Hey guys,

I am in the process of building a Sig Komander, and am loving every minute of it. I am currently stalled on it though because I'm waiting for some parts to ship.

A friend gave me a Goldberg Gentle Lady to build, and I might start that while I am waiting for the parts for the other bird. The Komander is the first kit I have ever built.

This glider will be the first glider kit I will make, and I am curious if you guys have any tips for me.

Thanks for your time guys.

I have a Gentle Lady NIB that I will build in the coming months. It's a very popular plane, and if you search the forums, especially the Sailplane forum, there is a ton of information on building advice, mods that people have done, I think there is an actual build thread somewhere too.

I'll post if I find it.

James

Thread about adding electric power:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_67...tm.htm#6706044

Folding prop discussion:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_60...tm.htm#6058513

Build Thread:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_21...tm.htm#2191597

This thread has links to a bunch of threads that have tons of information:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_56...tm.htm#5651003


I've been reading through the build threads, as the Gentle Lady will be my next kit I build after I get the 3 projects off my workbenches that are there right now...

James

The Gentle Lady was my FIRST R/C airplane.. Back in 1981!!!! Watch your tongue..

My suggestion would be to build it light and ad some reinforcement to the center section.. I was Very Happy with just the 2-channel setup..

I flew her High-Start at the local school and if you keep her light she will thermal for an hour off a high-start.. I also used to go fly her off the slopes.. Just a little hill and some wind and she will stay aloft....

And, for a first glider - Do use the approach of having one wingtip (like the whole outside pannel) as a different color.. It makes it a LOT Easier to see which way she is pointing when you are catching good thermals..

Also, you can do yourself a favor and fly the rudder off the Left Stick - like it will be for the powered airplane... I know a lot of guys put the rudder-only airplanes with rudder on the aileron control.. But, if you learn to use your left thumb now, it will always be 2nd nature in the future.. Or just fly it that way after you get some practice..

Trust a guy who has "over flown" aileron control on landing and watched his plane do a "PERFECT" tip-stall, spin, Crash[X(]..

Thanks once again for the tips, Tom. It is very appreciated.

One of the RC'ers in the club has a 3lb payload on one of his aircraft- he is planning on taking this bird up and releasing me.

We'll see how it goes...

Thanks

I respectfully disagree with the rudder on the left stick approach. When a plane has a lot of dihedral and no ailerons, the rudder control is really creating roll as much as yaw, and for many purposes, affects the plane like ailerons do. A beginner at our club who was urged to do this by someone at our field just got frustrated with it.

I flew with rudder, elevator and throttle for years before my first aileron plane. I always used rudder on the right stick. Yes, I had to learn to use rudder in a different way when I switched, but that is inevitable.

However, I did use a computer radio to put the rudder on both sticks so I could learn take-offs with the left stick. Then the transition to ailerons was effortless.

For a glider, of course, you don't have to worry about that.

Jim

I agree with building it light. Mine came in at around 24 or 25 oz. and floats very well. That gives you more time to look for thermals, and will let you thermal in very light conditions.

Also, make templates of the various sized wing ribs before you build the wing so you can easily rebuild a wing panel in case of a crash (or hangar incident ).

When a crash totaled my fuse, I changed to a Nyrod for the rudder since the stock setup leaves the rudder quite sloppy. Not mandatory, but it did make the rudder control more precise.

The monokote hinges they describe in the manual work great and are light and easy to do. My GL is over 10 years old and the hinges are still in good shape.

Once you have the wing (& fuse) covered, line it up with the stab and side to side, then make matching marks with a permanent marker on both wing and fuse. This makes it a snap to put the wing on correctly each time. Also, I used some pieces of wing saddle tape on the fuse to help keep the wing from sliding around in flight.

Get some 0.020" or 0.030" by 1 1/4" plastic strip at the hobby shop and stick it to the underside of the fuse from the front to the back of the wing saddle or so. This will keep your covering from getting torn up on landings. I stuck mine down with carpet tape, but you could also glue it with silicone or something like that.

Have fun with the GL, she's a great ship!

Thanks Aviation nut and buzzard. I will keep both of your ideas handy.

Nut- what do you mean by the 'monocote hinges?' Could you please describe or better yet take a picture of what you are speaking about?

Thanks!

A monokote hinge is where you use the covering itself as a hinge when covering the control surfaces. Since the GL flies slowly with small forces on the control surfaces, the covering has sufficient strength to act as the hinge. The manual explains the process better than I could - take a look at page 17:

[link=http://manuals.hobbico.com/gbg/gbga0060-manual.pdf]Gentle Lady Manual[/link]

If it still doesn't make sense, let me know, and I'll take pictures of one of my hinges for ya.

Thanks Aviation nut!

solo,
The GL is a great build and a very satisfying flyer. I've had my original one for over 12 years and it's still going strong and providing lots of fun.
Like a couple of other guys said, keep it light and don't use left stick for the rudder. As far as tips go, you'll do pretty well following the instructions, but here's a couple minor ones:
- on page 9 of the instructions (Thanks Aviation Nut!) it talks about adding a piece to the inner spar for windy-day strength. Do that and you won't have to worry as much about folding your wing.
- on page 16 it talks about setting washout by inducing a warp with your iron. I've never liked this kind of thing. When I've done a GL (I've built 3) I've built in the washout using a wedge-type appliance shim (covered with waxed paper) under the trailing edge while building the outer wing panel. Use weights to hold the rest flat. Once your glue dries, you'll have your washout right there.
- definately use monokote hinges.
- don't waste money on fancy lightweight radio gear and/or servos. It was designed around standard sized gear and you need the nose weight anyway.

Hav a lot of fun and post a picture when you get done.

papermache

Thanks papermache- all valuable tips. Definitely put them into use when I get to the project which will be in a month or so.

I will post pics as well.