Scale Soaring UK

This has just joined my stable here in Guernsey but no instructions or CofG info. Would anyone have a set of instructions they could email to me? Thanks.

Terry White might have one, but watch the spelling...

BC

Hi Bas,

Good to hear you have one of our ASW 27 to play with.
I'm sure you will have great fun with it.
You can watch others flying our 27 on YouTube, just bang in Purbeck ASW 27 .Others may share their experience of the model here for you.
For some reason I have had trouble getting the instruction manual up on my computer since the computer fell over a while ago. However My friend and SSUK member Matt will post all you need here shortly.

Matt and I will also post interesting info for you so keep an eye on this thread.

Regards Terry (Purbeck sailplanes)

BTW if anyone has a Purbeck ASW27 surplus to their requirements I would be interested in buying one....

Cheers

Simon

Iv been led to believe that my recent purchase (see 1/3 scale DG 600 thread) could be one of three or four fuzulage's made at the purbeck hanger?? I don't want to cross threads here but someone may be able to confirm that the purbeck team made some prototype DG600's ? I have seen a couple of small images referring to a couple of models being built by them but not kitted due to costings at the time, I wonder if anyone has any more info? I was told simon cocker had one of the same fuzulage's but I have not confirmed this info yet.
I do hope any news is good news regarding the purbeck range as I missed the chance of grabbing one of there excellent models yrs ago.

Hi Terry,
Thanks for the reply. I've seen some of the videos and been impressed. This one will need some work on the radio installation and wing retention but hopefully she'll be back in the air soon.
Bas

Hi C,

We at Purbeck did make 4No prototype D.G.800.One for my son and partner Rick, one for myself and one for Mr Simon Cocker to do a kit review within RCM&E.and one as a spare for any required alterations. These were prototypes for us to try and break before going into production.
Simon has only just taken delivery of his this last week due to the staff of Purbeck Sailplanes doing other work'y things over the past 15-16 years. However now that I'm retired (I know, I know, I don't look that old )I have been able to complete the kits as previously expected.

I have gone on to nearly complete my model DG800 to a ready to spray completion. It will be an all glass finish at over 6mtrs span with tip extensions and tiplets, Probably ready for next year now due to the flying season being upon us. Ricks is someway behind due to his 'real' work load and Simon's is almost ready to take out the box

We made four fuselages altogether and I can account for all four so I don't believe that the one you show is from the Purbeck stable, Sorry.
Also all our 1/3 scale models were extensively reinforced within the vulnerable areas with carbon cloth during lay up, such as under the large cockpit opening, wing roots, retract area, tail boom and fin. As I cannot see any such reinforcement in your fus it re-confirms my feeling that this is not one of our mouldings. Also all our mouldings carry the Purbeck logo under the last lay-up which can be easily read.

The fuselage for the 600 and the 800 are basically the same, it is the wing and tail plane that differs both in plan form, aileron and flap mix and the sections. Our moulding was slightly stretched at the wing root area from pure scale to allow it to easily accommodate an up and go unit if required.

At about the time that we were designing the 800 another company called P.J.models were producing the 600. So it may well be that you have found one of their mouldings.
Whatever from what I can see it should make into a great model. Take care on your choice of wing sections and flap/aileron lengths you choose, don't build too lightly as you will probably have to add ballast anyway. The wing area is immense, so take the opportunity to build strong, with a good 'I' beam carbon spare running the length of your wing, and carbon cloth laid diagonally the full length top and bottom under the veneer.

Hope this has helped and we wish you all the best with your new project. kind regards Terry (Purbeck Sailplanes)

Hiya Terry
Thanks for your help,I wasn't sure about the back story to my fuz I recently bought, in fact I didn't know anything about it until I collected it. your correct that iv no local carbon reinforcement and as you can account for all the ones you've made then it's obviously not from you! It looks like there will be lots of 1/3 scale british made DG's out there next year ! Which can only be a good thing.
Iv never fitted out a large glass fuz before so perhaps later this year I can bend your ear on getting this beauty fitted out and reinforced in all the right places? Barry at foamwings UK will be sorting out my wings and tailplane for me so I'm sure he will sort me out as he has done this before a few times haha I will look into the PJ link cheers .
Good to hear there's life at purbeck sailplanes again, sounds like a busy but rewarding retirement

Chris.
UPDATE,,,
After a quick "Google" it seems that terry is correct (aka Sherlock!) it seems my DG fuz may very well be a PJ models prototype fuz,,,,,,thanks for your help terry all I need to do is build it now!
Sorry for crossing into this thread.

