Hobie "SuperHawk" finished!

[CactusJackSlade]

I just finished and test tossed my SuperHawk today... it definitely looks like a winner! The low speed handling was excellent. I plan to hi-start it tomarrow and hope for a good thermal day. I will give a full report!

Here is a photo of the finished plane...

RTF weight: 45.5 oz.
wing span: 122"
Airfoil: SD-7037
Overall length: 54 inches
wing area: 770 sq. inches
wing loading: 8.9 oz/ sq. foot
Controls: Rudder/elevator

For construction photos go here: http://hobiehawk.com/SuprHwkConst.html

[Ollie]

With an aspect ratio of 19.3, the glide ought to be awesome.

It has style too.

Please let us know how it handles.

[emersunn]

How hard is it to build the parabolic wing? Or was this an ARF?

As usual, your craftsmanship is impressive!

[saint]

That's one sweet looking bird!

[rcsting]

CJS

Awesome job on the SuperHawk. I can't wait to see it this weekend at the Spring Fling.

[Wind Shadow]

MAN!!
This thing looks too good!
I guess I will get on the waiting list.

One thing though---if the glide performance ends up being "FANTASTIC"!, what about some sort of glide path control??
How about a spoiler set-up?

I would think you NEED something! (not talking so much about spot landings--I WOULD like to land in the same county though!)

:D

Here we go again..."Uh, no dear, that's not a NEW sailplane box--that is just another I've had here in the shop for years!!" ;)

Wind Shadow

[CactusJackSlade]

Well I managed a few short test hi-starts today... not optimum conditions or location but it handles excellent!

Needs just a touch of rudder to maintain a turn, seems to tip stall much less than the stock Hobie... and doesn't want to death spin if stalled either!

On my second launch I snagged a thermal and up up and away she went! I decided to do a dive test to check evevator trim and CG, then I did a loop and then decided to try to catch another thermal... of course there didn't seem to be another one to be had! I ended up with just light lift and sled rides the remainder of the launches...

That was OK though, I was able to practice my slow speed handling and "Hobie Hawk landings" I was doing low level 360's that would have been very nerve racking with a stock Hobie and it seemed to handle it just fine.

Let me tell you, this is one CLEAN airframe! I hardly makes a whisper on its way by! I'll have to install a whistle just so I can hear it coming!

I would taken photos today but I was too chicken to take my hand off the stick! I'll wait for a better lift day for flight photos.

WIND SHADOW - You are correct... you either need a good head wind or a LOT of field to get this baby down. If there was no wind and I over shot catching it by 15 feet I had a LONG walk!

We are looking into a spoiler or flap system... next generation maybe!

I cannot take much credit for this bird at all, I supply many of the small parts but Tony J. is the guy behind the hard work and overall design, I have only encouraged him and given my input as to some of the changes that were made. I also of course put up the SuperHawk pages on my website.

Tony is one incredible craftsman... how hard is that wing to make... well it took him a year just to get a platton good enough to make a wing! At present capacity is only about 2.5 Hawks a month... better get on the wait list if you want one!

CJS

[Steve Diebolt]

Emersunn,

It is an ARF. Go to CactusJacks' post and click on the www button at the bottom of his post. Or go Here:

http://www.hobiehawk.com/SuprHwkConst.html

If you are interested, get on the list now! :)

Mine ships in a few days. I was third in line before the waiting list started. :D

Steve

[Wind Shadow]

Hey Cactus Jack,
did you get out and fly the SuperHawk today??
Would like to hear more on the flight characteristics, when you get to fly it some more.
People on "THE waiting list" want to know! :D
Wind Shadow

[CactusJackSlade]

Well today I went out to the Spring Fling thermal duration contest here in Northern California and just set the SuperHawk out amongst all the "modern" TD ships on the flight line and watched... much to my satisfaction, this baby turns heads! Especially when all the new ships today look so similar. Many double takes and on lookers stopped to check it out. I also had RepliHawk next to it with the 6 foot slope wings just to make SuperHawk look even BIGGER!

I think the same thing that catches peoples eye with this bird is the same thing that bit me when I was a kid: The elegent beauty of this baby (the Hobie Hawk) and the SuperHawk "fooled" everyone. I was hooked into this shape as a kid and still am today!

Well, since it was Sunday and the contest winches shut down as soon as the last plane took off I did not get a chance to show it off in flight to everyone... but...

We did go over to the college field here in Folsom afterwards and set up the hi-start. Here is a flight report!:

First of all let me tell you, I have the perfect Hi-start for this plane! The pull is just right and get excellent altitude! It pulls STRAIGHT up the line! I mean STRAIGHT up... I rarely have to input ANY rudder!

First flight I snagged a thermal and specked it out easily. I found that I did noeed to hold a tiny bit of rudder to keep it into the turn... when I was really coring a thermal I actually dialed in a little rudder trim to aid in this, but I also found that once in good lift and at the proper speed I no longer needed it input rudder.

I did a dive test and I do indeed need to pull some nose weight out and re-test. This may lighten up the initial need for constant rudder when in the turn.

