Question about FOAM WINGS on gliders.
 

Hi Everyone,

I just joined this forum today hoping to get an answer to these questions. I am thinking about ordering the plans from RCM to build the "SOAR ACE". Here are my Questions:

What are "ACE FOAM WING?" Who makes them?
Has anyone here built this model? How easy are they to repair?

I just moved to the coast and I would love to have a plane I can soar in the wind at the beach. There are some good updrafts here right on the beach next to the dunes. I have flown gliders on and off for the last 15 years. I have built about 4 or 5 planes and ordered a couple of 2M ARFS in the past. I have never SLOPE flown a glider however I am going to give it a try. Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated.

Thank you!
Gregg in Morro Bay, Ca.

Question about FOAM WINGS on gliders.
 

Hi Gregg,

There are a couple of good sites near you, Montana de Oro and Cayucos. Many of the pilots in the area fly at Laguna Lake in SLO. Check out our website www.pbss.org

I'd recommend an airplane made of EPP foam for a slope trainer. EPP is virtually indestructable and "bounces". A popular one that you can fly both on the slope and flatland is the DAW TG3 Trainer
http://www.davesaircraftworks.com/


Shoot me an email for more local soaring info

[email protected]

Re: Question about FOAM WINGS on gliders.
 

Ahh, the old Ace foam wing..What are they? A wing made of molded white foam, like the cheap coolers you see at the 7-11. Used to be made by Ace R/C, and were used on a lot of the RCM plans. They're not made anymore. No biggie, it's easy to cut your own and the homemade ones will probably be straight, unlike most of the Ace ones I ran across ;)

Oh, and shoot shoe an e-mail!

where are those dunes?
 

Hello Gregg,
I'm familiar with the area because I spent many a summer vacation there and still camp there by the golf course in that little camp ground. Where are the dunes in relation to that campground where the museum is? Im curious because I'll probably be coming down at some point and I'll have to bring my slope gliders and wing with me next time. By the way, you have to stop in town at that little Ice Cream shop, they make a good cone.


Oh back to the question. I'm not sure about that Ace wing but I'd recommend you get yourself 2 planes. From my experience, I say to go with something like an EPP XR or a Wing Warrior and build them light for your lightest days. Also I'd get something like a Patton 48" EPP warbird such as a P51 or Spitfire and build it so you can adjust the ballast if need be, this way your covered for what ever conditions you may find. Most of the guys at my slope think the same way. They bring up plane that can take advantage of gusty conditions and a wing for the lightest of breezes. As for flying either of these aileron planes? They are not that difficult if you've been flying that long.

Slope flying in my opinion is just a little different in the fact that you dont have to find lift that hard provided you have a good slope. In addition, you have to think a little faster on your toes because slope gliders will tend to fly a little faster then your typical floater will and remember to always turn into the wind till you get the hang of it

Rob

If at al possible, start with hands-on help from an EXPERIENCED slope pilot !!!
 

Gregg,

Even though you are an experienced model sailplane pilot, I'd urge you to FIRST AND FOREMOST get a veteran SLOPE "fiend" to trim out any new model you might have, and afterward then help you learn to fly slopes with it yourself.

So, from my hard-earned expereince decades ago flying off california shoreline slopes, here's what I'd humbly add to what others have said in this thread...

If at all possible, DO NOT throw a model off a slope until you have arranged first to have a seasoned slope-soaring flyer do the following:

1.) Thoroughly "pre-flight" the plane to ascertain airworthiness for SLOPE flying. We're talking about things like optimal c/g location(s), ballast, airframe structural strength & shock absorption, control surface travel/servo throw, etc.

2.) Identify the SAFEST slope location vis a vis lift, wind shear, turbulence, landing options, retrieval safety, etc.

3.) Have the experienced slope flyer give you the low-down on the shall we say "interesting" dynamics inherent in flying models off slopes:

How and where and WHEN to launch a model, how to keep the thing out of the mouths of sea otters, sea lions, barracudas, and rattlesnakes (not to mention all those jagged slippery blue-green algae'd ROCKS), and then how to slap that airplane down onto the slope after a great flight aloft!

This stuff is hard to communicate on paper or online! It involves hand motions ;-)

4.) Have your new slope pal actually DO the flying until the plane is trimmed out, and then have that same person take the plane high and upwind/upslope and then give you some stick time to get the feel of the upwind/crosswind/downwind flight regime and so on.

I hope all that does not make it seem like some kind of hassle to learn slope flying... because slope is no hassle. It's a BLAST !!!
You just don't want to see your servos bouncing off the abalone shells and kelp at high tide...from a viewpoint of nine feet below
the water's surface!!! Trust me, I KNOW about such thangs!!!

You'll LOVE slope-soaring! And me, I'm awful jealous you're at AWESOME Morro Bay!)

huh?
 

I don't want to be negative.

But....


I can't see the ace foam wings worth a darn on a slope plane.

Usually used on .049 stuff