bob Disharoon]

Just got an ARF Slob.Looks good , but no info on CG point.Anyone have some advice?

[john e. holliday]

You mean  were supposed to balance them.  I just built mine, covered with mono, put in fuel tank and engine and flew it.  DOC Holliday

[Jim Kraft]

I have the original plans from Flying Models that I have built two from, and they show the balance point at just behind the spars in the wings. Mine both balance just ahead of the spars and fly just fine.

[Andrew Hathaway]

I've never thought to check the balance.  Worse yet I wouldn't have any idea how to tell if/when a BiSlob flies good or bad.  I wouldn't expect balance to matter much.  Mine historically have gotten more tail heavy as they age since I use very little clear dope, allowing castor to soak into the fuselage/tail, and the fuselages progressively acquire more CA from field repairs. 

[Terry Bolin]

We have two of those in our flying group, it is amazing what those things will do. It's not the norm to see a CL plane hover like Keith Sprigg does, sometimes kits it down while hovering. I would recommend you do something to beef up the landing gear to keep them out of the lower wing and also, glass the firewall.
Good luck!

[Roger Vizioli]

We have two of those in our flying group, it is amazing what those things will do. It's not the norm to see a CL plane hover like Keith Sprigg does, sometimes kits it down while hovering. Good luck!

I would recommend you do something to beef up the landing gear to keep them out of the lower wing and also, glass the firewall.[/color]


Bob,
We also "sheet" the lower surface of the bottom wing, out two ribs from center/both sides and from LE to the spar. Just in case the gear does bend back due to an unplanned hard landing (which never happens w/ a Bi-Slob    ) 
Roger V.

[Keith Spriggs]

sometimes kits it down while hovering

Hey, Terry. Just tell them I SIT it down. Don't mention the times I have kitted it down. The additional sheeting on the bottom of the wing is a good idea. I bet if I ever landed hard the wheels would go right through the wing. SHUT UP, Terry.

[Jim Kraft]

I bent the gear forward quite a bit on both of mine. It helps a great deal in landing and keeps from nose overs. So far even keeps the gear from going through the bottom wing. Bounce and go's are much better.

[Terry Bolin]

OPS ! I had a typo,.....no really. I meant to say "Sit" it down. But we all have had some "re-Kittin" done in the front yard.
   You might be better off putting some plywood on the bottom side and using aluminum landing gear.  Just a thought for our "Slobs" no pun intended Keith!

Boy! Can you say "Sensitive"? or is it "Touchy?

[Andrew Hathaway]

I've never managed to really hurt the wings on a BiSlob.  I went a few steps past the flying models plans.  Instead of the 1/2" square leading edges, I've always used 3/8" square.  Also I only used 1/32" for the sheeting on the surfaces that mate to the fuselage.  My fuselages usually blow up, and I've torn both wings off many times, but the wings and tail surfaces never really take the heat.  On my most recent Slob, I decided against the formers cut from 1/8" balsa sheet, and instead used 1/8 x 3/8" strips to build up the formers, think Sig Mustang.  Since I'd had serious issues with fuselage damage, I added 1/8 x 1/4" diagonal stiffeners between the formers.  So far the current Slob has been through many tail first landings, and hard touch n goes, and one catastrophic impact with the ground, no serious damage to the fuselage.  The next one will probably have a gear on the top to match the bottom, and a reinforced vertical stab/rudder since it always gets knocked off.

The top half of the pic shows what it looked like after a full throttle, cartwheeling, completely uncontrolled crash.  Both wings tore off, the wing struts were in multiple pieces, the fuselage between the wings were shredded, etc.  The bottom half shows what it looked like 20 minutes later after putting the jigsaw puzzle back together.  They're pretty hard to kill.