Scale Soaring UK

A new Minimoa to join our ever-expanding fleet of 5th scale gliders (Sorry Brian)

Hi Chris,
Complete and fly my 1/3 Ikarus Meteor - 66% complete
Begin and finish my long delayed 50% Orlik - (sorry JG )
Begin a 1/5 SB10, have a untouched Gewalt fuselage, I won at an auction.
There are others........∞

Hi Brian
I did wonder if you ever finished your Orlik ????
Geoff Pearce has been posting pictures on this forum of his build, how about some pictures of your build?
Regards
AEB

Looking to finish and fly my Breguet 905 and make a start on the Chris Williams Spatz which hopefully, being a laser cut kit from Cliff, should be a quicker build.

Well Cliff, there are two types of builders, fast builders and slow builders.

And those that get others to do the build

john greenfield wrote: ↑07 Dec 2019, 08:26 Hi Brian
I did wonder if you ever finished your Orlik ????
Geoff Pearce has been posting pictures on this forum of his build, how about some pictures of your build?
Regards
AEB

Excuses ----
- Initially had no tug with enough grunt in this area to tow it. Now we do, can't use that excuse anymore.
- I was living in one city and working in another 900km away for 2.5 years. Back now, can't use that one anymore.
- Had some ankle fusion surgeries that didn't go smoothly. Time heals all wounds, can't use that one anymore.
- Kept promoting other models ahead in my build queue. Don't know why, bad excuse, can't really convince myself to use that one anymore.

I have been looking at Geoff's build, I will post something. Below is the panel I made from the few drawings/images I could find.

I am just starting to cover a 4 metre ASK-18 built from Charlesworth plan/LCS parts. Should be done by xmas. Then I will start work on a 7 metre Nimbus 4D by glidersparadise.cz

The K18 looks very nice Harry.
Looks as if the updated wing design worked out ok.
Peter

Peter Balcombe wrote: ↑08 Dec 2019, 16:44 The K18 looks very nice Harry.
Looks as if the updated wing design worked out ok.
Peter

New version of the wing was a joy to build Peter.

The same thing I was building for the 2019 season!!

I am build a spalinger zürivogel

Best Regards Olli

I should finally get to build my Moswey (once the workshop is finished).

I'll be badgering Cliff for laser cut bits of course...!

Olli wrote: ↑09 Dec 2019, 22:57

Wow, what a gorgeous plane !!

Hi Clif and Sed

thanks for the comments

Best regards Olli

I forgot there is the building report

http://www.rc-network.de/forum/showthre ... Baubericht

Best Regards Olli

Petrel WILL be good to go late march/early april 2020 (positive thinking there),a little bird tells me that south cerney is to be the replacement for MW,hooray!!, ...…jack

I startet to finishd my "Zürivogel"

Wish yo all a good start to 2020
Best Regards Olli

Maiden flight today, 2 aerotows, short flights but enough to prove it works and get the basic trim settings. ASK-18 from Charlesworth plan, LCS part kit with the new wing design. Still to paint on the logo and registration markings. Scheme is R43 that I flew full size in the 1980s in the RAF Gliding & Soaring Assoc, hence it has an RAF roundel on the fuselage. Looking forward to the 2020 aerotow season!

Well done with first flights Harry & I look forward to seeing her in the flesh sometime

Well done Harry.

Good job, Harry!

The Mini airframe nears completion...

chris williams wrote: ↑04 Jan 2020, 12:45 The Mini airframe nears completion...

What’s that? Number 673 Minimoia’s to date? Looking good!

Hi all and Happy New year to all.

I am hoping to complete and fly my 1/3 Ikarus Meteor which is maybe 10-15% complete and then start some preliminary planning for my next build which will be the Horten III.

