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Old 09-27-2017, 08:33 AM
AstronMike AstronMike is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Lakeland, FL
Posts: 224
Default Glider Upscaling

Quote:
Originally Posted by neil_w
Would you expect the upscale to glide better or worse than the smaller one? I would assume it involves various ratios of weight, wing area, and this and that.

Just don't ask me what I mean by "glide better or worse" because I'm hoping you can tell me.


In my experience with doing these sorts of things, I find that if the 'original sized' glider does well, an upscale will as well - sometimes better!

Now, as far as wing loading goes, the larger the glider, the LESS important this becomes. In fact, once you get to HPR sizes, something I call *Boost Loading* comes into play. That is basically the 'on pad weight' versus the wing area, and 'higher BL' birds tended to boost straighter - even in the 15-20mph winds I used to fly the Classic Astron SST in.

On a related note to wing loading, having a lower net WL on the upscale does NOT always portend to a better flying glider. Sometimes, yes, but not always. I've had upscale flexie RGs that did not glide nearly as well as their smaller counterparts (flex wings don't really like to carry all that extra 'rocket weight').

Sometimes you just throw out all the math and 'wet thumb' it!
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