Michael Heer
Feb 16, 2007, 10:35 PM
!Introduction
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|> <b>Wingspan:</b> |< 127"
|> <b>Wing Area:</b> |< 974 sq. in.
|> <b>Weight:</b> |< 62 oz.
|> <b>Length:</b> |< 57"
|> <b>Wing Loading:</b> |< 9 oz/sq. ft. approximately
|> <b>Servos:</b> |< 6 S3150 thin metal gear digitals, thank you Team Futaba!
|> <b>Transmitter:</b> |< JR 9303
|> <b>Receiver:</b> |< Berg 7P
|> <b>Battery:</b> |< 2700 mAh NiMH pack from SoaringUSA
|> <b>Airfoil:</b> |< Listed as: NH 354SM
|> <b>Available From:</b> |< <a href=http://www.SoaringUSA.com>SoaringUSA</a>
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!Assembly / Setup Primer
As experienced glider pilots know, very little or nothing in the way of instruction usually comes with these high tech gliders. It seems it is assumed you know what you are doing if you are buying this level of glider. Therefore, this review, Part I, will focus on the assembly and recommended programming of settings in the transmitter for the Stork 2 Pro. So I am intentionally going into some detail in this review of the assembly. Part II will focus more on its flight and handling characteristics.
While this review is of the assembly of the STORK 2 PRO, this glider is very similar to many of the modern molded full house gliders sold by SoaringUSA. So to those of you new to gliders, much of the assembly discussion should be applicable to others. In this case the term "full house" means the glider has control surfaces of rudder, elevator, ailerons and flaps.
For those more experienced glider pilots, we hope this article will give you a thorough look at this new beauty. For the newer glider pilots or those who've always purchased someone else's built birds, we hope this detailed look at assembly will help you feel more comfortable about what you have ahead as you build your first fiberglass beauty on your own!
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Having seen Edward Stewart's Stork 2 Pro fly at Visalia in October of 06, I was delighted to have this opportunity to assemble, fly and review this beautiful molded glider.
Some claim the new molded gliders "All look alike!" There is a little truth to that, especially when they are at altitude, but the real differences are in the airfoil, the building components and the weight. On the Stork 2 Pro the airfoil is the NH 354SM. No other information on the airfoil is given. The aircraft is basically a fiberglass lay-up with carbon reinforcement where needed for strength. I will be using my JR 9303 computerized transmitter so that I can program in multiple "set" positions for the flaps and ailerons so that the Stork Can..." be all that it can be!"
But we well get there in good time. Stick with me as I get this bird ready to fly and have my first few flights with the Stork 2 Pro.
!Kit Contents
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*Kit contains:
*two molded outer wing tip panels
*the central wing panel
*full flying horizontal stabilizers and the rudder
*very long fuselage
*a bag of hardware with connector rods & covers for the servos
*a bag of brass weights that are used to ballast the plane's wing for flying on windy days or when you want it to penetrate better or more quickly.
Jeff Pfeifer forwarded the glider to me. I received an almost complete kit. Missing from mine was the servo tray that goes into the front of the fuselage and the ballast that might go in the fuselage behind the canopy. With the exception of the missing servo tray (I got one later) and fuselage ballast, it was a very nice and complete kit.
Thank you to Team Futaba for providing the servos for this review!
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*Kit Requires:
*Six servos, as discussed above
*Three strand servo wire (approximately 8 feet)
*4 two-foot long servo wire extensions with JR connectors used in the fuselage harness
*4 one-foot long servo wire extensions with JR connectors for use in wing or More 3 strand wire
*1 Pair Multiplex multi-connector plug (for connecting the wing wiring with the fuselage)
*2 Pairs of Dean Micro Plug 4R connectors (for aileron wiring between wing panels)
*Dremel type drill with assorted grinding bits and sanders
*Masking tape
*Wire strippers
*Soldering iron, flux and solder
*Shrink tubing, various sizes
*On/Off switch with charging plug
*CA glue
*5-minute epoxy & stirring sticks
*micro balloons for use in epoxy
*Landing skeg
*lead shot for nose weight in small baggies
*small foam cup
*Wax paper
*Exacto knife
*3M plastic tape clear for wing and white for fuselage
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!!Servo Selection
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I could have used a number of different brands of servos in the Stork 2 Pro. No matter what brand I used I would want them to be strong, quality servos like the Futaba S3150s provided for my Stork 2 Pro. The Stork has molded servo bays in the wing panels that are designed to fit Voltz servos. Just plug (actually screw them in place) and play.
For the first-time assembler, the Voltz servos would've simplified the assembly process. But the Voltz servos would cost me about $300.00 more than the Futabas, based upon my research. Once installed the Futaba servos would work as well as the Voltz servos (my opinion) so for me this decision was a no brainer.
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!Assembly
!!The Battery Pack
I purchased an assembled 4-cell receiver battery pack from SoaringUSA and it arrived completely assembled and was composed of 4-2700 mA NiMH cells. While I was assembling the Stork 2 Pro I cycled (charging and discharging) this battery pack -- the sixth charge was done just before I was ready for the first flight. It was especially important that NiMH pack be cycled! Even with quality cells like these they take several cycles to work properly and I didn't want to risk this project with a battery pack that hadn't been made ready for the job with proper cycling.
