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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring >> Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions?
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Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions? - 5/10/2008 7:00:36 AM   
jzcode43


 

Posts: 28
Joined: 10/29/2004
From: Cameron Park, CA, USA
Status: offline 		I'm researching a few Sailplanes and would like to hear from anyone that has experiance with either or both of these planes. Thanks.....
       Post #: 1

RE: Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions? - 5/10/2008 8:39:53 AM   
AviationNut


 

Posts: 99
Joined: 6/11/2007
From: Chatsworth, CA, USA
Status: offline 		The Gentle Lady was my 1st RC airplane. If you build it light, it is a real floater and will thermal in pretty light lift. It doesn't penetrate wind very well because of the flat-bottomed airfoil, so 15MPH is about the max. I built mine from a kit in '95 and there were some "die-crunched" parts, but overall it went together well - hopefully the kits are even better by now. The wood was of good quality from what I remember as well. Don't have any experience with the ARF though.

It's basically just a 2-channel floater. Get it in a thermal, set some up and left (or right) trim and set down the Tx, make a sandwich, drink a beer etc. while it climbs in the thermal If you're looking for something like that, then you'll like her. I still have mine and it's relaxing to fly once in a while.

< Message edited by AviationNut -- 5/10/2008 9:06:39 AM >

(in reply to jzcode43)
       Post #: 2

RE: Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions? - 5/10/2008 10:15:47 AM   
panzerd18



Posts: 262
Joined: 10/3/2005
From: RomseyVictoria, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		My brother had the Sophisticated Lady. Other than the T-tail being flimsy it flew very nice on the slope. The Sophisticated Lady looks better but I bet the Gentle Lady would be a better all around model.

(in reply to AviationNut)
       Post #: 3

RE: Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions? - 5/10/2008 12:11:14 PM   
marktur


 

Posts: 336
Joined: 10/29/2004
From: Boynton Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		I've had both...they fly wonderful, too! If you're landing it in grass, go with the Sophistacted Lady to keep the tail out of the weeds. The tail is a bit flimsy, but will not fall off or anything like that...just remember - it's a thermal plane, not really a sloper...if you're building it yourself, get some carbon fiber (maybe 3' long) and center it on the bottom spar, bottom of wing, with 1.5' on each side of the wing, then cover right over it. You should be able to pick some up that looks like flat strapping that shippers put around larger boxes which will lay flat and it paper-thin. Now you have a tough wing!

I use to fly mine with a cox engine mounted on a power pod that sat on the wing. Just try to get under a fat cloud and you'll have amazingly long flights (1 hour was normal on a hot Florida day) from a 60-second motor run. Now THAT'S fun! I feel like I'm cheating with an electric motor now!

I will maiden my new Mistral 2600E tomorrow if the winds die down some...always like that when I have a new plane!

Good luck,
Mark


_____________________________

Mark Turkel, PalmBeachSoftware.com
Top Flite Cessna 310, OS 55AXs,

(in reply to panzerd18)
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RE: Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions? - 5/10/2008 5:55:16 PM   
OzMo



Posts: 1436
Joined: 9/2/2002
From: OZark, MO, USA
Status: offline 		The gentle lady wieghs a scoosh less and has a stronger tail. I think a mod on the airfoil( upate to a Selig or Drela) and some carbon fiber on the wing spar and adding spoilers would make for a SWEET RES bird. I just bought one on EBAY to replace my 25 year old Gentle Lady ( my first RC bird and still flyable!) I plan to make those mods. I will also shrink the fuse to just fit my radio geer. posibly stretch the nose a weeeeeeee bit they seemeed a slight bit tail heavy if I recall so at least hollow out the balsa nose block for the battery.

_____________________________

Yes dear, I did glue my hand to the airplane to keep from dropping it.

(in reply to marktur)
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RE: Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions? - 5/11/2008 4:49:35 PM   
marktur


 

Posts: 336
Joined: 10/29/2004
From: Boynton Beach, FL, USA
Status: offline 		You know, Tower is showing the Sophistacated Lady as an ARF for $119...not too bad...if you're not a builder. I think it could be built lighter, but hey, with the ARF, you're flying in a day...

I just bought my first ARF glider - the Mistral 2600E. Went together quickly, and I will maiden this week when the wind lays down.


_____________________________

Mark Turkel, PalmBeachSoftware.com
Top Flite Cessna 310, OS 55AXs,

(in reply to OzMo)
       Post #: 6

RE: Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions? - 5/12/2008 5:48:03 PM   
scaflock


 

Posts: 4
Joined: 1/7/2008
From: Bonaire, GA, USA
Status: offline 		Both are good planes with the Sophie being a T-tailed version of the GL. The weak tail on the sophie can be beefed up with some carbon tape running from the rear to about 6 inches in front of the Vertical stab. Makes the fuselage in that area a lot stronger with very little added weight. Both are good floaters but again they're not models for higher speed winds. You can ballast them to increase loading and be able to fly in higher winds, but that will only go so far.

