brnrbbr

My Feedback: (16)

Spoken like a proud father of twins ! The GremTwin looks really cool !

coreman

Thanks Bob. Wait until you see it fly sunday

jwottowa

Howdy all-
I just wanted to pop in and share...
In college I stumbled into a group of local RC guys flying on a dead end road in the middle of nowhere. At the time I was a shaky Duroplane pilot.. Anyway one old boy had a Gremlin and I was intrigued by this awesome plane that was tearing through the sky and being handlaunched and started on a milk crate. I bought it from him on the spot...

Now 25 years later, after having raced RC cars, flown in numerous heli competitions, etc... I find myself re-entering the hobby as a fixed wing pilot. My first kit back was of course a Gremlin. I am throwing one togeather along with a mod winged PT60 to get my skills back.

In all these years the Gremlin remains the most fun I have had in the sky. No real combat around here, but If I fly up to speck, I can get the turkey vultures to dive down and chase me.....

Anyway, My sincere thanks to all involved with the Gremlin and it's continued distribution. I don't feel complete unless there is at least one unopened Grem kit on the shelf in the garage.

Incidently.....Back in the day, we used to stretch pantyhose over the wing and brush with thinned epoxy in liu of any fiberglass work. Creates a tough wing and offers the foam a little protection from monocoat application and belly landings. Anybody else do this?

coreman

I remember the pantyhose trick and the guys that printed paper graphics and embedded them under the glass. Thank you for your continued business. Surprisingly this is the 20th anniversary of the RCM Construction article in December 1992 (when the hobby changed significantly for me)

Jim

jwottowa

Jim-
I guess my timeline may be a bit off... It must have been 92 when I first saw a Gremlin.... regardless.....

It's totally great that you are approaching the 20th Anniversary. Perhaps we can throw togeather a build off or something to commemorate?

Take care!

coreman

Well, they were around in 1991 because they were flown as a lunchtime demo at the summer of 1992 NATS in Chicopee MA but it took a bit to get the construction article published

I am trying to figure out something to run as a special for the anniversary. The magazine hit subscribers 11/8/92... I know because my phone started to ring. By Thanksgiving I was overwhelmed. So yes, there will be something probably from early November through New Years. it's amazing they have stayed so popular since the last magazine ad I ran was the end of 1994. Word of mouth and the web have kept them alive

jwottowa

Well I snuck out at lunch to run a few tanks through the Gremlin.

Keep in mind I haven't held a radio in about 7 years......

First flight with the OS35, she lifted out of my hand and climbed right out. and kept climbing...... I was holding in about 3/4 down for level flight so I landed it and made a quick adjustment. After that I flew 3 tanks of gas without incident and was rewarded with 3 soft grass landings at my feet. Apparantly I even remembered how to index a prop....

In any case, many thanks to RA Cores for this killer kit. I was amazed that after so long, I was able to get back into the hobby without the pile of busted balsa to show for it. I need to get started on my next Grem soon so I am ready when the inevitable happens. Thanks again!

coreman

Good deal! I don't get out to fly mine as often as I should but it really is a plane that is real quick to get comfortable with again

kits are back in stock as we work on a final solution to our cutter issues

brnrbbr

My Feedback: (16)

Your Gremlin looks good ! I bet it screams with that .35 in it.
You have to try one of racores Gremtwins ! I have been having fun with mine doing what I call Twin Spins ! You set the motors up with a mix on the rudder and throttle channel so when you push right rudder the left motor powers on and the other way for left rudder. What happens is you can put the Gremlin in a stall then hit full left rudder with full throttle and that thing will spin like a top ! It's pretty funny.
Here is a couple pics from this years NEAT Fair. That is my Gremtwin

jwottowa

Yeah those twins look like a barrel of fun! As I am still 100% nitro, I think I'll stick to only having one engine in the sky at a time for awhile

Ed_Moorman

My Feedback: (1)

My Gremlin, finished a few weeks ago, is a ball of fun. I have a second one in the garage, ready to start on.

I have an OS .46AX on mine, which is overkill, but who doesn't like fast and vertical climb. The next one will have working rudders for snaps & spins.

Gremlins are easy to build and a ton of fun for the price. Mine is covered with colored packaging tape. The elevons and fins are in Monokote.