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!!Mounting Wing to Fuselage...the Only Misalignment
The Stork comes with two mounting bolts to secure the center wing panel to the fuselage. The mounting nuts came already installed in the fuselage and the center panel had two holes for the bolts already molded in place. My first real act of assembly was to trial fit them together. The back hole was perfectly positioned and the shorter bolt went in easily. The front hole was not perfectly aligned and the bolt would not go into the fuselage through the front hole. (See photos.)
This misalignment made me wonder if the wiring harness molded boxes in the bottom of the wing and the wing saddle in the fuselage would properly line up. I test fitted them...and they did! (The front bolt was the only thing that didn't line up perfectly on the entire project. That was easily corrected with the grinding.)
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!!The Wing
The wing comes completely built! It is a thing of beauty! The control surfaces on the wings were already hinged. The connecting spars and alignment pins were already installed in the outer panels and there was nothing to build for the wing's structure.
*Wing Steps to do:
*install the 2 aileron servos in the outer panels,
*install the 2 flap servos in the central wing panel
*connect the servos to the control surfaces with the supplied hardware
*wire such that these wing panels could be assembled and disassembled quickly
There were no plans, no instructions and limited working space at the very center of the wing. As mentioned above, the Voltz servos would have been plug-and-play into the servo bays. With the Futaba's it will be a little more work, starting with the outer wing panels.
!!!The Outer panels.
The Futaba S3150 servos did not simply mount into the aileron servo bays with screws. In fact the servo was just slightly too large to fit into the servo bay as molded. Additionally, there was no opening in the servo bay for the servo wire to get to the root of the outer wing panel. Good news, there WAS a pre-cut rectangular box opening in the wing panel root for the servo wire and a matching opening for a connector wire in the central panel. (Both perfectly cut to fit the Dean 4R micro connectors.)
My friend Jeff Hunter has designed and built several of his own full house gliders and he helped me out by cutting and expanding the aileron servo bays to fit the Futaba servos into the wing panels. After Jeff cut the bays for the aileron servos using a Dremel drill and a grinding bit, I took over the work on the outer wing panels. See the photo details for these steps.
*Outer Panel Servo steps:
*Tape the servo cases (to make easy removal at a later date)
*Adjust the servo bays due to oversized Futaba servos
*Use receiver to ensure servos were centered and travel the proper direction
*Cut the servo arm so that just the inner two holes were still available
*Put the servo arm on the servo one spline forward from center to give me a little more throw up than down (differential)
*Attach servo extension (Futaba leads not long enough stock)
*Seal connection with tape to ensure servo cannot get unhooked while running leads
*Use piano wire to run servo leads (The end of the servo extension wire was taped to the piano wire and it was pulled out of the panel at the wing root.)
*Use masking tape and taped around the hole in the wing root to protect the surface from glue. *Score the bottom of the servo bay (lightly scratched) with an Exacto knife to give the glue more surface area.
*Tape aileron in the neutral position.
*Screw the control horn onto the aileron
*Snap the connector onto the servo arm.
*Repeatedly trial fit the servo with the included linkage until desired position.
*Glue in place, with 5-minute epoxy & micro balloons
*Remove servo lead end, shrink-wrap and solder onto a Dean Mini Plug 4R male plug. (I had to trim the lip off the back of the Dean 4R connectors to get them to fit in the preformed box in the wing.)
*Attach matching "female" plug as 'hand hold', then use gap filling CA on all four sides at the <b>back</b> of the "male" plug to secure it into the opening in the wing tip panel's root.
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!!!The Center Panel
As stated above, Jeff Hunter trial fit a servo into the flap servo bay and carefully planned where it should fit. After careful calculation he sprung into action and routed out both of the flap servo bays in two minutes of actual Dremel router time. He removed a mounting block that was not going to be used. Because of moving to a new home Jeff's involvement in the assembly process and this review was ended with that one evening of work.
I started my work by finishing the cutting of the bays for the control rods that attach the servos to the flaps. Then I cut an opening for the servo wire to get to the center of the wing. When I finished the cutting on the center panel I went to run the wire through the center panel for the aileron servos.
Using three-strand wire I cut a four-foot length and twisted the wire except at the ends. I needed to run it from the outer opening in the "rib" of the center panel to the center hole. Making this task more difficult was the flap servo bay in the middle. I gravity feed the wire from the outer opening in the wing "rib" to the opening at the back of the wing's flap servo bay. Here I pulled out the end of the wire with tweezers and a foot and a half more wire. I taped the end of the wire to a thin piece of piano wire and reinserted the end of the wire back into the hole and pushed it across the back bottom of the wing with the piano wire to the center hole where I pulled it out with tweezers. I taped the wire in place and repeated the process on the other side of the panel.
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Next, starting at the outer "rib" with the three individual wire ends I soldered on the female Dean 4R connector plug to match the wiring sequence on the male plug in the outer wing panel. The connections were then covered with shrink tubing in the same way as described above in the outer wing panels. The connector hole in the outer "rib" of the center wing panel was lined with masking tape. I put the wing spar from the outer wing panel into the center wing panel and connected the female 4R plug to the male plug and tested the fit by bringing the panels together.
