thesnapper

Hi, i have recently purchased a second hand eliminator 134 glider. I dont really have any information on it and would be greatfull to hear of peoples experiences with this glider........cheers Neal

mode1mac

I have an Eliminator 134. It was designed and sold by John Stevens of Oadby near Leicester. There is also a 100" version. Both are excellent performers and the 100" is still quite popular in BARCS competitions. They can stand quite a fast winch launch and thermal very well. Unfortunately John no longer sells them due to having to work for a living supporting a young family.
What sort of info do you want? If I can help in any way I will.
Cheers,

thesnapper

Hi, thanks for replying to the forum. I am relatively new to gliders, my only experience being a brushless powered 2m Nebula. I was wondering if i could bungeee launch the glider or is it to big. Cheers Neal

steve-kerry

Anything can be bungee launched if you have a big enough bungee!!!

Most bungees are made for 2m planes, or perhaps 100". You can always make a stronger bungee for big planes by using heavier elastic, or having two lengths of normal elastic side by side. Just be aware that you will need a good strong tie-down at the far end, and a firm grip to launch a big glider on a heavy bungee. But there is absolutely no reason why you can't do it, many club fliers use bungees on big gliders all the time.

Jack Hyde

My Feedback: (1)

I use an elastic that produces a pull equal to 3 to 4 times the weight of the plane when stretched to about 3 times its relaxed length. Using several elastics side by side works fine. I launch 2m and 3m planes up to a little over 4 lbs with a histart. A 6 lb plane would require about a 25 lb pull while holding the plane over my head which is more than I care to try.

steve-kerry

That sounds like a surgical tubing bungee, which is more common in the US. In the UK we normally use a length of cotton-covered shock cord, the sort used to hold things on roof racks or on the back of a bicycle. The elastic only stretches to twice its normal length, you know when it is at full stretch because the pull suddenly gets a lot tougher - don't go any further or you will damage the elastic.

So how far to stretch, really depends on what sort of bungee you have. The cotton covered UK bungees are a lot sharper that the US surgical tubing bungees, you get a lot more tension over a shorter distance. If the bungee is too powerful it really can pull your wings off! But that doesn't sound like a problem with an Eliminator 134, if you can still hold the plane over your head before launching then the wing will be able to take the load when you let go.

mode1mac

We regularly use bungee launching for 100" and 134" Eliminators. Obviously if there is a bit of wind to help it makes life easier. Our bungees are of tubular surgical rubber 30 metres long with 120 metres of 80 to 100lb nylon. The whole bungee can be stretched a further 70 metres for launching. This tubular rubber is quite expensive at around £2 per metre and can be purchased from J. Perkins Distribution Ltd in Kent. They have a website that you can find on the 'net'. Ours are normally purchased thro a local dealer called Inwoods at Huntingdon. There are 3 sizes of bungee the middle size good enough for the models we are talking about.
Cheers,