jbourke
Sep 01, 1996, 01:00 AM
<html>
<head>
<title>The Hobby Lobby Skimmer 400</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<p align="center"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/ezonemag/1996/../images/skim1.jpg" width="251" height="332"> <img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/ezonemag/1996/../images/skim2.jpg" width="336" height="265"> </p>
<hr>
<h2 align="center">INTRODUCTION </h2>
<p>The skimmer 400 is an inexpensive electric sailplane kit from Hobby Lobby. I purchased
mine at the '96 WRAM show for $20. The normal catalog price is around $25 US. When coupled
with the recommended prop and motor combo, the price is still well under $50. This is a
bargain-hunters dream! </p>
<p>The plane is of all-balsa construction, and features a simple tapered wing with
generous dihedral. It is designed for 3 channel systems (rudder, elevator, and motor) with
micro-servos, but mini-servos will fit with a little bit of effort. </p>
<hr>
<h2 align="center">KIT CONTENTS </h2>
<p>The skimmer 400 kit is surprisingly complete given its dirt-cheap price. All the
necessary screws, control horns, threaded rods, and hinges are supplied in the box. The
only piece of hardware I purchased to complete the aircraft was a set of Dubro clevises. </p>
<p>The die-cutting in the kit was satisfactory. The balsa ribs required some effort to cut
as only part of the spar notches are die-cut at the factory. The builder must complete the
notches manually. The die-cut of the plywood parts was good, except that some of the
corners on the plywood former pieces were not quite 90 degree angles. A little bit of
sanding is all it takes to cure this problem. The only other problem I had with the
die-cutting on the kit was that the balsa sides did not match each other in the wing
saddle area. Again, this was easily corrected with a sanding block. </p>
<hr>
<h2 align="center">CONSTRUCTION NOTES </h2>
<p>The manual is not very detailed, but it does run through all the steps. The plane is
very straightforward to build, so you shouldn't have any trouble if you follow the
directions. I will provide some help where it is needed. </p>
<p>I always start with the wing, so lets begin there. First, remove all the ribs from the
balsa sheets and stack them in descending order. The wing is tapered so you will have some
work ahead of you when it comes to sanding the ribs. Take them two at a time and lay them
on the plans before sanding them. Its not enough to sand each pair until they match.
Several of the ribs in my kit had to be shortened to fit on the plans. </p>
<p>Next, you will need to cut the spar notches. One of the cuts is already made for you in
the ribs, you just need to make the notch the correct width. Take the sanded ribs and
stack them together again. Line them up with a notch, place a stick of balsa of the
correct size where you need a notch and lightly run a razor blade across the un-notched
side. Take the blade away and cut just inside of this notch. You want to make the notch
just a tiny bit smaller than the spar for a tight fit. It is easy to make the notch too
big by mistake, which will seriously lessen the strength of the wing. </p>
<p>The rest of the wing should go together without problems. You will probably want to
purchase a razor plane to complete this kit. The leading edge of the wing is a
ridiculously large stick of balsa that is not fun to shape using a sanding block (trust
me). </p>
<p>The tail is extremely simple. The only modification I made was to use Monokote hinges
instead of the supplied CA-type hinges. One thing I should note about the tail is that you
will probably have to sand the elevator halves to get them to be the same shape. The parts
in my kit did not match exactly. </p>
<p>My fuselage sides were not quite the same (as noted above) so watch for any
irregularities in the wing saddle area. Glue the fuselage doublers on as the plan shows
and line the fuselage up on the plans. Now, BEFORE JOINING THE FUSELAGE SIDES AND BEFORE
GLUING THE TRIANGULAR STOCK TO THE FRONT OF THE FUSELAGE, direct your attention to the
nose of the aircraft. </p>
<p>There are two pieces of plywood that you will glue into the nose. The perfectly
circular one is fine, set it aside. The other piece, which would be like an octagon except
for some strips cut out of the side, goes in the nose of the aircraft and acts as a
doubler to better secure the motor. On my kit, this piece did not fit at all.
