TOPIC: New Models for 2021

Here's another Opel, for R/C and short burn rocket power. (I think 3xD3 rocket motors)

This is a new kit from Klima, it joins their Me163 (which I bought a kit of last year and intend to power with a Tendera L4 when I get my act together.)
Floyd Wurster at Klima told me they have upcoming a similar size, similar power, RC version Bell X1 in the pipeline.

Roger comments:

this would turn a few heads (and some stomachs) at Old Warden,

The Opel Rak really deserves a thread to itself. Most plans for it are very inaccurate with wings much too short.

But this one looks 'spot on', Just right for an L-4 I fancy!

But leave off the radio control

Hi Terry, Opel looks good, do you know its wingspan?

1900mm You'll find it here

https://www.raketenmodellbau-klima.de/Raketenmodellbau/Weitere-Bausaetze-Modelle/Raketenflugzeuge-Gleiter.htm?shop=raketenklima&SessionId=&a=catalog&t=23&c=31&p=31

I have the Me163 from the same page. Promised for a Tendera L4.

A very nice size model.
I think that for a model with these dimensions you need one suitable engine ...
I think a TSP L-6 engine would be appropriate.
Approximate parameters of such a unit:
Diameter 29mm
length 100mm
Working time about 35 seconds
Thrust around 5N
The subject is completely manageable

Piotr

And here is another new type. And this one comes courtesy of Piotr who very kindly sent me a few copies. Now, I was hoping to do some model flying this weekend anyway, now I've got an even better excuse. So, if the weather stays nice and if I don't get too preoccupied with installing a dishwasher in my friend's new apartment.

This on is called a Wrona which is Polish for crow. I said it was too pretty to be a crow but the designer gets to choose the name!

It's comes with the wing and tail surfaces pre-shaped from very fine-grain polystyreene foam, a balsa tail boom, a balsa, laser cut fuselage pod, and a cardboard tube suitable for mounting a Tendera L2.

It all fits together very nicely and I stuck the parts together using (foam safe) cyno. I hope to see how well it flies on Sunday. (Geschirspoolers permitting!).

I have had a couple of goes with the Crow but I still haven't got it quite tuned in.

With the 'as designed' rigging the CG position that I got when I trimmed for best glide was just about halfway down the motor length. When I applied power she initially climbed out very strongly but, as the fuel burned off, she started nosing down and finally bored into the ground under power. (One of things that's always intrigued me about rocket motors is where do we perceive the point of thrust to be? Is it at the nozzle or at the surface of combustion? I'm inclined to think it's the nozzle but I'd be curious as to 'what the team think'.

For my next attempts I'll move the motor forward so that the whole length of it is infront of the CG posn. This is my usual procedure and when everything is going well I anticpate a progressively increasing climb angle as the CG moves aft perhaps with a loop or two when a safe altitude has been acheived!