Liberator

Hi guys,

I am getting into my LSF stuff and I will be entering some contests this summer to progress this. I have been saving up for the "next step" glider and I would like to get some opinions on the best route to take on this. I have been looking at the AVA, but I would like to explore any and all options. I have been flying my BOT and having a lot of fun and getting some great flights. Longest so far has been 1 hour 4 minutes.

My budgets will be around $800.00 or less.

If you have some opinions I would love to hear them.

Thanks

Tom

bckyrdbshr

My Feedback: (35)

ART HOBBY all the way!!!

BMatthews

Um... what's wrong with the BoT for this? By all means get an aileron bird as well but the BoT should be a killer competition machine in the RES class.

Liberator

Well thats why I posted this. I do love my BOT but I wanted to see what the theorys were in terms of what people are looking at for the next step bird and why.

I do have an arthobby Thermic, but at 98" span I want a little more. Plus that airfoil is really fast.

BMatthews

Speed is good once you learn to best utilize it to move around and "test" more air faster. Since you have the Thermic already I'd play with it and learn to use the speed as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. When you find yourself wishing the BoT could move out against the wind faster then you'll know you've adapted. If you use the Thermic in this way I think you'll find that your taste in designs shifts. Fast and flat is heady and powerful stuff.

Liberator

Yes, good point. I talked to Andre this morning over at Arthobby and I have a shiny new set of tail feathers coming for my Thermic. They have made them from laminate like the wing so I am excited to see these things. Plus he said they made them a little bigger.

Oh and he says that the whole tail set weighs in at 24 grams.

Hans Dahl Christensen

Hello Liberator.

Look into : www.f3j.dk www.gliders.dk www.iggnorge.com www.igg-sverige.se www-pjotrp.de

I should think that given these subjects your full attention you should have enough for a lifetime in sailplaneflying.

An important subject : The links you might find can be very useful !!

Good luck & KR

hld - OY-9901

Oakley921

http://www.icare-rc.com/thermal_duration.htm


I have had all of them from the Hara, Artemis, NYX, Xtreme, Eraser and the Fraser as well. I took the Artemis and NYX to the World f3j Championships in Finland.

da Rock

Jeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzus!!!

Talk about STICKER SHOCK !!!!!!!!! THOSE ICARE GLIDERS ARE ALMOST ALL ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY BUCKETS!!!!!!!!!

Do they come with their own thermal generators? Golly, I haven't been to a glider contest in about 20 years so I guess I got an excuse to be amazed, but I AM AMAZED! I guess nobody flies an Oly in contests nowadays....

Anybody know a website that might list glider contests? Anybody know of a glider club on the MidAtlantic side of the US? It's time I got back into this. I'd really like to see one or two of them highbuck thangs fly. And I doubt I'd see any at your run-of-the-mill RC fields. I know that none of the clubs around here even have glider guys flying at all.

da Rock

Boy, am I relieved....... I just googled up ART HOBBIES and looked at their catalogue. They look like they've got a bunch of really clean designs and the prices seem honest prices for the work they've got to be doing to make up those wings and fuselages. Think I might have mined this thread to my benefit. Thanks guys.

And Liberator, it's my opinion (something you asked for) that ART Hobbies would be worth a look for you. I've not seen their products in the flesh, but the pictures on the website show some really nice models and their prices seem realistic. I've flown gliders for a long time, designed my own, done LSF, and flown crosscountry (100mph in the back of a Datsun pickup is like 25mph in a bus (as long as you're the pilot and don't look down from your glider)), and their stuff really does look good in the pictures. Think I'm gonna have to try one of their planes myself. Thanks for starting the thread. I got as much out of it as you may have.

http://www.arthobby.com/gliders.html

Liberator

Thanks Darock, as I said I do have a Thermic 2.5M and I just finished putting the new tail set on yesterday. I am pretty thrilled with the way it is working out. I had added a scratch built tail set and it weighed in at about 5 ounces. This new tail set is so much lighter that I have shaved a few ounces off the total weight. THis brings me in very close to 32 ounces total weight ready to fly. I will be weighing it today to find out exactly. I think though that for the type of flying I do, I am going to pick up a Sky Bird from Ray Hayes.

132" Span Fiberglass Fuse looks like a fun plane and I think pretty reasonable price wise.

http://www.skybench.com/


Thanks for all the input guys.

Here are a couple of pics.


Tom

Oakley921

When you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I will admit that it doesnt matter what you fly, but fly the crap out of it. Know everything about it from where it stalls in that climbing turn and the attitude the plane will stall at when coming in for landing. All those planes are so close in performance that in the end a Bird of Time might be able to be a Fraser but only because the pilot is better.

Just my two thoughts,

DM

BTw, I still have the Atermis and NYX. So many flights on them and I love everyone still.

slopemeno

My Feedback: (2)

The Arthobby Thermic is a great flyer. A friend of mine uses his for an ultra-light-lift sloper, and it will stay up when everything else is parked. He flies his as a 3 servo spoileron-elevator flat wing setup, and it cores really well.

Liberator

Well just as a follow up I decided to go with the Sky Bird from Ray Hayes. It should be on the way pretty soon. When I finish it I will toss a couple of pics on the thread.