In article ,
John Galloway wrote:
At first glance I would want some reassurance about
the the spinning characteristics and recoverability
of a weight shift pitch control glider with a conventional
wing section! Also I wouldn't fancy flying it inverted.
I think you are proposing a highly unstable and unworkable
configuration i.e. a deathtrap.

The longitudinal control would work differently at
different pitch angles. In a vertical climb or dive
there would be no 'elevator' control. In a steep dive
spin recovery the conventional wing section would bunt
uncontrollably past the vertical. The weight in the
tail would then reverse its effect and increase the
negative g loads. I think it would be so violent that
the glider wings would depart immediately but even
if they didn't you would be in a non recoverable position
just waiting to exceed VNE sufficiently for the wings
to come off a second or two later.

Hmmm...excellent points. I can see that both weight
shift and ducting have problems in spin recovery (a
very important area).

So two more ideas for getting around having a tail
in the way of turbine temps.:

1. Mount the turbine slightly "cockeyed" a few degrees so
the blast isn't right at the tail. Needs some rudder
for powered flight, and doesn't look elegant,
but it's a simple solution to implement.

2. Use a canard. Has anyone ever made a glider with
a canard for control before? I'm guessing maybe not
since there are some obvious disadvantages in a glider
(landouts, aerotow, turbulence caused by a canard)...