I do have other information that was supplied such as the full size documentation and the root to tip wing section transition plans if they are relevant. Matt

Hi Bas,

Matt is to be congratulated for his grand effort in scanning all the pages of the building manual for us. He is a very busy man at the moment and dropped time working on his new house to scan and post the info. Thanks Matt.
Reading through the manual took me back a bit (over 20 years). I remember my daughter in law coming to the workshop night after night for a couple of week while we composed it while Rick sat at his computer drawing the diagrams. Such it was in those early days that we did everything ourselves, right down to writing and producing the manual. (I bet there's a few spelling mistakes in there Barry )

Matt's manual shown here is one of the very first produced. It mentions that within the fuselage lay up there is an amount of chopped strand matt and polyester resin. This was soon replaced with glass cloth and epoxy resin throughout, which without doubt is both stronger and more resilient then its polyester cousin.

Your first post mentioned you were unsure of the C.G position.
You will note on the instructions that we placed it at 78mm from the leading edge at root. This will be fine for your maiden as it is a tad forward and safe. Take it back slowly until it feels right for your style of flying.

Use this thread if you require any more help on the rebuild as others may be interested in your project or of coarse you can P.M. me. Regards Terry.

Hi Matt,
Many thanks for doing this, very kind and a great help.

Terry,
I'm working through the radio set up and linkages, then it's on to the wing fixing - there are hooks in the wing roots for a rubber band but they're directly behind the wing joiner tube and almost impossible to access! I'm planning to move them forward to in front of the spoiler cables. Thanks for your help and I'll keep this topic updated with my progress.

Cheers Bas

Hi Bas,
are you sure that the builder didn't expected you to fit the rubber band through the fus and onto the hooks from outside the fus just before you finally push the wings home. The bands only need to be tight enough as to hold the wing in place. The gap between the fus and the wing should then be taped not only help stop the wing from parting the fus but to stop the high pressure air on the underside of the wing escaping to the low pressure air on top of the wing, Thus spoiling the airflow over the wing at that point.
The reason I suspect that he fitted the hooks at that position is because they would have accessed the much stronger wooden block carrying the wing joiner tube rather then just the ply root rib. Also a pull at the centre of the wing cord is better then one at the leading edge.
I use this idea on my Graffiti and when I take the wings off I use a cocktail stick to hold the bands stretched through the fus ready for next time.

Regards Terry.

Hi Terry,
Many thanks for that; sort of thing I should have twigged - but didn't! Cocktail sticks & bands will be sorted tomorrow.
Bas

After talking to Simon C on the slope i have taken delivery today of his Purbeck dg 800. He is a busy man with many projects and has been very kind to let me have his. This will be my first 1/3 scale glider and a long term project which i hope to start soon. Matt (The Slop Doctor).

Decent westerly tonight, so load car, up to the slope and no-one around... so with some trepidation go for a self launch. No problem in the end and she flew beautifully. The sun was front and centre so only flew some gentle circuits and then practice landing patterns. All went well till one of the airbrakes stuck up and she was too high to land but too low to make a full circuit! A hasty up/cross slope landing raised the heart rate but the only damage was one side of the rudder horn snapped off. I'm happy - new rudder horn and a tweak on the airbrake linkage and she'll be ready for the next westerly

Well done Bas,

We all like to hear about a good maiden flight, especially one that has a little adrenaline pumping, but ends well anyway.
Now that you know she wont bite you, you can look forward to many happy flying hours with her.

