Scale Soaring UK

Well somebody had to start this thread and there is no chance whatsoever that this winters project is going to be complete before 2016.
There is no new build for me this winter. I have decided to do a full "back to wood" restoration of my EON Olympia 463. She was getting very tatty, sloppy and covered in patches and dings. She was my first "scratch built" glider and first flew in 2008. A lot of the problems have been caused by the covering method I used where I covered the whole airframe in heavy weight tissue and dope followed by glass cloth and epoxy to give strength. This has not been a good finish and has been easily punctured by heather landings and hanger rash.
After almost 8 years flying I have discovered numerous cracks, dodgy wiring, dodgy plugs and joints, tired servos, broken or loose hinges and bad dings to the airframe. The further I have stripped back the airframe the more faults have emerged.
Hopefully she will emerge next season fully restored and with a new colour scheme to boot and fit to fly for the next 8 years.
Brian.

Brian,

I remember doing the same with my K8 about 10 years ago while I had a wing tip repair to do. At that time she was about 18 years old and had done a lot of flying. What I found under the covering horrified me. A few of the flying surfaces came close to a complete rebuild they were so bad. Fortunately, just a lot of restoration did the job.

I think, with our models usually lacking the scale inspection points, models in this age bracket really need to be looked at more carefully.

Blimey, your landings must be worse than mine, Brian! Here's another scheme...

Yup, that's the one I was thinking off doing Chris - a change from red/white gliders.
Robbie - The Oly was still flying but had lost it's crisp response and just looked tatty (just like a club glider). It's a bit scary when you delve deeper and deeper into the structure. When I checked my log for the aircraft it has done a total of 112 flights and has spent 53 hours and 39 minutes in the air. That adds up to a lot of landings, especially the ones on my local hill which is far from smooth.
Brian.

Got more pics if you need 'em...

this should be finished for mid jan

5 mtr ka8b 1/3rd scale
cant go any bigger as running out of building room

After hopefully building my DG 808 I plan to build nothing at all and have a good rest from building. I may start to build some wood gliders instead in 2017 may be my T51

Brian, it's very comforting to see the world's neatest pin block again . I've been building my Skylark 4 for so long now that I may need to refurbish the bits that aren't yet finished - However, a concerted effort will be made to finish it next year.

MikeA wrote:'Brian, it's very comforting to see the world's neatest pin block again.................'

Yes, Brian does 'neat' very well.

I'm now building a 4.5 metre Skylark 3 from the John Elliot plan. Kit by Cliff Evans. See CAD and Drawing (re Kit)
Will start a build Thread shortly.
Clive

It seems that CW's RMS ailment is contagious - I've got this far with a larger (1: 3.5) version of the Swift.

Hi friends,

my Reiher III the 2.Modell
Here there is a video of my first Reiher III

http://www.oliver-theede-oldtimersegler.de/reiher.wmv

Best Regards Olli

A few years ago I embarked on a project of producing a couple of kits of a Fox and ASK 21 of about 45" wing span. I have had a few enquiries from flying buddies to resurrect production. Construction is abs fuz and foam veneered wings with servos already installed. If anyone is interested please drop me a line. Happy new year, Paul

Finish these and then there's a PT Vega to do.

Olli,

Some really nice ply sheeting there - impressed.

Smaller is not necessarily worse or second class Cliff. I built a 1/5 Swallow in 2014 and flew it often last year. It's a great little flier, very aerobatic, goes up on a whisper of lift, fits easily in my car and is no trouble to carry to the top of my hill - whats not to like!
Brian.

Nearly there!

A festive shot of my ASK21 fuz

Fabulous day at White Sheet today. (About bleedin' time too!!) We maidened Motley's big electricityfied K8 with great success. Very light wind, but reasonably consistent lift. What a magnificent beast the K8 is, bags of power and very practical, too. Mott's over the Moon and currently in orbit around Saturn...!

Bags of muscle that boy, You wouldn't think it weighed 36 lbs. What a clever lad that Chris Williams is, doing a one handed launch for me, on tip toe and still able to wave to some ramblers as they walk by !!!

Geoff

And it looked remarkably dry too

We were so excited (Scared), that we forgot to put the camera on the K8, however we did get some footage of Chris's Bergfalke. Full marks to CW for some amazing camera mounts, and having the courage (Stupidity), to fly with so little lift about.