Should be very interesting

Kind Regards
Steve

Some pictures of my Raab Kraehe (Crow). need to do some electric work and a final balancing act.
Mainden flight 25-01-20
scale 1:3 that makes it 4m wing span
Scorpion S-4045-12 outrunner on two parralel 5S-5000 lipos.
15x10 prop
fying weight 10kg

Nice one, Jilles... I also love the fact that you can specify a maiden a fortnight in advance and know that the weather will be up for it.
On that basis, I'm going to specify a date for the maiden of my Minimoa...sometime in the next five years!

chris williams wrote: ↑11 Jan 2020, 09:53 Nice one, Jilles... I also love the fact that you can specify a maiden a fortnight in advance and know that the weather will be up for it.
On that basis, I'm going to specify a date for the maiden of my Minimoa...sometime in the next five years!

If you are lucky!! lol

I can be reasonably confident of a date for the maiden. The last Saturday of the month is always a scale towing day in my club.
I changed clubs this year because it is inland and does not have the those restrictions of my previous club close to Brisbane like 1000ft height limit and a 500 m max distance from the pilot box. My new club is glider orientated. 2000 ft and 1000 m distance. these limits are fine for me. any more and you get troubles seeing the model and loosing control.
The weather is most of the times fine. reasons for not flying is in Summer a thunderstorm or high wind
Fortunately we are far away from the bush fires now so no haze or groundings due to water bombers flying around.

The Raab Crow is over 7 kg, that means it has to be structurally and electrically inspected by a qualified inspector. and I have to perform a test flight to show I can handle the model. Any other pilot that wants to fly my over 7kg models have to do a test flight in presence of an inspector and his or her name listed on the Models airworthiness form

At the moment I am in the process of designing a scale 1:3.125 Schleicher K8. This is a project for myself for a change. Planning to start the built in June or so. The scale may sound a bit odd but at 4.8m wing span I can transport is in my little truck. My K6E design is the same scale so it will match each other. The K6E is my best performing scale glider and it is expected that the K8 will perform the same.
I will make the design available on the SSUK website. If I am in the mood I might do a built thread
Attached some pictures of the computer design to-date. about 50% is done
I will built the K8 version with the smaller canopy with an option for other builders to built the K8B with the larger canopy
The reasons I built the smaller canopy is that not many models are around with this smaller version and it will fit my vacuum forming machine.
Those that wish to built the model in future with the larger canopy can order the canopy of my ASK18 design. That will fit nicely. see attached picture

for myself I will built it with a propellor and electric motor. Before hell brakes loose it will have a tow hook as well. Two little nose cones for 3D printing will be available for both options. Removing the prop with prop adapter and changing the nose cone will make it a pure glider.
The motor stays in place, need the nose weight anyway so I make this extra weight useful.

Good Idea to do the nose so that the motor can be covered and disguised for slope flying.

looks God Jilles will be very interested in how the crow glider goes
Paul C

Good Idea to do the nose so that the motor can be covered and disguised for slope flying.

It's the other way round, Cliff... In my experience, sustainers are pretty much pointless on the flat thanks to our friends, the tugstainers. They are at their most useful on the slope, so that you can fly on light wind days when otherwise you might have stayed at home...

chris williams wrote: ↑15 Jan 2020, 10:06 '.......... They are at their most useful on the slope, so that you can fly on light wind days when otherwise you might have stayed at home... ;')

Ah yes, I too have been seduced to turn to the Dark Side.

I love the raab crow. Hope the maiden go well.

For those interested, the Maiden flight of the Raab Crow went very well. It took off under it own power because there was no tow plane available to do a tow as was planned. I am waiting for a video of the event and will post a link when available
Attached a 3 view drawing of my Schleicher K8-K8B design with relevant details
The complete drawing set for those interested will be available in a month or so from Cliff Evans

The very short video of the maiden [youtube][/youtube]
While I took around 3minutes of footage including the landing, the phone which I rarely use for model videos only stored the beginning .

The Crow flew well, had ample power, and was stable in all axes.

