nitrodan

i believe i read some in this thread that someone owns the little brother to this bird the 103 inch is there a thread on this bird or could you give me some info as that im awaiting the arrival of mine as soon a the summertime santa arrives in his big brown sled
thanks John

ludfleet

My Feedback: (10)

Hello: Can the Discus be put up with a high start, and what size surgical tubing or bungie would you need to for it? Old age is setting in, sorry for the double post. Who ever has the authority to delete can remove this one. Thanks Joe

ludfleet

My Feedback: (10)

Hello: This is my first large 4m sailplane, can a high start be made that will launch this airplane? What size tubing and cord? I just figured that it could be launched and now after reading some in the forum I'm not sure. What kind of help can you give me? Thanks Joe

Tom in Cincy

My Feedback: (16)

The model will weigh about 10 pounds when ready to fly. I have no idea what specifications a high start must have to launch this glider to altitude (20-25 lbs of initial pull?? ) . The Discus was intended as a Slope Soarer (ie you throw it off the side of a cliff). I believe the plane may be towed by another powered plane, motorized by electric or a fuel engine, or winched up.
I may be wrong, but I do not think a high start would work that well.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

For those of you who have been flying these planes for a while, what do you think?

Great plane?

Good for the price?

Not a good choice?

Avoid at all costs?

My friend just took delivery of one so I am looking for any advice that you experienced owners might wish to offer on top of what is already in the thread.

kwmtrubrit

Hey aeajr,

Try looking on RCG, or even here on RCU. Someone was flying recently and gave a little pull upwards and heard a pop. Later during a landing he dinged the fuse. Rather than repair it, he scraped it but not before doing an autopsy on the wings. He found that the spar system was very weak. General thoughts were if you want a lazy days flying, this should be o.k. If you want to fly it the way it looks like it wants to be flown, don't get one without being prepared to do some work on the wings. Hopefully, someone with experience will chime in with more info.

Keith

ludfleet

My Feedback: (10)

Correct me if I'm wrong, The fellow that had his wing fail just prior to the wing breaking had a hard landing where the wing tip caught, now just possibly the problem started there. There must be a ton of these planes flying out there, It seems that if there was a huge problem with the wing we would read about it hear.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I was reading the specs:

Specification

Wingspan: 4,000mm (
Length: 1,700mm
Weight: 3,800g ( 8.8 lbs)
Airbrake: Factory installed
Wing tip: Fiberglass winglet included
Elevator: Factory installed elevator mechanism
Radio: 5 Channel, 6 servos (4 mini, 2 standard) Aileron, Rudder, Elevator, Brake
Fuselage: Fiberglass, with balsa spar reinforce on tail
Wing: Foam core with fiberglass layer, hardwood skin
Wing rod: Dia 10mm steel rod with rubber suspension system


Kit Features:

Pre-painted fiberglass fuselage
Balsa wing with fiberglass lamination
Factory built elevator mechanism
Factory built & installed air brake
Mold fiberglass wing tip included


It appers there is no actual spar system in the wing? Looks like a stressed skin design. No real spar. In this type of wing, there is a joiner tube but it is not really a spar. The loads are all carried in the skin. I just built a 3M competition plane of this type. Can anyone comment as to whether this is a spar in this wing?

If that is the case, you have to be VERY careful as to how you install the servos. You want to minimize the cord wise cutting as all the strength is in the skin. If you cut the fabric that makes the skin you are cutting the strength of the wing.

The weight given is about 8.8 pounds. Is that the plane's weight or the all up weight? How much do your planes weigh, all up, ready to fly?

Also, are you hi-start, winch or aerotow launching the plane. Or are you all slope soaring with it?

Thanks for any tips or insights you can offer.

[email protected]

My Feedback: (5)

I was just shown the thread regarding the 157!QUOT! Discus glider yesterday. most of what i've read centered around building and modifying the model not too much on flying. I plan to fly mine as a glider off of a winch is anyone out there doing this how about a flying report.

Nano Rotors

I am going to see what is in the wing as my plane came completely hammered. Well I got what I paid for alright! $110 + $45 shipping.

