Some SZD-55-1 Questions

On Monday, July 15, 2013 10:07:27 AM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
Do tip wheels *have* to be droppable? My LAK-17a has what amounts to roller
blade wheels in an aerodynamic fairing glued to the underside of the wing at
the tip. It also makes moving the glider around on the grid easier since
you don't need someone to hold a wing.


Yeah, contest pilots hate to add any drag. Also a wing down with full water will take a long time to pick up, and a wing down with half water is a non-starter. So pogo sticks that keep the wings level would work better. Retracting would be nice, but we need something for the after market. 1-26 /2-33 style wheels on a cuff that fell off would work. Perhaps someone can think of a way to fold the wheel or pogo stick back into the wingtip vortex or retract it. I'm not a mechanical genius, just sick of dropping wings at contests!

John Cochrane

John Cochrane