Yes, but they fly really well. I have the upscale version Mr. Neubauer sells, and Leo and I flew it for the first time a few weeks back. It flew so well, that I had to put a little piece of tape on the rudder to help it turn slightly, so I didn't have to run so far to get it!
It was built according to his instructions.
I'm at the lab now, but I'd be happy to size it for you if needed.
Allen

Ah, okay, I am soaking the fin only of my 133% cutout, but realized I want to do a new one with into-the-wing mounting tabs anyway, and will leave the paper on that and the wing. I think I'm also going to do one more of less stock size in balsa.

With the paper still on, should I be using gorilla glue or white glue?



I'm a little above BT-55 actually, sheetrock tape wound on 1" pvc, so about 1.4" OD. I'm probably going with a paper cone for the nose anyway, and expect it may often have to be replaced.



The paper nose will require a bulkhead (probably a circle of thin corrugated cardboard) so I may just start by making the tubes a little long, and shorten if needed.



I gave some thought to making the elevator full span, then thought maybe that was intentionally not done to avoid tip stall.



I have one pack of estes C6-3's that somehow snuck in with the C6-5's at the big box store.



I'm undecided on if I want it to fly like a plane or like a brick... the former would be cool, the later more likely to end up back in my hands. But materials are cheap.

As far as using glue on Readiboard, I just use wood glue like for everything else. White glue would also work here.

Since youre doing the paper cone idea, yes, you will need a bulkhead at the end of the main BT, and this can be made from Readiboard as well. My BT80 Bomarc LV glider uses a paper nose and works fine.

You mentioned you are rolling a 1.4" tube on a mandrel. Well, thats great, especially if you end up lighter than a stock BT55. This will obviously require homemade C-rings for your pod, and an advantage of foamboard based rings for this is that you can cut them out a little big but 'scrunch' them down to fit. I like to have the forward ring a bit loose and the aft one snugger, but the pod should fall out of the glider when held vertically and shaken. Also, since there is so much room around your pod BT inside the 1.4" main you can tape your weights on the outside and have a totally unobstructed ejection pass. Or......

You can glue a socket into the end of the pod tube. Yes, a socket, like the ones in your toolbox that you never use. As long as the 'hole' in it is at least 1/4" the ejection charge will blow your pod out nicely. Some sockets fit exactly right and weight out correctly in the process. IF you decide to do this, finish the rest of the pod/glider and see just how much pod wt you really need.

One strange thing about making such 'LV' versions of these gliders is that in all our efforts to save weight up front, which is a good thing, they typically wind up still needing some nose weight on the glider anyways. My Bomarc LV needed a quarter for this but this did not break its back as it boosts and glides very well on E9s, which is unheard of for a BT80 Bomarc. That is why you shouldnt glue/tape the paper nose onto the end of the bulkhead until you are sure it will not necessitate any additional nose weight, otherwise, you have to tape this on the outside of your glider like I do. And you guys are too 'shmancy' for that.

Now that youve gotten me going (like I need another glider, especially SD based) Im going to make one too and see well this ends up. As long as your glider with pod (sans motor) ends up under 4z it will work, anything closer to 3z is better.

I have 1/8" Depron but that stuff seems too flimsy even for something this small. Another thing is meat tray foam. The largest trays are 14x18, and if you cut away the lipped edges, you end up with 13x17 which happens to be the chord and span of this particular glider. Hmm. But those are always 'dished' and create more drag and offset lift.

Of course, George Gassaway will make one under two ounces out of who knows what and make us both look silly

I did an approx 3/4 scale, with Bt20, and a BT5 pop pod.

Attached Thumbnails

     

Nice, and tempting - which 13mm motor do you fly it on?

Is your wing 1/16" or still 3/32?

Further question on the readiboard for the 133%... if I'm leaving the paper on, do I still hinge it with a label on the top surface, for up-only? Or should I be slitting it for glue in hinges?

AstronMike, what did you do on the readiboard R/C BG's where you presumably need bidirectional hinging?

For 50 bucks, that upscaled neubauer Sky Dagger should come with a cheap R/C system for guidance !!!

The standard sized one is even LESS a bargain at $40.
I cloned mine with Semroc parts for less than $15 plus the decals, which I ink-jet printed.
For a direct-sale price, $40 is NUTS. That is even bonkers if it was in a hobby shop.
I could see a RETAIL sale price at possibly $23-$25 for a REALISTIC profit, but no way $40.

That BT-20 downscale with the different color decals is really neat.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !

Good Lord, you are like a pit-bull with a bone. Fricken drop it. Some people can afford to spent $40 bucks without feeling as raped as you do. I posted that link to show the buyer that someone else in the hobby industry makes a BT-55 version that works great. You get so irriatble about so many topics in rocketry that you should probably take up something else... Like boxing.

__________________
Scott

NAR #32070

Yawn. I was going to post some questions about how much your time was worth and some other things about why your bag of parts for $15 doesn't equate to the retail cost of a rocket kit that appeals to a small segment of the hobby, but then I realized my time was worth more.

kj

Fifteen bucks! How'd you manage to spend fifteen bucks?

I'm in for a little over $3 for balsa, $1.50 for white glue, $1.55 for sheetrock tape and I think 40 cents for the nylon screw.

;-)