Anyone tried the Dymond LO 100?

[JimNM]

I was flipping through a model mag. and a small advertisement caught my eye. I am in the market for a small-fly anywhere type of plane and the DYMOND LO 100 looks prety darned good to me.

Have any of y'all bought it and flown it, or do you know anybody who could give a third hand impression of it?

I am also considering a NOSEEUM from areofoam. Same questions.

Thanks

JimNM
Work is what I do while the batteries are charging

[Michael Heer]

Hi Jim:
I have a little foam Lo 100 from Dymond and I call mine a novelty plane rather then a glider. It can be sloped in light breeze at the slope and it is probably best for that function as it's looks are pretty good. It can be towed by another park flyer and looks good on aero tow and comes down rather quickly after release. It also can be towed using the bottom hook and someone running or a very weak upstart. Again after release it comes down rather quickly. I have sanded the leading edge in hopes of improving performance and that helped a little but not much. I haven't heard of anyone getting much performance from this plane. Being soft foam it doesn't go very high on a hand toss.
I would not give it a positive review for flying but someone did in the Yard Flyer magazine but they didn't really describe their flights. When I see a posting for the plane I check it out and I haven't seen another positive review other then the magazine. But if you try it I would love to hear your opinion. Mike Heer

[JimNM]

Mike, thanks for your input. I have not yet made up my mind about getting a smaller plane, and your comments filled in the gap for me. I don't think the LO100 from Dymond will be what I'm looking for. I did not think it would take a big launch from a hi-start, but your comments abouit it being such a small plane and not having much by way of flight duration will encouarge me to look elsewhere.

Thanks again for confirming my suspicions.

[Michael Heer]

Dear Jim:
My comments were about the Lo 100. While a larger plane has many advantages over smaller planes in regards to efficent use of lift, there are a number of small gliders that do fly quite well, I just didn't fine the Lo 100 to be a good flier. Don't be afraid to try a 40" mosquito class or a 60" handtoss size plane but pick one for it's flying ability not it's cuteness which is what the Lo 100 has as a mini scale plane. I have a Climax handtoss which is an old "out of date" design but I get very good flights out of it from handtoss, slope and weak highstarts. Good luck on whatever you pick. I still hope to hear from someone who has had success with the Lo 100 that I haven't so I can find out what they did different.

[AirBornOne]

Ahh, a cute little plane that foam LO-100 from Robbe.
But very delicate!
Concerned about keeping the battery in place and fearful of 'packing' the
battery in with foam,I elected to use some xpando foam w/good results.
A few test tosses showed my heavyish LO to move around pretty good.
So... out to my hill where I actually welcome the near dead air and a sweet little flight ensues!How neat.A cute litle plane that flies.Well,until I
decide to catch the little bugger (you see, twigs and sticks and stuff go right through the LO or at least leave an ugly scar). Well,I'm all set up for
a picture perfect catch when it bounces out of my hand and sticks into my
armpit tearing the wing loose as it nails me in the chest.
I had mounted the wing with a couple nylon screws for removal so now
the wing mount area is torn and creased (we're not so cute anymore).
A simple/carefully aligned repair and off to another slope for the dying
evening breeze,a not so nice little flight and I find the rudder horn is loose
in it's slot and the CA won't cure (???).
Anyway,more of a curio than anything else.
I still want to try an aerotow with my friends Moth though.
A cute little plane but not worth it's $79.00 price. $40.00 would be more realistic.
Fly on.