New S-1 Ringmaster

[Jeremy Chinn]

I've been working on building a Ringmaster for myself. Several of my flying buddies have very nice examples, so I wanted to build a nice one as well.

Scratch built from Outerzone plans. I was able to pick through my balsa stash for some good stock to build with.

I'm powering it with a nice OS .35S with a tongue muffler.

I used 3m reusable glue stick to put patterns on the wood and then cut from there.

[Jeremy Chinn]

Weight right now with all hardware is 20ozs

[Crist Rigotti]

Nice.

[Brett Buck]

  Looks pretty good and that sounds like you are headed towards a viable all-up weight.

    The most critical matter for getting it to fly well is to make the controls *very slow* (as discussed in many prior threads), almost comically slow at upper 20 ounces and a 35S. Maybe +-1/2 - 3/4" elevator movement with full handle motion. Nothing is more important.

          Brett

[Rusty]

Nice job!  Where did you get the leading and trailing edge stock to match the plans?   When I made mine, I used a more modern set of plans that had sheeted leading and trailing edges, because I didn't have any wood to match the plans. 

[Paul Taylor]

I know Lester is the Master of the Ring but I doubt Kenny owns one. 😎

Looking good so far.
Post some flight pics with the gang. 👍🏼

[Jeremy Chinn]

Thanks all!

Paul, you're right on both counts. This one is built with definite Lester input. BTW, the engine was one of Jim's- it runs great!

Brett, I've definitely read all of those threads, and have a long control horn for it as a result.

Rusty, I got lucky. I bought two very large garbage cans full of balsa from a lady cleaning her attic. Hundreds of sheets and hundreds of sticks and shaped stock. Several perfect Ringmaster leading edges and a bunch of TE stock were in the buy.

[Rusty]

Thanks all!

Paul, you're right on both counts. This one is built with definite Lester input. BTW, the engine was one of Jim's- it runs great!

Brett, I've definitely read all of those threads, and have a long control horn for it as a result.

Rusty, I got lucky. I bought two very large garbage cans full of balsa from a lady cleaning her attic. Hundreds of sheets and hundreds of sticks and shaped stock. Several perfect Ringmaster leading edges and a bunch of TE stock were in the buy.

Some Guys have ALL the luck.   

[Dennis Toth]

Nice job, to keep the weight under 30oz consider MonoKote for the wings and tail surface and paint the fuse. You should be able to complete for 3 - 4oz (if you use transparent film even less).

Best,   DennisT

[Dan McEntee]

   The most important things about finishing up a stock S-1 is the proper elevator throw ( about 20 degrees as Brett has already mentioned ) and proper balance. It's damn hard to build a stock S-1 design and get it under 30 ounces, mainly due to the design itself. Most have to add tail weight to get a good balance location for a decent corner. The tail is a good place to use up some of your heavier balsa for the tail surfaces to help that. Extra coats of dope back there if you are painting will help that also. I think if I build any more I'll use 3/16" balsa for the tail surfaces to make them more durable and help out with the balance. The Ringmasters I have rescued usually were built from a Sterling kit and have a 2" bell crank on them because that is what they recommended in the instructions, but a tall control horn about 1 1/4" tall will start to slow things down and then some barrow line spacing will finish it off. If you can retrofit a 3" bell crank, do that also. Use the lightest engine you have and light wheels also. I always use 1/8" music wire for landing gear because it's stiffer and they land better but aluminum sheet gear or carbon gear may be lighter. Mine usually weigh in the 3o to 32 ounce range with anything from a LA.25 to a Fox .35 on them and they fly just fine with lap times in the 5 second range on 58 or 59' lines. They will do the OTS pattern well and even do a decent full pattern if they are straight, balanced well and controls are correctly set up.
   Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

[Steve Berry]

   They will do the OTS patter well and even do a decent full pattern if they are straight, balanced well and controls are correctly set up.

Ask Joe gilbert about a Ringmaster doing a decent pattern... 

Steve

[Dan McEntee]

Ask Joe gilbert about a Ringmaster doing a decent pattern... 

Steve

   Oh I've seen Joe fly his before and he has seen me fly mine! I won OTS at the Gluedobbers contest last September with my box stock, authentic Sterling S-1 kit, built with Ambroid and 2" bell crank Rehab Ringmaster  I have seen many before him fly good full patterns with stock S-1 Ringmasters well before the weight consciousness about them came about. I've seen Bart Kaplinski fly them, Jack Sheeks, and all the way back to watching Jim Renkar score a 500 point flight with one at an early Alan Brickhaus contest in Metropolis, IL when his contest was at the airport there in the late 80's. What they all had in common was a reliable powerplant, usually a Fox .35 , and the airplane was built straight, balanced correctly and well trimmed flying at a good consistent speed. That is the key to having some success with a Ringmaster. A 25 ounce example won't help you if the wing is crooked, it's nose heavy, and everything isn't properly aligned.
  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

[Colin McRae]

Is there a general consensus on where the best CG location should be for a Ringmaster to fly well?

[Ty Marcucci]

Being short nosed, mine are at 20%.  Flys great. The second S1, with an OS .25 LA balances right where the ply doubler ends. Right at the point.

[Brett Buck]

Is there a general consensus on where the best CG location should be for a Ringmaster to fly well?

   It's not at all critical, you can run it almost the leading edge and it hardly changes the response.

     Brett

[Colin McRae]

The second S1, with an OS .25 LA balances right where the ply doubler ends. Right at the point.

Mine currently also balances at the same place. The elevator is also set up for max travel approx 20 deg. About 5/8" up/down travel from neutral.

It flies well so will just leave the CG where it is.

Thx

[Colin McRae]

One thing I've never understood on the original design of the Ringmaster is the lack of wing top and bottom spars.

I acquired my Ringmaster already built. The builder used a single centered CF tube in the wing. But the wing still flexes quite a bit.