Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6?  
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring >> Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6?
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Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 10/21/2004 3:05:34 AM   
Theavos


 

Posts: 2
Joined: 10/11/2004
From: Millbrook, AL, USA
Status: offline 		Looking to build one of the following from kit:
Goldberg Gentle Lady
GP Spirit
House of Balsa 2X6

Looking for folks to help me make a decision based solely on the quality of the kit. While this will be my first RC kit build, I have built several peanut scale freeflight models in the past. I found over the years, that I am a stickler for kit quality. There is something so peaceful and satisfying about sitting down and watching a well designed kit come to life on your building board. On the other hand, I do *NOT* enjoy sitting down to a kit that has to have been designed by someone who is probably cackling madly as my wife and son wrestle me to the kitchen floor to keep me from attempting to end my suffering by drinking my bottle of CA.

So, what's the verdict. Which one of these is a joy to build? All input is appreciated, and I thank you in advance!
       Post #: 1

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 10/21/2004 9:16:13 PM   
martin o


 

Posts: 18
Joined: 10/21/2004
From: Tempe, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		I haven't built any of the three so take my advise with a bucket of salt. I've seen the Gentle Lady and Spirit kits and will soon be building a Spirit Elite. These kits seem adequate but not great. All three (GL, Spirit, and 2x6) will fly well.
I've built the Scepter from Laser Arts. The build was easy and parts fit is excellent. It also flies extremely well. The Sovereign by Laser Arts should be of equal quality.
The Lil Bird by Skybench Aerotech and the Chrysalis by DJ Aerotech are reputed to be great kits to build and fly. I'd love to build either if I had the time.
That said, you won't go far wrong with any of the kits mentioned so far.

(in reply to Theavos)
       Post #: 2

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 10/21/2004 11:54:43 PM   
Silverhawk



Posts: 101
Joined: 4/14/2004
From: Napoleon, OH, USA
Status: offline 		I've had all three and they are each a different bird IMO.

The Lady is my favorite for lazy day floating around. It is my choice if there is lite wind and lite to moderate lift.

The Spirit is great for times when the wind is higher and I need to penetrate more. I personally don't have real good luck with the Spirit when there is lite lift but then again I may be a little heavy handed with it too.

The 2x6 is a great trainer in lite to moderate lift and seems to take landing abuse a bit better than most.

They all fly well but I would go with the Lady or Spirit. They all build about the same to me.

Ray

(in reply to martin o)
       Post #: 3

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 10/22/2004 8:13:59 AM   
evlwevl



Posts: 58
Joined: 8/22/2003
From: CA
Status: offline 		Last year, I had built and flew my GL through my LSF level I. Mine was one of the first kits to come out and was given to me by a friend who had it stored up in the rafters for probably over 20 years. The kit quality wasnt that great, but I still went ahead and built it, and modified the heck out of it to take a good launch. It definately was one of my favorite planes and very forgiving in the air, however, when the wind comes up even a little, it just gets pushed around and will not penetrate very well. Aside from that, the only gripe I'd say I had with the quality of the wood was that it was die cut and the edges were crushed on most pieces. I dont know if the new kits are manufactured the same way but you should look into it.

In contrast, I recently built and have been flying my Laser Arts Soverign and I have to say that it was a pleasure to build and even more fun to fly. The kit quality was excellent and instructions were very good. When modified slightly, it will take a full pedal launch and soars with the best of them for a 2m polyhedral plane. I cant say enough about it as I've just finished my LSF level II with this plane. Most of the members of my club fly this one and I've rarely heard a bad thing about it.

The Orange/Blue is the GL
The Green/Purple is the Soverign

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< Message edited by evlwevl -- 10/22/2004 8:15:13 AM >

(in reply to Silverhawk)
       Post #: 4

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 10/22/2004 3:14:57 PM   
forrest adams


 

Posts: 111
Joined: 12/6/2002
From: benbrook, TX,
Status: offline 		i've built 2 gl and 4 spirits - the spirit is much more useful for different conditions - however, if the wind is light, the gl will work very light lift. in general, i think you will have more fun with the spirit. the spirit is much stronger and can handle more wind.

good luck!