The downwind leg was parallel to the strip, pretty direct, no deviations, just like point A to point B, like a beeline or as we all noted, straight as the crow flies.

Just printed the parts for Jilles new K8. All come out very well the two nose prints and wingtips were printed using Polywood, and the elevator actuator was printed using carbon loaded filament, very strong!
Just added the tailplane tips to the print library. Thanks Jilles.

A much better video of Jilles' newly airborne Raab Crow.

[youtube][/youtube]

Great stuff! Well done and thanks for the new video.

For those interested the Crow flys very well. I did not expect it to have a good glide angle. The fuse is not exactly a streamlined affair.
The final weight is 10kg, 8kg was estimated and I was concerned about the climbing rate with the given electric motor and connected hardware.
I was wrong on all issues. It climbs to scale not too steep not too shallow. It is very stable despite the relative small tail bits compared to wing area and goes up without problem in lift ( yes with the motor switched off). The only thing that I changed after the maiden was mixing some up elevator when opening the airbrakes. It started a nose dive when opened the first time. Easy to control but a mix on the elevator makes it easier when landing.

Minimoa maiden today...super!

Looks good as usual Chris. Well done. Again!!!

Looks great!

Maiden off the flat? Do you hand launch before committing to the tow to check all is ok?

Cliff, what happened to the supersize photos we used to get with a couple of clicks, has that option been lost in the forum update?

Looking into it Stephen. Some threads are showing bigger pics.

Cliff Evans wrote: ↑06 Feb 2020, 08:58 Looking into it Stephen. Some threads are showing bigger pics.

Ok, have found a setting that had changed and has been resizing images when uploaded. Have changed that now so that it does not do that anymore. All images uploaded before I changed this setting will be smaller so if you want bigger images to display in the lightbox, you will have to delete the posted images and re-post

You need a breeze to hand launch even a small model, and there was no appreciable wind on the day. I have always tried to do this when I could: the heaviest model I have ever hand launched on the flat was my 3rd scale Habicht (32lbs)... I couldn't do that now!

On the same day as the Minimoa maiden, Peter Chaldecott's little Wolf had it's first aerotow. Despite the scary take off, Peter's out of therapy now...!

Our newest member "mAtzi" from Austria has sent me some photos and a link to a video of his scratch-built Scud-1. It is built to a scale of 1/2.5

[youtube][/youtube]

This build has been a long time coming, having been on my “Must Build” list for at least a couple of decades. All the gliders that I build have significance to me in that I have either flown or lusted over the full size machine. In the case of the Pilatus B4 I can see from my old and rather tattered log book that I flew it a total of six times back in the late 1970s. My first three flights were winch launches and circuits just to prove to the CFI that I was not going to dent the clubs “Tin Can” as we called it. I then managed three further flights of 32 minutes, 1 hour 5 minutes and 2 hours 25 minutes over the next few months. My memory of the aeroplane was that it was a delight to fly but it rattled a bit.
It is quite a while since I last did a scratch build and on this one I have decided to go “old school”. I couldn’t find a suitable plan to 1:4 scale so I have drawn it myself with good old paper, pencil, scale and straight edge. I am using DevCad for the fuselage formers. I have even constructed the wheel retract unit. However this is not going to be a “Chris Williams” three week build as I have lots of other irons in the fire at the moment but I hope to have it complete sometime this year.
Brian.

Well done Brian,
I look forward to following the ‘real time’ build.
Peter

Brian, is the plan going to be detailed enough to donate to the forum?

Probably not Cliff. It is a series of working drawings on separate sheets of paper with no notes.
Brian.

I still have the 1/4 scale canopy mould if you want to borrow it!

Thanks Nigel.
That could save me a pile of work. Could you possibly send me photos of the side elevation and plan elevation with a few dimensions? You can contact me with a PM or my email address.
Brian.

Newent Massif scratch build Pik 5B is coming along, should be ready for this season.

