"Painting" Boost Gliders
 

I've read that painting a Boost Glider is "bad". That it has a very bad effect on the glider's performance.

I've now got a Semroc Nighthawk, and Hawk, and I'd like to give them a nice finish, but I'm scared as to how to get them to look and perform well.

I'm not trying to win (or even enter) any kind of competition, but I don't want to build something that won't fly just because I added some color to the thing. Nor do I want it to look like some unfinished POS that I just slapped together.

I've experimented with RIT Dye dissolved in 90+% alcohol, but the color is underwhelming to say the least... RIT's Scarlet looks more like a purplish red wine stain than anything that is "Red".

Any help here would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Jim
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The admonition to not paint them is all driven by weight being bad for glider performance even more so than for rockets. If you're not looking for long glides, you can certainly finish it as you see fit. Just be sure to do the final balancing and trimming afterward.....

How about simple ink markers? Lot's of colors, easy to control application.

Dope paints would be the way to go for non-competition gliders.

Sharpies come in all the colors of the rainbow.

Have at it!

Allen

Do you happen to have any pics of a BG "painted" by Sharpie? Do people use any sealer on them?
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I don't think spray-painting it (with just enough paint to color it) will hurt its gliding characteristics noticeably. My father sanded--but did not seal--his Estes Astron Falcon boost-glider, then sprayed on just enough orange lacquer paint to color it. The Falcon is comparable in size to the Nighthawk's glider (and is "draggier," with its empty motor tube and its pylon up front), yet his always took minutes to come down, gliding in 1/8 mile circles.

Painting isn't recommended for some gliders because of the added weight, but the Nighthawk and Hawk fly well even when painted.

-- Roger

I've never had a Nighthawk, but I'm not surprised that the AMROCS (now Semroc) Hawk glides well even when painted, as it is very similar to the Estes Astron Falcon (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/no...a/69est036.html ). Both are nearly the same length (12.4" for the Hawk, 12" for the Falcon), while the Falcon's 10" wing span is over an inch greater than the Hawk's 8.8" span.

In the past I've used japanese tissue which comes in a variety of colors with polyacrylic. Sure it adds some weight, but if this is a sport glider who cares.

Terry Dean

Do you use "un-doctored" dope, or do you add a few drops of castor oil to it so that it won't make the tissue shrink? If it shrinks, it can warp sheet balsa boost-glider wings.