At one point I was about to land and against my better judgement instead of landing I just kept circling and I was soon specked out again!

After a few flights I was really geting the hang of how it handles. I will say that compared to a stock Hobie Hawk this this will FLOAT and HANG in the air. As I mentioned in an earlier notation, the SuperHawk does not roll and dive if you stall it... it just tucks it's nose, picks up speed and pulls out. I would say that I have to credit myself a bit on this because I paid particular attention to making sure the washout in the tips were the same (see my web site on how to do this - it's simple!) http://hobiehawk.com/setup.html

How did I like it over all? I loved it and I haven't even sorted out the CG yet! I do want to figure out a spoiler system somehow... if you over shoot you've got a LONG walk!

Oh, I also flew with some Turkey Vultures, actually shared a thermal with one which is unusual, at least for me since they seem to shy away from my other planes, but not the SuperHawk... Hummmm maybe it's the wing shape? WHo knows?

Anyway, I had a GREAT time flying this beauty today! More flight reports to come as I play with the CG a bit!

Enjoy the photos!

Brian

[CactusJackSlade]

Thermalling with a TV...

[CactusJackSlade]

Here is the best shot I got of the SuperHawk in flight (thanks Mike!) but it's hard to get a close up when you are SPECKED OUT!!! :D

CJS

[Wind Shadow]

Yup,
I am 'gonna have to get me one of those!
But, I think the spoiler system (or something) is a must.
You need to get that available right away,folks without huge areas to fly out of will really appreciate that.
Just my two pennies.
Wind Shadow

[Ollie]

If the stall is predictable and especially if it is controllable then spoilers aren't really necessary to control the glide path for spot landings. In even a slight headwind, the glide path can be steepened by just slowing down without stalling. (The technique works in dead calm but the stronger the wind the more effective stalls are for loosing altitude in the glide path for landing.) If more altitude must be lost then a slight stall will do it. By deepening the stall even more altitude will be lost. Of course The stall characteristics must be explored. Plenty of tip stall margin is an absolute prerequisite for this technique to be safely used on landing approaches. From Jack's description it sounds like the Super Hawk qualifies. The earlier in the glide path that the correction is applied, the more effective and safer it will be. It is important to apply up elevator gradually so that the depth of stall can be controlled. The idea is to apply the up elevator gradually so that the kenetic energy can be bled off without an abrupt exchange for the potential energy of altitude. Near the end of the glide path when the plane is only a foot or two off the ground and it is flying on the edge of stall, with no excess momentum, the plane can be safely stalled onto the spot. As with any other precision maneuver it is perfected by practising a lot at a safe altitude.

[CactusJackSlade]

I think what Ollie said has some good merit, however i don't know if I'd want to try that just yet close to the ground, although it does not roll when stalled, it does point the nose down a bit sharper than I would like - in other words I don't yet know at this point if I would want to stall it close to the ground trying for a spot landing... but I will be playing with the CG and this opinion may change... but I like the idea and will try it at altitude...

ANOTHER thing that I do with hawks to slow them down upon approch is to "waggle" the rudder back and forth creating drag, this allows me to steepen the decent without gaining a whole lot of speed. Certainly not as effective as a spoiler system, but it helps. This technique came from Frank Cox - a long time veteran Hobie Hawk flyer.

I would like to work on a spoiler system that would fit into the rib bay cut-outs so it could be adapted to any Hawk... I don;t think it would be too terribly hard, just gotta figure out what I want to try and do it. I have a set of flattened stock wings (thanks UPS!) that are going to be easily repaired and thought these would be a good test set... if I do something I will certainly post it!

Oh, I made up a SuperHawk tail logo... once again to imitate the Hobie - here is a photo:

CJS

[CactusJackSlade]

Oh,

Here is one... I heard of a guy with a Hobie Hawk that had his canopy hinged at the rear and it would open up in the front to add drag when landing, just like opening a mouth!... YES, just like PacMan!

Like to see a photo of that!

CJS

[CactusJackSlade]

Steve,

Your Hawk shipped today - I emailed you the tracking number.

When you get to preparing your fuse' for paint use Tony's method in the manual - he says it's MUCH better than the old school way I did it with primer and spot filler to fill the fiberglass surface pores/voids (bubbles).

Tony uses spackle and rubs it into any pores, lets it dry and then dry sands it, then primers it... he says this works great. I will do the same next time, the primer/spot putty was way too labor intensive!

Just FYI!

CJS

[Steve Diebolt]

Brian,

Thanks. I'll get the bench cleared and be ready to start next weekend. :D :D :D

BTW, I was very happy to see that you ship via FedEx. Those "Boys in Brown" won't get to destroy this bird! :p

Steve

[CactusJackSlade]

Steve,

When you do get a chance to open your box please post your opinion as to quality and overall opinion of the kit.

One note: As Tony and I are the first two to fly the SuperHawk we were the "guinea pigs". My only slight complaint was needing a slight amount of rudder to keep it in the turn at certain speeds... Tony has decreased the center dihedral (at the wing receiver tubes) from 6.5 degrees to 3.5 degrees. This should releave the need for any rudder in the turns...