Happy with the test fit I separated them completely. I applied gap filling Ca onto all sides of the female 4R plug at the back and fit the female plug back into the panel and let the glue dry. When dry I removed the tape and did another test fitting and it was perfect. The wire exiting at the middle rear of the center panel was marked with a tape label as right aileron. The process was then repeated for the other side of the wing panel. When finished this second wire at the center plughole was marked left aileron.
The wing tip panels now simply plugged onto the center wing section and the aileron servos were electrically connected to the central wing panel via the Deans 4R micro plugs. For flight the outer wing panels are secured in place using simple clear plastic 3M tape, taping top and bottom where the panels join. The wing joiner rod takes all the pressure and alignment pins make sure it is properly positioned.
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Next I installed the servos for the flaps into their servo bays. Here I used foot long Futaba servo extension wires and made the connection permanent by wrapping it with tape. I could have cut off the wire leads from the servos and soldered on extensions but I was lazy. The photos clearly show this installation. Once I trimmed the ends off the extension, I had four sets of three wires exiting from the hole at the center bottom of the wing and was ready to make a wiring harness!
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!!Wiring Harness/Radio Installation
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The making of the wiring harness can freeze you in your tracks the first time you go to make one. If that happens to you, plan it out and then jump in and JUST DO IT!
We've already connected the outer panels connected three wires from the aileron servo to the center wing section with the Deans 4R connectors. The wing servos used a six prong Multiplex plug to connect all four into a harness that connects to a matching fuselage harness. I connected the twelve wires of the servos in the wing to only six wire prongs on the Multiplex connector.
The four positive wires connected together to one prong at the end of the Multiplex connector and the four negative wires connected together to the prong at the other end of the Multiplex connector. This left the four center prongs, one per servo, for the signal wires from each servo. Those individual signal wires were soldered in place and sealed in heat shrink tubing.
I made a chart of the signal wires and which prong they were connected to so that a matching arrangement could be made in the fuselage harness. The harness for the wing was wired and 99% finished. I pushed the small amount of excess wire back into the wing. (This took me a lot of time as there is very little space in this part of the wing and the wires fill the space all too well!) I then trial fitted the Multiplex connector into the box that came molded for it on the underside of the center wing panel. I attached the matching half of the Multiplex plug to the wing Multiplex plug and trial fitted that into the wing saddle in the fuselage and bolted the center panel in place. IT STILL FIT! So far so good.
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!!!Switch Wiring
The connecting half of the Multiplex connector that goes inside the fuselage was wired in a matching fashion, except for the switch wiring.
This time I wired a single positive wire to the end that matched up with the positive wires in the wing and a single negative wire that matched up with the negative wires in the wing. That positive and negative wire were at the end of a two-foot long aileron servo wire extension that had the female plug on the end. I spliced the positive and negative wires with a male servo connector onto the power wires coming from the on/off switch. The on/off switch then had two live power connectors coming from it when the switch was on and both turned off with the switch in the off position. (See picture!)
One connector powered the receiver and the servos for the rudder and elevator that were powered through the receiver. The servos in the wings were directly powered through this second connector by plugging it into the connector I wired into the harness. Four 2-foot long aileron extension wires were stripped down to their male connector and only the signal wire. The signal wires were different colors and the stripped wire end was soldered to the Multiplex connector. The signal and power wires coming out of the harness were pushed into the fuselage at the reamed out mounting hole in the wing saddle one by one. Gravity action got the wires forward holding the fuselage with nose down and shaking as needed. (The 12-inch servo extension wires were slightly short I only had the 24-inch servo extension wires on hand. Those were trimmed to 14 inches to do the job.)
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The signal wires with male connectors were plugged into the Berg receiver based on their color wire cided for their function. Using my JR 9303 transmitter, all of the servos in the wing were once again tested for proper operation. Once proper operation and set-up was confirmed, I glued the Multiplex plug into the bottom of the wing with gap CA and let the glue dry. Later the wires for the fuselage harness were tucked into the fuselage along with the Multiplex plug and proper fit was confirmed by plugging the wing into it. Satisfied with the fit the plug was then glued into the fuselage. The radio installation was completed later by plugging the rudder and elevator servos into the receiver. There is a tube mounted in the fuselage for the radio antenna and that was helpful.
!!Tail Feathers, the Back of the Fuselage
To mount the rudder I simply slid it onto a pin that came mounted into the top of the fuselage. With the rudder installed at the top, I screwed a pin into the bottom of the fuselage and the bottom pin went up into the centered rudder and secured it in place. The nicest rudder installation I have ever experienced! The rudder came with a ball connector installed on the bottom right front of the rudder. There was a socket connector installed in the back of the fuselage. I snapped the socket onto the ball and the rudder installation was complete.