Unfortunately, I didn't notice how bad it was until I had glued just about every other
piece in the fuselage together. This problem can be remedied by simply positioning the
triangular stock so that it fits the piece. </p>
<p>Before finishing the fuselage of the aircraft, I recommend that you take a moment to
consider the placement of the battery pack you will be using. The Skimmer 400 doesn't
provide a lot of room for the batteries unless you remove the bottom part of the first
former. </p>
<hr>
<h2 align="center">FLIGHT TESTING </h2>
<p>I used a 7 cell pack of 600AEs in my Skimmer 400. This pack is considerably lighter and
smaller than the 800ARs that Hobby Lobby recommends. I also chose the Robbe 6x3.5 prop
that Hobby Lobby sells. This prop produced more RPM with less current draw than the
Graupner 6x3 that Hobby Lobby recommended. </p>
<p>Climb-outs with the above power system are very strong for a speed 400 glider. 500AR
cells would provide stronger climbs toward the end of the charge, but the AE cells are
sufficient for non-competitors and are more widely available. I usually get 3 solid climbs
to altitude out of a single charge. Do not expect the plane to climb like a rocket, its
only 70 watts after all, but you should be able to climb to altitude in about 1 1/2
minutes. </p>
<p>Your flight times will vary. My best time is around 18 minutes but that is mostly
because I get bored after about 10 and land it with plenty of charge remaining. :) </p>
<p>I have heard of several people trying out different power combinations in their speed
400 gliders. I recommend that you start with the 6V motor and the 7 cell 600 AE pack. This
direct-drive system performs as well or better than any other combination I have heard of.
Almost everyone wants to tinker with these things by adding a 4:1 drive or using the 7.2V
motor, but hold off on tinkering until you try this combination first. Gear drives don't
seem to improve the climb of this kind of model, though they can sometimes improve the
duration. </p>
<hr>
<h2 align="center">RECOMMENDATION </h2>
<p>Any recommendation of a kit like this must be made in relation to the price. This kit
has a few problems, but is well worth the money being charged. The resulting airplane is
very pleasing to the eye and has pleasant flying qualities. </p>
<p>Hits:
<ul>
<li>good performance for a plane of this class </li>
<li>low price </li>
</ul>
<p>Misses:
<ul>
<li>battery location poorly thought out </li>
<li>some die-cutting irregularities </li>
<li>bare-bones instruction manual </li>
</ul>
<p>I have recommended this plane to many people of all experience levels. Everyone seems
to enjoy its good looks and pleasant flying qualities.
</body>
</html>
<head>
<title>The Hobby Lobby Skimmer 400</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<p align="center"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/ezonemag/1996/../images/skim1.jpg" width="251" height="332"> <img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/ezonemag/1996/../images/skim2.jpg" width="336" height="265"> </p>
<hr>
<h2 align="center">INTRODUCTION </h2>
<p>The skimmer 400 is an inexpensive electric sailplane kit from Hobby Lobby. I purchased
mine at the '96 WRAM show for $20. The normal catalog price is around $25 US. When coupled
with the recommended prop and motor combo, the price is still well under $50. This is a
bargain-hunters dream! </p>
<p>The plane is of all-balsa construction, and features a simple tapered wing with
generous dihedral. It is designed for 3 channel systems (rudder, elevator, and motor) with
micro-servos, but mini-servos will fit with a little bit of effort. </p>
<hr>
<h2 align="center">KIT CONTENTS </h2>
<p>The skimmer 400 kit is surprisingly complete given its dirt-cheap price. All the
necessary screws, control horns, threaded rods, and hinges are supplied in the box. The
only piece of hardware I purchased to complete the aircraft was a set of Dubro clevises. </p>
<p>The die-cutting in the kit was satisfactory. The balsa ribs required some effort to cut
as only part of the spar notches are die-cut at the factory. The builder must complete the
notches manually. The die-cut of the plywood parts was good, except that some of the
corners on the plywood former pieces were not quite 90 degree angles. A little bit of
sanding is all it takes to cure this problem. The only other problem I had with the
die-cutting on the kit was that the balsa sides did not match each other in the wing
saddle area. Again, this was easily corrected with a sanding block. </p>
<hr>
<h2 align="center">CONSTRUCTION NOTES </h2>
<p>The manual is not very detailed, but it does run through all the steps. The plane is
very straightforward to build, so you shouldn't have any trouble if you follow the
directions. I will provide some help where it is needed. </p>
<p>I always start with the wing, so lets begin there. First, remove all the ribs from the
balsa sheets and stack them in descending order. The wing is tapered so you will have some
work ahead of you when it comes to sanding the ribs. Take them two at a time and lay them
on the plans before sanding them. Its not enough to sand each pair until they match.
