An article in the AMA's 'Model Aviation' noted that you have an optional stronger wing spar design for winch launching. Will using the 3 piece wing weaken the winch launch capability and is this a separate item?

From : Don Stackhouse

Yes and no.

The stronger wing spar option involves adding 1/2" wide x .014" carbon to the tops of the upper inboard wing spar caps, and .007" carbon fiber to the bottoms of the lower inboard spar caps. The plug-in joints for the 3-piece wing are outboard of there, at the poly breaks. CST is a good place to get the carbon, it is not included in the kit. If there is enough demand, we could start stocking it, but quite honestly we would probably have to sell it for more than what you can buy it for from CST directly, just to cover the overhead and inventory costs it would incur. Other than the convenience issue of being able to order everything in one order, it's better for you if we just refer you to them for this material.

Now, a 3-piece wing is obviously not as strong or as stiff as one that's all in one piece. Also, extra carbon or not, the Chrysalis is a wooden sailplane. If you're expecting to be able to do full-pedal-to-the-metal launches with ridiculous zooms, I think you'd probably be better off with a different airplane. The Chrysalis will handle a winch launch. However, we do not claim that it will handle an abusive winch launch. Of course its thermalling and searching abilities are such that it really doesn't need to.

OTOH, the plug-in joints are halfway out on the wing, where the bending loads are far lower than at the root. That, and the advantage of not having to disturb the center section structure and the spoiler wiring is why we did it that way. The major loads are at the root, and by the time you get to the plug-in joints, all they have to do is support a couple of roughly 20" long tip panels, which isn't too difficult.

Don Stackhouse
DJ Aerotech