Latest update on my 1/5 Petrel build is now online here.http://www.bartonhewsons.uk/home/modelf ... l#February

I would just like to gauge the level of interest in this before I commit to producing this K8 as a kit.
I have been given a fibreglass K8 Fuss and permission to reproduce. This would mean using the fuss to make a plug. If there is any interest I will proceed. Failing that I will just use it for myself. At 1/5 scale, the short kit will comprise of Glass fuss and built up flying surfaces possibly a foam wing to follow later Price for built-up surfaces will be approximately £170.

Cliff Evans wrote: ↑02 Mar 2020, 11:46 I would just like to gauge the level of interest in this before I commit to producing this K8 as a kit.
I have been given a fibreglass K8 Fuss and permission to reproduce. This would mean using the fuss to make a plug. If there is any interest I will proceed. Failing that I will just use it for myself. At 1/5 scale, the short kit will comprise of Glass fuss and built up flying surfaces possibly a foam wing to follow later Price for built-up surfaces will be approximately £170.

20200302_114006.jpg

Hmmm no interest at all!!!

A very nice Instrument panel for my HP-18 supplied by Lasercut Sailplanes (Cliff)

Latest instalment of my CW 1/5 scale Petrel build is now online at:
http://www.bartonhewsons.uk/home/modelf ... ctdic.html

It's a bit quiet here, but anyway, yet another month has gone by so here's the link to the April instalment of my 1/5 Petrel build:

http://www.bartonhewsons.uk/home/modelf ... html#April

Like the tool with all the pins, Trevor, but you could have done it quicker with a hedgehog

It’s all about speed with you, isn’t it?! And after I took the trouble to coordinate the pin head colours in homage to Brian.

Just about to start a kit from Cliff and Jiles - a re-design of the RM plan for a Spalinger S18. (Winner of the 1937 Swiss Gliding Championships). This the 'shallow gull' version - the S18-2...

I think all will fit on my 'small' building board except the outer wing panels and the fuz'.

I have 2 x SLEC fuselage jig kits that will cover the longer lengths, but, not sure how best to 'join' them to maintain correct alignment ?

Any ideas welcome...
Dave

Blimey Dave, how long have you had the kit?

Far too long Cliff !

However, I needed to clear the following list of part-completed projects first :-

1. Cambria Capstan modified for ailerons
2. Aermacchi PSS slope soarer refurb'
3. R/C RAF Crash Tender launch
4. 00 and 009 gauge model railway diorama
5. Design and trial build of my sports racing car's front suspension
6. Update to my novel's research notes (that I haven't touched for 6 years !)

Plus, various repairs to 3 or 4 other models crashed /damaged in comp's etc over the winter...Oh, and completing my full-size gliding X-Country Endorsement.

Am I forgiven ? (I guess not !). The words "spreading", "myself" and, "too thin" spring to mind...
Dave

Congrats to Trevor for the maiden of his 5th scale Petrel today...

Well done Trevor on your maiden flight. What a beutiful model, cant wait to see it in the flesh. terry.

I built this aviette. "flying bike" at 1920

it should fly for the first time on Thursday

Best Regards Olli

Oli

Good luck for the first flight. Please take lots of pictures.
Did you build it from commercial plans or is it all your own design.
I love it.

AEB

Hi John,

"Did you build it from commercial plans "

no the plan is mine
Here is a Video from the first Test flight



and here is the build report http://www.retroplane.net/forum/viewtop ... sc&start=0

Best Regards Olli

Hi Oli

I think it is a wonderful model. Well done on doing something a bit different.

AEB

Excellent, totally different.

Olli, Can we see more flights??



BC

Barry_Cole wrote: ↑23 May 2020, 14:12 Olli, Can we see more flights??



BC

He may show us some more, not sure about your suggestion Barry!

