bjaffee
Apr 18, 2003, 01:00 AM
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<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-544f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-544f_t.jpg"
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<strong>Type:</strong>
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2 meter converted free flight model
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<strong>Wingspan:</strong>
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72 in.
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<strong>Wing Area:</strong>
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~347 sq. in.
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<strong>Weight:</strong>
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27 oz
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<strong>Wing Loading:</strong>
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~11.2 oz/sq in.
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<strong>Controls:</strong>
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Ailerons, elevator, rudder
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<strong>Construction:</strong>
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Balsa built-up wing, balsa fuselage and tail.
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<strong>Available From:</strong>
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<a target="_blank" href="http://www.easybuiltmodels.com/">Easy Built Models</a>
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<big><strong>Introduction</strong></big>
<blockquote>
<p>
This is not so much a review as it is a story. It's
the story of an airplane that would not die, and a builder who would not quit.
Ok, well, really, it's the story of an airplane that almost died and, builder who
<i>did</i> quit, but then got bored one day and figured, what the heck, I've got nothing to
lose, so lets finish building this. It was either that or toss it in
the garbage...
</p>
<p>
My friend Ken's garage/workshop is littered with model airplanes.
Airplanes on the walls, airplanes in the rafters, airplanes stuffed behind
cars…you get the picture (I trust many of you are familiar with this situation).
One day, Ken decided to clean out his garage. I was
there that day, kicking back in a chair, supervising the cleanup effort, when something caught
my eye: An uncovered balsa glider with a stubby teardrop fuselage and
graceful two-meter gull-wings. It looked sort of like a Minimoa
full-scale glider of the 1930's. It had no control surfaces at
all.
</p>
<p>
I ask Ken what this thing is. He tells me it's a free flight "tow line"
glider that his son built a while back and never finished. Hey, look at
that, it's got a little wheel on the bottom. This gets the little
wheels in my brain spinning. "Let's aero tow it!" I say.
"It's a free flight plane," says Ken. "I know, let me
have it and I'll convert it to R/C." The plane was mine!
</p>
</blockquote>
<big><strong>Assembly</strong></big>
<blockquote>
<p>
I was determined to get the plane going as quickly as possible, and my plan was fairly
simple: Add a rudder and elevator, a tow release, and reinforce certain
areas somewhat.
</p>
<p>
First step was to add some balsa cross beams to the wing to try and strengthen it up a bit...it
seemed pretty flimsy. I also added some carbon fiber strips down the
bottom of the spar and the trailing edge. Finally, I covered the wing
in transparent blue Monokote, which looked really nice over the built-up structure. If nothing
else, I figured the plane would look nice hanging from my ceiling.
</p>
<p>
The fuselage was already complete for the most part. The little plastic
landing wheel it came with didn't seem suitable for an R/C plane, though.
I replaced it with a lightweight foam wheel I stole from one of my power planes
(now that I think of it, this is the first glider I've ever had that has a wheel).
</p>
</blockquote>
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<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-546f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-546f_t.jpg" width=
"204"></a>
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<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-547f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-547f_t.jpg" width=
"231"></a>
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<blockquote>
<p>
The next steps were more drastic: I had to make some control surfaces.
Initially, I figured I would create the elevator by cutting it out of the built up horizontal
stabilizer. I set about this task and quickly managed to mangle the
original stabilizer beyond repair...argh! Oh well, it was easy enough
to fashion a slab stabilizer and elevator out of some scrap balsa.
</p>
<p>
Now the rudder. The vertical tail is a narrow elliptical shaped thing
that sits atop the horizontal stab. There is also a bit of a sub fin on
the bottom of the fuselage. There was really no room in this area for a
rudder that would be of an effective size. Rather then trying to
enlarge the vertical (which, in retrospect, would have made much more sense), I took the
unorthodox route of creating a full flying vertical stabilizer.
Actually, this same sort of thing that is used very effectively on the C.R. Climmax HLG, so it
seemed like a good solution. This involves putting a music wire rod vertically up through the
rear of the fuselage. The rod then exits out the top of the horizontal
stab. At it's bottom, the wire if bent 90 degrees and sticks out the
side of the fuselage. It has a horn on it for a push rod to connect
to. The wire is actually mounted inside a brass tube, so it can
rotate. The part of the wire that's exposed above the horizontal stab
has a square brass tube soldered onto it. The fin, then, has a slightly
larger brass tube in it, allowing it to slide down over the brass tube sticking out of the
fuselage, so the whole assembly can rotate. Simple, huh? With that,
the control surfaces were done!
</p>
</blockquote>
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<p "c4">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-564f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-564f_t.jpg" width=
"157"></a>
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View of the full flying vertical stab.<br>
The push rod and rudder horn can be seen below the horizontal stab.
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<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>
Ah, push rods. I always hate installing push rods in gliders.
