aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Has everyone gone electric?

I fly winch, hi-start, OneWinch launched pure gliders. I love them. The launch is part of the experience that I enjoy.

How about you? Any pure glider guiders left?

MrMulligan

My Feedback: (314)

It's really difficult if you share a field with power flyers. I used to fly pure gliders, as a matter of fact I still have a pure Olympic 650 and a Scorpio Milvius The problem is setting up hi-starts or winches as they tend to get into the way of the power flyers. They don't mind the electric powered ones as they get up and out of their way pretty quickly. I look at the Olympic and am really tempted to convert it to electric.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I understand what you mean. Pure gliders really don't play well with power fields. You really need to be part of a glider club, as I am, or find a field of your own to set up a hi-start or a winch.

jetmaven

I've " played well" with my predominantly power club for decades and even on the busiest days we coexist .Its all about the
launch window and timing it right . The last thing I want is someone caught up in my winch line . So far , so good .
What makes it a bit easy is that our field is 1200' x 1200'

W7APD Alan

Once the motor is turned off, the airplane is a glider. IMO it is just as pure as any other, the only difference being that it carries its own winch in the nose.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Pure here is just used to distinguish between a glider that is self launching vs. one that is not. Pure gliders have no onboard launching system. Motor gliders, electric launched do.

I fly both and enjoy both, but I don't see a lot of posting by pilots flying non-electric launched gliders. So, where did they all go?

Antares100

My Feedback: (12)

My biggest problem is finding a field not used by future soccer stars. I have a great huge soccer field by me (1/4 mile long) but always being used. I am a purist, though understand why people use electric.

longsoar

Most pure gliders without appropriate field went electric. I'd say staying pure glider is great if you have enough energy and time to stay on-course.
It's just easier to fly electric on a small field and you always have a "second chance" on landing. Much easier to co-exist with power planes. Many benefits for electric.
Back in 70's and 80's there was no choice and we all flew pure gliders, just as in 18-th century most people used horses for transportation. Should we all give-up cars and ride horses again?
When we had no computers we used paper, pencil and a strange thing called brain. Not too many people get back to use those either , so it seems.
We all here but we moved along and switched to a new thing.

BMatthews

I think those guys are still out there. But for the most part the PURE glider guiders are focused these days on contest flying. And I've noticed a pretty big shift away from the contest crowd here at RCU over the 12'ish years I've been here. It's been replaced by the still pretty serious but sport flying group. But it would appear that the average sport flyer has issues with laying out the lines needed due to having to share the field with either power models or with other park goers. Having 300+ feet of line and rubber on the ground makes for a mess when you've got other users traipsing over it and dog's either playing with the line or getting caught up in it. So I suspect that a big portion of sport flyers go with electric power for launching.

I'd be more than happy to have this thread turn out that I'm way out in left field on this aspect. There's no doubt that I far and away prefer pure gliders that only get ONE launch and then it's up to the pilot to make it last. It just seems a little like cheating to have a motor on the nose or pylon. And maybe it makes one less likely to try to milk out some little puff of lift.

jetmaven

Oh , we're out there o.k. , and you're absolutely right about the average sport flyer having an issue laying out a winch or high start .
I can't tell you how often my club mates have implored me to hatch the nose off my woodies and stick a d%#& motor in it . Humbug .
My reward is a spec out and then listening to the questions about " how do you do that ? "

ARUP

To me, scale aerotowing is the 'purest' form of the 'sport'. Look at this beautiful scale Italian sailplane, flaps down, coming in for a landing in the evening sky! What an elegant sight for my sore eyes. I hope y'all like it, too!

jetmaven

That's excellent food for thought . I've done it both in full scale and r/c and it is indeed a blast . I own a tow plane and a scale d.g. 505 that I can drag out to the field but coordinating all the moving parts has been the problem . So the winch becomes the default .
The roots of full scale soaring are actually in catapulting a glider off a cliff , like Harris Hill in Elmira N.Y. When last I was there , the catapult rails were still in place as a museum piece .
Thanks for the picture .

Buck Barker

My Feedback: (4)

All you glider/sailplane guys out there: Are there any companies that still make kits? I love building, but can`t find any kits any more. Plans are fine, but I am about burned out on cutting parts out. I just finished, to the bones, a german Mini Moe kit, that was very interesting. Let me know if any one knows a site where I can find glider kits.

jetmaven

You can find all you can stand at Vintagesailplaner.com or at Skybench.com .
May the lift be with you .