BC

P.S. Although it did not rain, dry it was not.

The restoration of my Oly 463 continues apace but it has taken rather more time and effort than I had thought. The fuselage has been fully stripped, all the breaks and cracks repaired and the dings filled and smoothed. A new magnetic hold-down system has been created for the canopy and over-wing fairing. All the servos, pushrods and wiring has been replaced. The open section of the fuselage has been re-covered with Tex and the edges lost with grey primer. The fuselage is now ready for priming and painting.
The left wing and aileron is now stripped of it’s paint and rubbed down with wet and dry. The open sections have been stripped of their original coverings and sanded to a smooth finish. The aileron was originally operated by a standard servo mounted near the inner section with a pushrod operating a bellcrank to the aileron horn. Over time this has become sloppy and is now to be replaced with a thin servo driving direct to the horn. This has entailed digging holes in the wing to replace the existing system.
I originally thought that I could sand back all the surfaces with electric sanders and grit, however I was going through sheet of grit like there was no tomorrow. I finally resorted to paint stripper which was very messy but much more efficient.
Brian.

Hi Brian I am looking forward to seeing this finished. Best of luck with the restore :DD ROO

Ah, the first pin board viewing of the new year - always a treat!

Good work Brian I cant wait to see it finished. Ter

Likewise Terry, the work and the mess seems endless.
Brian.

The Oly 463 restoration is progressing although it is a slow process. The left wing has been re-wired, re-servoed, re-covered, re-filled, re-sanded and the “tex” edge lost with grey primer. It now just awaits a new coat of paint.
The right wing has now been fully stripped and sanded back with wet & dry. Surgery has been performed to open up access panels to remove the existing aileron servo and the actuating pushrod and bell crank.
Brian.

Started to revamp my pat teakle dart. Hopefully will be finished in the week. This is one of my favourite models to fly and is in need of some love and attention .

Finshed today

Very nice Roo.
Doesn't look as if fitted with flaps. How much does yours weigh?

Roo,
Do you ever sleep????????

BC

Not sure of the weight, but fly's in the lightest of lift, a great flier. As in the bon jovi lyrics. ( I sleep when I am dead )

Talking of Darts, I've been struck down with Repetitive 'Plane Syndrome again. Please, please don't tell Vince about the moustache

You are lucky Chris, Vince is on holiday

I hear Guernsey's nice?

Chris, with a moustache like that, you need to call it Dart-agnan

Chris - 36degrees and lots of thermals today. No need for a moustache here

Vince

It is 36 degrees(F) here and I have my thermals on !!!

AEB

john greenfield wrote:Vince

It is 36 degrees(F) here and I have my thermals on !!!

AEB

Not a good thought for this time of the morning....



BC

Hopefully ready for the weekend for test flight. .. weather permitting!

Hi all, had a quick sorte and flew like a house fly!

Really cute! I am seriously tempted. Cost?
Brian.

John Watkins wrote:£60 plus p&p... The graphics can be supplied for a small extra cost. Paul

Sorry.... Logged on my fathers page!

That little fox is sweet,,don't think iv got the eyes for it though blink and I'd loose it !!!!

I am up to my ears in glider work at the moment but I do really fancy that little Fox. I may well be back in touch later in the year.
Thanks, Brian.

I'll put 1 in the oven for you Brian! Paul

The larger Swift is now finished.

What Swallow is the picture of? It is surely not a swift!

Ah, but it could be!

The Swallow prototype ended up hanging from telegraph wires (hence its subsequent name of Swallow).

The damaged glider was rebuilt by John Reussner as the Swift - BGA 865 and was later modified by extending the span to 15M

I need to get out more...............

(Nice model by the way, William)

"The Swallow prototype ended up hanging from telegraph wires (hence its subsequent name of Swallow). "

So it IS a Scale manoeuvre !

Been there done that......

BC

We used to get congratulated for catching a wire !
FLY NAVY

Yes, but not a telephone wire Spike....

BC

If you look at the starboard wing root, the short parallel extension is visible, hence a Swift.

The Swallow that I used to fly at Portmoak touched down on top of a passing double decker bus on one occasion, would that make it a "Bluebird"?
Brian.

