Wing Waxing

[Marske Flying Wings]

I have often heard that wing waxing does not really help performance but
have never heard anything definitive but my own experiences with the Marske
flying wings lead me to believe that at least for the marske designs it
improves performance.

On our first flights in the Marske Pioneer we had upper and lower spoilers
and although it took some care to adjust the pitch when in use they worked
fine. Upon waxing the wing... just the upper surface, the pitch control
became eratic as the glider was very quick to gain airspeed. so we blocked
off the lower spoilers and corrected the difficulty in operating the
spoilers.

Recently just before our local contest I waxed the upper surface and part of
the lower surface to find that again pich control with the spoilers extended
was more difficult since the glider so easily picked up speed with any pitch
change.

Does anyone else have similar experiences?

-mat


--
Marske Flying Wings
http://www.continuo.com/marske

[Bob Mowry]

What happens if you try the stall test with the waxed wings.

Inquiring minds want to know :)

-bob

[Marske Flying Wings]

The unconventional slow speed in a stall attempt is still there. But I will
have another opportunty to try it again soon and record it more extensively
on video.

In the last few days I was able to hold the Marske Pioneer in the high angle
of attack position and rotate 360 degrees with holding the rudder fully to
the left. I also shifted the moveable weight around. If I enter the stall
too quickly the airflow detaches and I can only go to about 30 mph... but
with care I can go down to about 20 mph.

I wish in some way I was able to record the changes in the waxing this
season.... maybe I'll take the wax off at the end of the season and start
next spring to do some performance tests before and after waxing.

-mat.



"Bob Mowry" > wrote in message
om...
> What happens if you try the stall test with the waxed wings.
>
> Inquiring minds want to know :)
>
> -bob