Modified Skyray 35

[ray copeland]

Just came in from the flying field testing my modified Skyray. Wingspan 46 inches, 2 inch fixed flaps and wingtips 1 inch oversized. Stab and elevator oversized by 1/2 inch. Built from kit plans, all balsa ribs , wingtips 1/4 inch balsa, stock fuselage size. OS 25 la with 3 oz. hayes clunk on muffler pressure, my favorite set up for this size plane. Performed better than i could imagine, believe i will use this wing set up on my next project, maybe with the stab and elevator of Ringmaster design.

[Will Davis]

Ray,
  Looks good , bet it does better than the  stock one I built years ago  , can't wait to see it , Maybe at Watt's in a couple weeks

Will

[Steve Helmick]

Ray...good job on the modified Skyray. It's everything mine isn't (light!).  However, if you persist in trying to make it into a Ringmaster look-alike, I think you'll find it flies more like one, too. The stabalizer/elevator are a major boo-boo on that design. It will be an interesting experiment, but be prepared to change it. A bolt-on stabalizer wouldn't be that hard to do on a profile.  Steve

[Paul Taylor]

Looks good Ray.
I just did the same think to mine. Added to the stab and did Adj lead outs. Hope to test it tomorrow maybe.

[john e. holliday]

I have at least 6 Sky Ray's hanging in  the shop.  A couple were modified for Navy Carrier.  The one I have under construction now is going to be for carrier built to NCS rules.   I oeyour Sky Ray flies as good as it looks, but, I think I would have went with a larger stab/elevator for stunt.   Have fun, DOC Holliday

[ray copeland]

Hey Doc! I am always looking for ways to make it easier for me to fly, the next Skyray may have a stab and elevator even more enlarged. Do you have a suggested size? I love the way this wing turned out and it is easy to replicate as the ribs are all the same except the center for sheeting, even i can cut these out!! May try a solid trailing edge on the next one and will definitely mono the stab and rudder. Also may give ca hinges a try. This is fun!!

[George]

...I love the way this wing turned out and it is easy to replicate as the ribs are all the same except the center for sheeting, even i can cut these out!!

...And you have a *load of rib templates!

I substituted balsa also. Brett Buck was the first that I saw suggest using balsa ribs, including where the half ribs would go.

George

[Brett Buck]

Hey Doc! I am always looking for ways to make it easier for me to fly, the next Skyray may have a stab and elevator even more enlarged. Do you have a suggested size? I love the way this wing turned out and it is easy to replicate as the ribs are all the same except the center for sheeting, even i can cut these out!! May try a solid trailing edge on the next one and will definitely mono the stab and rudder. Also may give ca hinges a try. This is fun!!

     Your mods look about like mine wound up. The one significant difference is that you still have the rudder offset. They fly much better with the rudder dead straight ahead. It flies more cleanly through the square corners and intersections on the 8's that way, you also get more overhead tension

      Enlarging the tail helps to a point. The tail moment is so much longer that you can get away with, and need, more elevator deflections than something like a Ringmaster. That's why I did the larger elevator with the stock tail. I don't think making the entire tail bigger is going to help much. Making it slightly shorter would help more - maybe 1/2-1" shorter. I haven't tried that but the only remaining issue is that with the stock tail moment, enlarged elevator, and 45 degrees of deflection, it still can't be stalled. Ideally, you would have just enough control authority to stall the wing at full deflection. Mine, at about 30 oz, is just short of being able to do that.


The only reason not to make it shorter is that it may enhance the one inherent problem with elevator-only stunt planes - change in sensitivity with airspeed. Flapped airplanes seem to have roughly the same control sensitivity no matter what speed you are flying. Elevator-only planes get much more sensitive to the controls when the speed increases. That's one reason they fly so much better with low-pitch/high-rev motors than with something like a 4-2 break motor. The airspeed is much more stable with modern engines that the sensitivity stays pretty close to even.

     Brett

[Bruce Feaver]

I modified my Skyray35 in that I enlarged the stab to 19 inches, from the 14,5 inches that it was. It is very stable, turns good corners with no tendency to slow or stall and is easy to fly level in a good wind. It is so stable that I won a balloon bust contest with it. I was not really sure that a larger stab was any good but it is a fine stunt trainer with a OS Max 30 S in the front. I struggle with the fuel tank but that is improving as well. I also installed an adjustable lead out guide, wing tip weight box and made the wing all balsa. I have enjoyed it this far.



Bruce F.
Hip Pocket Aeronautics
www.hippocketaeronautics.com