Page 1 of 1

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101**

Posted: 26 Mar 2018, 07:00
by Lawrie P
Hello,
Lawrence Prest here.Finally remembered my user name and password. Last year I built the ASK 18 from the Jilles Smits plan and short kit cut by a local supplier here in Queensland and having got it flying nicely,( we can only aerotow here in Townsville, no slopes for miles around), I mentioned to Jilles that I was on the look out for another build for this year and he mentioned that he had just finished the plans for the Pws101. I checked it out on the web and ordered a short kit.
What you see in the photos is the fuselage dry fitted together but the tail feathers are glued and will be finished up to the covering stage before proceeding too far with the fuselage.
Lawrie P.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 11 Apr 2018, 02:02
by Lawrie P
Tail feathers are nearly ready for final sanding and covering.Now it will be back on with the fuselage.
IMG_3210.JPG
IMG_3211.JPG
IMG_3213.JPG
IMG_3214.JPG
IMG_3223.JPG
IMG_3224.JPG
IMG_3209.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 23 Apr 2018, 10:20
by Lawrie P
Wing joiner tubes have now been sorted out and fitted so now fuselage can be prepared for sheeting. Stringers being fitted, Elevator pushrod is now sorted. Tow release is next in line. Wing tubes are 3/4 inch aircraft alloy tubing which will have a hardwood dowel made and glued in full length of the tube. Nose cone is 3D printed and after the tow release tube is fitted and fixed through the cone it will be removed off the fuselage and filled with lead. So far so good. All parts going together very nicely.
1.JPG
2.JPG
3.JPG
4.JPG
5.JPG
6.JPG
7.JPG
8.JPG
9.JPG
10.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 28 Apr 2018, 21:35
by Lawrie P
Here are some more photos of progress. Elevator servo and pushrod is all sorted. 60mm of travel up and down as shown in photos. Tow release is all fitted up and a brass tube fitted through nose cone which is now filled with lead and weighs 572 grams and still needs filling with epoxy resin. also made a ballast box which will be glassed inside and out and will hopefully carry at least a kilo of lead. With these little jobs out of the way i can now finish preparing the fuselage for sheeting, with 3mm balsa at least down to the bottom stringer.
1.JPG
2.JPG
3.JPG
4.JPG
5.JPG
6.JPG
7.JPG
8.JPG
9.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 07 May 2018, 00:36
by Lawrie P
Cracking on with the sheeting now. The large flatter area's will be covered with fitted sheeting and the more curvier area's will get fitted planks.
I will fit as much as i can while its on the board. Thoughts are already turning towards the wings. I will have to make my building board about a metre longer i think. Really enjoying this build and the challenges it brings up.
IMG_3272.JPG
IMG_3271.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 16 May 2018, 06:44
by Lawrie P
Top sheeting is now all fitted down to the bottom stringer. I dont think the fuselage will change shape now so it will be safe to remove it from the building board. Bottom of fuselage will now be prepared for planking. Once the fuse is ready for glassing i will put it aside and make a start on the wings. Happy days......
IMG_3291.JPG
IMG_3286.JPG
IMG_3288.JPG
IMG_3289.JPG
IMG_3292.JPG
IMG_3293.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 26 May 2018, 10:26
by Stuart Ward
This build looks very good.
I'm not so sure I would use the plastic push rod for the elevator. They are not very positive. You might find that you have false centering. They also have issues with changing centre as the temperature changes.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 27 May 2018, 06:21
by Lawrie P
Hello Stuart,
Nice to see someone is observant. Way down the back of the fuselage there is a 2.5mm od brass tube fitted each to guide the pull, pull wires for the rudder. The red snake tubes you can see in the photos are only temporary. They fit over the ends of the brass tubes and run all the way to the rudder servo space and will guide the rudder wires through the fuselage so they dont take any wrong turns as i feed them in from the back end. After the wires are in place the red snakes will be pulled out. Fuselage is all sheeted now so i will post some more photos sonn.
