Weight boxes and adjustable leadouts

duke.johnson wrote:The weight box has a lid that you cover over and then cut the cover after you are finished. The bottom of the box has a blind nut and a screw goes through the lid and 1/4oz weights to the blind nut. The leadouts have a screw that you access through the end of the wing.

Thanks Duke,

I understand the weight box now however, I don't see how the adjustable leadout would work if it sits behind a big ol' wingtip like a Ringmaster. You would have to cut a rectangle out to make it accessable. Maybe I just need a visual.

Sorry for the newb questions.........

Ron

Ron
We are new at something. Yes, you need to cut a slot in the wing tip. I think it's easier if you have solid tips.

The Ringmaster is a fun plane and terrific for the beginner and the experienced. Simple to build, just a lot of fun and truly nostalgic. Unfortunately, they suffer from a thin wing. The plane needs to fly fast. The Ringmaster generally gets built with too much elevator throw and this is probably the most important factor in achieving proper flying characteristics.

Having a adjustable weight box in a Ringmaster in my honest opinion isn't going to make this model fly any better. It works just fine with 5/8- 3/4 oz glued to the outboard rib. Adding strips of balsa around the perimeter of the weight or wrapping the weight with thread or carbon tow internally prevents it from flying out of your wing due to crashing. Having the plane trimmed to fly with the wings level is also important. Sometimes the trailing edges can be problematic needing a little tweak here and there. Wings need to be twisted at times to fly correctly and this will make the plane benefit in the maneuvers. You don't need the plane flying tip high because once your inverted the plane is going to come in at you and vice versa. Never use the double back that's provided on the stick ons.Some use it for trial tests on the outside of the model. It will fail and I've been hit with it. It hurts and your friends are going to be !@#$% hot if they get hit with the weight.

Adjustable leadouts would be more beneficial but not needed with this model. In fact it may require a lot of re engineering of rib holes and wingtips. Once set, their set and more than likely would never be moved again. Why introduce all this work into a model that isn't really going to benefit from this option? It's neat but eyelets glued hard to the tip is going to work flawlessly. I use the term flawless due to adj sliders that can internally fail if not set up correctly. If the screw and nut fails the slider has nothing to hold it and this can quickly wreck a plane or make for one wild ride. I use longer allen screws with jam nuts on the back usually J-B welded so that the screw and slider can never come out.

That big elevator on the Ringmaster acts as a air brake and quickly stalls the plane. It wallows out of the sky and can literally drop out of the air. Smooth and steady speed is required for snappy maneuvers. The pushrod needs to be in the innermost hole and a large control horn which is going to limit the elevator throw to under 30 deg. Also another important thing to do is to glue a pad of ply under the horn. Many times on the Ringmaster, I've seen the elevator split with the grain around the horn due to the load on the elevator. Provide a fair lead on the pushrod and this will keep the mush out of the controls. This is what will make the Ringmaster fly well.

Here is a pic of a recent build I'm doing which utilizes a slider in a built up tip. Ken

Nice job Ken. I just bought S-1 Ringmaster kit at the last swap meet. I considered an adjustable leadout and weight box. I'll put the weight box in still but I might not put the weight box in now. Thanks.

Could I see a picture of a weight box?

Rusty, here is a pic of a weight box I have in the wingtip. This particular is a solid carved wing tip which made installing a breeze. Most weight boxes are in the underside of the wing just forward of the spar or on the spar and up against the last rib. In order to gain access through the covering, the bay the box is located in must have sheeting around it so the covering has something to attach to and terminate against the box itself. The box is typically thin ply made into a cube. The top cover uses the ply and typically a piece of balsa attached to it sanded to conform to the airfoil of the wing or tip. My picture is poor due to bad lighting making the weight box cover difficult to see. A screw passes all the way through the box and a blind nut is fastened to the backside of the box. Sig and also Brodak makes lead weights which are approx 1" x 1" x 3/32" which weigh a 1/4 oz. having a hole in the middle. Just a side note, the weights always don't have the hole in the center. This means making the box slightly large to allow for wiggle room. I use a piece of fuel tubing over the screw which compresses when tightened giving a loc washer like quality. This prevents the weights from wiggling and the cover from falling off. Ken

I like to stuff the remainder of the weight box with foam or something to stop the weights from rattling around.

Okay, I see now. I thought it was something for adjusting the fore and aft CG.