Invariably, it is frustrating and messy, as gliders almost always have thin,
long, inaccessible tail booms. On the other hand, the plane's tail boom
was short, and fairly wide. Just one problem...IT'S ALREADY BUILT!
So, how do you go about installing push rods in a tail boom that is
completely enclosed and has multiple bulkheads in it? Easy...take a
metal wire and stab it through repeatedly until it comes out the other side! To my surprise,
this "technique" actually worked. Of course the inside of the tail boom
probably now looks like it was attacked by an angry beaver, but hey, that will be our little
secret.
</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-562f.jpg"><img
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The forward fuse. A bit messy.
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<blockquote>
<p>
The final touch was the cable release for aero towing. Again, I opted
for the quick and dirty approach...a cable push rod in a plastic housing that was exposed
underneath the nose. The tow ring would be attached to the exposed bit
of release cable, the end of which was slotted into another piece of push rod housing further
up in the nose. When the glider was ready to be released, a servo would
pull the cable out of the first bit of housing, allowing the tow ring to detach, and away it
goes!
</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-563f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-563f_t.jpg" width=
"219"></a>
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The tow release cable.
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<blockquote>
<p>
I installed a couple micro servos for the rudder and elevator, a standard servo for the tow
release, the receiver and battery, and the plane was ready to go...or so I thought.
</p>
<p>
We arrived at the power flying field I belong to, eagerly anticipating for the first
flight. Ken had brought his Sig Fazer, a .40 sized Fun Fly aerobatic
plane, which would do service as a rather unlikely glider tug. Yes, the
first real flight was to be an aero tow! Rather silly, but then the
field was deserted, and I wasn't too worried about what could happen to the glider.
My friend wasn't too worried about his power plane, the tug, either.
</p>
<p>
Our first sign of trouble was when we test flew the Fazer with just the towline attached.
The "tug" seemed very sluggish lugging around 30 feet or so of
monofilament. We started to wonder if it would really be able to pull
the glider. Turns out it didn't matter.
</p>
<p>
While my friend was sorting out the issues with the tug, I went over to the grass area of the
field to do a few hand tosses to test the center of gravity of the glider.
I give it a moderately hard toss. It glides straight, and
it looks like I got the CG just right. Second toss...a bit
harder...let's see how she turns. Right rudder...more right
rudder...little more...more...full right rudder...IT WON'T TURN! The airplane does not want to
turn! Okay, maybe I didn't quite get enough speed.
Maybe a hard toss will do it. I heave it across the field
and apply full right rudder. The airplane just sort of skids to the right, and then noses
ungracefully into the grass. Not good. There's
just not enough dihedral in those big gull wings to allow this plane to turn on rudder
alone. Mission scrubbed. This airplane won't
fly as an R/C sailplane. It's a wall ornament.
</p>
<p>
For a long while, the plane hung up on my wall. There was no hope it
would fly, and it seemed its status as an ornament was assured. And
yet...there really was a tiny bit of hope. For you see, as a model
builder, I am a perfectionist. There's just one problem: I'm just a
mediocre builder. Every time I build a new plane, there's always the
hope that "this one will come out perfect...flawless." But, to be a
perfectionist and also be a less than perfect builder means continual disappointment.
There's always something that goes wrong...something that could have gone
better. I imagine that truly great builders feel the same way when they finish a project...but
their airplanes still look better then mine!
</p>
<p>
Okay, so what, you ask, does all the preceding have to do with this sailplane?
It's a few years later, on a rainy weekend afternoon, and I'm looking for
something to build. I looked at the plane (I still did not actually
know it's name yet). It was stuffed in the corner of a closet at this
point, having lost even its wall ornament status. I suddenly realized
it was an airplane with nothing to lose. It wouldn't matter how badly I
messed it up, because I already knew that it wouldn't fly as it was.
This was a plane with no risks. Perfection would be an airplane that
could actually fly....time to build!
</p>
<p>
It was around this time that I finally learned what this airplane actually was.
While browsing around on eBay, I happened upon a free flight airplane kit for sale
that looked just like mine. It was made by Easy Built Models, and it
was named "Super Soarer." With this valuable knowledge in hand I
decided to post to the Radio Control Soaring Exchange to see if anyone was familiar with this
airplane. It turned out that Don Bailey, from Seattle, had actually taken a free flight Super
Soarer and successfully converted it to R/C. He had enlarged the rudder and increased the
dihedral, and reported that the plane flew great with just rudder/elevator control.
It was really encouraging to hear that the plane flew well. With my plane's
wing already built, though, there were some other changes I'd need to make.
</p>
<p>
There was one very obvious chore that needed to be done. Without enough
dihedral to turn on rudder alone, the Super Soarer would need ailerons to be controllable.