(in reply to evlwevl)
       Post #: 5

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 10/22/2004 5:14:39 PM   
Gitano



Posts: 38
Joined: 12/2/2002
From: Gautemala,
Status: offline 		Like 5 years ago a have a GL and the kit has over 10 years old and I installed servos and everything and flew it, my opinion is this GL was the perfect sailplane, I love it. When you have 5 to 10 knots of wind the GL fly like a bird, it never comes down. 2 years later I crash it because I don't know why the rudder where in reverse and I never check it, when i launch it it did a lot of circles until hit the ground with the winch on... . But now I have a DJ aerotech Crysalis and I buil it in 1 week, I modified the fuselage and if you keep it very light this glider flies better than the GL with tha same 5 to 10 knots of wind. Try the GL, it will be the best first glider kit; as far as I know the new GL is laser cut but I'm not shure, the Crisalys is Laser cut.

(in reply to Theavos)
       Post #: 6

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 10/25/2004 10:40:18 PM   
aeajr



Posts: 5612
Joined: 1/14/2003
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Status: offline 		I have a Spirit. Purchased it ready to fly including radio - called the select.

Have done enough repairs that I can say it is easy to build. I bought a kit just for spare parts.

I highly recommend it as a first plane.

Gentle Lady also has a wonderful reputation as a first glider.

Can't comment on the 2X6

This article might be of interest:

Getting Started in Sailplanes
http://www.rcezine.com/cms/article.php?cat=&id=36

_____________________________

Clear Skies and Safe Flying!
Ed Anderson
Moderator
Park Pilot Program Partner

(in reply to Gitano)
       Post #: 7

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 10/26/2004 5:37:20 PM   
Theavos


 

Posts: 2
Joined: 10/11/2004
From: Millbrook, AL, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks for the replies folks, your assistance is much appreciated! I ordered a GL kit, and also went ahead and bought the ARF GL so I would have something to fly while I build the kit. I'm glad I went that route as it gave me the opportunity to see what kind of improvements I can build into the kit (adjustable towhook, etc).
I assembled the ARF Saturday, and took it out to the field Sunday to see what it would do. Now I know why it's called the Gentle Lady! A rather soft hand launch into a mild breeze to check trim had this graceful beauty floating. 30 seconds or so on a very soft toss impressed me. It seems as if she has a mind of her own, and just wants to fly. The high-start was a lot easier than what I was expecting, she gains altitude FAST on the high-start. I had about 10 launches on her, and decided to hand the controls over to dad. I put her right into the sun on the high-start and being temporarily blinded he lost sight of her. She popped off the line prematurely, went straight up, stalled, and the rest is history. While I was excavating the nose cone I figured I may want to position the towhook forward a tad when I rebuild. But we had a blast, and that's what counts.

(in reply to aeajr)
       Post #: 8

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 10/27/2004 3:22:16 AM   
aeajr



Posts: 5612
Joined: 1/14/2003
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Status: offline 		Sorry to hear of your loss. A moment of silence for the lady. I hope she can be rebuilt!

So, lessons were learned.

Avlid launching into the Sun
keep the hook forward of the CG during early fights - go for stability rather than height till you have the plane fully adjusted and you have your brain fully adjusted to the plane.

It is a great plane. You will love it!

_____________________________

Clear Skies and Safe Flying!
Ed Anderson
Moderator
Park Pilot Program Partner

(in reply to Theavos)
       Post #: 9

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 6/24/2007 4:32:31 PM   
elmog


 