Trial rigging usually does! Well done, John

JohnW wrote:

Trial rigging shows some adjustments are required.

Very very nice.....love those side by side planes....

Very neat workshop.....Do you know Brian Sharp ?

AEB

Of course he doesn't John! You can plainly see that his tools are not even laid out in neat rows!!!
However, that's a very neat aeroplane John H.
Brian.

B Sharp wrote:Of course he doesn't John! You can plainly see that his tools are not even laid out in neat rows!!!
However, that's a very neat aeroplane John H.
Brian.

For crying out loud, just when you think it's all gone nice and quiet, someone sets him off!

I am beginning to think that building on Greenfield's might not be such a bad thing...............



BC

The Electro-Dart proceedeth...

Powered Aeroplanes Chris?
Next step I suppose will be a Tug?

Regards,

Tony.

How lucky is this? It turns out that the ventilation holes for the motor are almost 100% scale. With the prop removed, the model reverts to a scale glider, with just a few millimeters of the prop shaft on view... Of course, if I ever have to replace the front bearing...

Lovely day here in sunny England. The Dart has maidened, very successfully. No action pix due to my henchmen both being grounded, so you'll just have to take my word for it

Didn't you take some video with the hat cam????
Shame on you.



BC

I agree Barry, Shame on him indeed. However, well done Chris, it was never in doubt & looking really good too (not you CW the Dart)

Geoff

Good Lord! Someone has been in my workshop and nicked my Dart! Even worse, they've stuck a mustache on it.
Brian.

Well done Chris . I bet it attracts the fly's being yellow

Thoroughly enjoyed the Dart too...

Loving that Dart, Chris.

Spill the beans on the leccy bits then - which motor/prop/Lipo etc and what volts/amps/watts?

Also is it just a get-out-of-jail card to avoid landing-out on the slope or has it enough power to launch from the flat?

Looking forward to the video.

Rog

Turnigy G60 Brushless Outrunner 400kv
Turnigy Brushless ESC 85A w/ 5A SBEC
14/10 folding prop
2 x 3s Lipos

(From memory) 60 Amps, 850 Watts

The GOOJF card was the primary plan for those days when lack of lift might mean a descent into the Brown Area. Having said that, there seems to be a pretty decent R of C, so further testing will be necessary...

(From memory) 60 Amps, 850 Watts

We better check that next week. ????????????????

BC

My memory is like that too.

If it's 6s, that's about 22V, so either you've got

(a) ~60A giving 1,320W
or
(b) ~40A giving 850W.

...because Power = Volts x Amps

My guess is (a) as (b) would be marginal for a 20lb+ model.

Rog

Ah, it's a good job the Dart is just under 7Kg then...

7kg is an achievement! Did you join weightwatchers?

850W would give you 55W/lb which should be OK for modest climb. That's the same W/lb as my favourite model... cue gratuitous picture of it in the Lake District last week...

That looks like Lattrig Rog. Whats the model and how did you manage to get time off from the new profession?
Brian.

Well, the restoration of my EON Olympia 463 is finally complete. It has been a bit of a labour of love (and hate) at times but I have ended up with what looks like a new model. All the damage has been repaired, servos replaced, wiring and plugs replaced where necessary, stripped back and repainted in a new colour scheme. I recalculated the C of G using Antonia’s CG calc app and it came out a bit further back from previous, just on the front edge of the spar to be precise. This has allowed me to remove some lead from the nose and the finished model in now just a tad over 7 kg. Only the first flight will tell whether this is Ok or not.

The only thing I regret is having used 2K Acrylic Car Paint, made to order in 400 ml rattle cans. The spray density was much denser than I am used to and has produced an “orange peel” effect, not only that but it has steadfastly refused to harden up. It has left a surface which is dry but soft to the touch and susceptible to fingerprints, even after 4 weeks.

However all this work will hopefully extend the life or this model for several more years.
Brian.

Oly looks as good as new! What a characterful fuselage profile and so seldom modelled.

My model's an ASH25-inspired homebrew with 4-piece Alpina wings and a 2-piece fus I moulded in kevlar many years ago. You're right it is Lattrig, and the finest conditions I've flown there: big juicy late afternoon thermals wafting up from Keswick until gone 7pm. One of those perfect sessions which you can live off for months! I'll have to - back into term time on Monday.