She looks cool in her yellow colour scheme and your photos are great, keep them coming. Hey where's the wife, girl friend, dog going to sit in the car?

Tell us, is the German structure shown in the picture your club house and If it starts to rain, can you all retire to it, stick your aerials out the slits and carry on flying?

How about bringing her over to the next Middle Wallop fly in? details on the calendar. Regards Terry.

Thanks Terry,

Wife/kids not interested in my 'toys', but it's less that 5 mins in the car to the slope - so they could always walk if they want to watch

The German tower is privately owned and is opened some weekends for viewing. Its claimed a few gliders over the years; when we used to fly from a spot closer to it I hit it whilst doing pylon turns round it - obliterated everything except one wing panel! We fly further along now and make our approaches from the opposite side.

Can't make Middle Wallop for a while as my 'weekend away' is booked for this & next year and given the way Condor Ferries are going, who knows after that!

Cheers Bas

Hi,
Can someone tell me the exact diameter size of Purbeck asw27 wing joiner?
I lost my joiner and try to fit one 12mm steel rod but seem too big!
Cheers

I am sure that Terry White (The designer), will be along soon with the answer.



BC

Just measured my wing joiner on my Purbeck ASW and it came out 11.89mm or 0.468" so neither 12mm or 1/2 inch..

Hi Brancoll, Great to hear from Hong Kong. We sent a number of ASW27 to Hong Kong in our time. It always tickled us that our small family business through our workshop would be sending our models out to Hong Kong. Three were sent in one shipment in 1994 to which I believe you now own one, this because the steel joiner bars were of imperial measurement. This was quite usual back in the day when England was still not sure of the metric system and one could buy weight by Klg and builders requirement by Ft & Inches. I must say that it is only a little better now. People still say pint of milk or a piece of 4"x2" joist timbers.
Mr. Weds is quite right with his measurement when he found the size to be between Imperial and metric. This is because of the need to get a really good sliding fit between the outside diameter of the steel and the internal diameter of the brass, each produced by different manufacturers with different tolerances.
It is unfortunate that you have lost the steel far away in Hong Kong because the cost of requiring a replacement would be expensive to post. If you have a metal worker in the area My first thought would be to have a 12mm bar turned down to the correct size 11.9mm. As you can see the difference is very small and would not take much to do on a lathe, If this is not possible I would fit a roll of medium emery cloth to a 8-9mm dowel and ream out the inside of the brass tube. This is not so difficult as trying to sand down the outside of the steel joiner. There is plenty of 'meat' on the brass wall of the tube to do this. The brass is bonded into a solid Jeletong timber block running the length of the brass anyway so you should not weaken it.

However perhaps the best way forward is to obtain the correct size carbon rod from one of our suppliers on eBay and be done with it. I hope that helps. Please keep us all informed on your progress. The purchasers of the original kits told me stories of landing on nets strung across the slope on bushes and trees as they had no other landing area. Is this still the same? Good luck with the revamp. Terry White. Purbeck Sailplanes.

Steel Joiner bar for ASW27-- ------11.90mm x 360mm of EN16 steel.

. . . . and here's something that you won't see very often, three Purbeck Sailplanes ASW 27s in the air together.
Pilots are Weds, Swarrans and Mr Goodwind.



Video courtesy of Miniphase (aka Goodwind Soaring)
Camera operator - me.
Video editor, to sort out the shaky camera footage - Mr Goodwind.
http://goodwindsoaring.blogspot.com/

Follow up on the joiner part of the thread/post:

Terry mentions the stock joiner is 360mm.

On my wings, the joiner pocket is 130mm deep on each (260mm total) and the fuse is 180mm wide, for a total of 440mm. Seems unlikely a 360mm joiner would have 80mm of slack to disappear into!

Question: Should I pack out each wing to avoid the joiner sliding too far into one or the other, or source a longer joiner?

What does the assembled hive mind think?

TIA
M

Deffo source a longer joiner, or even two - one carbon for light days and another solid steel for a bit of ballast. My Baudis Salto had the two and a 1kg difference between them.

John M