The full flying stab was even easier to install. I slid one side onto the fuselage while putting the rectangular carbon fiber spar through the square space for it in the vertical stabilizer. This was in the center of the Bell crank inside the vertical stabilizer. As the horizontal stabilizer got near the fuselage I made sure the alignment pin slid into it's place on the outer end of the Bell crank arm. Next I slid the other half of the stab onto the spar and the alignment pin. They were held in place by friction. For transportation and storage they can be easily slid off the fuselage. It was that easy!
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!!The front of the Fuselage, servos, landing skeg and C/G balance
As with the wing there was no construction necessary for the fuselage as a whole. At first I thought I would have to be creative about how I installed the servos into the fuselage as there was no servo tray with MY Stork. But Bob at Soaring USA procured one for me. THANKS BOB! It made the servo installation in the fuselage very easy. The right servo faces forward and has a short servo arm. The left servo faces backward and has a long servo arm going over to the right side of the fuselage. Both of the cables for the rudder/elevator are pre-mounted on the right side of the fuselage. The tray mounted into the fuselage with four screws through the side of the fuselage via pre-drilled holes in the fuselage. Very simple and accurate installation as shown in the pictures.
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The only tricky aspect of the fuselage assembly involved mounting a landing skeg that was purchased separately and was/is used to stop the Stork precisely for scored landings by keeping it from sliding. That needed to be installed and then the plane balanced for proper C/G by adding the battery pack and lead to the Stork's nose. I had two landing skegs to choose from and mounting per the instructions that came with the landing skegs could involve drilling a hole in the fuselage/or not. I could also choose gluing on the skeg or taping on the skeg. For now I opted to use the smaller of the skegs that I had and to tape it in place for this review. Landing skegs are allowed by the AMA but not in FAI competition.
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!Discussion Point
Your recommendations on size and mounting of landing skegs are requested. PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS on this subject at the end of the review. (Large or small skeg, bolted glued or taped in place?)
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The method I used to balance the Stork was to put about an inch or two of foam in the nose of the fuselage and then install the battery pack. With the glider completely assembled and completely ready with ALL PARTS (see side bar). I taped a cut down foam cup to the top nose of the glider and started to fill the cup with lead (I used lead shot) until the glider balanced at the recommended C/G about 103mm behind the wings leading edge next to the fuselage. Next I carefully removed the cup with the shot from the fuselage. I took the wing off the fuselage and removed the battery pack from the fuselage and the foam from the nose. I poured the shot from the cup into a small plastic baggy. (I save the small resealable bags that some of our hobby parts come in for this purpose such as the bag with the Berg crystal.) I inserted that baggy into the nose and secured it in place with foam with the battery pack tightly secured behind it with more foam. I reassembled the Stork and rechecked the balance at the C/G. This way lead can be added or subtracted as needed to get the "desired balance" that will be determined through test flying.
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!!!Adjustable C/G Balance...for now.
I plan to use my Eagle Tree Seagull transmission system with this glider. It will be necessary to balance for the weight of the components of this system and that will depend on their location within the fuselage. I also must decide if I will be mounting a Pitot tube in the nose of this glider. These decisions will not be made until after the initial review has been completed and will be discussed in an update later this year. Thus I had a special need to keep the nose ballast adjustable at this time.
After the exact amount of needed nose weight has been determined and confirmed with all components installed and test flights completed, I will want to make my nose ballast permanently secure. To do this I will mix-up a batch of slow epoxy and weigh it on my digital postal scale and set aside a like amount weight of the shot I have been using in the nose. I will pour a slight amount of epoxy into the nose of the glider, add some shot, stir with a stick. Add some more epoxy and add more shot and stir, more epoxy and more shot and stir until all the shot except that amount I set aside is in the nose of the glider and mixed with epoxy. I will set the fuselage aside resting on its nose and let the epoxy/shot mixture harden over night. I will completely reassemble the Stork and again test that it balances where I have determined the balance point should be by my test flying.
!!Tow hook
The adjustable Tow Hook came installed in the bottom of the fuselage. No assembly was necessary here but adjustment in operation might well be necessary. I will discuss the aspect of adjustment of the tow hook for beginners following this review.
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!!Programming the Transmitter to Maximize the Stork
It may be possible to fly the Stork 2 Pro just using a simple five or six channel transmitter and receiver and using wiring that amounts to Y-connectors for the flaps and the ailerons. But I don't know anyone that would do so, as it greatly limits the ability to control the various functions of the Stork in flight. Instead, I used my JR 9303 transmitter and its various functions, and I am very happy with it. It has the flexibility and mixes that allow me to program and setup the Stork for complete control. My final programming of positions for the flaps and ailerons will be entirely based upon recommendations from Bob Breaux and his team at SoaringUSA. I will first review the sub-trim settings and then the 5 recommended pre-set positions for the ailerons/flaps.
!!Subtrim Setup
The transmitter's subtrim adjustment lets me control how far the control surfaces will move at maximum throw. It is important to properly set up these throws for smooth control and response by the glider to my commands. I used a metric ruler and measured at the back of the control surfaces. The full throw of each of the surfaces was programmed to be as follows:
*Control Surface Maximum Throw
*ailerons 25mm up, 5mm down**
*Flaps 2mm up, 65mm down
*elevator 10mm up and down
*rudder 14mm side to side
<b>NOTE: </b>While SoaringUSA has recommended only 5mm of down ailerons I initially used 12mm of down as I am used to using a 2-1 differential between up and down throws. I will gradually reduce the amount of up and down aileron throw in future test flights and report on this later. SoaringUSA's recommended differential was +13mm and down -5mm. I went with what I was comfortable with for these initial flights.
