Shika 1/144 Airplane Card models gliding contest

[shika]

According to my thread about 1/72 Draken, Zathros suggested me to do the gliding test. As I build so many of them recently, but I have only do some gliding test.

So, I've come up with an idea to make a contest of my models to see which plane has the best ability to glide.

"Shika 1/144 Airplane Card models gliding contest"

Here are the contestants.

 

[shika]

Here is the result.



Models are from various websites: Stahlhart, Ojimak, Memecraft, Kittyhawk Software Inc. and Chaiwatkom (Papermodeller)

 

[shika]

Comments and analysis.

Simply aerodynamic. As Viggen could is called jet biplane from its large delta wings and also large carnards, I've found it is very easy for this plane to glide and this is my best gliding card models.

And it come to a surprise when my F6F Hellcat is the 2nd best. I glide really well too.

My third best F-22 Raptor, I think it's large wings and its structure to allow airflow get the credit for ability to glide pretty well.

I expect more from Draken and Viggen but I think simply because the scale is too small so, it didn't perform really well as I expected from delta wings.

Phantom II, Mig-15 Fagot and Donier Alphajet glide pretty o.k.
All of them are intentionally designed to be able to glide but as Mig-15 has more curve of its wings, and tails, it has better ability to glide then F-4E and A-jet.

Aermacchi and A-4 Skyhawk, they should glide well but I think the failure is from the paper. Laserjet paper is too light. So, the planes didn't glide.

F-14 tomcat both spread-wing and swept wing didn't glide. They spin out of control and landed. The paper is right, it has airflow, the symmetry is o.k. I really don't understand why it didn't glide.

Kfir C2. I'm pretty surprise to see delta wings not glide. No air intake maybe?

X-29 and SU-47 Berkut. Obviously forward swept wings is cause of failure.
It adverse aerodynamic of the planes, so they didn't glide.

These comments and analysis based on my selection of papers, design and my modification of sizes down to 1/144 and my gliding test results.

Opinion on how to make it glide better, suggestions and discussion are welcome. :thumb:

 

[Renaud]

Gliding contest

I did not build them all, but some of them, and most Suzuki's planes, at different scales (but without changing anything to paper thickness, otherwise the ratio weight/flight area would have risen up dramatically, and you couldn't enlarge the patterns more than twice, not to weaken the plane). I was expecting such a result, large spanned delta wings planes as well as old propeller-powered designs with wingspan fly better. I built a Focke-Wulf Ta 183 doublesized (so wingspan was about 18 inches) after Fiddler's green patterns and a free Mig 15 I found on the web and both flyed well. From Suzuki's website, the F15, the F35 and the Mig29 are faily good at gliding. What stunned me was the rolling of all the Suzuki's Raptors I built, whatever the scale could be and the tuning I attempted at to fix it. Aerodynamics remains somewhat mysterious.
Two years ago, I built a large F15 after Suzuki's pattern, entirely made of sheets o foam, about 1.3 yard large, I couldn't experiment for I crushed it when opening the roof of my convertible car on top of which I let it, just after having being completed. I was puzzling about how to leave it entering my car... and as I was sitting in my car, wondering how I could put it in, I just forgot it was upon my head.... too late! The noise was horrible, and it took some time before I reversed the motion. The roof, I stopped after about ten seconds was not damaged, on the contrary of the plane.

Renaud

 

[Zathros]

Shika, that's is an amazing undertaking on your behalf! I am in awe of all of the aircraft you have built. My "Hat's Off" to you sir, Well Done!! :goldcup: