Identification Help Please!

Post by **chris williams** » 06 Jun 2017, 07:03

Bud, that looks like an EON Olympia 463...plenty of info out there. Not likely to be a kit, I would have thought

https://www.mediastorehouse.com/eon-oly ... 57639.html

B Sharp · Post by **B Sharp** » 06 Jun 2017, 18:39

You are absolutely correct, it is a 1/5 Oly 463 from the Mike Trew plan. I built one from the same plans back in the 1980s and it was finished in the colour scheme of the club glider I few at Portmoak in the early 1970s. I subsequently built another one in 2008/9 to a scale of 1/3.5 which I still fly to this day.
My advice with your model is to keep it light and don’t slow it down in a turn or close to the ground. The full size 463 was known as “The Spin Machine” and both models have/had the same characteristics.
You will find the Richard Cawsey website invaluable for researching colour schemes for the Oly (and other makes of glider as well). You will find this at www.rcawsey.co.uk Just click on the listing titled “EoN 460/463/465 production” and up will pop a list of all the production aircraft and their relevant facts. Records which have a picture have their Reg. # shown in blue – click on the number to view.
Best of luck with your project.
Brian.

Post by **Peter Balcombe** » 28 Jan 2018, 20:37

Traplet did a 1/4 scale EoN465 which should now be available from Sarik Hobbies as they took over the Traplet plans and parts range.
Not sure how close this is to a 463 though.

Post by **Peter Balcombe** » 28 Jan 2018, 22:07

Sorry, just looked up the EON460-465 range & the 463 is rather different from the 465

Post by **VinceC** » 30 Jan 2018, 09:15

Cliff maybe able to help you with a kit of parts for the 463

Post by **Paul_Williams** » 01 Feb 2018, 18:32

Ah the spin machine myth.
I owned a 1:1 Oly 460 which has the same wing as the 463...... spin ? it was a pussycat.

The myth comes from the first couple of prototypes which had dreadful handling and the wing was redesigned.
The production 460 - has a fabric and stringer top rear fuselage, whilst the 463 had a fibreglass decking - both versions have powerful Frise nose ailerons which give a delightfully quick roll rate, although its somewhat short on rudder power. Easily resolved by leading in a tight turn with a boot full of rudder which can be reduced as the turn is established.

Yes it will spin but only if severely provoked in a turn at the sort of stupid speed you just KNOW is going bite you.
Everything then goes very silent and dead - no pre-stall buffett - just the disconcerting feeling that someone has removed all the control cables !!!!
THEN its spins quite impressively but completely normally.
BUT......... even at the last moment, just a few millimeters of forward stick unstalls it and everything is back to normal.

With its short fuselage, it also had the reputation of being a ground looper - WHY ? well again one of the first prototypes had a really embarrassing and very public mishap at the national championships in a strong crosswind gust. That's it........ In my experience, even as your average pilot, it just wasn't an issue but glider pilots are a conservative lot and these myths just won't go away.

So please let history remember the 460 / 460 as a real gem
Paul

B Sharp · Post by **B Sharp** » 02 Feb 2018, 19:15

You are absolutely spot on with that assessment Paul. However as a young, fairly inexperienced pilot who had just experienced a doom filled preflight briefing from the CFI, it scared the c**p out of me. Once airborne I thought she was "the bees knees" and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. However I was caught out on one or two occasions when I got too greedy in a thermal and let the speed drop off. Paul's analogy of the control cables disappearing is very appropriate.
The club machine that I was allowed to fly on nice days had two vertical chinagraph lines on the forward part of the canopy. On launch if the winch strayed outside these lines the instruction was to release the line IMMEDIATELY. Failure to do so could result in a ground loop. I saw this happen on a couple of occasions when the pilot thought they could retrieve the situation with a boot full of rudder.
Both of my 463s (1/5 and 1/3.5) displayed the spin in a careless turn characteristic. Neither has been winched and the big one gets aerotowed from the extreme nose so the ground loop is never a problem. The big one is a pleasure to fly so long as you give it a bit of respect.
Brian.

Post by **Paul_Williams** » 02 Feb 2018, 21:13

Hi Brian,
yup a lovely machine but it did have a strange vice that I have never seen written up.
The CFI was not best part pleased we had the Oly as he knew all the myths and assumed they were true. Our favourite instructor was delegated to check it out, which he did in grand style - best described as provoking it all over the sky !

After a thorough briefing to get about 3000ft and spin it, us four tyros took turns to fly it and managed a series of very sloppy looking launches, with the nose oscillating from side to side, slowly but uncontrollably. We were all a bit rattled but our star instructor was having lunch, so the duty instructor flew the Oly - returning after ten minutes ashen faced. Despite 15 years experience, the launch had really scared him. Instructor no 1 returned - launched again - no probs. We started flying - terrible launches - it seemed impossible to catch the yaw and stop it, one just tended to be behind the curve and amplify it.

Eventually were told to simply ignore it and stop worrying - result = perfect launches but we couldn't tell what we were doing differently.
Presumably it was caused by the short tail moment and hook position but as I say, I've never seen this documented.

Best moment - outclimbing my lightweight 8 stone instructor in a Ka.8, when I was flying the Oly -it was great in marginal lift
Paul

B Sharp · Post by **B Sharp** » 04 Feb 2018, 10:18

Paul. I can’t remember ever encountering directional instability on the launch, the Oly I flew went up the line straight as an arrow. I do remember that the offset hook position caused some anxiety and many people (including me) started their takeoff roll with a bootfull of left rudder. My main worry during launch centred around not rotating too early (“there lies an early death” said the CFI).
I also agree with you about its ability to climb and to use light lift and this is also true for my 1:3.5 model. On one occasion I had climbed out to 2,000 ft where my altitude alarm sounded. I rolled out and headed off in distance trim for the far horizon. However the lift was widespread and I had reached almost 3,000 ft before I hit any neutral or sinking air. On one occasion at Middle Wallop at about 5.00 pm I hit a large patch of gentle lift at about 250 ft on my approach. I turned into the lift and continued to circle for a further 10 minutes, never gaining or losing any height. Gentle circles and “don’t touch the elevator” was the key.
As you say, a great little aeroplane if treated with respect.
I have attached some photos of my Oly in its original colour scheme and its new scheme after a restoration a couple of years ago.
Brian.