Using the TLAR ("that looks about right") method, I determined the ailerons
should extend from a bit past the outer panel dihedral break all the way to the wing tip.
I began by removing all the covering that I had so carefully applied to the
wing a few years earlier. I then had to cut off the trailing edge of
the outer wing panels, and then add a sub trailing edge where the ailerons would go.
The pieces I removed from the trailing edge were to become the ailerons.
That was the plan, but in reality, I again mangled the part that I was going
to use for the control surface. Luckily, I was able to find some balsa
aileron stock that was just the right size for the ailerons.
</p>
<p>
Somehow, I had actually managed to make the cuts for the ailerons on both wings the exact same
size. It appeared I could actually go on to the next step...installing
the aileron servos, then test fly the plane! Yeah...well, there were
probably about 20 other things I had to do before the plane would actually be ready.
</p>
<p>
First, I noticed the trailing edge of one wing was bent downward quite a bit.
I spent about a week spraying ammonia on the wing and weighting it down with
books. When I was done, the trailing edge had been bent to a fairly
flat configuration....but a week later, it seemed to have drifted back to it's original bent
shape. Oh well...the wing would be warped. "It'll still fly," I told
myself.
</p>
<p>
With the wing in fairly complete form, I installed servo bays near the inner portion of the
outer wing panels. The wing is quite thin out there, and the only
servos that would fit were the tiny Cirrus CS-10 sub-micros that I stole from my Mini Max park
flier. This servo only puts out 7oz-in of torque, and that's at 6
volts. Since I was going to be running a normal 4.8 volt system, I
worried if these servos would be strong enough. I decided to wash the numbers through the
Multiplex Servo Torque Calculator to see if that would be enough. The calculator said I would
only need about 3.4 oz-in of torque at an air speed of 40mph. That
seemed rather optimistic, but I figured I'd give it a shot with the tiny servos.
</p>
</blockquote>
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<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-545f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-545f_t.jpg" width=
"143"></a>
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<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-559f.jpg"><img
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"226"></a>
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A top view showig the aileron modifications.<br>
The ribs on the outer panel used to extend all<br>
the way to the trailing edge.
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Bottom view, showing aileron servo placement.
</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>
With the wing nearly finished, I began to realize that it seemed a bit too flexible.
I took a really close look at how the wing was designed, and realized that the
spar had no shear web whatsoever. For those who've never built a wood
wing, a shear web is usually a part (usually a piece of balsa with the grain running vertically)
that is glued on the front or rear of the top and bottom spars. Its job
is to tie the upper and lower spar together, and prevent them from twisting.
This makes the wing stronger in torsion. Don Bailey
helped out here again, and advised that he had installed shear webs all the way out to the wing
tips on his Super Soarer. So, I set about installing 48 shear webs on
the leading edge of the spar, from root to tip. This was very tedious,
but well worth it, as the wing became noticeably stiffer and resistant to twisting.
I also installed a large triangular gusset where the sub-trailing edge of the
outer wing panel met the trailing edge of the inner wing panel. I
didn't do a great job with designing the aileron modification originally, and felt the gusset
was needed to tie the two trailing edges together better.
</p>
<p>
With the wing structure done, I recovered the wing with transparent blue Monokote and then
hinged the ailerons. My focus now returned to the fuselage. I
reinstalled the original servos and did a bit of clean up work to improve the existing
linkages. It took a few minutes of radio setup and about 5 ounces of
lead in the nose to get the plane ready to fly.
</p>
<p>
The final flying weight was 27oz, with a wing loading of 11.2 oz/sq ft.
So the big question was, of course, how the heck will this thing fly?
Will it live up to its rather optimistic name? With those long
transparent wings, I just couldn't help to think "floater." Then again, the wing loading was not
exactly in floater territory. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but
I knew one thing...I was done!
</p>
</blockquote>
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<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0187.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0187_t.jpg" width=
"221"></a>
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Ready to fly again...for the second time.
</td>
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<br>
<br>
<p>
<big><strong>Flying</strong></big>
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>
The first flight of the re-born Super Soarer took place on a fairly good day at the hill.
As I got ready to launch it, visions of the initial test throws a few years
back crept into my mind. I got somewhat worried about being able to maneuver the Soarer.
Oh well, I had nothing to lose...I launched it and was instantly
surprised. I had fully expected it to float out of my hand and
leisurely drift into the slope lift. Instead, it very quickly gained
speed and moved out over the hill. Next question...does it turn?
IT DOES! The ailerons worked great.
Roll response was crisp and there was plenty of authority.
I flew back and forth across the slope a few times to get a feel for the
plane. My impression was that it flew more like a "real" sloper then a
floater. I was at first a little hesitant to let it pick up too much
speed, but everything seemed to be working well, and I could not see the wing flexing too
much. I got it going pretty fast in a dive, but I was still careful
about not letting it get going <i>really</i> fast, or putting too many g's on it when I pulled
out.