Lawrie.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 31 May 2018, 06:43
by Lawrie P
Hi all, here are some more photos. The fuselage is now all sheeted and planked. There is a little bit of filling to do and then some sanding. Anybody here enjoy sanding.......
Now its on to the wings. As designed, each wing panel is 2.6 mtrs long which is a bit to big for me to transport and not to easy to store away, so after a lot of thought and a few emails to Jilles i have decided to join the wings just outboard of the gull section just where the ailerons start. It makes for a bit more work and a bit more weight but for me it will be worth it in the long run. The timber stringers you can see on the bench are of Hoop Pine which is a local timber to Queensland with very similar qualities to spruce. The are full length, 12mm * 6mm and taper from the clamp you can see down to 3mm at the tip. I also pre bend them by soaking over night and bending into a jig and left to dry for a few days. While this was happening i was busy pre fitting the ribs to the ply spars, some were a bit tight, and also the front ply spar needed chamfering to match the contour of the ribs.The ply spars have build tabs on them to stand up on so i spent quite some time making sure the bench was nice and straight and no twists.
Once that was done i could then start to dry fit the ribs to spars standing things up as i worked along the wing, which is as you see it now. The whole structure just sitting there on the bench. I will now fit jig supports to the build tabs to hold everything straight. Each rib can the pulled of in turn and glue applied where needed and slipped back into place. Sheeting the top and bottom of the wing back to the main spar will be an interesting exercise.
Lawrie.
IMG_3301.JPG
IMG_3300.JPG
IMG_3324.JPG
IMG_3327.JPG
IMG_3341.JPG
IMG_3340.JPG
IMG_3342.JPG
IMG_3344.JPG
IMG_3346.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 18 Jun 2018, 01:44
by Lawrie P
The left hand wing continues to come together. Top timber spar, trailling edge and leading edge are all glued up and work started on the air brakes.
Fitting all those balsa blocks at the leading edge took some but i think is a good way to end up with an accurate profile for the airfoil shape.
When i built the Ask 18 last year it has one long piece of balsa shaped to profile and even though i made a couple of templates to get the shape it left me wondering if i did'nt get the radius correct all the way along the leading, what effect would it have on the rest of the airfoil shape????
IMG_3370.JPG
IMG_3371.JPG
IMG_3376.JPG
IMG_3377.JPG
IMG_3377.JPG
IMG_3378.JPG
IMG_3379.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 23 Jun 2018, 06:46
by Lawrie P
This week has seen me preparing the top of wing for sheeting with .4mm ply, and then the last couple of days fitting and glueing the sheeting into place. This morning i put the saw through the spars to separate the two halves, and now it will be on with the incidence pins and preparation of the bottom of wings for sheeting.
IMG_3382.JPG
IMG_3383.JPG
IMG_3388.JPG
IMG_3389.JPG
IMG_3390.JPG
IMG_3391.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 11 Jul 2018, 08:12
by Lawrie P
Hello from down under,
Some more progress at last. I have been busy doing other things,(I had forgotten there are other things in life apart from building scale gliders, B****r).
Anyway, I have made and fitted the wiring looms in each wing panel and checked and double checked the servos working about a dozen times so all is good there which has enabled me to finalize the joining of the wing panels. Air brakes are going together and this afternoon I got the aileron pieces out of storage and on to the bench.
IMG_3402.JPG
IMG_3401.JPG
IMG_3400.JPG
IMG_3398.JPG
IMG_3397.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 12 Jul 2018, 22:43
by Lawrie P
Thanks Cliff.
Definitely a labour of love is this one, and looking forward to seeing it finished and flying.How is the canopy going. Im still some way off needing it, but if it was here i would be taking time out to admire it and it would inspire me to make the canopy frame.
Cheers.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 13 Jul 2018, 08:41
by Barry_Cole
Cliff Evans wrote: ↑13 Jul 2018, 08:03 Canopy will not be long!
It will need to be fairly long or it will not fit....

