x1

This site was last updated on February 15, 2008.

This is the first of a series of experimental planes. The name, x1, refers to the famous Bell X-1 (but not the Cray X1 or the band Bell X1).

Most people building combat planes these days derive their designs from their experience with earlier designs. They design new planes to be lighter, or stiffer, or easier to build than the old ones. Since I'm just starting out, I don't have any old designs to better. The best I can do is look at other people's planes and steal their best ideas!

With the x1, I'm making a starting point, or base case, and my future designs will be measured against it. I intend to experiment with things like:

changing the wing area -- what's the effect on speed?
changing the span, perhaps by adding tips -- can I tell a difference?
different tip shapes
construction methods
asymmetry, a la the Son of Snort.
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera

In each case, I ought to be able to compare the new planes with the old ones, hopefully arriving at a conclusion. Of course, all this will take a while, but along the way, I'll get a lot of practice building and trimming.

Currently, this is just a jumble of pictures. I'll get it organized soon.

Using a balsa trailing edge helps achieve a fair airfoil and helps prevent warps.

Use Titebond, thinned with water. Sands easily and and ridges will melt flat when applying the covering.

A little jig to guide sanding of a slot for the tail boom.

I wish I had a drill press.

One of Jeffrey's finest.

Jeffrey comments that, using my mounting system, I'll need to bend the catch wire to the left, so that it doesn't rub on the little Delrin spacers. Otherwise, we'll loose some of the strength of the shutoff spring.