</p>
</blockquote>
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<td align="center">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0185.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0185_t.jpg" width=
"271"></a>
</td>
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<tr>
<td align="center">
Gotta love those gull wings!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>
I had never really contemplated doing aerobatics with this Super Soarer, but I was so encouraged
by how it handled that I decided to go for it. The roll rate was very
good...it's obvious that the little CS-10 servos in the wings have plenty of torque for this
plane. It could loop too, though the twist in the wing tended to make it try and corkscrew as it
came over the top. The plane was fairly maneuverable, and it could make
reasonably tight turns. However, I did find that it did seem on the
verge of tip stalling in some cases. Most likely this is caused by a
combination of the highly tapered wing tips and the un-floater like wing loading (not to mention
the wing twist).
</p>
<p>
I guess one of the coolest things is just how it looks in the air.
Short of a scale Minimoa, there's not really anything on the slope that looks like it.
Seeing the big gull wing from head on as it dives across the hill is a
unique sight. It's also always nice to see the sun shining through the
transparent wings of a built up plane as it cruises at high altitude, too.
</p>
</blockquote>
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<tbody>
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<td align="center">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0183.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0183_t.jpg" width=
"170"></a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<big><strong>Conclusion</strong></big>
<blockquote>
<p>
Finally, it was time to come in for a landing. Like most of my aileron
slopers, I had set the Super Soarer up with spoilerons. They worked
quite well, though I'm not sure they are really needed. With the little
landing wheel, I felt comfortable coming in a bit fast and landing on the road, rather then in
the grass. So, I brought the Soarer in for a crosswind landing on the
trail. It bounced a couple times on touch down, and happily rolled too
a stop several yards later....nice!
</p>
<p>
Over the next few months I flew the plane quite a bit. I found that it
is often not an easy plane to fly. It really doesn't like light lift
all that much, and the twist in the wing can really make it do some nasty things.
Once, I tried to do a straight-ahead, wings-level stall and found that it would go
into nearly a snap roll every time. Consequently, I have to be very
careful when the lift gets light.
</p>
</blockquote>
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<tbody>
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<td align="center">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0184.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0184_t.jpg" width=
"204"></a>
</td>
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<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>
My favorite thing to do with the Super Soarer is a touch and go. The
little wheel just makes it too much fun. If the terrain at the slope is
right, I can even manage to touch the ground and roll across the slope, still "flying" on the
wheel, roll down hill a bit, and then take off again! I spent nearly
half the day doing this once, and found that I had done a bit of damage to belly. The wheel well
had come loose, and there were some holes punched in the underside of the fuselage, under the
nose. To repair it, I ended up tearing out the launch release
mechanism, which probably would never have been used anyway. I patched
up the holes and reinforced the inside of the forward fuselage with heavy carbon fiber.
It should be relatively bulletproof now, so I can do touch and goes without
worrying about it. My latest trick is to find a relatively smooth part
of the slope, set the plane on the ground, and give it a shove down hill to do an R.O.G.
takeoff!
</p>
</blockquote>
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<tbody>
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<td align="center">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0182.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0182_t.jpg" width=
"258"></a>
</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>
I'm still not entirely sure what category this airplane fits into?
Floater? It's really too heavy for that. Scale?
Well, maybe if you squint really hard and stand really far back.
Sloper? It's not really fast or tough enough by modern
standards to really be called a sloper. Does any of this matter?
Nope! What matters is that this plane actually flies rather then
sitting in the corner of a closet or garage...and it flies pretty darn well at that!
What started out as a near disaster has turned out to be a fun and rewarding
project. It still looks nice hanging on the wall though!
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>
The end.
</p>
<p>
<big><strong>Notes</strong></big>
</p>
<table cellspacing="10" cellpadding="4" width="100%" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" border=
"0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center" width="50%">
<p>
<blockquote>
If built a little bit lighter, and more importantly, without a twist in the wing, I
really think this plane would be a great all around good flyer without any bad habits.
</p>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" width="50%">
<p>
<blockquote>
Easy Built Models, who make the Super Soarer, also make a radio control version, made
for rudder/elevator control: <a target="_blank" href=
"http://www.easybuiltmodels.com/">http://www.easybuiltmodels.com/</a>
</p>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="5" align="center" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center" width="100%" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" colspan="2">
<br>
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-544f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-544f_t.jpg"
width="229"></a><br>
<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
<strong>Type:</strong>
</td>
<td align="left" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
2 meter converted free flight model
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
<strong>Wingspan:</strong>
</td>
<td align="left" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
72 in.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
<strong>Wing Area:</strong>
</td>
<td align="left" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
~347 sq. in.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
<strong>Weight:</strong>
</td>
<td align="left" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
27 oz
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
<strong>Wing Loading:</strong>
</td>
<td align="left" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
~11.2 oz/sq in.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
<strong>Controls:</strong>
</td>
<td align="left" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
Ailerons, elevator, rudder
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
<strong>Construction:</strong>
</td>
<td align="left" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
Balsa built-up wing, balsa fuselage and tail.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
<strong>Available From:</strong>
</td>
<td align="left" bgcolor="#E6E6E6">
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.easybuiltmodels.com/">Easy Built Models</a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<big><strong>Introduction</strong></big>
<blockquote>
<p>
This is not so much a review as it is a story. It's
the story of an airplane that would not die, and a builder who would not quit.
