ORIGINAL: zdog59
I will say I was a bit dis enchanted when at both hobby stores their reps said I was essentially wasting my time b/c there are no thermals around here? From a scientific stand point I would imagine thermals are just about anywhere there are variances in terrain temperature and air??? Is this ignorance on my part or theirs?
lol..... The ignorance is theirs. There are thermals even in Virginia. Ever seen Virginia buzzards having to call a cab to get to their next meal?
. Which brings me to another question, what type of winds is the plane capable of flying in? And an suggestions on how to get started?
Going to the field tomorrow and will be flying my nitro Avistar. But was thinking about breaking out the Radian later in the afternoon after most had left? and tips?
What speed winds? A buddy flew his brand new Radian for the first time Monday. Winds were gusting to 20+mph. Was that sensible? No, but entirely possible. On the other hand, we flew yesterday and it was a smarter choice. Every flight he got to his "uncomfortable" altitude. It's his first glider so he's not specking out. The airplane is a very good 1st glider.
Tips? Don't put the biggest battery in the sucker. We put a 1300mAh in and it flew significantly better than it had with the 2000mAh he started with. We moved it aft after one flight and it flew even better. "Aft" was about halfway into the battery compartment, not shoved all the way in.
He had the flaps setup with 3 positions. Zero degrees, about 5 degrees and full (something like 40 degrees). He used the 5 degrees whenever he was in a thermal. It worked good for him.
It's a good glider.
Oh, btw........... we "called the buzzards" a couple of times. We'd be circling in a thremal and here they came. They'd make a few laps and boogie on. It was humorous that they came to us more than we went to them. Not usually the case, but it was yesterday. Hope it is tomorrow as well.