Can you identify my new baby?

[ms_stew]

Well, new to me, anyway. Picked up this well-worn (but in good shape) full house thermal ship, and was hoping to find out something of its manufacture - approximate date, manufacturer, model, airfoil. It's just under 3 meters wide - approx 114" (2.9m) at the leading edge, widening to approx. 117 1/2" (2.98m) at the trailing edge. Flat bottom wing, looks like balsa & covering. Top surface is sheeted all the way back to the TE. Fiberglass fuse. About 52 1/2 " long at the bottom, then the big rudder rakes back such that at the top edge it makes the overall length about 55 1/2".

Channelling Paul Willenborg, if you're trolling the posts - have you been around F.A.S.T. long enough to have encountered this plane before? Note the F.A.S.T sticker on the left wing.

- Michael Stewart

[ms_stew]

...and a side view of the fuse

[TThroop]

The fuse and tail group reminds me of a Larry Jolly Cheetah. The wingspan is in the correct size. If it is then the airfoil is E205. Keep us informed on what it turns out to be.

Terry Throop

[ms_stew]

Thanks, Terry. There is a name written inside the spoilers, but I haven't made contact with that person yet. Could be several owners ago. I'll try some web searches for the Cheetah, see if I can locate a picture, or any other models by that manufacturer. I'll be sure & post back if I get anything useful from the former owner.

[TThroop]

If it is a Cheetah by Larry Jolly, then Larry had many different planes. Some of them are the Pantera, the poly version of the Cheetah, Icarus, Meteor just to name a few. Larry doesn't do any kits anymore. Most of his modelling work is now for the movie industry. He did a lot of work on Stuart Little 2, the Castaway( I think that is the name of the movie, the one with Tom Hanks in it), and many others.

Terry Throop

[ms_stew]

Ok, so that hit in the search on a studio with his name is the same guy. Is he the one I see there in pix at the Harbor Soaring Society - The Master?

If so, and if he's out of the kit business he wouldn't have a web site; I guess I'll keep hitting the search links & maybe pick up an identified picture at a club site somewhere.

If he didn't do many, and if they're several years old, I may have one of the last survivors. Might be hard to get a positive i.d. if that's the case. Thanks again for the info.

- Michael Stewart

[bjaffee]

A friend of mine has a Larry Jolly Cheetah. While the tail section looks a lot like this plane, the nose and canopy are do not. My friend's plane is much rounder, and the canopy has more of a scale look to it.

[emersunn]

Looks a little like this, but not quite:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1322&papass=&sort=1&thecat=506

[TThroop]

One other problem with the Osprey II is that it is only a two meter. This plane has a wing span of 114". That is a little bit of stretch for a two meter fuselage. Still keep looking, maybe we'll get the correct answer yet.

Terry Throop

[ms_stew]

Thanks for the efforts, folks. You're a great bunch. I'm trolling through the picture galleries I can find too. Looks like trying for the former owner (written inside the spoilers) has turned out to be a dead end.

A friend locked on to a dead ringer for a 2nd big cruiser I bought at the same time in the package deal. That one looks like an Aquila XL (150"). The canopy shape has changed slightly at the back edge, but it otherwise matches the specs exactly. So in this case I'm also keeping an open mind to it possibly being still in production in a slightly more modern style. Again, thanks for the efforts.

[vario]

www.isthmusmodels.com have a glider called the mistral,,looks like yours but you have less poly etc,,check it out,,same tail for sure

,,,vario

[Paul Willenborg]

Hi Michael,

No, I don't remember ever seeing this one, though I agree with others that it looks like an LJM (Larry Jolly Models) product. Gonna have it flying soon?