Ok, well, really, it's the story of an airplane that almost died and, builder who
<i>did</i> quit, but then got bored one day and figured, what the heck, I've got nothing to
lose, so lets finish building this. It was either that or toss it in
the garbage...
</p>
<p>
My friend Ken's garage/workshop is littered with model airplanes.
Airplanes on the walls, airplanes in the rafters, airplanes stuffed behind
cars…you get the picture (I trust many of you are familiar with this situation).
One day, Ken decided to clean out his garage. I was
there that day, kicking back in a chair, supervising the cleanup effort, when something caught
my eye: An uncovered balsa glider with a stubby teardrop fuselage and
graceful two-meter gull-wings. It looked sort of like a Minimoa
full-scale glider of the 1930's. It had no control surfaces at
all.
</p>
<p>
I ask Ken what this thing is. He tells me it's a free flight "tow line"
glider that his son built a while back and never finished. Hey, look at
that, it's got a little wheel on the bottom. This gets the little
wheels in my brain spinning. "Let's aero tow it!" I say.
"It's a free flight plane," says Ken. "I know, let me
have it and I'll convert it to R/C." The plane was mine!
</p>
</blockquote>
<big><strong>Assembly</strong></big>
<blockquote>
<p>
I was determined to get the plane going as quickly as possible, and my plan was fairly
simple: Add a rudder and elevator, a tow release, and reinforce certain
areas somewhat.
</p>
<p>
First step was to add some balsa cross beams to the wing to try and strengthen it up a bit...it
seemed pretty flimsy. I also added some carbon fiber strips down the
bottom of the spar and the trailing edge. Finally, I covered the wing
in transparent blue Monokote, which looked really nice over the built-up structure. If nothing
else, I figured the plane would look nice hanging from my ceiling.
</p>
<p>
The fuselage was already complete for the most part. The little plastic
landing wheel it came with didn't seem suitable for an R/C plane, though.
I replaced it with a lightweight foam wheel I stole from one of my power planes
(now that I think of it, this is the first glider I've ever had that has a wheel).
</p>
</blockquote>
<table cellspacing="10" cellpadding="4" align="center" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" border=
"0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center" width="50%">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-546f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-546f_t.jpg" width=
"204"></a>
</td>
<td align="center" width="50%">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-547f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-547f_t.jpg" width=
"231"></a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<blockquote>
<p>
The next steps were more drastic: I had to make some control surfaces.
Initially, I figured I would create the elevator by cutting it out of the built up horizontal
stabilizer. I set about this task and quickly managed to mangle the
original stabilizer beyond repair...argh! Oh well, it was easy enough
to fashion a slab stabilizer and elevator out of some scrap balsa.
</p>
<p>
Now the rudder. The vertical tail is a narrow elliptical shaped thing
that sits atop the horizontal stab. There is also a bit of a sub fin on
the bottom of the fuselage. There was really no room in this area for a
rudder that would be of an effective size. Rather then trying to
enlarge the vertical (which, in retrospect, would have made much more sense), I took the
unorthodox route of creating a full flying vertical stabilizer.
Actually, this same sort of thing that is used very effectively on the C.R. Climmax HLG, so it
seemed like a good solution. This involves putting a music wire rod vertically up through the
rear of the fuselage. The rod then exits out the top of the horizontal
stab. At it's bottom, the wire if bent 90 degrees and sticks out the
side of the fuselage. It has a horn on it for a push rod to connect
to. The wire is actually mounted inside a brass tube, so it can
rotate. The part of the wire that's exposed above the horizontal stab
has a square brass tube soldered onto it. The fin, then, has a slightly
larger brass tube in it, allowing it to slide down over the brass tube sticking out of the
fuselage, so the whole assembly can rotate. Simple, huh? With that,
the control surfaces were done!
</p>
</blockquote>
<table cellspacing="10" cellpadding="4" align="center" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<p "c4">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-564f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-564f_t.jpg" width=
"157"></a>
</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center">
View of the full flying vertical stab.<br>
The push rod and rudder horn can be seen below the horizontal stab.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>
Ah, push rods. I always hate installing push rods in gliders.