I will be cutting into the wings to fix a crack in on the underside were the aileron servo bay is on the right wing, so I figure I will add flaps and the possibility of a spar from root to tip. I do not think these are glassed as they claim to be, in any case I will find out. Can anyone tell me if they are?

Also I had to fix the fuselage in the canopy and wing area because of cracks due to the knuckle head who jammed the bulkhead down to far! [>:] I added 4 layers of 1oz. cloth then carbon fiber tow and another 4 layers of 1oz. glass cloth to beef up that area as I want to dd a retract wheel to it. Boy that added some of the necessary weight to the nose that is needed. I made a plug to reform the thin plastic canopy that came with the plane. I think they form these three at a time as I have read that some are paper thin. Mine is thin on the right side and thick on the left which makes me believe that mine was on the outside of the three and the center ones get stretched to thin.

Bill

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

You guys are far more dedicated than I. If the plane came in damaged, I would send it back for a replacement, or at least file a claim with the shipper.

Good luck with the Mods.

SlopeFlyer33

Here's my experience with the 4 Meter Semi Scale.

Just yesterday I was flying it on a coastal slope
doing loops, rolls, and high-speed fly-bys.
I just throw it off the cliff and up it goes.
Had no problems whatsoever. It makes a cool whistling
sound as it cruises by on the fly-bys.


It does have a spar and it's a square piece of
hardwood running alongside the wing rod.
The fuselage is a bit thin in places. On a hard landing some
of the paint can crack, but it will still fly fine.

As for building, the biggest problem I saw was that as it comes
there is too much down-elevator and not enough up-elevator.
I fixed that by gluing a small triangular trailing-edge piece
on top of the elevator control hinge to tilt the rear of
the elevator up more.

I would say its definitely good for the price -
a lot of plane for the money. I got one recently for
$111 + $45 shipping.

Nano Rotors

It was not an option for me. Mine came very wet, The shipper kept leading me on until I could not store a 7" long moldy box in my apt. anymore. I tossed it after a week and then I was told by UPS that they needed it. I took tons pictures of the bad quality and damage and the wet, twisted box but that did not matter. Also I paid for insurance but the shipper never got it. I was hosed and I know it. [][>:]

emerckx

Who was the seller? I think you at least need to let everyone know whom to avoid, and get some minor revenge. Although shippers always want to see the damage.... sounds like more of a shipper problem.
Edward

Tom in Cincy

My Feedback: (16)

I have never heard anything but good reports about the flight quality of this aircraft. I have had one for several months and it is a very good flyer. This plane, with its 12 foot wingspan, requires special consideration when handling, launching, flying and landing.
There are a lots of stress loads created by such a large span. The plane naturally wants to fly pretty fast. Turning too tightly on a 4 meter will always stall the inboard wing and start a spin. The landing approach needs to be well thought out. It will seem to fly forever on final approach and use of the spoilers is necessary. If your thinking hotliner this is the wrong aircraft. If you think your getting a thousand dollar fully molded composite ship for $200 delivered to your door --nope---...

I would not recommend this for your first glider. Start off with a 2-meter and progress to the larger ships.

ALL-in-ALL this bird is a bargain. Flown for what it is, it does an excellent job.

Happy landings,
Tom

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Tom,

I read it slopes well and aerotows well. Any opinions on winch launching? Can the wings take a strong winch launch, or should this plane be focused on aerotow and slope where the wing loadings will be much less?

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I have a NE Sailplanes Pinnacle XL hi-start that is rated for 4M planes. It will provide 30+ pounds of pull at full pull. I have used it to launch 5 pound 3M plane at 25 pounds, but never something this size. However it should work. But it is a beast to hold the plane with 25 pounds of pull. At 35 this would definately be a two many operation.

