Welcome to the Sailplane Forum!

[Darwin]

Just wanted to jump in and make the first post on the sailplane forum. It would be nice if this venue attracted some participation from RCSE denizens as well.

On a personal note, I still intend on eventually manufacturing the Hand Cat EPP glider. I just need to make a few adjustments to the structure so it will support discus launching and actually fly worth a hoot. The original E205 foil from the Push-E Cat actually flew better than the blended 3000 series I tried to use on the second prototype. Don Stackhouse told me it was because the 3000 series Selig is like a barn door in hand launch applications. So the search continues for an airfoil that will be EPP friendly.

For my personal birds, I am working on a matched set of DJ Aerotech Spectres in 120 and 2m formats. I would have liked to fly them this summer, but I just couldn't fit it in with my commuter life style. So I kept putting the Genie up over and over again.

Who else is out here?

[webguyjv]

I always look forward to seeing your posts here, and I finally joined so I could post replies. If you read the reply I posted over in the foamies group, you'll know that I finally rebult my Push-E Cat.

It doesn't look gorgeous, but it's clean, sporting a new skin from the remaining flourescent orange roll of ultracote that I had on hand. I went cheap and hacked the whole thing back together with the spare EPP you supplied as well as a new bottle of ProBond. Now when I go the slope site, I'm able to fly on those days when there is no wind -- for the last six months that's been about half the time.

My question for you, that's relevant to this group is, what are you doing to address Dave's Dragonete Foamie? I've been on the fence about buying one of these from Sheldon's -- it's only about $40.

I want to have a third airplane on hand -- a really durable (possibly EPP) HLG that has a small wing span (around 30 inches or so). I've heard that these little guys can fly in almost no lift.

The Dragonette will give me this functionality, but I know that you and Dave are friends and I'm sure you've been looking to expand your line to include HLG offerings.

Since I know Garrison Aerodrome quality, I thought I'd ask you what you've got in store for me.

Have a great day :)

[Darwin]

Glad to hear that you are enjoying your PEC and that it is soldiering on bravely in the face of adversity. I hope that it will continue to provide many more enjoyable flights for you.

With regards to your HLG question, I think that the Dragonette will be a totally adequate choice, especially with the availability of the new, low cost sub-micro servos and receivers.

My experiments have been with 1.5 m and 50 inch prototypes only at this time. The main hurdle I faced was making the fuselage section "easy" to build and still leave the survivability intact and the access to components handy. The secondary hurdle from my viewpoint, is coming up with a wing planform/airfoil combo that will perform adequately given the inherent drawbacks of EPP foamie wing construction.

I learned a solid lesson this summer when the high aspect ratio wing I was working with turned out to have the efficiency of a barn door at ultra low HLG Re #'s. Drat! :mad: So it was back to the drawing board for a while.

At least the experiment wasn't a total loss. I did gain a lot of experience building the plane, and I now have some more ideas for lightening the wing while retaining key survivability.

Anyway, I'll try to keep a running commentary going as development continues.

[chlee]

Hi there guys,

Darwin, I'll be watching the development of the hand cat with keen interest.

I taught myself to fly with a DAW 1-26 hlg, and really appreciated the EPP construction since I fly by necessity in an area with lots of errant trees. The trees are still there, so I'm looking for another durable EPP hlg, but one that flies/thermals a bit better than the 1-26 (and costs a bit less than the TG works Goblin).

Good luck!
Lee

I heard a rumor that you might be designing a 280-size PEC. Is this just pure scuttlebutt?

[Darwin]

Hey, Lee!

Thanks for joining in!

I really want to have a Hand Cat up and running soon, as well. The DAW is a great bird, but I also long for a better thermaller. Plus, I would very much like a plane that I could use for discus launch training.

It will get there, but first I have to release the next two Push-E Cats.

As for the rumor of the 280 sized Cat, rumor no more. It will arrive, but when is a guess. It's official name is the Push-E Kitten.

[fprintf]

Just thought I would drag up this post... seems like it was the first one ever in this forum. I have learned quite a bit of the history of this group by reading the first 3 or 4 pages of posts. I knew I would find it, but I still find it amazing that newbies like myself are asking some of the same questions over and over again (especially regarding histarts).