Best Penetrator

[RBSIII]

Well, it has turned off windy for a while... and my 2m goes backwards... well almost... I can hold it over the runway, at the top of the hi start, heading into the wind and just wait for it to land... very difficult to hunt thermals because one turn and you are overhead, and if you get downwind, you are going for a walk, cause it ain't... coming back against the wind.. this is 7-9 mph wind... I guess one solution is to increase the wing loading by ballasting up... another is to get a model which will penetrate better.. So herein is the question... short of spending a bundle on a composite machine, what 2 M RES will penetrate best? Help appreciated...

Am now stockpiling kits to build over our cold winter...

[screamin' eagle]

Time to find a hill and go sloping - my other favorite pastime.

[little flyer]

Try www.arthobby.com

[Mike K]

Well, it has turned off windy for a while... and my 2m goes backwards... well almost...


The cheapest solution for right now: Ballast.

Build up a couple of ballast bars in increments of 4, 6 and 8 oz and try these.

You might still be like a salmon in a river up there, but you will make some headway. Lead flashing cut up with tin snips works well. Flatten them out with a rubber mallet on a flat cement floor, drill them all at once, you can just put in a screw in to hold them in place. Some 1/16th - 1/8th inch ply in the front to protect things in case of a hard landing is a good idea. The past few hard landings I've done haven't even loosened the ballast... Used a wood screw into some spruce to hold it in place.

Hope this helps.
Regards.
Mike K.

[Wylie Shaw]

Well, it has turned off windy for a while... and my 2m goes backwards... well almost... I can hold it over the runway, at the top of the hi start, heading into the wind and just wait for it to land... very difficult to hunt thermals because one turn and you are overhead, and if you get downwind, you are going for a walk, cause it ain't... coming back against the wind.. this is 7-9 mph wind... I guess one solution is to increase the wing loading by ballasting up... another is to get a model which will penetrate better.. So herein is the question... short of spending a bundle on a composite machine, what 2 M RES will penetrate best? Help appreciated...

Am now stockpiling kits to build over our cold winter...


What you want is a 2 meter Lil Bird, or Big Bird or, Sky Bird, or even the hand launch very little bird from WWW.SKYBENCH.COM he uses the S3014 airfoil on these and I will guarantee you that any one of em will fly unballasted in 30 + knots of wind and more....wind what wind don't care about any stinkin wind :D :D this airfoil has been used on slope racers, ballast it up and it goes very fast, on a RES type glider unballasted it still can roam around looking for lift and when down wind can penetrate back upwind to the field, ballast it up and it just penetrates back upwind faster....they thermal very nice you will not be disappointed...for sure....


Best Regards,


Wylie S.

[wingsnapper]

I'll have to agree those "Birds" will move when you need them to.
Jesse

[John Gallagher]

Sounds like you have a 2 meter with a flat bottommed airfoil.
The best penetrating 2 meter is probably the Allegro-lite because of Mark Drela's airfoils.

[kak8]

How do you launch a 2m Res in 9mph wind? I guess it is not an Allegro :-)

MH 32 section is not a bad choice, and balast.
But 9 mph wind - i agree that it´s much more fun on the slope.

[sailhigh]

I'm a bit puzzled here. Are you sure the wind is only 7-9 mph? That is not strong enough to push your airplane back that much. Otherwise your 2 meter is only designed to fly in perfectly calm conditions which is highly unlikely. Before you spend any money on a new plane, check to make sure your CG and trim are set correctly.

[BMatthews]

Yeah, I'm curious about what model this is as well.

[John Gallagher]

Sounds like a Gentle Lady on a day when the winds increase with altitude.

[RBSIII]

The model is a TH Vista... yes, flat bottomed... but not all that light... I think it is a GL in disguise... had one of those and an SL several years ago...just getting back in again... Also had a Sagitta 600... wish I had that one back...

I met Ray at Woodcrafters... and watched several guys fly various size "Birds", and Tom Scully with his beautiful Challenger... and you are right they will come home to roost... (most of the time) I have two on my project list for this winter... the 2M and the 100" version so I can use it in several classes... Winter will be long and cold here... probably about a 4 or 5 model winter.. am preparing a new workshop area... glad my SO is understanding...