You would launch it off the ground, not by hand. Make sure you use a bridal with hooks in the fuselage under the wings, not on the bottom like the typical 2 or 3M sailplane.

www.nesail.com - look under accesories and sailplane stuff. Pinnacle XL.
http://www.nesail.com/detail.php?productID=872
$110

Tom in Cincy

My Feedback: (16)

Ed, I have no experience with a winch system. With the expense and complexity of such systems I would guess they are usually found at soaring clubs. That's were the expertise may be found.
My Discus is E-powered http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4171800 . It works well and allows 4 good power-ups to altitude (about all I can handle!) per charge.

mtt3107

Tom, where do you fly here in Cincinnati ?
I fly at the VOA field north of Cincinnati, close to the Tylersville exit of I-75. Maybe we can meet sometime.

Nano Rotors

He is the only one selling it. He also likes to hold use feedback as a hostage thing. He will not post feedback until after you do. If he is wrong he will not be ab upstanding person and except it and will trash your feedback even if you were the best ebay person in the history of ebay. So I will have to wait the 89 days and 23.59 minutes to leave his apprppriate feedback so he will not trash mine. Heck I paid him 30 seconds after the auction with paypal, so I do not deserve his lies. Some was the shipper, and some was quality issues. He did nothing to try to correct it. Like I said I was hosed and I know it!

mtt3107

From what I read on RcGroups and here on RCUniverse, it looks to me like there is a pretty wide spread in the quality of these birds.
apparently the folks who make it don't have their QC quite figured out yet.

The reports I have read range from "unfixable junk - tossed on receipt " over " needs major work to become a flyable model, but still a good deal for the money" to " biggest bargain of all times, minor work will reward you with a nice 4m scale ship" .

That , combined with NanoRotors' comments about the seller's behaviour would make me step back, the odds of getting burned are just too high.
As they say, "there's no such thing as a free lunch", I think that applies to scale sailplanes as well. In other words, you get what you pay for......

ACES&8s

I would also like some pointers on flying this plane. I am making mods. Electric self launching glider mods.

There are some pics for you to see. As you can see I opted for leads through a hole at the root of the wing saddle.

I'm using my hitec eclipse. Flaperon funtion and programable mix to operate the spoilers.

Channels 1 and 6 are the ailerons, and 5 and 7 are the spoilers with 5 the master.

This way the spoilers come up with the switch, and adverse yaw can be corrected with the channel 7 knob.

Flaps or crow ailerons deflect when the channel 6 knob is moved away from the center position. I may never use this flap function, but nice to have it.

I have cut off the nose for my Freidenthaller spinner and folding prop, and I plan of a package of Hacker A50-12 S motor, Castle phoenix 60 and 4 apex 3 cell packs in two by two combination for 6 cells and 4.2 amp hours. Each pack can maintain 31 amps so the series and parrael group of four 3 cell packs make a 6- cell pack of 4.2 amp hour capacity, which can deliver up to 62 amps, about that of the controller max, and since the peak burst of the packs would be within the controllers 5 second max as in the specs. The motor will spin a 14x10 freidenthaller folding blade prop on the spinner of the same manufacture.[img][/img]

ludfleet

My Feedback: (10)

Thanks for your reply Ed, Another question Now that I'm starting to assemble my Discus I see that the wing is glued to the fuse at least that's the way it appears to me. Wow I'll never be able to transport this thing. Has anyone ever made the wing detachable? Maybe I'm totally misreading the assembly. The other thing is if the wings are removeable how are they held on? I don't see much in the drawing that I can figure out about that assembly. Give me some feed back. Any help would be appreciated. Joe

Tom in Cincy

My Feedback: (16)

The wings don't glue on. They slide on to the steel rod (10mm). You must add an anti rotation pin to the rear of the wing cord. There are 2 screw eye hooks supplied. One each screws into a wing panel. A slot is cut into the fuse to allow the eye to pass. I then use a Ty-Wrap to connect the 2 eye's to each other, securing the wings.

ludfleet

My Feedback: (10)

Thanks Tom, Wow I sure didn't get that assy from looking at the paper work that came with the airplane. I was way off. Is there a better set of building instructions/plans out there for this plane. Another thing, the 10mm rod fits very loose in the fuse is that normal? I don't see anything else in the kit that is supposed to go in that location to tighten things up. I'm usually pretty good at figuring things out from plans but this one is not good. Thanks Joe