!!Five programmed positions for flaps and ailerons for normal launches, flight and landings.
SoaringUSA supplied me with information for programming four different in-flight trim positions for flaps and ailerons and a fifth position, Butterfly, for landing the Stork 2 Pro. My JR 9303 is reportedly capable of five mixes and I will find that out in Part II of this review. But I am used to using three program settings and that is what I used initially. I programmed my transmitter for positions 1-3 discussed below and dialed position 3 to position 4 to test it out. For my initial landings I just deployed flaps without using Butterfly. I will review all five pre-set positions recommended here and now but save more detailed discussion of them for Part II of this review.
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The JR 9303 has a three position switch (top left front of transmitter) that I programmed with the first three desired trim settings and I could instantly change the trim with the flick of that switch. Position 1 for my three-position switch is the launch position for the trims. Elevator and rudder positions remain neutral for all of these positions. For initial toss and climb using a winch the aileron position is -3mm and the flap position is -5mm.
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The second position is a transition for the upcoming drop of the winch line and then zooming. The switch is moved to this position when the Stork reaches position two on the drawing below. The settings for position 2 have the ailerons +1mm and the flaps +2mm. The glider remains with the trim in position 2 to the top of the zoom and when the plane starts to level off I switched to position 3.
Position 3 is the recommended position for normal thermal flying of the Stork. Many pilots use the neutral flap and aileron trim positions for thermal flying. However, neutral position allows you to fly fairly quickly with the Stork and you may actually fly right through a weak thermal and not know that you have done so. SoaringUSA recommended that position three on the switch be set so that the ailerons are at -2mm of deflection and the flaps are at -4 mm of deflection for normal flight.
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Should you hit sink while searching for a thermal flick the switch to position 2 and obtain the fast cruise position that was used in the zoom. Stay in this trim as you race to get out of the sink and when clear of the sink flick the switch back to the thermal search position, position 3.
!!Ballast & Trim for Wind
When flying in wind or with weight the recommended trim setting is the neutral/neutral position for the flaps and ailerons AKA position 4. Normally, I will only be flying with ballast in windy conditions anyway. Penetration is more difficult into wind and the neutral position and the weight help make penetration easier. For these first flights I manually adjusted my transmitter by changing the position 3 settings to those recommended for position 4. This was an easy transition to make.
Talking about Ballast... a bag of brass weights came with the Stork 2 Pro as shown in the pictures below. These weights weigh 1.4 ounces each and thirteen of them came with the glider. When all 13 are used that adds 18.2 ounces or 1 pound 2.2 ounces. This increases the glider's weight by about 30% over the unballasted glider. This ballast goes into tube in the wing with access thru the top of the wing. Six weights go into each side of the wing from this entrance, pictured below and one stays right in the middle.
There is also a tube in the fuselage for a locking weight that would be inserted in through the canopy, but no weight for this tube was included in my package. I got this glider kit second hand so I am not sure if that weight is an optional item or not.
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As stated above, so far positions 1-4 have been tested but I have only deployed flaps thus far for landing and I still need to program in the Butterfly. My excuse was a good day to fly and only so much time to get everything ready for the first flights!
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!!Butterfly Trim for Landing
In my initial flights I just deployed flaps for landing and the Stork would initially climb while I wanted it to keep tracking towards my landing point so I had to add down elevator. To prevent this in the future, Butterfly uses up ailerons and down flaps as a combined landing aid. SoaringUSA recommends that Butterfly be programmed so that the ailerons go up to +5mm and the flaps go down to -65mm.
Being able to switch between these different trim positions instantly at the flick of a switch or two allows you to truly control the glider's performance with ease. If you have never flown a full house glider and wondered why anyone would need all those "bells and whistles" hopefully you can now understand why all those controls are helpful. With my transmitter programmed to work positions 1-3 and easily reprogrammed for position 4, it was time to check everything over one last time.
!!Completion
At this point I had to make sure the plane balanced properly from side to side and front to back. The CG -- the point of front to back balance is necessary to make the glider controllable. Tail heavy the glider can easily be uncontrollable. While controllable a little nose heavy it is less efficient and we want our glider to be efficient. The recommended position for the C/G is from 100mm to 105mm behind the leading edge of the wing. Balancing on the C/G was discussed above.
It seems almost all pilots are aware of the need to have a plane balanced on the Center of Gravity or C/G for short. However, it is also important for the glider to be balanced from side to side. When working with a small electric plane with a 42 inch wing span it is easy to properly fly it even if one wing tip is slightly heavier then the other. However with 127-inch wingspan if one wing tip is slightly heavier then the other it might take several mm of aileron adjustment to get the plane to balance and that affects the plane's efficiency.
