Tail booms on a Voodoo

[Mike Griffin]

I have a Voodoo kit that came with two sets of plywood tail booms.  One set is longer than the other.  What does the longer set of booms offer in how the plane will fly as opposed to using the shorter original set?  For example, by using the longer set will the model corner better?

Thank you
Mike

[Dave_Trible]

The extended booms on the VooDoo, Sneeker and a few other older designs were a later upgrade to keep the airplanes more competitive with heavier BB engines against more modern designs.  Turning radius is/was almost everything in combat.  The extended tails gave the stabilator more leverage. Later designs usually had more wing area, better airfoils and longer booms.

Dave

[Randy Cuberly]

Hi Mike,
Hey if you're just looking for some fun with a Voodoo a FP or LA 25 with the short booms with the engine on pressure and a .325 venturi, flies about 80 mph.  With a Fox 36X and the long booms they will fly about 115...

Fun either way but I suspect you will have more fun with the former setup! 

Randy Cuberly

[kenneth cook]

               Mike, may I suggest that you don't follow the building instructions for attaching the elevator to the booms. The  L shaped pins they recommend are notorious for failing. Your much better off using a continuous piece of music wire with epoxy and glassing over it in the center to retain it. It also aligns it better in the event one side is slightly off. I used two triangles of 1/64" ply slightly extended over the leading edge of the stab to create a channel which I was able to get decent glue area.

[Dane Martin]

All good info here. If you ain't got an engine, let me know. We'll get you all fixed up.

[Mike Griffin]

Thanks everybody for the great input.  In all my years of flying model airplanes, I have never built or flown a combat type model.  Dont know why, I just never did for some reason so this is new ground to an old dude like me.   Just want to have some fun and see what I can do with it.  Dane I think I am OK on engines but will let you know If I cannot find anything in my stash that will work. 

Mike

[Mike Griffin]

Hi Mike,
Hey if you're just looking for some fun with a Voodoo a FP or LA 25 with the short booms with the engine on pressure and a .325 venturi, flies about 80 mph.  With a Fox 36X and the long booms they will fly about 115...

Fun either way but I suspect you will have more fun with the former setup! 

Randy Cuberly

Randy at my age and with my bad back I would probably get sick, throw up and fall down.  LOL.....  We have a guy in our club who flies pulse jets at 150 mph and I get dizzy just watching him.   Guess I am getting old.

Mike

[Gordon Van Tighem]

Lazy eights, make them big.
Cure for combat speed dizziness.
G

[Chad Hill]

Back in the '70s, when using a heavier ST G21 35 on a VooDoo, it was common to add booms that were long enough to extend the stab 6" from the wing TE to the stab LE. Many guys used Nemesis stabs.

[Howard Rush]

Many guys used Nemesis stabs.

That's what I did.

[Dan Berry]

That's what I did.

Oh, very nicely done!!!!

[Chad Hill]

That's what I did.

Gosh, Howard, I didn't realize that you, too, put Nemesis stabs on VooDoos!!   

P.S.-Thanks for that NIB G21 crank you sent me a dozen or so years ago. I put it to good use-

[Terrence Durrill]

That's what I did.
[/quote


                                         And how did that work out Howard ? ......                  

[Andre Ming]

LOL!!

That was excellent, Howard.