For info, I flew this model from Lattrig to the top of Skiddaw the previous day, a difficult 3 mile climb with your neck craning sideways to keep track of the model. There was snow/ice on top, the wind had risen to 30mph and low cloud threatened to swallow my model. I realised I was having no fun - my fingers were freezing and I was about to lose the model, so I picked the biggest snow drift on the rocky summit ridge and plonked her down with no real damage. My plans to continue the XC flight North along the ridge to the top of Bassenthwaite for an overall distance of 9 miles, were way too ambitious. The scramble down from the top needed hands as well as feet. May look into a gyro for next time. I think there's a few Lake District hills where a 10 mile XC should be possible given the right conditions + the GOOJ card of a leccy motor.

Here's another photo with Helvellyn in the background.

Best wishes to you and yours,
Rog

B Sharp wrote:Well, the restoration of my EON Olympia 463 is finally complete. It has been a bit of a labour of love (and hate) at times but I have ended up with what looks like a new model. All the damage has been repaired, servos replaced, wiring and plugs replaced where necessary, stripped back and repainted in a new colour scheme. I recalculated the C of G using Antonia’s CG calc app and it came out a bit further back from previous, just on the front edge of the spar to be precise. This has allowed me to remove some lead from the nose and the finished model in now just a tad over 7 kg. Only the first flight will tell whether this is Ok or not.

The only thing I regret is having used 2K Acrylic Car Paint, made to order in 400 ml rattle cans. The spray density was much denser than I am used to and has produced an “orange peel” effect, not only that but it has steadfastly refused to harden up. It has left a surface which is dry but soft to the touch and susceptible to fingerprints, even after 4 weeks.

However all this work will hopefully extend the life or this model for several more years.
Brian.

Hi Brian,
Your pilot looks very content, must be your smooth flying? I presume you've flown it!

Geoff

The Oly 463 looks great, Brian, I like the 465 even better and have a plan. Do I recall correctly that you said it's a bit of a beast to fly? My latest is a 1/4 scale Arsenal Air 100, framework photos attached.

Thanks for the compliments William. Yes it can be a bit of a handful if you let the speed drop off, especially in a turn. The full size was sometimes known as "the spin machine" and the model has exactly the same tendency.
I do like your new ship, it looks very tidy indeed. It's not a glider that I know anything about, whats the history?
Brian.

I love Brian's Eon 463 but I was a bit surprised to hear that it can be a handful in a slow turn.

Brian is quite right to say that the type had a reputation for stalling/spinning and even swinging on take-off.

However, when I was looking for a 1:1 sailplane, the 463 attracted me because of the low weight of its wings (much kinder your back when rigging - compared to the hefty centre sections of the Skylark series) and the ability to put both wingtips on the ground when rigging. Despite dire warnings, I did a little research and discovered these tales were true but only related to the prototype Eon 460's.

The original wing section gave a poor performance in addition to some nasty habits. I've lost my original notes but the prototype disgraced itself at a competition when it swung alarmingly on a slow launch.

The wing was completely designed and a small series of Eon460's were built with fabric and stringer top decking - the later 463 had a wood or fibreglass top deck, whilst the 465 had a slightly shallower fuselage and the excellent Frise ailerons were replaced with lower drag top hinged units.
None of these had any problems.

When my syndicate 460 was brought on site, our favourite instructor made the initial flight and 'provoked it all over the sky'.
He landed with a big grin and said it was one of the nicest gliders he had flown, without any real vices, although the stall/spin characteristics were a little different to what we had been flying. So with a briefing to climb to 3000 feet and then do some stalls and spins, off we went in turn.

The 460 was a delight - the controls were very light and responsive, with a fast roll rate and the performance was much better than its chunky shape suggested. Stalls were a non event, except that there was no real pre-stall buffet. Everything went very quiet, then there was a slightly alarming feeling that the controls had all been disconnected ! However the slightest forward movement of the stick immediately returned things to normal.

If provoked into a spin, one again had the disconcerting dead feeling and the wing dropped smartly but recovery was a complete non event - I recall the spin not being as deep as Bocian for example.