Several of the ribs in my kit had to be shortened to fit on the plans. </p>
<p>Next, you will need to cut the spar notches. One of the cuts is already made for you in
the ribs, you just need to make the notch the correct width. Take the sanded ribs and
stack them together again. Line them up with a notch, place a stick of balsa of the
correct size where you need a notch and lightly run a razor blade across the un-notched
side. Take the blade away and cut just inside of this notch. You want to make the notch
just a tiny bit smaller than the spar for a tight fit. It is easy to make the notch too
big by mistake, which will seriously lessen the strength of the wing. </p>
<p>The rest of the wing should go together without problems. You will probably want to
purchase a razor plane to complete this kit. The leading edge of the wing is a
ridiculously large stick of balsa that is not fun to shape using a sanding block (trust
me). </p>
<p>The tail is extremely simple. The only modification I made was to use Monokote hinges
instead of the supplied CA-type hinges. One thing I should note about the tail is that you
will probably have to sand the elevator halves to get them to be the same shape. The parts
in my kit did not match exactly. </p>
<p>My fuselage sides were not quite the same (as noted above) so watch for any
irregularities in the wing saddle area. Glue the fuselage doublers on as the plan shows
and line the fuselage up on the plans. Now, BEFORE JOINING THE FUSELAGE SIDES AND BEFORE
GLUING THE TRIANGULAR STOCK TO THE FRONT OF THE FUSELAGE, direct your attention to the
nose of the aircraft. </p>
<p>There are two pieces of plywood that you will glue into the nose. The perfectly
circular one is fine, set it aside. The other piece, which would be like an octagon except
for some strips cut out of the side, goes in the nose of the aircraft and acts as a
doubler to better secure the motor. On my kit, this piece did not fit at all.
Unfortunately, I didn't notice how bad it was until I had glued just about every other
piece in the fuselage together. This problem can be remedied by simply positioning the
triangular stock so that it fits the piece. </p>
<p>Before finishing the fuselage of the aircraft, I recommend that you take a moment to
consider the placement of the battery pack you will be using. The Skimmer 400 doesn't
provide a lot of room for the batteries unless you remove the bottom part of the first
former. </p>
<hr>
<h2 align="center">FLIGHT TESTING </h2>
<p>I used a 7 cell pack of 600AEs in my Skimmer 400. This pack is considerably lighter and
smaller than the 800ARs that Hobby Lobby recommends. I also chose the Robbe 6x3.5 prop
that Hobby Lobby sells. This prop produced more RPM with less current draw than the
Graupner 6x3 that Hobby Lobby recommended. </p>
<p>Climb-outs with the above power system are very strong for a speed 400 glider. 500AR
cells would provide stronger climbs toward the end of the charge, but the AE cells are
sufficient for non-competitors and are more widely available. I usually get 3 solid climbs
to altitude out of a single charge. Do not expect the plane to climb like a rocket, its
only 70 watts after all, but you should be able to climb to altitude in about 1 1/2
minutes. </p>
<p>Your flight times will vary. My best time is around 18 minutes but that is mostly
because I get bored after about 10 and land it with plenty of charge remaining. :) </p>
<p>I have heard of several people trying out different power combinations in their speed
400 gliders. I recommend that you start with the 6V motor and the 7 cell 600 AE pack. This
direct-drive system performs as well or better than any other combination I have heard of.
Almost everyone wants to tinker with these things by adding a 4:1 drive or using the 7.2V
motor, but hold off on tinkering until you try this combination first. Gear drives don't
seem to improve the climb of this kind of model, though they can sometimes improve the
duration. </p>
<hr>
<h2 align="center">RECOMMENDATION </h2>
<p>Any recommendation of a kit like this must be made in relation to the price. This kit
has a few problems, but is well worth the money being charged. The resulting airplane is
very pleasing to the eye and has pleasant flying qualities. </p>
<p>Hits:
<ul>
<li>good performance for a plane of this class </li>
<li>low price </li>
</ul>
<p>Misses:
<ul>
<li>battery location poorly thought out </li>
<li>some die-cutting irregularities </li>
<li>bare-bones instruction manual </li>
</ul>
<p>I have recommended this plane to many people of all experience levels. Everyone seems
to enjoy its good looks and pleasant flying qualities.
</body>
</html>