;) ;) ;) ;)

BC

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 17 Jul 2018, 07:25
by Lawrie P
Hi Guys,
The last few days has been all about the ailerons and air brakes. Parts going together very nicely. All the large sheeting is done on the wings, so now its down to the gussets and rib caps so the wing panels have gone from the bench to the table for the fiddley stuff to be fitted and on to bench this afternoon with the parts for the right hand wing. I wont bore you with the same photos again for the righthand side but will chime in now and again with a couple of the caps and gussets.
Cheers
Lawrie.
IMG_3412.JPG
IMG_3413.JPG
IMG_3414.JPG
IMG_3416.JPG
IMG_3426.JPG
IMG_3427.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 05 Aug 2018, 07:40
by Lawrie P
G,day Guys,
Im still here.Got a little bit going on. The right hand wing panels are taking shape.
Also the canopy frame coming together. Still needs a bit more whittling and shaping but so far so good. This coming week will see me starting to sheet the top of the wing while its still fixed to the building board. This is the first time i have built a gull wing glider and using this method as shown in the photos has really made it easy for me. Those of you out there who have built these before will already have their favorite methods, so how does this method compare.
IMG_3448.JPG
IMG_3447.JPG
IMG_3446.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 22 Aug 2018, 00:12
by Lawrie P
Hello everyone,
The right hand wing panels are getting closer to completion and as a motivational exercise i put the fuse and wings together to get a good look at the beautiful lines and shapes closely watched by the boss lady in the back ground. The two pieces of shapely ply will go together to form up the base for the seat. They are the last two bits left to go. Next job will be to finish off the gussetts and rib caps. Cheers.
IMG_3475.JPG
IMG_3474.JPG
IMG_3473.JPG
IMG_3468.JPG
IMG_3469.JPG
IMG_3470.JPG
IMG_3471.JPG
IMG_3453.JPG
IMG_3452.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 22 Aug 2018, 09:06
by VinceC
That is going to be a stunning model. Congratulations on your build and to Jilles for yet another master plan

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 17 Sep 2018, 05:08
by Lawrie P
Thank you Cliff for reposting these photos. They show all the construction work to be finished and now its down to all the preparation work for covering and painting. The fuselage just needs fillets adding and it will be ready for glassing with 1.5oz glass cloth and 6oz cloth around the nose. The glue you can see in the bottle is all thats left from those two, plus iv'e used about 300grams of epoxy.
Lawrie.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 01 Oct 2018, 10:00
by Lawrie P
A little more progress being made. I have to admit that this phase of the build is not one of my favorite pastimes but it has to be done and I don't know anyone that will do it for me. So, I will glass and prepare for painting back to the masking tape you can see on the wing, top and bottom. I will then mask up the open structure and apply the first coat of primer. Then I will remove masking and the tape and prepare the open structure for covering with solartex. Once covered the covering be masked up and the join blended in and undercoats and top coats applied. Sounds easy when its written like this but the reality of it is it will probably take me 3-4 weeks to do what I have just written in 2 minutes.
Happy days.

Fuselage is all glassed up
Fuselage is all glassed up
Starting to glass bottom of wings
Starting to glass bottom of wings
All glassed up back to the masking tape
All glassed up back to the masking tape
First fill coat applied to fuselage
First fill coat applied to fuselage
Sanding will be done with 120 grit paper
Sanding will be done with 120 grit paper
Hopefully only one more coat will be needed
Hopefully only one more coat will be needed

