Slingsby T-46 under construction

[chris williams]

(i) Airbrakes are simple hinged surfaces. Should these be set in an enclosed bay, or do they just open into the wing with a rim seating? In other words how critical, or not, is the ‘sealing’ of the airbrake to the wing. I know it is a problem with airbrakes extending above and below the wing.

Either way will show no noticeable difference...


(ii) Is there some mechanism to protect the airbrake servo, or is it just a case of getting the travel exact so there is no load on the servo when closed?

You can make the spoilers so that they close lower than the surface of the wing, then you can trim the servo to make them flush...


(iii) The tabs within the ailerons. Are they included for scale appearance, or are they necessary surfaces for the ailerons to work effectively, in view of the wing shape/chord/aileron area? I see the T-21B does not have these!

The tabs are for scale purposes only...

(iv) Type of covering. The plan states use of heavy weight tissue, but doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. Is nylon too strong for open wing and tail construction? Modern coverings such as Solartex?

Solartex (or similar) is better and easier than any of the old-fashioned methods...

(v) Plan features a scale skid, which I note the Chris Williams larger scale version does not. Would the former just get ripped off when landing on anything other than mown grass?

It depends on which part of the T46's incarnation you are modelling. In it's early form the skid was open: later on it was covered with fabric. The latter can be much more simply and strongly represented with a solid skid... (There was only ever one T46, sometimes known as the T21c)

The full-size suffered a crash in recent years and was re-built (in Belgium, I think) and now sports a very nice red/white/blue colour scheme. There's a website somewhere detailing the re-build...

I built the M. Trew version some 35 years ago, and seem to remember that it flew quite well...

[chris williams]

Here you go, John...