Posts: 84
Joined: 6/24/2007
From: , CT, USA
Status: offline 		So sorry about that High-Start incident. It's so easy to mess up if everything isn't perfect on the launch. If you're still interested, I just completed a 2x6 glider. The kit is very similar to the gentle lady and the basic airframe goes together rather quickly. The finishing took more time, as I added spoilers for a bit more control. The first flights were conducted by hand-tossing to attain hands-off neutral flight. Then, off to the High-Start! It was actually an upstart, but with the appx 10 knots of wind, it went up just fine. I actually flew into a tree later in the day and ended up with only a small tear in the Monokote. Like a responder above mentioned, it's a very durable glider and will take a bit of landing abuse. The leading edge is made with an arrowshaft (dowel) and is very strong.
I was a bit concerned about the finished weight of the glider when I was adding the spoilers (the only non-stock mod). The total AUW is 30 ounces. The kit says you can use standard servos (at about 1 1/2 ounces each) but I used 3 HS-81's at 1/2 ounce each. If you use the smaller servos, you can put them side by side just aft of the batt compartment. It turns out that the 2x6 has such low wing loading that a little extra weight is not something to worry about. On a windy day you need a bit of pentration.
A very experienced glider pilot flew my plane and was very impressed with how well it flies. He was able to thermal on his first flight with the 2x6. If you decide to go with another glider like the GL, consider the 2x6 as a viable alternative. I paid only $39 at Hobby People and think it's a great deal. Like I said, it is a very robust design. I will send pictures if you like. Happy flying!

(in reply to Theavos)
       Post #: 10

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 6/25/2007 4:00:00 AM   
papermache



Posts: 703
Joined: 9/26/2002
From: Gary, IN, USA
Status: offline 		Theavos,
I've built 2 GLs and a Spirit 100. If the Spirit 2m builds anything like the Spirit 100, it will be a very nice kit. For all its great flying attributes, the GL is still basically the same kit it was 30+ years ago, and the die-cutting and wood quality can be a problem.
I've seen articles where guys have taught kids to build using the 2x4 and 2x6, so that must be a pretty easy build as well. I have not built one, so I can't speak from experience.
For flying, the GL has to be the best to start with. It just flies and flies. It's not a speed demon, so you get some time to think, and it's forgiving enough to fly through some mistakes. It's not the toughest plane I've ever seen, but it's easy to repair should something go wrong. I've had my Lady for over 10 years and it's still my favorite on a light day.

papermache

_____________________________

Slope Gliding - A Northwest Indiana tradition since 1896

(in reply to elmog)
       Post #: 11

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 6/30/2007 4:39:07 AM   
glydrjocky


 

Posts: 124
Joined: 3/20/2007
From: Livermore, CA, USA
Status: online 		I'm building the 2X6 right now. I got this wild hair to put spoilers on it. Mounted a mini servo in the wing root and routed the cables to each spoiler, built from trailing edge stock. I've hinged them with Ultrakote and need to do my final covering of the upper surface. Finished covering the tail feathers this afternoon.

I have flown a couple of 2X4's over the years and wanted to try the 2X6. I'm not a big fan of the two piece fuselage side construction but it came out okay. Looking forward to fly it soon and I'm trying to talk a Telemaster pilot at the field into building a launch cradle so I can piggy back a ride to altitude!

My first glider was a Wanderer 72 and it was built pretty stout, as it survived many an attempt to bash it into sticks.

Here's a couple pics of the spoiler setup. I truely cant wait to try these out!

I suppose I'll have to get around to building a Gentle Lady someday, its a very attractive sailplane.



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< Message edited by glydrjocky -- 7/11/2007 2:15:27 AM >

_____________________________

"You''ve got to get pretty low to land an airplane"

(in reply to papermache)
       Post #: 12

RE: Gentle Lady vs. Spirit vs. 2X6? - 7/1/2007 3:12:54 AM   
elmog


 

Posts: 84
Joined: 6/24/2007
From: , CT, USA
Status: offline 		Here's a picture of the spoiler installation on my 2X6 glider. I tried to go with an all-mechanical linkage system using a c/f torque rod and three small turnbuckles. I soon realized that I would be better off with a simpler pull string system like GLYDRJOCKY's, so my spoilers are currently taped over. The finished AUW weight using 3 HS-81 (carbonite) servos was just under 30 ounces. My desire to fly led me to cover the spoilers over until I get the time to do a little redesign. It's all a I have to fly right now...you know how that is! By the way, I went in hard today when I botched a winch launch and the 2X6 came out with just a slightly compressed nose block. The rest of the plane survived unscathed and after a close inspection, I continued to fly from the winch. Like I said before, a very sturdy design!

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