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 27 Oct 2018, 08:02
by Lawrie P
Hello everyone.
The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. Covering is now down to the ailerons and the elevators. Painting is almost finished, just have to finish the fuselage and the canopy frame. Hopefully the canopy will be done soon. I would like to have the canopy fitted but not attached to the frame before I paint it. 101 other little jobs to finish as well but we're getting there. Cheers
R/Hand outer wing panel waiting for its ailerons
R/Hand outer wing panel waiting for its ailerons
Inner wing panel waiting for masking up and final paint job
Inner wing panel waiting for masking up and final paint job
Outer panel coming together
Outer panel coming together
Rudder's all done and ready for hinges and control horn
Rudder's all done and ready for hinges and control horn
Wing covering is well under way. Love this Solartex.
Wing covering is well under way. Love this Solartex.
Fuselage is nearly ready for its top coats.
Fuselage is nearly ready for its top coats.
Little Tilly just has to get in the picture somewhere.
Little Tilly just has to get in the picture somewhere.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 31 Oct 2018, 07:08
by Lawrie P
Hi,
Here are another two. I couldn't resist putting some of it together this afternoon. The tail parts were still a bit sticky, so left them in the shed. Wasn't really sure about the dark red but it 's growing on me.All the moving parts are ready for hinges to be glued in. That will happen over the next couple of days.
Getting there
Getting there
It's growing on me.
It's growing on me.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 31 Oct 2018, 08:37
by VinceC
Wow!. Watching wit excitement β™₯

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 31 Oct 2018, 08:48
by Barry_Cole
Nothing like a witty watch??

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

BC

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 31 Oct 2018, 16:00
by Martin G
Blimey Cliff,

That didn't take very long.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 31 Oct 2018, 19:46
by Barry_Cole
Martin G wrote: ↑31 Oct 2018, 16:00 Blimey Cliff,

That didn't take very long.
Friends in high places....

;) ;) ;) ;)

BC

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 01 Nov 2018, 05:01
by Lawrie P
Wow, look at that. Cliff has straightened the photos and made me a canopy. Your a legend mate, thank you. Your efforts will be much appreciated by me and hopefully many more.
Cheers.
Lawrie.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 18 Nov 2018, 23:10
by Lawrie P
Hello Cliff,
Yeah. Paid by Paypal on the 5th Nov. On the 15th i emailed Barry to ask for a date that the canopy was sent but haven't heard anything back from him yet. I'm looking forward to seeing it finished as well. I have the C/G all sorted. Radio is all programmed up. Paint work is curing nicely. Weather is warming up, 31c yesterday at our flying field. I don't mind the waiting time as it gives me an opportunity to tidy up the shed a little before messing it all up again with another build. First up will be a storage/travelling box for the PWS and then a non scale Leprechaun glider which i will electrify.
Cheers
Lawrie.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 20 Nov 2018, 23:59
by Lawrie P
Hey, i'm excited. The canopy has arrived. Many thanks to Cliff and Barry. It looks very good.
Photos to follow when some progress is made.
Cheers.
Lawrie.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 28 Nov 2018, 02:42
by Lawrie P
Here are a few more photos to bring the build almost to the finish line. The Canopy was the job to finish off. Thank you to Cliff and Barry for a wonderful job. I would like to thank Stuart Ward from NZ for his concern about the red snaky tubes visible in the early stages of the fuselage construction. They have served their purpose of guiding the pull-pull wires through the fuse up to the rudder servo and have now been removed. I have to say that I have really enjoyed this build. In the main it has gone together very well. Parts were cut very nicely and slotted together with a minimum of sanding and filing. The gull wing construction was a first for me and i'm hoping I have engineered the join in the wings sufficiently. I feel confident they will be good enough. It wont be a speed machine and hopefully it wont ever be doing snap rolls and loops.
I am hoping to fly it this weekend coming. Its 41C outside right now and a fair bit warmer in the shed so its not real conducive to modelling at the moment. Anyway i am hoping we can get an early start on Sunday with the aerotowing and get in a couple of flights before it warms up too much.
I'll keep you posted.
Lawrie.

