Riser vs. Gentle Lady
 

Built my first glider last year: House of Balsa 2x4 with a small glow engine bolted to the nose.
I now want something larger and more efficient while keeping it simple. I'm looking at the Sig
Riser and the Goldberg Gentle lady. I'm planning to use a Norvel .061 on a power pod. Just
need to decide which kit.

Either sailplane is a good choice, but for what it's worth, I learned to fly on a Sig Riser. Easy to build, solid, responsive, not a bad looking sailplane. I like that Sig uses cap strips (1/16" balsa strips on the ribs between the leading edge and the top spar) which helps reduce sag between rib bays. I used a high start so can't tell you how it will run on a Norvel. I didn't build it with spoilers at the time, however I got another Riser (mostly for nostalgia purposes) and will be building it with spoilers. Either kit will do you well.

I have more flight hours on my Gentle Lady than any of the other 30 or so airplanes in my hangar.
After pulling the wing off a couple of times with the high start I performed surgery on her nose and added an electric motor (e-Flight park 480).
Best thing I ever did.

'Crabs

I've been off flying big gassers the last few years. But getting the glider bug again.

I have had/flown both over the years. I think the question should be which first?
I prefer the Riser over the Gentle Lady, only a personal reference. As many will prefer the Gentle Lady over the Riser. For a Norvel .061, why not try a Riser 100? The .061 will pull it up nicely, and the glider will carry the power pod better (weight).

Hope this might help.

-Snuts-

Curious, why glow vs. electric? Just personal preference?

I think Electric has a lot of advantages, but I have never flown glow so I would be interested in your comments.

For those of us that cut our teeth on glow engines it's simply something that we understand better and feel more comfortable with using. And for those that haven't made the leap into the electron pool the learning curve to figure out what works and to buy all the stuff needed can seem pretty daunting. Faced with that the idea of dripping oil all over the place and living with the noise and starting issues doesn't seem so bad..... :D

Skyraider, my own feeling is that the Gentle Lady is a nicer model to fly with perhaps a slight edge on the thermalling in lighter lift department. But I've read that the fit of the parts in the kit leaves a lot to be desired. A major part of the joy of building is working with well fitted parts. So I'd give the nod to whichever kit you learn has the nicer wood and better parts fit.

Now I've never seen a Riser kit and the Goldberg laser kits may have gotten fixed up to produce better fits. I can't comment either way on that aspect. But I'd suggest that you check for reviews on each with an eye to the fit of the parts cutting and go with the one that has the better reputation on that front.

And if aeajr's question about going electric has caught your intrest and if you're willing to buy into this "new technology" I suspect that you'd find it easy to do and highly rewarding. No more oil soaked wood. No more cut fingers, No more nasty noise until it's out some 20 yards and more. It really is a slick way to fly. Best of all with the low cost of the gear these days you can get into the whole electric propulsion thing for a Riser or Gentle Lady for probably $120 worth of motor, ESC, Lipo packs and charger. Everything you need all in for that cost.

I guess i'm just old school, I perfer the norvel due to the weight savings. No battery to have to haul around. after all you want the sailplane to be as light as possible to float better. I incorporated my norvel 061 mount to the hatch cover to save on having to put nose weight in and, made a additional hatch cover in case I wanted to fly from slope or high start. engine has no throttle. It's only there to get my sailplane up to altitude then the rest is up to me. No cheating

I've always been happy with my Gentle Lady and TD .049 set-up, but I can definitely see the Riser doing the same thing. I'm sure your Norvell would be happy in either plane.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1978128 http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=1978129

Why be picky. Get them both, build and fly.
They are cheap enough and It's always good to have a spare RTF.

I've build and flown many Ladies but never a riser. I just picked up a Spirit for the sake of trying it out.

Hey Wolfy! If that's the GP Spirit, watch your CG closely. I've got 2 Spirit-100's flying, both were tail heavy when they started out life. Also, the rudder's not as effective as something like the Gentle Lady OR the Riser - she takes more territory to turn in and doesn't actually start the turn right away - a bit sluggish.

This pertains to BOTH my Spirits, but over the past 10 years I've gotten to the point that I really don't notice it anymore.

I agree - get them both, build and fly. That's what airplanes are made to do.

Love Sig Kits but have built and flown several GLs. The GL is fun to modify as well. Try some AG series airfoils on one.
GLs like a LIGHT tail build and I extend the nose to help decrease nose weight that is usually needed. This needed weight tendency will allow a glow motor on the nose with out to much penalty. The drag penalty will be there still.

