Making Folded Winglets

Описание: James Omega, Nick, Nate, Squishy, and Tony from Flight Club showed us the way of the folded winglets and how they help improve the flight characteristics for the kind of slow gapping and chase we like to do.

These can be made out of a variety of materials. With the amount of crashing I do I have found that corrugated plastic sheets, ie Coroplast, works well. The technique of using EPP foam to help hold the fold that I show here has been the easiest method I have found. But, there are other ways to make them that some of the other Lost Wing folks like better and will be described in future videos.

Foam board that is then covered in packing tape also works well to make a lightweight very effective winglet. Tony has a great video on how to make them that way. See the link below.

I am sure there are many of other ways to make lightweight sturdy winglets. Please let me know in the comments!

I recommend making the winglet slightly longer than the chord at the tip of the wing. This helps to protect the elevons and seems to help with wingtip vortices. I believe there are specific formulas to guide size and angles of the winglets but I have found that trial and error is working pretty well to help me figure what is helpful for the type of flying I do.

I simply attach the winglet to the wing by making slits toward the back that I put strips of tape through to strap it to the wing. Then I attach the front of the winglet with a couple pieces of tape that go over the leading edge. This holds the winglet on very well but is also light and easy to remove for when I need to replace them. I do not use glue to hold them on. I first saw this method on combat slope soaring wings. Again, I crash a lot and rarely have my winglets fall off so it seems very effective.

You can buy the plastic sheets from Walmart, Amazon, sign shops, or simply wait for after an election and recycle those yard signs...

Tony's winglet video:    • winglets.  
How to use a hot wire to cut out a wing:    • Hot Wire Wing Cutting