Invariably, it is frustrating and messy, as gliders almost always have thin,
long, inaccessible tail booms. On the other hand, the plane's tail boom
was short, and fairly wide. Just one problem...IT'S ALREADY BUILT!
So, how do you go about installing push rods in a tail boom that is
completely enclosed and has multiple bulkheads in it? Easy...take a
metal wire and stab it through repeatedly until it comes out the other side! To my surprise,
this "technique" actually worked. Of course the inside of the tail boom
probably now looks like it was attacked by an angry beaver, but hey, that will be our little
secret.
</p>
</blockquote>
<table cellspacing="10" cellpadding="4" align="center" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<p>
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-562f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-562f_t.jpg" width=
"200"></a>
</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center">
The forward fuse. A bit messy.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>
The final touch was the cable release for aero towing. Again, I opted
for the quick and dirty approach...a cable push rod in a plastic housing that was exposed
underneath the nose. The tow ring would be attached to the exposed bit
of release cable, the end of which was slotted into another piece of push rod housing further
up in the nose. When the glider was ready to be released, a servo would
pull the cable out of the first bit of housing, allowing the tow ring to detach, and away it
goes!
</p>
</blockquote>
<table cellspacing="10" cellpadding="4" align="center" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<p>
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-563f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-563f_t.jpg" width=
"219"></a>
</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center">
The tow release cable.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<blockquote>
<p>
I installed a couple micro servos for the rudder and elevator, a standard servo for the tow
release, the receiver and battery, and the plane was ready to go...or so I thought.
</p>
<p>
We arrived at the power flying field I belong to, eagerly anticipating for the first
flight. Ken had brought his Sig Fazer, a .40 sized Fun Fly aerobatic
plane, which would do service as a rather unlikely glider tug. Yes, the
first real flight was to be an aero tow! Rather silly, but then the
field was deserted, and I wasn't too worried about what could happen to the glider.
My friend wasn't too worried about his power plane, the tug, either.
</p>
<p>
Our first sign of trouble was when we test flew the Fazer with just the towline attached.
The "tug" seemed very sluggish lugging around 30 feet or so of
monofilament. We started to wonder if it would really be able to pull
the glider. Turns out it didn't matter.
</p>
<p>
While my friend was sorting out the issues with the tug, I went over to the grass area of the
field to do a few hand tosses to test the center of gravity of the glider.
I give it a moderately hard toss. It glides straight, and
it looks like I got the CG just right. Second toss...a bit
harder...let's see how she turns. Right rudder...more right
rudder...little more...more...full right rudder...IT WON'T TURN! The airplane does not want to
turn! Okay, maybe I didn't quite get enough speed.
Maybe a hard toss will do it. I heave it across the field
and apply full right rudder. The airplane just sort of skids to the right, and then noses
ungracefully into the grass. Not good. There's
just not enough dihedral in those big gull wings to allow this plane to turn on rudder
alone. Mission scrubbed. This airplane won't
fly as an R/C sailplane. It's a wall ornament.
</p>
<p>
For a long while, the plane hung up on my wall. There was no hope it
would fly, and it seemed its status as an ornament was assured. And
yet...there really was a tiny bit of hope. For you see, as a model
builder, I am a perfectionist. There's just one problem: I'm just a
mediocre builder. Every time I build a new plane, there's always the
hope that "this one will come out perfect...flawless." But, to be a
perfectionist and also be a less than perfect builder means continual disappointment.
There's always something that goes wrong...something that could have gone
better. I imagine that truly great builders feel the same way when they finish a project...but
their airplanes still look better then mine!
</p>
<p>
Okay, so what, you ask, does all the preceding have to do with this sailplane?
It's a few years later, on a rainy weekend afternoon, and I'm looking for
something to build. I looked at the plane (I still did not actually
know it's name yet). It was stuffed in the corner of a closet at this
point, having lost even its wall ornament status. I suddenly realized
it was an airplane with nothing to lose. It wouldn't matter how badly I
messed it up, because I already knew that it wouldn't fly as it was.
This was a plane with no risks. Perfection would be an airplane that
could actually fly....time to build!
</p>
<p>
It was around this time that I finally learned what this airplane actually was.
While browsing around on eBay, I happened upon a free flight airplane kit for sale
that looked just like mine. It was made by Easy Built Models, and it
was named "Super Soarer." With this valuable knowledge in hand I
decided to post to the Radio Control Soaring Exchange to see if anyone was familiar with this
airplane. It turned out that Don Bailey, from Seattle, had actually taken a free flight Super
Soarer and successfully converted it to R/C. He had enlarged the rudder and increased the
dihedral, and reported that the plane flew great with just rudder/elevator control.
It was really encouraging to hear that the plane flew well. With my plane's
wing already built, though, there were some other changes I'd need to make.
