garyleew

I built a Gentle Lady and covered it with Sic Koverall. Am going to use a high start to launch it. Question is i am using spray paint and its using a lot of paint. Am I adding to much weight by filling the weave. How much should the plane weight when done?

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Realistically it should be as light as you can build it. That said when the GL was designed it was intended to work with full size standard servos and 4 AA batteries in a plastic holder. Modern servos and batteries are much smaller and lighter so the additional weight in covering and paint might just be a wash. The real concern then would be the CG. The GL has quite a large CG range. It will fly with the CG anywhere from the spar back to 45% of the wing chord at the center. Moving all the radio gear as far forward as possible and using very light pushrods will certainly help keep the CG in check. Heavier typically means you need to fly a little faster and use lift more efficiently. It also means the sailplane will deal with wind a little better.

rgburrill

When I did my Corsair I used Solartex for the covering, Towercote primer for the first coat of paint and Rustoleum for the main paint. The Towercote primer is fuel proof and really fills in the fabric nicely. And it can be sanded to a metal like finish. Sanding also reduces the weight and only two coats of Rustoleum was needed. I did a three color scheme and did not paint over the Primer for the white part, again saving weight.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Sorry my OCD made me fix the thread title.

The lighter a glider is the better it flys, a floater like that you want to keep it light.

TEBerg

My Feedback: (1)

Hi from Clovis CA. Hope I'm not to late to the game, but wanted to chime in about keeping the GL as light as possible.

I built and flew the GL back in the 70's and early 80's. Mine was covered with the original Monokote and it held up great. But, I had added the removable wing tips (with steel rods) and always regretted the extra weight I added. She flew well, but always seemed to under-perform a little.

So, I think you will be happier with the lightest bird you can get. As noted above; lighter radio gear and such will help.

I would suggest you don't try to fill the weave. Just get the color on the plane you want and go fly. It doesn't need to be smooth and fuel proof if you are going to High-start.

Post pics when you are done. Us old GL fliers would love to see it..

Blue Skies..