The Little Schmeisschen

Microglider with minimal wing loading; piggyback launch on a standard F3K model (DLG catapult glider) belonging to a colleague, with release at approximately 40–50 Mn.

Light tail—no lead in the front! (Old F3K rule: The weight of the aircraft is determined by the tail section...)

Opening sequence featuring Schmeisschen.

– No articulated tail unit (no push rods, rudder horns, etc.); instead, control is achieved through wing twisting (similar to wing warping); effect: twisted wings = aileron effect; wings moved in the same direction via a mixer = elevator effect.

– Material selection using a $\frac{1}{100}$ G-scale (even two “identical” CFRP tubes are never exactly the same weight; a balsa board can weigh up to four times as much as a comparable board!)

– A V-tail requires less material than a conventional tail.

– Holes, holes, holes... (the name says it all)

– Ultra-thin covering (special film, half as heavy as standard Oracover Light)

– No enclosed fuselage; the receiver unit (Spectrum AR 6400 with two integrated linear servos) is protected from damp grass only by a thin clear cover (= the blister packaging of a toothbrush).

– Power supply: 1 Lipo 20 mAh (= 0.84 g)

– A small handle (foam) at the center of gravity is necessary to even be able to grip the model for a “normal launch.”

– Correct center of gravity is extremely important (ballast is needed after all: 0.16 G—and it has to be at the rear!) →

– Flies great in slope lift—“staying aloft” is no problem; the “piggyback” idea has been put on hold for now.

– Tried a DLG-style launch just for fun: it worked so well that a small CFRP launch pin was immediately fabricated and installed (on the right wing for left-handed pilots).

– The “huckepack” idea is thus completely off the table—the “little thrower” is born, a 15-G slope rocker with F3K launch technique!

Guys Have Fun—All Is Well. Andreas Locher