Yet another vote for the Chrysalis.
With modern radio equipment, I'd say there's no need to go overboard
trying to save weight, because the wing is ENORMOUS. A stock C. with
submicro radio equipment will come in around 10 oz, which is around 3.5
oz/sqft. Extra effort to keep the tail light (V-tail, balsa longerons, CF
pushrods, vigorous sanding to get nice round edges and thin walls abaft)
will get it even lower.
(For wing loading, compare to 2.9 for Spectre, 4 for Spectre VR, 3 to 3.4
for Feather XL, etc... it's in the range of the best, just gets there by
being LARGER.)
I'd keep the fuselage. It's actually very pretty; the pics on DJA's
website don't do it justice. The front end is pleasantly sharky and the
aft is graceful. You might get a lighter plane by discarding it, but it
would lose its charm.
Do make an effort to keep the tail light. Go with the V-tail option.
The lightest thing is to paint it with 2 light coats of water-based
polyurethane. If you must cover it, choose an extra light material and
hog out some lightening holes as shown on the plan.
Because of the wing's open structure, don't go overboard trying to save
weight there. Use a full-strength film like Monokote. Use a transparent
covering with opaque trim in a complementary color; mine's yellow and
blue, and it's lovely! If you're hard on your airframes, extend the
front-side shear webs all the way to the bay one before the taper break.
You also might do well to CA a bit of fiberglass tape around the LE in the
center; this protects things from crushing loads in a dork landing. If
you do a bolt-on wing this isn't so much a problem, but for rubber bands
it's a great option.
Daniel O. Miller
BRAIN: Pinky! Are you pondering what I'm pondering?
PINKY: I think so, Brain, but why would Peter Bogdanovich?
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