The glider would fly remarkably slowly and I out-climbed an instructor who was in a Ka.8, in a weak thermal at about 30kts. There was never any tendency to 'bite'
Because the ailerons were so powerful, it was slightly under-ruddered and to start a thermal turn it was better to lead with a bootfull of rudder.

Amusingly I have never seen reference to its only alarming quirk. On a winch launch the nose would swing side to side 10-15 degrees and no amount of rudder input seemed to stop it. Yet after a few flights this phenomenon vanished - except a for a curious instructor who flew it once and was very alarmed !

So whilst only the prototypes had problems but the reputation of the 460/463/465 remains unfairly maligned - such a shame as they are lovely machines.
Paul

Absolutely right Paul. I was eventually allowed to fly the clubs Oly 463 on good days, with no cross wind and if I had been a good boy and kissed the correct posterior. There were always dire warnings about rotation speed on the winch, and approach speeds. There were two vertical china-graph pencil marks on the canopy and if the distant winch strayed outside those lines I was to abort the tow otherwise I would screw myself into the ground. I enjoyed flying the Oly very much but I scared myself an a couple of occasions when I got it a bit too slow in a thermal turn and entered an unexpected spin. I always found the approach a tense time and was always wary of holding off too long on the flair as It could drop out of the sky without warning.
However my restored Oly 463 has now been flown this morning for the first time. The more rearward C of G now located on the main spar is just fine and the models handling is better than it has been for several years. Control is very crisp, the landing is a dawdle and it looks very different in the air with it's new colour scheme. Hopefully I will have it in my collection for many years to come.
Proof of flight is provided below.
Brian.

Coming soon to a slope near me...the E-Bergie 4! (Brian, I hope you've noticed the supreme effort I made to tidy my shop?)

I take it that this is the "before" photo Chris?
Brian.

Progress with Jim Owen 1/3rd scale Swallow.
Trying to attach image but get http error when I open the file to be attached. What Gives?

Roger,

I have just had notice regarding the latest forum software update (I won't be applying it just at the minute), part of which addresses some bugs in the post attachment area which might be responsible for your problem.

In the meantime, I have sent you an email.

As Cliff says, there is a file size limit on attachment posting which is 15MB.

Hi Brian,
great to hear that your refurbed model (dead smart by the way) s handling better.

However I'm intrigued with your different experience flying the 463.
Landing my 460 was a non event, no different from anything else.
It never bit me when thermalling and that included trying climb above a T21 (they always seem to get higher in any given thermal),circling at stupidly low speeds with almost no bank whilst gently turning with mostly rudder - I know that sounds counter intuitive but it worked !

It does make me wonder if there were any differences between the 460 and 463 wing that I'm not aware of ?
Sadly mine was one of those affected by the delaminating metal spar booms and had to be scrapped as there was (then) no sign of a mod being approved.

May you have many happy hours with your model.
Paul

What scale / size is your SB13 Rosco ??
Vey much intrigued.
Scale wing sections ????

Paul

Rosco,
that will make an interesting and impressive model.
I look forward to some build photos and a flight test report.
Paul

So Rossco,
Can we assume that you have finished and flown, that big 22???



BC

Never Assume !

Well, we know it does fly...

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The E-Bergie progresseth...

Painting soon then.....



BC

I find the foam that TV's are packed in is good for pins, easy to push in to, grip well and can help keep them clean.
Chris.

The Air 100 finally completed.

William, that's a beauty.

Don't forget the maiden photos.

Nice...!

Nice model William. Is your hangar getting full?

Some photos of the maiden flight of the Air 100 this morning.

Just about ready for covering, with the assistance of Santa's little helper... AUW 10lbs so far, with motor, and the CG roughly in the right place

So, 23 Lbs with it in the right place than...



BC

Roberto Pelaschiar sent me this video link to the maiden flight of his friend Rado Lenardon's HW-4 Flamingo. He says: 'My friend Rado and I live in NE of Italy on the borderline of Slovenia in a beautiful city Trieste . The slope in the video is in Slovenia about 30km far from Trieste the name of the hill is Vremscica: it is a very beautiful place for our glider.'


[youtube][/youtube]

A quick foray with the E-Bergfalke at WS today, before rain stopped play. (Krapp forecast again!)

Excellent day @ WS yesterday, containing as it did, the maiden of Motley's E-Bergfalke 4...

