Sailplane webzine

[jbourke]

Would there be an interest in a sailplane-specific webzine similar to The E Zone but for pure sailplanes?

Jim

[mdine1us]

I hope so! I think it would be great.. There is a lot of stuff going on with F3F and PSS, etc that I would like to see!

Regards,
Marty

[Quacker]

I'd vote for that.

[Adam Neat]

The "GZone" G for glider;)
"G Spot" was already taken:o
Adam

[DryFly]

I really don't see any reason why it wouldn't generate a huge following in no time flat. There are already a vast number of sites on the net dealing with pure sailplanes however, the info is scattered, usually specifically regional (in flying and contest), and rarely offering details on building and flying beyond the bare basics and the occasional "proud papa" picture. While those that do go into "details" require a degree in aerospace sciences to make it through the first two paragraphs.
As long as the same intelligent design, which has proven itself already in Ezone, is employed and all areas of pure gliding are covered equally then it shouldn't be too tough to tap into a large portion of the RC hobby. I think we can all agree that there has been a recent resurgence of interest in all aspects of gliding (thanks in no small part to the boom in HLG's) so why not play the tune the crowd can sing along with.
Personally I draw a clear line between E-power and gliding. I love my parkflyers but when I want to soar I prefer it the old fashioned way so would be an avid reader of anything dedicated to pure birds.
But maybe I'm an incurable optimist :)

[Gman2]

There are huge amounts of slopeheads. Now I know what Gman means.

[tomlin]

I'm mostly a gliderguider and I keep checking out the E-zone quite regularly even though it's not really glider related. It just happened to be one of the few places where it's really easy to find lots of info on a whole lot of modeling related issues.

Sure... You can electrify almost anything, but if we're talking slopes you could PSS almost anything as well just by not firing up the motors. You could even build any old powered model without any drive, and there you go... instant PSS.


Anyway, I think there would be lots of interest from the soaring society. So I say, let's have a GZone... (Or whatever)

/ Thomas

[Bert]

:D Just do it! :D

[Adam Neat]

There could be a RES section; Open Class; Hand Launch; Cross Country; Slope; What Else?
Adam

[KevinW]

That sounds good to me.

[John Gallagher]

We've already got Thermal, Hand Launch, and Slope. Wouldn't Sailplane just be redundent.
Are you suggesting getting rid of the Thermal, HLG and Slope section and replacing them with the Sailplane section? I like the three separate sections since there isn't a good slope within reasonable driving distance from me.
Are you talking about setting up something separate from these forums?

[DryFly]

I got the impression that Jim was talking a whole new web magazine John. There would probably be no reason to change these forums at all, simply tie in with the exsisting rcgroups discussion.

[jbourke]

John,

Click this link (http://www.ezonemag.com)

Would you like to see a webzine like that for sailplanes?

Jim

[Ben Diss]

Two meter. Don't forget 2M gliders!

[maciek]

www.rcsoaring.com

[hlguy]

OK! I'm new to this (never even thermaled) is that a word? but the first thing I bought was a 2 meter (that loves to tip stall) and 3 HLG's (4 if you count rebuilding one) I'm tired of digging through the OTHER stuff and I need HELP :confused:

I'm not adverse to a little tiny motor (inlue of a Hi-Start) but just to get you up there (don't you know);)

Like... why Rudder/Elevator instead of Aileron/Elevator????

somebody?:(

kdb

[DryFly]

Yep that's a word.

If your two meter is suffering from tip stall and assuming it is conventional build up (not foam) it is easy to fix. It may be suffering from a lack of wash-out. Twist the wing tip (or block it up on a flat surface) in order to give the trailing edge a one inch rise. Reshrink the covering with your heat gun or by carefully gliding your iron over the surface. The trailing edge will snap back down a little but hopefully not much. Theoretically by changing the angle of attack of the tips in such a manner the main portion of the wing will then stall before the tips.

As for why rudder/elevator, mabey I don't entirely understand the question but if you are refering as to why it is advised for new pilots, then it is simply because they sometimes prove easier to manage than an aileron equiped ship. Also most polyhedral ships (bent wings) which are designed to be very inherintly stable (therefore recomended to new pilots) don't really respond that well to ailerons, resulting in either a lackluster or an ineffectual outcome. In competion RES (rudder elevator spoiler) is a class in and of itself and many of us prefer to fly the lower tech birds out of preference for slower, (sometimes) simpler and more relaxed flight then a sky-shredding fullhouse (all the goodies from flaps to ailerons) aircraft. To each his own.
There have been many designs over the years that were strictly aileron/rudder but most of them I have been exposed to were designed specifically for slope flying (almost zero dihedral and short tail moment).

