As mentioned last time around the SZD Pirat was to be the subject of my recent endeavours. And in the fullness of time the job was done.
As usual there was the usual tussle between scale fidelity and practicality, the main focus of which was on the three-piece wing. Previous experience has shown that, on the slope especially, three-piece wings have some considerable drawbacks, the main one being the fact the centre section must be rigidly bolted to the fuselage. This means that in the event of an unplanned landing (i.e., when the lift suddenly goes AWOL) there is no longer the luxury of the absorption of untamed forces that is the gift of the rubber band and instead those same forces are free to savage the airframe instead.
Additionally,…
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RCM&E (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2022