Congratulations on the maiden Motley, looking forward to seeing it on Sunday (weather permitting).
Also liked the video from Roberto and Rado, looks like a great place to fly.

Thanks Steve, get that launching arm ready.

Geoff

This Zug (Zugvogel IIIa) was the forerunner of the SF27/Topaze, and is being built to the same 1:3.5 scale as my Topaze. (Sorry, I mean ex-Topaze)

Details on our website here: http://www.scalesoaring.co.uk/VINTAGE/D ... vogel.html

My current project is a 1/4 Kranich 2, some pics of progress so far.

Looking like your usual high standard William.

1st rig during a short gap in the rain

chris williams wrote:1st rig during a short gap in the rain

Scheibe Zugvogel

Yes, H-J, Zugvogel III

Are you going to tow it up with the Titan????



BC

The Kranich is now completed, and I'm especially pleased that was able to pull the canopies using a vac former that I made. Maiden probably next Sunday.

Lovely subject William. Good luck

The Zug is now ready for covering... (Hurrah for the Skylark canopy)

Aagh. shamed by that patio - again!!

Don't worry, Mike...I didn't build the patio

chris williams wrote:The Zug is now ready for covering... (Hurrah for the Skylark canopy)

S U P E R !!!

WilliamH wrote:The Kranich is now completed, and I'm especially pleased that was able to pull the canopies using a vac former that I made. Maiden probably next Sunday.

William
Will you be taking it to Langabaan in November ? I will be there as I am in SA at that time.

AEB

Hi John, The Kranich will definitely be there, as it was built for Dave Allem, who's organising the event.

William

William

Look forward to seeing you, David and the Kranich there.

Regards

AEB

Luc Meneguz in France has modified my Kite 2a plan to produce this gorgeous looking Gull 4. The Gull shares most of the fuselage frames of the Kite...

Lovely Workmanship

And he really got the colours to match.

BC

...and this from Tomáš Váňa, who's Rhonsperber is coming along nicely...

Zugvogel now close to Mission Ready status...

Ah, pretty as a picture Chris, only twice as pretty coz there's 2 pictures.

Geoff

Maybe he has built two, it has taken him long enough.....

BC

Here is another from the Scheibe/Chris Williams series, my Spatz (or Sparrow).

Its progressing nicely and is what I would call an easy build, just a small amount of fettling here and there.
The plan has been quite accurate so far (thanks Chris !)
Plenty of duct tape to keep it together on the jig !

DN

I can't believe it! I finally finished and flew the 5M Skylark 4B on which Barry Cole had already done all the hard work. Maiden flight plus 6 more at Middle Wallop last week and it flew like a dream

Nice one Graham!
Brian.

It certainly did...!

Motley's getting his TG3 at last...

A side project I have started a cmpro discus. I found this stored away from 7 years ago. It was a good flyer but keeps cracking the fuz. So I have re glassed the fuz and a new steel wing joiner. Also motor and folding prop. I thought this would make a nice model to walk to my local field and fly.

The Zug got her maiden today in somewhat foggy conditions. It consisted of a very tight 360 and a landing, enough to establish she's a keeper.
Smallpiece got so excited he flew his Duster, subsequently shouting 'whereizzit, whereizzit!'

Chris, congratulations on yet another superb model. Unfortunately it has yet another moustache, but I came across this video today of an ingenious system of easy prop removal to maintain scale appearance when not in use. Sorry, it's not in English, just persevere



The website for orders is

http://leomotion.com/pi.php/LeoFES-FES- ... -link.html

Thanks, Vince, but I have my own system for preserving scale appearance... (Oh, and a 13mm spanner!)

Proper maiden for the Zugvogel at White Sheet this afternoon. Thanks to Smallpiece for the pix

chris williams wrote:Proper maiden for the Zugvogel at White Sheet this afternoon. Thanks to Smallpiece for the pix

P E R F E C T

auch bei Facebook gefällt der Zugvogel sehr!



Gruß
Hans-Jürgen

I'm building Chris Williams' 1/3 T31. Does anyone know if the flat aft part of the bottom of the fuz. is open structure or ply covered? I've asked Chris and he remembers it as being open, but is not 100% sure.

William Hoek