Paul

[ms_stew]

vario -
Thanks - yeah, looking at the Mistral 3 we're getting closer on the tail. This one seems to have more rake backward on the t.e. of the rudder than the parts shot of the Mistral 3, but maybe not. I might try another side shot of the tail. M3 looks a little taller in the fuse, but looks thin like this one when leaned over for those shots. M3 is built-up and this one is a fiberglass fuse, so mine is curvy in all directions. Also, this one (mine) is a two-piece wingrods-through-the-fuse arrangement.

Paul -
Haven't run into pics yet of some of Larry Jolly's stuff, other than a few at the Harbor Soaring Society (if that's him), and he's often holding other brands of planes in those.

Yep, it's more or less ready to try. Waiting now for a good day and for me to have the time - sometimes I think I should have waited a few more years before taking up this hobby. Last time out at the sod farm, you weren't there (a recent Saturday) and I tried the big 150" R/E/S first (the one we think is an Aquila XL), being a R/E and being my first-ever hi-start experience. I got it back down in one piece. Suspenseful ride. Rod of course did better with it.

In the case of this plane, it weighs probably 25-30 oz. less than that big 150". I'm using the next-to-largest hi-start that Sal sells. I had to share the channels a bit, since it has ailerons & spoilers and I have a 4-chan transmitter - stuck the tow release on with the spoilers, so you have to fire the spoilers a sec to get free. Hopefully, you'll be out there when I can get free to try it out. If you had the time, I'd much rather see you dial it in and determine its flyability than have me cartwheel it on flight#1. I'm not far beyond the presumption that any flight difficulties I experience are 100% pilot error.

[TThroop]

Yes, that is Larry Jolly at the Harbor Soaring Society. He was the president of the club a couple of years ago.

Terry Throop :p

[Johnson Knowles]

That looks very much like a Bounty Hunter from the mid-to-late 80's designed by the late Don Chancey. The strongly rear raked fin was typical of Don's designs (he was the original designer of the previously mentioned Pantera later to be kitted by LJM).

I helped Don fabricate the molds for the Bounty Hunter fuselage so I'm pretty familiar with it. The pod halves were molded separately, then they were assembled along with a 'glass or carbon fiber boom in another mold. Pods were 'glass, carbon fiber or carbon fiber/kevlar mix. The fin was not part of the molded fuselage assembly but was fabricated by the builder. Those details might help you verify its origin.

I think I still have a fuse or two rattling around somewhere in the garage. If I can find one I'll post a picture. I have just returned to the R/C Soaring community after a 15 year layoff, so it may take quite a search.;)

KJK

[Stan Myers]

Fellow by the name of Joe Threlkeld built it. Talked to Joe last week and he verified it was his.

Stan

[ms_stew]

Thanks very much, Stan. I had tried to reach him a couple of times, gave that up. Joe sure did a nice job on the wing I have. Just curious now, to see if I can find a pic of the original, see what it looked like stock. Seem to be a couple thousand sports car hits to wade through no matter how I structure the search. I'm assuming we're talking about a Larry Jolly-designed Pantera.

How did it fly, in its former owner's capable hands or yours - did you fly it too? Easy to handle? Think I oughta put it away for a while 'til I know what I'm doing?:p (too nice to goink up on recommissioned flight #1!)

[Stan Myers]

There are several guys at FAST field that can help you fly the plane. Joe, is a long distance truck driver so his hours/days are pretty irregular.

Here is his e mail address: badcap@aol.com

I'm sure he would be happy to give you his setup if he can remember it.


Stan

[ms_stew]

Thanks again, Stan! Yep, they're a good bunch out there, always helpful. I'm sure I've made a pest of myself more than once. Nobody seems to get grumpy about it.

By the way, one way to keep Joe from getting a couple dozen offers for Viagra and assorted dental insurance plans in his inbox in the near future would be to, if you choose to stick an e-mail address in text, state it as something like, "badcap at aol dot com", then maybe the address harvesting programs that dredge the internet continuously won't scoop it up.

Long weekend coming up. Maybe I can make it out there sometime over the 3 days.

[Stan Myers]

Thanks for tip on email address