Yes, it is a Thunder Tiger muffler (or something else). I bashed the OS one.

ddemu

Gremlins aren't just for Halloween - but they do seem to multiply and take over the workshop!
All are powerd with .25's (ASP, OS-FX & OS-FSR) for our regional Open-B combat sessions.
Black & yellow is battle proven, the other two are recently completed back-up's.
All awaiting next years combat events!

coreman

They all look great guys. I'll be building a couple of replacements this winter as my last couple got a little long in the tooth after 3 seasons each. I managed to patch them together for our final contest of the season but they need replacing and so I will build a couple this winter. I do love my open class OS .32ABC version and with an 11x4 prop, it has unlimited vertical and yet it turns on a dime. The tape covering gives good contrast and yet is nice and cheap

brnrbbr

My Feedback: (16)

Nice job on the taping ! They look cool. Ed that 46 must be real fast !
DDEMU, I bet that 25 fx is a good combat combination if you managed to keep it around 3 pounds or lighter. I still use the Norvel 25 with a 9 x 4 prop for the stock class ( Gremlin combat rules ) and can usually get it at around 17,000 rpms. I noticed you used a couple different motor mount designs.

coreman

Tell them all about the fuselage eject maneuver! The GP .28 is running god now after 10-12 tanks through it

brnrbbr

My Feedback: (16)

Ok this is todays Gremlin combat lesson ! Always check the 1/4 inch bolts holding your Gremlin together after a crash and before you launch it in the air for the next round ! I didn't and about a hundred feet out after launch at at full speed with my OS 32 it decided the one rear bolt that was still intact wasn't going to do it ! So after a big snap sound the wing was fluttering down and the fuse was making a really nice arch like a thrown javelin to the ground. After the snap it was actually a peaceful enjoyable crash watching that fuse go to the ground. Jim said the Russian judge scored me good for the constant arc.

coreman

It was so good he had people scrambling to bring it back and never actually made it out of the pits

I have no doubt it will be back next season

ddemu

My first Gremlin (The black & yellow one) did a similarly beautiful arc across the sky, with the wing slowly fluttering down, when the wing was torn off in a mid-air collision. In the picture it's now sporting a replacement wing, but has the same durable fuselage which remained intact and virtually undamaged. Love the design and simplicity of building, and the ease of transport!

jwottowa

Awesome stuff! I too am building for the Spring. I just dont feel right if there isn't one Gremlin in some state of assembly on the bench.

The only problem I am having is keeping the motor mounts from cracking. They are recessed flush with end of fuse and after a gallon or so of flights I see hairline cracks between the motor mounting bolts (always left side for some reason).

Can you fellas share your tips for strengthing that area? I hesitate to make it bomb proof as throwing a new mount on just takes a few minutes and does absorb stress of less than steller landings, but I would like to reinforce it a bit.

TIA

Mikie 1

jwottowa - I've been sitting back, watching this part of the forum as Gremlins are also one of my favorite planes too. So when you posted your question about reinforcing the engine mount I knew I had a photo to share.
I don't know what you're using to mount your engine, but I use 3/8 inch aviation plywood as in the picture. I've never had problems with mine. In fact the one in the photo has flown for almost 10 years the way it is. Although I'm not using the Jett 35 anymore (way too much engine for the Gremlin) any other engine, with this mount, and they seem to fly forever. Mike

coreman

hey Guys. I feel the love!!

What I do to keep the plywood from splitting is after I drill it all out I soak the holes and edges with thin CA which soaks in and hardens it. What ends up happening then is the PVC lets go so then I take either a 1/8" ply and duplicate the mount and sandwich the fuselage in between them. The other thing that helps is to have a predrilled replacement in your flight box. Since I did that I have never broken the plywood at the field, and duct tape can hold the fuse together for that "one last round"

BTW: This month is the 20th anniversary of the publication of the RCM Construction article. My phone started ringing 11/8/1992 when the December 92 RCM issue hit the subscribers. it was almost 2 weeks later before i got a copy or three off the newstand

jwottowa

Thanks Mike. I guess a bit thicker mount would make sense. I will give this a shot.

Truer words have never been spoken. I am testing this theory currently.

brnrbbr

My Feedback: (16)

That thing must have been crazy with that Jett engine !

rcplanes711

I now mount all my gremlin motors this way. They have even serviced a lawn dart. I got tired of making mounts.

P.s. .46 work just fine

coreman

It's all a trade off. The reason the original mount was that way was so it would break instead of the motor/crankcase in a hard crash. Let the plywood be the weakest part