Years ago with my Oly II glider I had one wing heavier than the other as the wood was heavier on one side. I ballasted the plane with a nail into the wood on one tip and covered it with monocoat and my plane was balanced and still looked pretty. With the Stork, if one wing side is heavier than the other you can secure some weight in the aileron servo bay of the lighter side to balance the wings. Simply place little amounts on top of the wing above the servo bay until balance is achieved and then secure that amount of weight, out of the way, in the aileron servo bay. No weight was needed to balance the wings on my Stork.
Time to put a final charge on all the batteries and go flying.
!Flying
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SIDE BAR DVD Recommendation
After the assembly for this project was done and the review 98% written, I viewed a DVD that fits in perfectly with this review's subject matter and gets my highest recommendation! The title is: "F 3 Building Clinic" and it is by Paul Nation and sold through his company, Radio Carbon Art. A review of the DVD can be found here in Liftzone and George Voss gave it his highest praise as well. It does an excellent job of taking you through the assembly of these molded "Prebuilt" aircraft. The featured glider is a Trinity that is also sold by SoaringUSA. There isn't that much difference between thermal, or F3 or F3B when it comes to the final assembly. There is a lot of good info in the video and a Stork 2 Pro even makes a cameo appearance in the video concerning its tail feathers. This DVD while especially helpful for the first time assembler of a high tech glider, has items that will help every builder/pilot. Paul and I have a number of building techniques in common but if there are any conflicts I will yield to Paul as the more experienced of the two of us.
NOTE to those who view the video: I used shorter pieces of shrink tubing than shown in Paul's video with the Multiplex connector. His connectors were going to be flexible and moved about in connecting and disconnecting. My Multiplex plugs were glued into fixed positions in the wing and fuselage and had very little clearance space behind them and thus the need for short tubes. I relied on the lack of motion with my connectors to protect the soldered wires from coming loose.
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I got to see Edward Stewart's Stork 2 Pro launch, fly and land several times while I was in Visalia. The launches I saw got good height with a zoom at the end of the launch as seen in the video below. One of his launches that I didn't catch on tape had an especially effective zoom at the end of the launch. The plane penetrated thru sink well and had a good speed envelope and when lift was spotted Edward was able to track circle and climb in it with his Stork 2 Pro. The two landings of his that I saw were both very good but the margin for error is so low at Visalia that he didn't get anything to show for his fine efforts. You can catch his disappointment at the end of the video after seeing how close he was to scoring a great landing. From watching Edward I knew the Stork 2 Pro was capable of great things before my first flight.
!!Launching by Winch and High Start
I started with the tow hook in what I felt was a good starting position with room to move it back (It is an adjustable tow hook) as I get more experience with how it launches. I started with it about 1/3 of an inch ahead of the conservative C/G. I will discuss tow hook position more for beginners after this review. For this review I only have a limited number of launches in with my Stork and I hope to improve with practice but the sequence will remain the same.
Launches were intense periods of action where in a few seconds I cycled through three of the preset positions for the flaps and ailerons and had to sometimes respond to unexpected side direction movement by my glider as it was going up to obtain a maximum launch. Like a golfer preparing for his tee shot I had lot's of time to setup properly and prepare a plan on where I would first go to search for lift when I got off the line. I looked over the sky before launching and made my initial decision as to where I was going to direct the Stork and start searching for lift as it came off the tow line. Sometimes I had great tells on where the lift was before I launched such as birds circling in a thermal or another glider in a thermal. Or on a calm day I suddenly felt the wind being drawn to my left when any breeze had been to the right. I believe it is important that whatever the deciding factors may be that I plan how I will start my search for lift before I toss my glider and start my launch. For the next ten seconds (the period of the launch) I am committed to my plan.
I start my launch with the ailerons and flaps in position one with both down in the launch position. I am facing forward with the glider at about a fifteen-degree up angle and I step on the winch pedal and start the winch and build up tension on the line. Feeling the tension I gave a very hard toss of the glider forward and just slightly up. The pull of the winch and the lift of the wing transitioned the glider to a near vertical climb for the first part of the launch. Depending on wind conditions and the winch I was using I either put peddle to the metal, or I was quickly tapping during this first stage of the launch. In a perfect world and launch I didn't have to give any directional changes to the Stork during this faze of the launch. Later when I have moved my tow hook back to optimize my climb I may have to make directional corrections during the launch. With the initial tow hook position my launches have been pretty straight and true. I personally am willing to sacrifice a little off of the maximum launch to keep the launches on the controlled side, straight and true.
After only a few seconds the glider transitioned from the vertical climb to a more horizontal angle and it was almost time to leave the launch line. I flicked the switch on my transmitter to position 2 for the ailerons and flaps and they went from the launch position to the slightly recessed or penetration position. I was then full on the peddle and I gave a down signal to the Stork's elevator and then the up signal and the tow loop slide off of the hook and the Stork ZOOMED upward and converted most of its forward speed to altitude. As its climb slowed I give a brief down elevator signal to level off the Stork and started my search pattern either by flying straight forward or starting a banking turn in the direction I planned to head to start my lift search pattern. If the air felt good (not sink) I flicked the switch to position 3 and my ailerons and flaps went to the normal flight position.