</p>
<p>
There was one very obvious chore that needed to be done. Without enough
dihedral to turn on rudder alone, the Super Soarer would need ailerons to be controllable.
Using the TLAR ("that looks about right") method, I determined the ailerons
should extend from a bit past the outer panel dihedral break all the way to the wing tip.
I began by removing all the covering that I had so carefully applied to the
wing a few years earlier. I then had to cut off the trailing edge of
the outer wing panels, and then add a sub trailing edge where the ailerons would go.
The pieces I removed from the trailing edge were to become the ailerons.
That was the plan, but in reality, I again mangled the part that I was going
to use for the control surface. Luckily, I was able to find some balsa
aileron stock that was just the right size for the ailerons.
</p>
<p>
Somehow, I had actually managed to make the cuts for the ailerons on both wings the exact same
size. It appeared I could actually go on to the next step...installing
the aileron servos, then test fly the plane! Yeah...well, there were
probably about 20 other things I had to do before the plane would actually be ready.
</p>
<p>
First, I noticed the trailing edge of one wing was bent downward quite a bit.
I spent about a week spraying ammonia on the wing and weighting it down with
books. When I was done, the trailing edge had been bent to a fairly
flat configuration....but a week later, it seemed to have drifted back to it's original bent
shape. Oh well...the wing would be warped. "It'll still fly," I told
myself.
</p>
<p>
With the wing in fairly complete form, I installed servo bays near the inner portion of the
outer wing panels. The wing is quite thin out there, and the only
servos that would fit were the tiny Cirrus CS-10 sub-micros that I stole from my Mini Max park
flier. This servo only puts out 7oz-in of torque, and that's at 6
volts. Since I was going to be running a normal 4.8 volt system, I
worried if these servos would be strong enough. I decided to wash the numbers through the
Multiplex Servo Torque Calculator to see if that would be enough. The calculator said I would
only need about 3.4 oz-in of torque at an air speed of 40mph. That
seemed rather optimistic, but I figured I'd give it a shot with the tiny servos.
</p>
</blockquote>
<table cellspacing="10" cellpadding="4" align="center" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center" width="50%">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-545f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-545f_t.jpg" width=
"143"></a>
</td>
<td align="center" width="50%">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-559f.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/Mvc-559f_t.jpg" width=
"226"></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" width="50%">
A top view showig the aileron modifications.<br>
The ribs on the outer panel used to extend all<br>
the way to the trailing edge.
</td>
<td align="center" width="50%">
Bottom view, showing aileron servo placement.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>
With the wing nearly finished, I began to realize that it seemed a bit too flexible.
I took a really close look at how the wing was designed, and realized that the
spar had no shear web whatsoever. For those who've never built a wood
wing, a shear web is usually a part (usually a piece of balsa with the grain running vertically)
that is glued on the front or rear of the top and bottom spars. Its job
is to tie the upper and lower spar together, and prevent them from twisting.
This makes the wing stronger in torsion. Don Bailey
helped out here again, and advised that he had installed shear webs all the way out to the wing
tips on his Super Soarer. So, I set about installing 48 shear webs on
the leading edge of the spar, from root to tip. This was very tedious,
but well worth it, as the wing became noticeably stiffer and resistant to twisting.
I also installed a large triangular gusset where the sub-trailing edge of the
outer wing panel met the trailing edge of the inner wing panel. I
didn't do a great job with designing the aileron modification originally, and felt the gusset
was needed to tie the two trailing edges together better.
</p>
<p>
With the wing structure done, I recovered the wing with transparent blue Monokote and then
hinged the ailerons. My focus now returned to the fuselage. I
reinstalled the original servos and did a bit of clean up work to improve the existing
linkages. It took a few minutes of radio setup and about 5 ounces of
lead in the nose to get the plane ready to fly.
</p>
<p>
The final flying weight was 27oz, with a wing loading of 11.2 oz/sq ft.
So the big question was, of course, how the heck will this thing fly?
Will it live up to its rather optimistic name? With those long
transparent wings, I just couldn't help to think "floater." Then again, the wing loading was not
exactly in floater territory. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but
I knew one thing...I was done!
</p>
</blockquote>
<table cellspacing="10" cellpadding="4" align="center" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0187.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0187_t.jpg" width=
"221"></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center">
Ready to fly again...for the second time.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<p>
<big><strong>Flying</strong></big>
</p>
<blockquote>
<p>
The first flight of the re-born Super Soarer took place on a fairly good day at the hill.
As I got ready to launch it, visions of the initial test throws a few years
back crept into my mind. I got somewhat worried about being able to maneuver the Soarer.
Oh well, I had nothing to lose...I launched it and was instantly
surprised. I had fully expected it to float out of my hand and
leisurely drift into the slope lift. Instead, it very quickly gained
speed and moved out over the hill. Next question...does it turn?