12mm*3mm alloy skid fitted to help with model preservation at our field.
12mm*3mm alloy skid fitted to help with model preservation at our field.
Red snaky tubes have guided the pull-pull wires through the fuse and are now coming out.
Red snaky tubes have guided the pull-pull wires through the fuse and are now coming out.
Canopy has arrived and part of the frame in the background. The two wire hooks you can see will allow for a gentle squeeze to get canopy on and off
Canopy has arrived and part of the frame in the background. The two wire hooks you can see will allow for a gentle squeeze to get canopy on and off
Marking out for the internal framing. Black lines can be seen from inside to allow careful placement of framework which has been pre shaped and painted.
Marking out for the internal framing. Black lines can be seen from inside to allow careful placement of framework which has been pre shaped and painted.
Internal frame parts ready to fit.
Internal frame parts ready to fit.
And here she is. Already to go at 12kgs
And here she is. Already to go at 12kgs
I'm quite happy with the canopy. Doesn't look too bad
I'm quite happy with the canopy. Doesn't look too bad
If you want to know what the colours are, I call the Cab Sav and Sav Blanc. Cheers. Hic
If you want to know what the colours are, I call the Cab Sav and Sav Blanc. Cheers. Hic
Rubber bands hooked through from the right hand wing and slipped onto left wing as it slides on.
Rubber bands hooked through from the right hand wing and slipped onto left wing as it slides on.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 28 Nov 2018, 09:08
by VinceC
What a gorgeous model. Congratulations

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 28 Nov 2018, 10:41
by B Sharp
Oh, I really do like that aeroplane. Well done!
Brian. :)

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 02 Dec 2018, 23:24
by Lawrie P
Well finally after nearly 9 months of fun and games the PWS takes to the air and goes up where she belongs. After putting it together and checking everything to make sure the control surfaces were going in the right directions, for about the hundredth time, did a range check, the tug pilot was ready so it was out to the flight line, hook up the tow line and before I knew what was happening, it was away. It was airborne after about 8 metres and going up like it was on rails. It felt rock solid on the tow and all I had to do was stand there and watch and let the tug do its work. At about 250 metres I released the tow line and straight away I could see it start to slow down so pushed in a little down to pick up the speed and then pushed in 5 clicks of down trim and that was it. She floats around very nicely, will pick up speed if you need it and will slow down without any sign of tip stalling. Control surfaces are working just fine. Ailerons are very positive, they are very big, and go up 25mm with 50% diff and 50% expo. Elevator is nice and positive. It goes up 60mm, down 50mm with 50% expo. Rudder is 60mm left and right with 50% expo and mixed with a switch to ailerons to 70%.
It doesn't take too long to assemble, hooking the wings together is the fiddley bit, but it can be ready to fly in about 10-12 minutes which is fine by me.
I had thought about making up a small 2 wheel dolly for it to take off on but it was not needed in the end. The tug with a DA 120 up front had plenty of power to haul her up off the ground.
Landing was long and flat. it does float on, the air brakes do slow it up but not in a great hurry so care is needed. If you use down elevator to lose height you will also pick up speed and float on even more. I was landing into a light cross wind which doesn't help to slow things down so a head wind would the preference but not an option on the day because our cross strip, where the wind was is quite a bit shorter with a steeper approach. After the first landing and carrying back to the pits, it does take 2 people to carry with hands under the join in the 2 wing panels, it does weigh 12 kgs and is quite a lump to try and carry on your own, any way I sat down with a bottle water and I don't think I moved for about an hour, just sat with a silly grin on my face whilst trying to analyse the flight with the tug pilot and our spotters. The second flight was more of the same but maybe a few minutes longer. After only 2 flights I don't feel the need to change any of the control throws or the C-G. It was thought to be slightly nose heavy at 140mm back from the leading edge but for now it will remain there till I get a few more flights under my belt. 2 flights were enough for me on its first outing. It was very hot at 35c and the cross wind was getting stronger so I packed it away in the van and sat some with that grin.
Thank you to Cliff, Vince and Brian for your kind words.
That's it from me for now.
Cheers, Happy days.
Lawrie.
IMG_3680.JPG
IMG_3679.JPG
IMG_3677.JPG
IMG_3675.JPG
IMG_3676.JPG
IMG_3673.JPG
IMG_3671.JPG
IMG_3667.JPG
IMG_3663.JPG
IMG_3661.JPG

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 02 Dec 2018, 23:39
by Lawrie P
Thanks Cliff, yes still grinning and hoping this thread will inspire others to have ago.
Lawrie.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 03 Dec 2018, 10:09
by VinceC
So, if you are not happy with it you can post it to me :D

