Wing Fences on Bostonians?

[dhable]

I've seen a few Bostonians with wing fences on the wing tips. Would that extra weight be justified in flight performance? Or do they just add a spiffy look to the plane?

[frash]

My reply is slightly controversial but may stimulate constructive discussion, I hope.

We are rapidly approaching the time when all span-limited, non-scale, FF duration events have flat wings with tip plates. In indoor FF duration, OlBill's F1M, LPP, Science Olympiad, and A-6 models are examples.

Yes, your flights times have a good chance of increasing with tip plates. I'm unsure about any other wing fences not at the tips.

Fred Rash

[OZPAF]

I think that's correct. They can effectively be similar to adding wingspan and also eliminate the need for dihedral. They have also been used on quite a few outdoor models - Squirrel, Backstrom "Big Cat" Embryo for example.

I do feel that they need to be more like wing tiplets though rather than fences. I can't prove this but feel they should be close to a wing chord in height to be effective.

John

[Olbill]

My reply is slightly controversial but may stimulate constructive discussion, I hope.

We are rapidly approaching the time when all span-limited, non-scale, FF duration events have flat wings with tip plates. In indoor FF duration, OlBill's F1M, LPP, Science Olympiad, and A-6 models are examples.

Yes, your flights times have a good chance of increasing with tip plates. I'm unsure about any other wing fences not at the tips.

Fred Rash

Oops!

Not my A6. Maybe someday.

[leop]

At this time, the most of the better F1L's and F1D's do not have vertical tip plates but rather dihedral wing tips or (elliptically) curved wings (and stabs for some).  We might see some other tip treatments during this year's flying.

LeoP