IT DOES! The ailerons worked great.
Roll response was crisp and there was plenty of authority.
I flew back and forth across the slope a few times to get a feel for the
plane. My impression was that it flew more like a "real" sloper then a
floater. I was at first a little hesitant to let it pick up too much
speed, but everything seemed to be working well, and I could not see the wing flexing too
much. I got it going pretty fast in a dive, but I was still careful
about not letting it get going <i>really</i> fast, or putting too many g's on it when I pulled
out.
</p>
</blockquote>
<table cellspacing="10" cellpadding="4" align="center" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0185.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0185_t.jpg" width=
"271"></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center">
Gotta love those gull wings!
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>
I had never really contemplated doing aerobatics with this Super Soarer, but I was so encouraged
by how it handled that I decided to go for it. The roll rate was very
good...it's obvious that the little CS-10 servos in the wings have plenty of torque for this
plane. It could loop too, though the twist in the wing tended to make it try and corkscrew as it
came over the top. The plane was fairly maneuverable, and it could make
reasonably tight turns. However, I did find that it did seem on the
verge of tip stalling in some cases. Most likely this is caused by a
combination of the highly tapered wing tips and the un-floater like wing loading (not to mention
the wing twist).
</p>
<p>
I guess one of the coolest things is just how it looks in the air.
Short of a scale Minimoa, there's not really anything on the slope that looks like it.
Seeing the big gull wing from head on as it dives across the hill is a
unique sight. It's also always nice to see the sun shining through the
transparent wings of a built up plane as it cruises at high altitude, too.
</p>
</blockquote>
<table cellspacing="10" cellpadding="4" align="center" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0183.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0183_t.jpg" width=
"170"></a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<big><strong>Conclusion</strong></big>
<blockquote>
<p>
Finally, it was time to come in for a landing. Like most of my aileron
slopers, I had set the Super Soarer up with spoilerons. They worked
quite well, though I'm not sure they are really needed. With the little
landing wheel, I felt comfortable coming in a bit fast and landing on the road, rather then in
the grass. So, I brought the Soarer in for a crosswind landing on the
trail. It bounced a couple times on touch down, and happily rolled too
a stop several yards later....nice!
</p>
<p>
Over the next few months I flew the plane quite a bit. I found that it
is often not an easy plane to fly. It really doesn't like light lift
all that much, and the twist in the wing can really make it do some nasty things.
Once, I tried to do a straight-ahead, wings-level stall and found that it would go
into nearly a snap roll every time. Consequently, I have to be very
careful when the lift gets light.
</p>
</blockquote>
<table cellspacing="10" cellpadding="4" align="center" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0184.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0184_t.jpg" width=
"204"></a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>
My favorite thing to do with the Super Soarer is a touch and go. The
little wheel just makes it too much fun. If the terrain at the slope is
right, I can even manage to touch the ground and roll across the slope, still "flying" on the
wheel, roll down hill a bit, and then take off again! I spent nearly
half the day doing this once, and found that I had done a bit of damage to belly. The wheel well
had come loose, and there were some holes punched in the underside of the fuselage, under the
nose. To repair it, I ended up tearing out the launch release
mechanism, which probably would never have been used anyway. I patched
up the holes and reinforced the inside of the forward fuselage with heavy carbon fiber.
It should be relatively bulletproof now, so I can do touch and goes without
worrying about it. My latest trick is to find a relatively smooth part
of the slope, set the plane on the ground, and give it a shove down hill to do an R.O.G.
takeoff!
</p>
</blockquote>
<table cellspacing="10" cellpadding="4" align="center" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0182.jpg"><img
height="150" src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2003/apr/ssoarer/100_0182_t.jpg" width=
"258"></a>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>
I'm still not entirely sure what category this airplane fits into?
Floater? It's really too heavy for that. Scale?
Well, maybe if you squint really hard and stand really far back.
Sloper? It's not really fast or tough enough by modern
standards to really be called a sloper. Does any of this matter?
Nope! What matters is that this plane actually flies rather then
sitting in the corner of a closet or garage...and it flies pretty darn well at that!
What started out as a near disaster has turned out to be a fun and rewarding
project. It still looks nice hanging on the wall though!
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>
The end.
</p>
<p>
<big><strong>Notes</strong></big>
</p>
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"0">
<tbody>
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<td align="center" width="50%">
<p>
<blockquote>
If built a little bit lighter, and more importantly, without a twist in the wing, I
really think this plane would be a great all around good flyer without any bad habits.
</p>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" width="50%">
<p>
<blockquote>
Easy Built Models, who make the Super Soarer, also make a radio control version, made
for rudder/elevator control: <a target="_blank" href=
"http://www.easybuiltmodels.com/">http://www.easybuiltmodels.com/</a>
</p>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>