whaturi

hi i am thinking getting into sailplanes. i fly an aerobatic .60 plane and foamies. the dynaflite talon caught my eye but i noticed it said hand launch only. why can i not use a highstart for this plane, or can i but just need to be careful?

slopemeno

My Feedback: (2)

You can use a high start. A "zip start" or "bungee" would be more fun though. The difference is that the high-start will give you altitude, the zip start will give you speed. The hook for a zip start should be well foreward, up near the nose. You dont need all that string either, a 25' length on top of your existing rubber will work. The idea is, dont touch the elevator until you've passed the stake to get maximum airspeed, then pull up into a 45 degree climb, and do as many aerobatics on the way down as you can. If you double the surgical tubing that thing should really rip.
You Talon will probably be most at home if you can find a nice slope, however.

whaturi

hey thanks for the information! i'll order one now! could i make a zip start from surgical tubing from homedepot?

slopemeno

My Feedback: (2)

I've never seen the tubing there. The last time I bought some surgical tubing in bulk I got it at a surgical supply house. You want beefy stuff for a zip start so the plane really goes. I would check places like Tower, Hobby Lobby,etc and compare, as the price can vary a lot.

whaturi

i have been reading the online instruction manual for this glider and see that it offers the option of making it a v-tail.. would anyone recommend this.. does any one have any experience with this? what could it offer.. weight savings since it would omit the verticle stab?

Liberator

Is this going to be your first Glider? What sort of flying would you like to do?
Slope?
Thermal hunting?
Racing?
There is a whole host of others. It would be helpful to know this to help you when your trying to make a decision.

Tom

whaturi

i normally fly imac style i guess.. with my giles. i never flew a glider, but i know that i want to use a quick start to take it up and just see how long i can stay up.. then i read that this glider can be a little aerobatic, so i figured great, i can get a little razy with it too. that is why i chose this design over a more gentle glider.

BMatthews

Since the talon isn't really a great thermal sort of model you're going to find that the zip start flights will not last for more than a minute. And likely far less if you start stunting it. I doubt if that is what you are looking for. At 309 sq inches and if you can make it to the 14 oz weight called for in the specs it will thermal but it won't be an easy plane to thermal for a newbie to all this. You see, just flying a glider is quite easy. Your background will make that part a POC. But finding and really USING thermals is what you are out to learn and for that the Talon is not the world's best choice.

If you don't have a slope to fly it off then I'd suggest something a little more thermal friendly. One of the discus launch types with a towhook added and go for a mini highstart. That way you can play with the discus launching as well as some high start action and even slope soar in lighter winds.

But a better model for thermal learning would be a 2 meter. With your background you could jump right into the Spirit Elite or similar with ailerons but I would suggest against getting a glider that is too slippery. Here again it's not that you won't be able to fly it but to fly it well as pertains to finding and using thermals the workload will be higher. But if you do get one of the higher performance ones and you work through the steep learning challenge then it'll help all your flying. You only truly learn to fly smoothly when you can soar on the slightest rising air that other fliers can't even detect with their gliders....

whaturi

well thanks a lot for the advice. i did already order this glider kit form tower, since it's only 30 bucks i couldnt help myself. i can see what you mean about this being a bit quick for learning thermals.. i saw that its wing loading is 6.5 verses a lot of other gentle gliders seem to be around 5.

i do live in central PA and there are lots of mountains here. i could always go out looking for good slopes. i've been watching videos of slope soaring.. are these guys using wind to get all that lift or are they using thermals? those things can move!

Liberator

Probably all slope is what your looking at.

The big difference in the gliders (to me at least) is the amount of dihedral and polyhedral that you see on the plane. A plane with no Polyhedral and little or no dihedral requires ailerons to turn. Nothing wrong with that but they tend to be harder to slow down with out stalling, and less stable in general. A nice 2 meter plane with a lot of diheral and a chunk of poly will slow down better, can be turned with rudder only well, and is more useful in hunting for thremals due to its basic attributes.

The great planes Spirit and the Goldberg Gentle Lady are good examples of a nice docile 2 meter design that is fun to fly and find thermals with. These are also good entry level planes. If you are an IMAC guy the flying part is not the issue, it will be learning to read the wind that is challenging. It's why I got into it. The plane you have coming will probably be a great sloper. That is another great part of silent flight and another thing to do when the weather turns. We fly every weekend and usually fly thermal unless the wind picks up, then we head to the slope and finish the day out there.

Just like the rest of the sport, you will always be looking at your next plane.

slopemeno

My Feedback: (2)

Look around for a slope in your area. The bigger, steeper, and windier the better. Keep in mind that a minimum of trees behind you will help when its time to land.

You should scout around for a slope group in your area. Seriously, it will make life a lot easier. The Talon will fly in light slope lift, so I'm sure theres a spot nearby you can fly at.

I was out at our local hill a week ago and the only thing that would stay up was a Talon and a Two-tee.

Now, if you really want to get into slope soaring, I would say you should think about a Zagi, built light. The EPP foam construction will allow it to bounce when you make a mistake, so your day doesnt end. The Zagi THL, 3C,and 5C are all good choices that fly great in light air. The Wing Warrior Raider is better if you have a heavier lift spot. You'll need an electronic mixer if your radio doesnt support this function, but they are available pretty much everywhere now.

Some resouces for you: You can look for established slope flyers in your area here, on RCUniverse, RCGroups, and Radio Control Soaring Exchange. You'll find most slope flyers like to have a good time at the hill and like to have some new blood around. Once you hook up with a group you'll find lots of good deals on used equipment so the sport wont be quite as expensive as it first seems. All the other sports I used to be into just gather dust now.

whaturi

thanks so much! i will be flying at the feild whenever i can this year, and there are some guy who seem to be into sailplanes more than others at least. i will get them talking and see where they go.. and in the meantime, if i have this talon built, it wouldn't hurt to fling it up there with a highstart just to play around, right?

mitchamus

you won't be dissapoointed,
it's a great slope soarer, and is reasonably aerobatic. looks great with the v-tail too.

practice your hand launcing at the park, with a good hand launch, you should be able to do a wide figure 8 and land it at your feet no problem.

it's lots of fun to fly.

mitch.