For this review I used a friend's winch and my club's winch. Fortunately, most of my launches will be with good winches. But I also used my very very heavy duty High Start for several launches. The toss at start was even more level than with the winch and the transition to vertical and climb was very slow. I started and stayed with position 2 on my transmitter to help the Stork keep up its speed as much as possible. It tracked upwards fairly nice but there was virtually no zoom at the end of the launch. No trouble with a High Start launch using a very very strong High Start, but better results, as would be expected, were obtained using a winch.
!!Basics: searching, circling and fleeing
With any thermal glider in competition you establish a pattern for searching for lift. You want the glider to track quickly yet still show some response to lift when it is encountered. Flying fast right thru lift is not a good thing. So far I only have a few flights on the Stork 2 Pro but it shows an ability to fly a nice pattern to allow me to cover a lot of new air relatively quickly but still give signs when lift is encountered. I am still going through the adjustment period and expect to get smoother and better at flying the Stork with practice.
I found the Stork circled nicely and could circle fairly tightly even in a small thermal. A combination of ailerons and rudder was used. I started with a programmed mix of 30% rudder/aileron mix on the main right aileron stick that could be engaged or disengaged with the flick of a switch on the top right of my transmitter. I like to use both sticks (rudder and aileron) but found that at times the mix was handy to have when my attention was focused on the search for lift or other distractions.
I have encountered sink and with a flick of the switch the flaps and ailerons go up a couple of degrees (position 2) and the nose goes down just slightly and the Stork 2 Pro speeds up and penetrates well without giving up much altitude. I found I did better using the programmed position 2 to get out of sink then to try and put the nose down using the elevator. I wasted less altitude getting out of sink using programmed position 2.
As I get in more flights there will be more fine-tuning of the program and thus better control of the glider as I get more experience but I am pleased with the settings recommended by Bob from SoaringUSA and the handling of the Stork 2 Pro.
!!Landing
Landing a full house glider exactly where you want to is an acquired skill and a bit of luck. The skill is developing a pattern that you repeat ideally with every landing. I use a three-leg approach where I go downwind, crosswind and then final approach into the wind to the landing spot. In a perfect world all landings would have those three legs and the wind would always be the same and every landing would be a copy of the one before it. Unfortunately, the real world and searches for lift and the race with the stopwatch and altitude deprivation often require us to deviate from that approach and race to the landing spot in hopes of timely getting down while getting landing points.
Years ago I discovered that the more I practiced my landings the luckier I got at them. I also learned it was important to practice in various degrees of wind so I could plan how long I should make the downwind leg and still be able to get back to the landing tape or spot when I was heading into the wind. In recent years I have done more flying of electrical planes and less flying of gliders and to put it bluntly: My landing skills currently suck!
I am able to safely land the Stork back on the field and relatively close to myself by deploying the flaps. I am not flying at a competition level at all and hope to improve that by programming in the Butterfly position and of course practice. Depending on conditions I will approach the landing area with the flaps and ailerons in position 3 or if penetration is necessary due to wind in position 2 or 4 and then near the end of the flight will use the Butterfly position to land the Stork where I want it to land. All it takes is practice, practice, and practice. I know the Stork is capable of making great landings time after time as I have seen Edward and others do it.
!!Aerobatics/Special Flight Performance
The Stork 2 Pro can perform a very nice big loop and a wallowing three-meter glider axial roll. The occasional trick is about all I suspect I will do with the Stork when burning off excess altitude. It is a specialized plane. I will fly it at the slope later and show some pictures later this year of it flying there and report on that then. But my plan is to use this glider "intelligently" as a thermal glider.
!!Is This For a Beginner?
NO! The Stork 2 Pro is a fantastic glider but it is not for a beginner nor is it for the experienced power pilot who is just starting at becoming a glider pilot. For the beginner it is simply way too much glider and it does not self-correct to level flight if the pilot goes hands off.
This is for an intermediate to advanced glider pilot. The reason I don't recommend it for the expert electric or power pilot as a first glider is that they are likely to fly right through lift and not recognize it with this glider. It isn't a question of control, it is a question of reading response. The person starting to thermal fly will be better served with a polyhedral glider that better displays a response to encountering lift or sink. After they learn to read the air with a beginner glider and spot the signs of lift and sink, their expert flying skills will make the transition to this glider as a second glider very easy.
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!Some Concepts for Those New to Setting Up Their Own Gliders
!!Adjusting the Ailerons & Flaps!
If you are new to soaring don't worry about flaps or spoilers for anything beyond a landing aid or a thermal disrupter if you get caught in a strong thermal and can't get down. All of these various flap/aileron settings are for utilization by the experienced soaring pilot and although they really aren't all that difficult, you should be thinking of thermal vs. sink and not what position should I be using for my ailerons? The programming of the movement is the critical aspect of this and that is done with the glider on the ground when programming your transmitter.