Buck Barker

My Feedback: (4)

Thanks: I`m looking right now.

jetmaven

If you like a big Ultracoat overcast , look at the Astrojeff .

ARUP

Aviationconcepts.com has Schweizer 2-33 kits in 1/3 and 1/4. I have the latter and it is very, very nice! Aerosente.com has quite a few kits and plan offerings. I have a bunch of those: 1/4 Hall Cherokee, 1/4 1-26, 1/4 1-36, 1/3 LK 'Yankee Doodle', 40% TG-2, and some others.

Buck Barker

My Feedback: (4)

I built the Chalenger a few years ago, and put an electric motor in it. We had several flights where we thought we could not get it down. I finally had to put spoilers on it to control the lift. The place we fly at is provided by Waste Management, in NH., and lift is easy to find just by watching the vultures, and Hawks.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Glad to see I am not alone here in my love of pure gliders, no matter how they are launched. Most of mine are ARFs , i am not much of a builder.

But for the builders www.mountainmodels.com has some 2 and 2.5 m kits as well as short kits.

Www.isthmusmodels.com also has kits.

Art ARRO

My Feedback: (5)

Ed,
I believe I responded to a similar thread a while ago. Anyhow, I fly both E-sailplanes and pure "gliders" in my fleet. I've "electrified" a Gentle Lady built from RCM plans in the early 1980's using a very old Astro can motor and 6S 800 mAh Nicds. The motor was mounted on a pylon atop the wing with the battery underneath-no change in CG with this setup. I believe Keth Shaw, electic guru, did a writeup on this conversion for RCM many years ago. I then built an "Electricus" from Larry Jolly's plans with an Astro Cobalt 05 direct drive motor. Flew this combo in several E-sailplane events in lower Michigan when I lived there. For "pure"gliders" I built Leon Kinkaid's Scooter 2M for high starting and winching. Also built an Airtronic "Questor" for slope and original HL- before discus launching was discovered. Currently have a "Gem" and "Blizzard" hotliners which I enjoy flying very much-sort of a cross between soaring and high performance RC. The E-soaring is dictated by my flying site, which is dominated by glow/gas/electric power models. Occassionally I'll sneak out early or late and set out a high start for "pure" RC soaring.
PS: I also fly turbine jets which is my first (current) love, but flown at a full scale airport with long paved runways.
Rgds,
Art ARRO

Buck Barker

My Feedback: (4)

No more high start for me. I was stretching the rubber out one day, and it snapped. it hit me right between the legs. I actually went unconscious from the pain.
fortunately, no further damage. I convert what ever I have to fly to electric now. that makes sense to me any how.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Buck,

How much string did you have on that hi-start? I have had hi-start rubber break and I have had a stake come out of the ground upon full stretch and nothing came even close to me. my hi-start is 100 feet of 3/8 rubber with 400 feet of string. I stretch it 300 feet.

vonveska

I consider myself a pure glider addict but as many others I have been forced to install electric motor inside the fuselage - size of the field and power guys flying around like bees being the factor. But now the situation is reversed - I am forced to go back to pure gliders - because of the additional cost of electric gear. I just bought a spinner and two pair of blades for my new glider - (cheapest on the net) - 65 bucks including postage! Plus a motor, ESC, battery - it's going through the roof. So I will build smaller pure glider and I will cut a bungee from a truck tube - I did it before and it worked OK. And I will have more exercise stretching the line.

Buck Barker

My Feedback: (4)

That`s great. I don`t actually fly any thing. I never was able to pick it up. I have 25,000 hours in big planes. I love to build. I built a 1/4 scale Mini Moe, a top flite P47, and a 1/4 scale lAeronca champ last winter. I usually end up selling them for about 1/3 of what they cost me to build, but I love to build.I built a Challenger a few years ago. Ended up putting an electric motor in it and gave it away. Most people say that my airplanes, though a bit heavy fly very well. I have a Pike T28 for next winter, and I`m looking very hard at building another Challenger as well. I may colaberate with another club member on it. He buy, me build, and he owns

vonveska

Amazing. I like to build too, but I like to fly as well. Few people asked me to build a plane for them, but I can't afford to do it from my own budget, even if you count say 3 dollars per hour, it's an embarrassing price. Lucky people that have you around.