If I missed the mark or was far too long winded, feel free to beat me sensless with a wet noodle.

[markdrela]

Originally posted by DryFly

If your two meter is suffering from tip stall and assuming it is conventional build up (not foam) it is easy to fix. It may be suffering from a lack of wash-out. Twist the wing tip (or block it up on a flat surface) in order to give the trailing edge a one inch rise.

If this is the usual 4-panel poly wing, it is much more effective to add washout to the inner panels. Only 1 degree may be sufficient -- that's about 1/8" at the TE on a 7" chord.

The reason is that in a tight slow turn, tip stall normally starts just outboard of the poly break. The local AoA at this location is best reduced by twisting the inner panel. If you try to do this by twisting the outer panels, rather excessive amounts of twist are needed.

- Mark

[albert]

YES! YES! YES!

[DryFly]

Mark,
I was running under the assumption that the bird on the ground in the photo he attached was his 2 meter. Perhaps my relative scale is going with age but that appears to be bigger than an average hlg. That one doesn't appear to be a poly ship. Hence the advice to twist and let it settle back. If I am wrong then I am never to proud to admit it and take the wrist slap.

[Fixit]

Now that QFI has been defiled and tainted, I wish anyone would build a sailplane only site with the quality of the EZONE.
I also fly electrics, but when I want to read about sailplanes, I don't want to filter out all the electric stuff. and visa-versa.

[hlguy]

Thanks guys for the response... this is great!

Matt, that was a good reply on the RES and I'm going to my first ever sailplane competition this month (17th -19th) south of Atlanta. The 2 meter problem is the tip stalling, it's a straight wing with about 2-3 degrees of dihedral. It's taken a lot of abuse and the tail is busted for now. It was my first glider and too much for a beginner.

Mark, Thanks for the info of the inner panel washout. I knew of washout, but have no other glider guiders here to talk to. I'm in three R/C clubs, two are GAS and Go fast the other is migrating to e-flight (about half the guys) There is a Sailplaner in that group but haven't been able to hook up with him, YET!!!

I'm almost back in the air with the HLG in the picture, wing was destroyed.

Many thanks,
Kenny
-----------
"Throw gliders not stones"

[NickW]

Yes Yes Yes!!! Go for it. I for one would be happy to contribute a review or two to a glider specific site, and I'd love to see the sailplane equivalent of the Ezone. Im a sailplane flier mostly, but I have great fun playing with electrics. My only problem with their being a sailplane version of the zone is I already spend WAYYY too much time on here!!! Its a great interface, and FULL of lots of good stuff! Go for it!

Nick

[gavoss]

I definately would be interested in a strictly soaring Ezine. I've been in contact with Dave Lilly and he has allowed me to review some electrics. I've queued him about doing sailplane reviews and he thought that was fine. I even offered to write columns/reviews on soaring subjects since many of the soaring community, like myself, have health issues. Electric launch sailplanes are becoming more and more popular. I'm all for the SoaringZone! gv

[smarkest]

I'm up for it!

[MSB]

I vote YES.

[kv6m]

I'd be very interested in seeing a glider
version of the E-Zone. Electrics are
fun, but gliders are where its really
at for me...

--Terry.

[huntermax]

Yesssssssss!

A great idea whose time has come.

[TWyG]

I'm all for an r/c soaring site with Ezone's quality. Do it, Jim!

[slopejocky]

Yes! I really like E-Zone but sailplanes are my real passion. With the demise of QFI this would seem to be the next best thing.:D

[jgleigh]

Yes. Ezone is a great e-mag and I'd love to see one as good for sailplanes.

[denete]

I'd love to see it. I know I'd spend more time here if it existed.

[culiv]

one more YES vote. I would shy away from overly simplistic names. Tough enough finding soaring ezine sites w/o out having to interpret. SZone could be about a sillion (spelling intentional) different topics. SoaringZone explains it nicely.

[V Ram]

Jim,

Sounds like a great idea - there are a few sites out there which are kind of like ezines for some areas of sailplanes (esp. slope), but I haven't quite seen anything like what the Ezone is like.

In response to your question about what would be nice to see in it, here are some thoughts:

Sections for...
slope, thermal, scale, HLG/DLGs, beginner

Within the slope area ...
60", open class (esp. F3F/F3B type planes),
foamies and misc. (2m, PSS, combat, DS, etc)

Some potentially untapped areas ...
news on upcomming models, flight reports/reviews

Most interesting idea I've seen so far ...
http://www.gliderking.com
and click on the "forums" button on top. Bingham has created a forum for each type of popular plane (in this case, all F3F type planes).

- Vijay