Hi

no in Moment i have not made more flights
but i made the first flight with my Zürivogel

Olli wrote: ↑09 Dec 2019, 22:57 I am build a spalinger zürivogel

Best Regards

download/file.php?id=17688&mode=view

download/file.php?id=17689&mode=view

download/file.php?id=17689&mode=view

Start Zürivogel

Flight Zürivogel

Landing Zürivogel

John Harvey sent me some pics of his newly finished and maidened KA-7 from the Cliff Charlesworth Plan.

A very reliable veteran model and nicely finished

Finally got my new WLM -1 into the air for a maiden. Intellectual honesty dictates that I tell you this was technically the second maiden following a bout of impatience and a pre-lockdown attempt to fly in 30mph winds. Yes I know it was daft and the return to the workshop for repairs was a suitable penance. Have to say I''m really pleased with the performance.It's from the Vic Steel plan but with a few mods by me. As always, big thanks to friends at CSSA for the help, especially Chris, Ron and Jimbo. Big thanks too, to Barry Cole for helping rescue my Taranis muppetry. Hopefully there should be a pic here and a link to Chris's video.

We had been planning to maiden the PIK-5B at Cerney this weekend after a 3 year build but Covid has seen of the best laid plans of mice and men and the best of all of us. Nevertheless is is finished, 1/3 scale scratch build by Frank Skilbeck and myself as the attached photo's testify. Have glider, can't wait to fly it!!!

Hopefully here are the missing photo's

Looks really good Roger, can't wait to see it airborne.
You need to add these pictures to your build thread as well.

Tomáš Váňa has taken the SSUK Rhonsperber plan seriously by building , not one, but three of ‘em in different sizes… He is currently building the ¼ scale Steinadler from my drawing…

Kudos!

Where is Tamáš based?

Tomáš lives in the Czech Republic...

Curtis Miller in the U.S. has maidened his 1/4 scale Flamingo from the SSUK plan.

Well I finally had my maiden flight today. It went fantastic! She's a pretty big heavy bird, but she launched out of my hand and climbed out just as nice as you could ask. Used a Neu 1509 motor and an 18 x 6.5 prop. Limited power to 80% and still had plenty.

Only a couple of clicks of aileron trim to level her out. She flew smooth and slow with almost no control inputs. I swear she'll slow down to 10 mph. Drops a wing when she stalls but recovery is easy. You really have to work to stall her.

The build was very straightforward. Only the ailerons were a problem. I cut new ribs that were 1/4" longer and then they worked. Two and a half months start to finish, working 4 to 6 hours a day.

I've got a real pleasant flier and many years of fun ahead

Peter Chaldecott's excellent version of the little Petrel nears its maiden...

Superb finish on the Petrel.

Hallo,

i have made the next flights
with my friend Heiko
http://www.oliver-theede-oldtimersegler ... ivogel.mp4

Best Regards Olli

Congratulations, Olli, well done...!

Brilliant...

Nice flying too...



BC

A beautifully finished project Olli, nice to see something different. It looked very graceful in the air and topped off with a nicely executed landing.

Successful maiden for the Gull at CMFC yesterday...

Well done Chris

Ah that takes me back.............very nice.

Very nice!

Very nice model. A little bit of extra scale detail of this restored version of the only one ever built is a Slingsby logo on the fin and alongside the canopy, q.e.d. If you feel like going further, the glider had an extra window behind the canopy. This was so Prince Bira's dog," Titch", had something to look out of. I bet you don't forget that bit of history in a hurry. The Prince named his glider "Kittiwake" when he owned it