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 04 Dec 2018, 22:19
by Lawrie P
:lol: :lol: :lol: , nice try Vince, and nice to make your acquaintance. I think you would have to re mortgage the house to pay for the shipping so to save you the hassle of doing that I think I will keep this one and post a photo now and then for you to enjoy.
Cheers, and compliments of the season to you and yours.
Lawrie.
:) :) :)

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 26 Feb 2019, 09:34
by Andrew Ray
That is one beautiful glider, lovely build and such an inspiration.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 03 Mar 2019, 04:28
by Lawrie P
G,Day Andrew.
Thank you for your kind words. It is indeed a lovely glider, and flies as good as it looks, but has it inspired you enough to have a go :) :) .

Cheers, Lawrie.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 17 Jul 2020, 18:58
by Cliff Evans
Jilles PWS-101Built by John Goldson at Sandhays maiden flight today. Beautiful, no vices at all
20200717_181146.jpg
20200717_184701.jpg
20200717_184633.jpg

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 12 Aug 2020, 07:12
by Lawrie P
Hey Hello John,
LawrieP here, hope you enjoyed the build as much as i did and i'm sure you will enjoy the flying even more. Tell us a bit about the build. Covering and types of paint used etc.
I'm now building the Petrel by Jilles. Fun and games.
Cheers
Lawrie.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 12 Aug 2020, 07:18
by Cliff Evans
John used Solatex to cover and 2k Paint sprayed on in his garden! He told me he found the build very straight forward and that the flying is great. He is currently building Jilles's Mosway.

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 18 Jun 2021, 22:33
by Alex Tankink
G,Day from further down under 😁

Just new to the forum and the hobby and looking at who is building in Aust. Was kindly put onto Jilles as a local source of plans and kits.

Wanted to say I loved this build. It’s beautiful mate and inspiring!

Who did your short kit here in Australia and would you have any recommendations as a first scale build?

Cheers

Alex

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 18 Jun 2021, 22:57
by Cliff Evans
The PWS101 is a lovely aircraft and a well thought out kit. You can find links below that will be able to supply short kits in Australia.

https://lasercutsailplanes.co.uk/produc ... its-plans/

Chris Williams also has some excellent plans and short kits available here in the UK, you can see most of them here:

https://lasercutsailplanes.co.uk/produc ... kits-plan/

Re: Jilles Smits 1/3.5 scale PWS-101

Posted: 19 Jun 2021, 07:47
by Lawrie P
Hello Alex,
Thank you for the kind words. The PWS 101 is indeed a beautiful glider, as is most of the gull wing gliders of that era, and have to say, it flies as good as it looks. Jilles Smits was the designer of the kit and i have to say he has many very nice plans available. i am currently building my 4th glider from his designs, a Sperber Junior at 1/3 scale making it 4.8mtrs wing span and 2mtrs in length.
You have said in your introduction that you are new to the forum and new to the hobby. Does that mean you are new to building model aeroplanes. If so , and i hate to be a party pooper, but buying a short kit would not be the best choice to get you started in aeromodelling. After buying a short kit,and dont forget to order the plans as well, there are lots of other bits and pieces to buy. Also there are no instructions to guide you along the way so you need a very good understanding of how things go together and in what order to do it.
I would hate to see a new comer to the hobby outlay hundreds of dollars for a nice kit, 0nly to realise that its too much to cope with. The PWS took me 9 months to build for a total outlay of more than $1500 so its definitely not a beginners model.
I see that you are in Adelaide. There are many fine aero modelers down that way who would be only to happy to help you into gliding. Have a look for clubs down there and go visit one.
Jilles is definitely the man to go to for glider plans, in Australia any way, and when the time comes for buying a short kit get something with a straight wing, they are easier to build, such as a K8 or an ASK18.
Im sure there are others who would agree with my sentiments so im hoping you dont find my comments to negative.
Lawrie