Both are available as kits or ARF. If you want it to be light weight then go with the kit as both are pretty simple builds. Just take your time, avoid CA type glues in the tail area and most of all enjoy both the build and the flights.

Jeff

(in reply to marktur)
       Post #: 7

RE: Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions? - 5/14/2008 1:10:01 PM   
aeajr



Posts: 5525
Joined: 1/14/2003
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: jzcode43

I'm researching a few Sailplanes and would like to hear from anyone that has experiance with either or both of these planes. Thanks.....


JZ,

You have given us no information about your planned use.

Thermal or slope?
Hi-start, winch, electric? Wing top carrier?
Your first airplane?
Your first glider?
Old Pro?
Sport? Competition?
Kit? ARF?

Give us some information so we can guide you. Both have been around for a long time and have great followings but they are not right for everyone or every situation.

< Message edited by aeajr -- 5/14/2008 1:12:59 PM >

_____________________________

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

(in reply to jzcode43)
       Post #: 8

RE: Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions? - 5/14/2008 1:21:12 PM   
glidagida


 

Posts: 25
Joined: 8/20/2005
From: North BrightonSouth Australia, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		I never liked my Gentle Lady, it was too lightly built for a plane that I wanted to use in contests. My previous plane which was my 'trainer' was a Soar Birdi [Oh now you can guess my age] which was built like a brick outhouse. The GL never did much good in contests as it was so light it used to get bounced OUT of the lift and unless I literally took a running jump at the thermal and met it head on, it would just get chucked out.

But the other thing that worried me was the lightness of the structure which I believed was too fragile for a contest bird.

I was on my way to winning my first 'Beginner's Class' trophy and I dumped the Gentle Lady for an RO8 and it was one of the best planes I ever had, still light, plenty tough, would fly well ballasted and definitely did not get bounced OUT of a thermal. I used to confound my mates hand launching it into a thermal and speccing out in the days before anyone knew what HLG was.

As for a comparison now, I would recommend you look at the Grand Illusion 2M from MM GliderTech <http://www.mmglidertech.com/> which I am using in our local club contests and I am now getting it sorted and it is a very sweet handling little plane. You do have to build it, but it is very easy and I had mine mostly built in 1 month and I am a sloooow builder.

Here I gotta 'fess up that I am biased because I sell them, but I believe the GI is one of those rare planes that just clicks and will find a thermal all on its own, hands off. For piccies of mine you can check out my GI at <http://www.rc-sailplane.com.au/sailplane_detail.php?gliderID=19> and it is the red/white/yellow/blue one.

Cheers
GG




_____________________________

GG
Sailplane.AUS www.rc-sailplane.com.au

(in reply to scaflock)
       Post #: 9

RE: Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions? - 5/14/2008 4:42:40 PM   
aeajr



Posts: 5525
Joined: 1/14/2003
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Status: offline 		Glidagida,

You bring up a good point. We don't know if contest flying is even part of JZ's interest. And if it is, what kind of contest flying he plans to do. Most flyers don't fly contests but a lot can still be learned from contest flying experience.

I have never heard anyone point to the GL as a contest ship. However lots of clubs run GL one design contests.

JZ, planning to do any contest flying?

_____________________________

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

(in reply to glidagida)
       Post #: 10

RE: Gental Lady/Sophisticated Lady - Any Opinions? - 9/3/2008 7:22:39 PM   
HelloScott



Posts: 125
Joined: 1/29/2003
From: Pittsboro, IN, USA
Status: offline 		[image][/image]
quote:

ORIGINAL: marktur

You know, Tower is showing the Sophistacated Lady as an ARF for $119...not too bad...if you're not a builder. I think it could be built lighter, but hey, with the ARF, you're flying in a day...



I'm a builder, but with three kids, I'm short on time. I bought the ARF for $99. It is built PERFECTLY. I was very pleased with it. The only suggestion is to attache the stab to the fin BEFORE you put it on the fuselage. Its much easyer to get it at a right angle.

I can't wait to get her in the air! My first sailplane was a Gentle Lady too, but the Sophie is SO much better looking. I flew big open and unlimited class sailplanes too 20 years ago, but really like this one and the chance to get back into some thermals!


< Message edited by HelloScott -- 9/3/2008 7:23:30 PM >

_____________________________

"God does not deduct time spent building models from a man''s lifespan."

(in reply to marktur)
       Post #: 11

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