A brief history of Prince Bira

The son of Prince Bhanurangsi Savangwongse and the grandson of HM King Mongkut of Siam, Prince Birabongse (generally known as Prince Bira or, when racing as B Bira) came to Europe in 1927 for an education at Eton and Cambridge University.
He started racing in 1935 in a team run by his cousin, Prince Chula, and he soon became known for his car which he painted pale blue and yellow, the national colours of Siam. The reasons behind his decision to race were simple. "At the age of 19, I went to watch racing at Brooklands," he said. "I saw a beautiful girl, Kay Petre, and she was a great racing driver. And so I said, 'Well, my God, how could I make this girl?' And the only way was to get near her. That's how I was introduced into the racing game." Later in the season his cousin gave him an ERA R2B, named Romulus, for his 21st birthday which he raced with success.
In 1936 the princes bought a second ERA (Remus) which they raced in Britain, retaining Romulus for overseas competition. Chula also bought a Masarati. Bira won the Coupe de Prince Rainier at Monte Carlo, and was victorious in another four arces.
But despite this promising start, the remaining pre-war years were more of a struggle despite lavish expenditure on equipment and expertise. During the war he lived in Cornwall and took up gliding, setting several records.
After the war, Bira returned to racing but was not seriously competitive as he generally drove outdated vehicles. In 1954, in a Masarati 250F which was up with the pace, he won the Grand Prix des Frontières on the Chimay road circuit and then finished fourth in the 1954 French Grand Prix with his own Maserati.
In January 1955, he won the New Zealand Grand Prix at Ardmore, but promptly retired. "I woke up the next morning," he recalled, "and said to myself, well, what are we doing here? Cups, girls, cars … maybe you're dead the next day. And I quit."
He returned to live in Thailand although he maintained a European base in the form of a schooner berthed at Cannes and a home at Mandelieu. He also continued to pursue his other interest of sailing, representing his country at the 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1972 Olympics. He was also a skilled sculptor whose work was exhibited at the Royal Academy.
In later years his business failed as did his marriages and he returned to Europe and eventually to England. His end was undignified for such a flamboyant character. He died at London's Baron's Court station but nobody knew who is was, and only after Scotland Yard became involved was his identity discovered. 
Martin Williamson

Just about finished a 4.1m 1/5 scale Jantar 2 from an old Modelbau Wanitschek kit I picked up some years ago.
The foam wing was given a substantial full span spar & improved joiner arrangement upgrade during the build.
Just rigged in its final form to get an idea of the nose weight required (420g).
Overall weight will be approx 3.4Kg.

In a nice piece of serendipity, I also once had a dog called Tich...

Continuing my tribute to Fred, Mott and I are putting together a brace of 1/4 scale Dart 17R's...

At this stage, ballasted for correct CG, the Dart weighs in at 9lbs...

Would you like to build one for me as well Chris? I love my 1:3.5 version built to your plans especialy in big air and my more recent version to 1:5 is great in lighter wind. I feel the need for something in between.
Brian.

Yes, I must admit that these smaller models have been a bit of a revelation...

chris williams wrote: ↑14 Sep 2020, 17:01 Continuing my tribute to Fred, Mott and I are putting together a brace of 1/4 scale Dart 17R's...

Call THAT a tribute? We’ve got a framed photo of the main man in our sitting room...

1/4 scale Dart 17R status update: Mission-Ready...!

Very nice!. Maiden flight Wednesday? Or you might have to wait until Christmas!!

The Dart was my very first introduction to slope soaring.
Peter Lewis, who owned the Shrewsbury Model Centre and also Cambrian Models at the time, had a kit of the Dart (on the cover of RCM&E in 1968 if memory serves) I met him and a couple of others up the Long Mynd to see what this slope soaring was all about. Still got the bug now.

John M

Very nice Chris. Should we be expecting another three or four by the end of the new lockdown?

Great build Chris, love the colour scheme!

Just finished my latest build, from the SS free plan, but at 1/4 scale

Nice William, how did you do the scaling?

Nice one William, let us know how it flies. Did you make a plan suitable for others to use?

Thanks Cliff & Vince, my local print shop first printed the 1:3.5 plan then ran it through a printer that scans and prints at whatever size you specify, in this case 87,5% of the original. I do still have the smaller print copies of the plans