The “Angle of Attack” is also known as the flight path, or the angle of the wing as it relates to the air that it is flying through. The objective is to make your airplane fly for the maximum amount of time by forcing it to use both its wings, the front or “primary” wing and the horizontal stabilizer (or the “secondary” wing on the back of the plane). Once we make the tail carry some of the plane’s weight, this decreases the amount of weight that is carried by the wing. In order to obtain wing lift, the wing must be slightly angled in an upward position at its leading edge – or a “Positive Angle of Attack”. It is this angle, paired with the speed of the flight, which determines the plane’s lift. Remember, the greater the Angle of Attack, the greater the drag you will promote. Also, the angle will change or vary during the course of the plane’s flight. Remember that the goal is to:
 A.  Keep the Angle of Attack balanced so that when coupled with
 B.  The speed of flight we can therefore
 C.  Minimize drag to ultimately
 D.  Reduce the power required (rubber band width )to keep the plane flying or aloft. This lower power requirement is key because this will allow for a thinner rubber band (and therefore longer at 2 gr.) thus allowing the propeller to rotate longer. Consider these influential factors, which will directly affect your flight duration: “Angle of Attack”, the “weight of the model” and its “Center of Gravity” (C/G) and the “amount of turns in the motor”.

Factors to be Mindful of in Evaluating your Plane’s Flight

 1.  The plane has two wings: the Main Wing and the Second Wing (the horizontal stabilizer) or stab
 2.  During the plane’s flight, the Main Wing and the Second Wing work in tandem to keep the airplane aloft.
 3.  Your goal is to identify the aerodynamic balance or synergy; considering the actual force of the lift generated by the wing, as well as the weight carried by the stab in order to maximize lift, minimize drag, and thus maximize flight time.

Consider Each of the Following Factors and How They Affect Your Flight
 1.  Speed of Flight: Speed will vary throughout your flight. Initial torque of a fully wound rubber band will cause the propeller to turn faster, giving greater thrust (and thus faster speed). This increases the lift of both the main wing and the horizontal stab. If one of these surfaces lifts up its end of the airplane more than the other, you will see how it alters the flight path. You will also see that one wing lifting better than the other will pivot the whole airplane to a different angle. The trick is to adjust the decalage and the Center of Gravity so a smooth climb occurs at the beginning, and then as it slows down the tail will drop just a tiny bit to increase the Angle of Attack of the wing and will allow enough lift to continue its flight at this reduced speed. Adjust the Angle of Incidence of the tail by GENTLY bending the Tail Boom up, or a better approach is to diagonally cut the tail boom and re-glue it and to use clay or change wing location to alter the Center of Gravity which changes the Angle of Attack of the wing by altering the angle of flight.
 2.  Initial flight suggestion: Make a temporary “saddle” with the two small plastic wing mounts attached and hold it in place on the motor stick with small rubber bands (dental bands work well). Slide the “saddle” back and forth along the fuselage to find the best location for the wing. Vary the C.G. location, wing incidence, and tail/stab incidence to obtain the best flight.
 3.  Changing the Angle of Incidence: Changing the Angle of Incidence of the tail will be an important initial adjustment to get your airplane to fly well. This is relatively easy to do by carefully cutting the tail boom and re-gluing, or by very carefully cutting loose the stab and slightly shimming it for a different angle of attack.. Note: We suggest cutting the tail boom on a diagonal to increase the gluing surface. Just remember A SMALL CHANGE MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE! Bend the tail down (or cut and re-glue) for more positive incidence and to carry more weight. HOWEVER, this can cause the tail to rise which will DECREASE the Angle of Attack of the main wing and could cause the plane to dive! If the balance of the airplane was shifted rearward at the same time, this same setting may be OK because the extra weight on the tail surface will keep it from rising and the reduced weight on the main wing will allow it to lift its share at a reduced Angle of Attack. The main wing should be angled up (more positive incidence) a little more than the horizontal stabilizer. This is the Decalage and should be about 3 ½ degrees for MAXIMUM DURATION. Don’t be too conservative but make TINY CHANGES one at a time. Most airplanes are designed to allow for testing, experimenting and adjusting.
 4.  Moving the Center of Gravity: Moving the C/G is done by either adding external weight (such as clay) or by subtracting weight from the airplane (such as lightening the propeller or building a lighter tail). Moving the position of the clay ballast rearward will move the C/G back. This will cause your plane to fly at a nose higher Angle of Attack. However, if you combine this with adjusting either a higher Angle of Incidence of the Horizontal Stab (bend tail boom down) or a lesser Angle of Incidence at the Wing it can improve efficiency up to the point where stability and self-recovery is reduced to an unacceptable level. At this point, if the model hits an object during flight it will tend not to recover and may develop a prolonged dive towards the floor.
 5.  NOTE: See #2 “initial flight suggestions” (make a temporary wing saddle-avoid making your plane overweight by using modeling clay.