Sorry guys, been away for a while, got sucked in to FB and youtube. I'm a glow engine
enthusiast, that's what I know best. I'm currently flying my 2X4 with a throttled Norvel .061
The 2X4 is OK but it has some short comings I'd like to have a better, more efficient glider.
I like glow because because I already have it, going electric means lots of stuff to buy.Besides,
I wasn't sure a brushless set-up would fit in either plane.

Though this has been discontinued there are still kits around its a gentle lady converted for electric. In fact I think it comes with an old brushed motor which means lots of room for a brushless replacement. http://www.carlgoldbergproducts.com/.../gbga0040.html The electrics are not hard to figure out most motor manufacturers give you the prop sizes and battery configurations. The extra weight does not effect the performance as much as you would think. A little in calm air but the little extra weight gives better penetration in brisker winds.

This will out perform any of the Goldberg Lady’s in all aspects and is much better built. It’s available still today. Mine is at least 10 years old and still wins many club glider competitions. It has rudder, elevator and pop up spoilers as well as the electric motor. It’s only 85 dollars and is one of the easiest gliders I have ever built. At the bottom of the web page it gives some tested combinations motor, esc and battery combos. http://www.djaerotech.com/dj_product/chrysalis2m-e.html

Being able to fly and restart the motor when low you will get several climbs to altitude with one charge something you cannot do with your nitro motor. Another saving grace with electrics is the ability to keep the model out of the rough by being able to throttle up the motor to get you back to the field or make a go around if you need to. This can save a ton of repair work and help keep the model light and straight for many years.

Dennis

Although the Gentle Lady is Laser Cut, the fit of the parts, particularly the wing ribs is horrible! This from my good flying buddy who is an experienced builder of some 40 years. Prior to hearing this I was going to buy one, now I think I'll try something else. The riser might be the one.

If you guys are looking for kits to build be sure to check out Skybench Aerotech for their kits. Ray has some nice looking designs. Likely a touch more work and attention needed but you'll end up with a better performer and something that has some classy looks.

One detail about flying fuel engines in gliders that is missed by inexperienced flyers is the use of freeflight fuel tanks. In fact, freeflight timer shutoffs to limit the engine run make a lot of sense for modelers who want the challenge of winch like launches.

Flying a fuel engine glider with no means to shut off the engine really has little challenge. It can be boring for most modelers. The biggest test is to your patience waiting for the engine to stop. On good glider days, the problem is often just keeping the altitude down and the model in sight. But add a fuel shutoff and you model has it's own "winch". Of course, you gotta make your own unless you've got a history of freeflight.

I have a throttle kill switch set up on my 2X4.

I never built or flew a Gentle Lady, but the Riser was my first r/c plane. Highstart, no engine. But the point I want to make was the build was easy, thought the capstrips (see the prior post on this) made sense after covering (very little sag) and was surprised more kits didn't use them. Easy to launch, easy to fly. Just my .02. Good luck and HAVE FUN!!

I ordered the Riser today. I'm not 100% decided on how I'm going to power it, but I ordered
the power pod as it's just a few dollars more.

A new thread that follows the build, covering and flying would be well received by those that are considering a first try at building vs buy and fly. Please consider the idea. I know you'd get lots of encouragement. And any snags you run into will help others.

Fuel soaking is always a deal with glider style models like this. I'm going to suggest that it's worth wrapping the covering, assuming you use an iron on, around the edges and then heat seal both the forward hatch and wing openings with a sacrificial sealing strips. I've done this on a good half dozen glow powered sport models and I was glad I did later on when I had to get into the guts. It was clean and dry inside. And removing the strips was the matter of a few added seconds.

Alternately consider attaching the nose hatch permanently and make a light plywood "sled" that holds your receiver and battery pack.

A free flight idea for a fuel tank which would give you around a 90 to 120 second run time is to use a 10cc syringe that runs top to bottom through the nose just behind the engine firewall. The rubber plug can be poked through and stub tube added for filler and vent. And the outlet is reamed out to 3/32 for a 90 bend of brass tubing that is your lower feed hookup. On the Riser a 1/8 plywood skeg could be added to protect the feed where it sticks out from being swept off. Or angle the syringe so the outlet comes out down by the lower side.

Here's a couple of pictures to give you an idea. This one is a cut down 3cc syringe for free flight. But it shows the idea. It was installed in the fuselage you see the two tanks resting on. The bent feed line stuck out the bottom while the upper lip of the syringe tube was sticking up about 1/8 inch above the wood so it was easy to seal off.