Jim Bonk wrote: "While there seems to be no real aerodynamic advantage in making a minimalist fuselage , you can reduce it's weight simply by reducing it's "diameter" ( or crosssection if you prefer ). Because of a reduction in the amount of the surface area of a fuse it's quite possible to make a stronger fuse that's actually lighter !" In general, I agree with what Jim wrote, but I have some clarifications. A minimalist fuselage doesn't really offer much of an overall reduction in drag since the fuse is a small portion of an aircraft's drag budget. But, a properly designed and minimal cross section (big enough to hold all the needed equipment) will offer a reduction in adverse pitching moment. Making the fuselage section as thin as possible is the way to go for minimal pitching effects. Even with that said, my personal preference is to have a roomy fuselage. I've seen many designs that have focused too much on reducing the fuselage cross section to the point where it was difficult to get all the equipment mounted in a way that reduced the amount of nose weight (or allowed a larger battery). Jim touched on some facts about smaller cross section fuselages being lighter and possibly stronger. It goes without saying that having less of something is going to be lighter. But it doesn't necessarily mean that the item is going to be stronger. Actually, a larger diameter is structurally stronger as long as its walls don't prematurely buckle. What Jim is highlighting is that smaller cross section fuses can be stronger for a couple of reasons. Buckling of a fuselage sidewall is reduced as the curvature (radius) is reduced or the wall thickness is increased. For smaller fuses, both these factors add to the percieved strength. The problem I have observed for larger fuselages is that the wall thickness doesn't keep pace with the larger diameter and buckling failures occur. Trying to keep a larger section fuse as light as a small section fuse is asking for trouble. So I reiterate what Jim said with a little backup, smaller section fuselages are the way to go. Just don't make them too small or you will make the fuselage less functional. Martin Brungard Tallahassee, FL "Meandering to a different drummer" ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