Please keep us informed as to the handling, your likes, dislikes etc. I have been so busy since the Spring Fling I have not flown SuperHawk again since I removed 3/4 oz. from the nose. I will see what the CG change does to the handling....

Cheers!

CJS

[Steve Diebolt]

Brian (AKA CactusJack), :)

I will try to post tomorrow on the kit.

How much weight did you need in the nose to balance your SuperHawk? My Sokol took 4.5 ounces. This was not a problem but, as you know, Hobies always needed a bunch of nose weight to balance since the "Kraft Brick" is no longer in production. :rolleyes:

Steve

[CactusJackSlade]

I used 3 oz... which is overkill... but I wanted to be sure it was not tail heavy... that gave me 14" on the CG using the "hobie way" of balancing the fuse, all ready to go with the wing rod, letting it tip to a nose down position and measuring from the table top to the bottob of the rudder pin knob on the dorsal.

Tony recommends 11" and I'm at 14... and working toward 11".

Go here to see a diagram - note this is a diagram of the stock hobie with the stock hobie measurements:

http://hobiehawk.com/setup.html

I am going to reduce my nose weight 1/4 oz at a time until my dive test is satisfactory.

Tony has written an excellent page for my website on dive testing your bird:

http://hobiehawk.com/CGdivetest.html

Oh, I used a large NiMh 1800 AA 4 cell pack (nice and big) and metal gear servos as far forward as possible.

Keep us posted!

[Steve Diebolt]

Brian,

I opened the box.

First of all. Thanks for shipping via FedEx. The box was received with not a single shoe print, dent, water damage, holes, etc... (Can you tell I hate UPS?) Your packaging was superb. All items were individually wrapped in bubble wrap. Then stuffed with popcorn and air bags. Great job! :)

Now, this bird in no way compares to an original Hobie Hawk. The F/G fuse is beautiful. Should only take a little light sandinding, filling, priming and paint. Not nearly the work required for may NIB Hobie Hawk!

The wings and tail feathers are very well done also. The trailing edges are very thin and true. My NIB Hobie Hawk has exposed foam between the trailing edges on the wing and I thought this was the way it is/was done. You proved this wrong. Great work!

Your "Assembly & Flying Manual" is very clear and beginner/intermediate builders should have no problems with the assembly. One change I will make is to use hard balsa blocks for the wing and tail feather tips. This is purely a personal preference as I hate to sand pine tips to shape.

What more can I say. Thanks for a great ship and even though I am slow, there isn't as much to be done with your SuperHawk as there is with an original Hobie Hawk. Heck, I think I can get the AUW of this bird to be equal to or less than my original Hobie Hawk. That would be very nice since that is a 98"/590 sq. inch bird and this is 122"/770 sq. inch bird. I should be able to save at least an ounce per square inch in wing loading. :D

There seems to be two "old time" cults. Those that love the Bird of Time and those that love the Hobie Hawk. Well, this may just be the Hobie that out performs a Bird of Time! (Flame Suit On and Zipped :D )

Thanks again Brian & Tony,

Steve

P.S. Brian, are the SuperHawk Logo decals available? Please let me know. I plan to use JR digital servos in mine. With full flying stab and rudder, I like the precision centering they provide and weight should not be an issue. Also, I am with Ollie. Don't get too far away from the original design. Spoilers are for those that can't land! Don't try to retrofit these beautiful wings! (Doubled up on Flame Suit and put on helmet!!!)

BTW I have no relationship with Brian or Tony. I am just a Hobie Hawk freak. I currently have two Hobie Hawks (one is NIB) and a Sokol (Chez made fully molded copy of a Hobie Hawk).

[CactusJackSlade]

Steve,

Thanks much - just FYI these come direct from Tony, I only ship the small parts to tony he builds, then ships to you... glad he did a great job packing.

As for the trailing edge... yes VERY sweet eh?... and that is WITH a carbon fiber strip in there!

I hear ya about keeping it a "pure" plane... that is why we may depart entirely from the original design on SuperHawk X if it comes to be.

So SuperHawk will remain as is, no worries!

Oh, hey, how about those CLEAN routed rib bays? Dare I say cleaner than and original?

On the servo thing... I was meaning the heavier the better, at least I didn't let weight limit my choice since I knew I needed the weight up there. Put them (and everything) as far forward as possible.

Did you see the angled servo mounting of mine? When the servos are up front so far clearance started to be an issue, so I did the ol' angle trick, of course I had to make a special shaped battery!

On the tail feather logo (my tweaked version of the original!) I do have some, I sent some to Tony, but maybe they did not arrrive before yours shipped, I can send you some. One note though... they are not on a totally clear backing - I couldn't find any so it is on a semi clear backing, it does not look bad, just not as perfect as I would like.

So you have a Sokol? How does it fly compared to an original?

CJS

[Wind Shadow]

OK, guys...
It's been a week now---any "new" news??
Anymore flights Brian?
Anxious to hear what's happening! :D

Wind Shadow