It sounds like a lot to think about and if you are new to soaring it is! That is part of the reason it is best to start with a simple polyhedral glider with only rudder and elevator to concern yourself with during normal flight. But really after you get used to circling in thermals and running from sink you will find that the throwing of the switch on the full house glider will become second nature. Remember this is a hobby that builds on your skills and your confidence. The discussion of the controls for this glider will apply to most other full house gliders. The degrees for your settings might change slightly but that will be a matter of the individual glider, your practice and your learning curve. Just as in swimming, don't jump into the deep end of the pool before you know what you are doing. Work you way up to the full house glider and you will love it when you are ready for it!
!!Optimized Tow Hook Location
The Stork has an adjustable tow hook and it will be adjusted backwards (slowly) to find the optimal location to maximize altitude while maintaining control and avoiding "Pop-offs." The more forward the tow hook is located the less climb from the pulling of the winch line. A common starting point in a basic glider is 30 degrees in front of the planes center of gravity. This location usually gives good lift with lots of control. In competition we want great lift and as we become more experienced we will trade off rock steady control for that lift by moving the tow hook further back. This backing up of the tow hook can make Pop Offs occur more easily. Pop-offs are where the tow hook pops off the winch line launch ring before you want it to and this is often at about 100 feet into the launch. After a pop off you have to gain control of your glider as it is stalling and bring it down safely or in some contests, fly it out as your launch. Launches into a strong wind also effect the chances for pop-offs as you climb more vertically with a strong wind. The other problem as the hook goes back is the plane will easily fall off to either side and you must work more to control the glider to get it to go up straight on launch.
As a beginner the control of your glider tracking straight up is more important then gaining a little extra altitude by moving the hook further back. The tow hook location is important on any glider that is launched be it by winch or by high start. This is an area where experience will come into play and your own personality will show itself. When I was younger I was more ambitious about my launches and would do the side-to-side corrective flying on occasion while going to maximize my launch. My launches today are a little more sedate.
!!Ballast
Some beginners have trouble with the concept of adding ballast/weight to their gliders as they think that lighter is better for keeping the glider up for as long as possible. Actually, while keeping light is very important, keeping the glider controllable is even more important. If it is being blown around by the wind and the only way you can penetrate into the wind is a steep dive, it is time to land and add ballast. Adding ballast can make the glider more controllable in windy conditions. Whether filling both ballast tubes or only one be sure to fill the tube as a weight shift during flight is the worse thing that can happen. You must make sure that your ballast is secure. In some of my gliders I have a bolt coming up from the bottom of the fuselage and I add drilled out lead fishing weights to that bolt and secure them with a wing nut. With the Stork I have the built in tubes. I will have to practice to determine when I will add lead and when I will fill one tube or both tubes. Remember that you have ballast in your plane when it comes time to land. A landing that might be OK for an unballasted plane may cause damage to the plane when it is filled with ballast.
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!Gallery/Video
My flights have been in winter skies with overcast, drizzle and fog, so for this review the in-flight stills and video feature Edward Stewart's beautiful Stork 2 Pro at Visalia. My Stork's in-flight shots will be all over part II of this review.
!!Edward Stewart's Stork 2 Pro at Visalia October 2006
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!!My Stork Pro 2
Here are a few pictures of the weather and my completed Stork.
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!Conclusions:
There were a lot of nice touches that really showed the pride of craftsmanship by the people who made this glider! The boxes in the wing panels for the Dean's 4R connectors allowed them to be easily secured in place. The boxes for the Multiplex plugs proved to work excellently as well. The rudder assembly and flying stabs were finished in minutes. This was the easiest full house glider I have ever assembled. It would be a great first assembly full house glider for a pilot ready to move-up to this glider.
I was hesitant about cutting into such beautifully molded servo bays but it was necessary to fit the Futaba servos. As discussed above and per the pictures, the mounting of the servos in the wing and the fuselage was actually very easy to do. The challenge in the assembly process was making and fitting the wiring harnesses in the wing and fuselage and deciding on lining up the Multiplex plug to fit in the space provided in the wing saddle or merely cutting a hole to fit the plug into the fuselage once it was connected as I had done with previous gliders. Fortunately this old dog went with the new (at least to me) trick. The Stork kit was/is beautifully engineered and made the assembly process actually very quick and easy. You just gotta jump in and do it.
My JR 9303 and its instruction manual made programming of the various trim positions possible.
I was used to using 3 pre-set positions and that is what I used in this first part of the review. In Part II The Stork will be programmed to the recommended 5 pre-sets: 1)Launch, 2)Zoom, 3) Normal flight, 4) Wind and 50 Butterfly for landing.
It does take time to properly set up the trim for all of the pre-set positions for the flaps and ailerons and the mix of aileron and rudder and you should be working with your radio gear and servos even before you start mounting anything into the glider. Get some of the basic programming done before you mount the servos, such as proper servo direction, and centered servos. Switching servo direction in some radio systems changes the "center" position on the servo and you want your glider to be setup mechanically as soundly as you can get it. That was my goal with this assembly and I think I succeeded very nicely. I would like to say it was nothing a simple genius couldn't do but truthfully it was the Stork and the JR that get the credit.
The Stork 2 Pro is a beautifully designed and manufactured full house glider. I have completed the assembly of the glider and the glider has been launched, flown and landed several times so far and I am very happy with the glider's performance. I am not yet happy with my handling of the glider. That will take more practice with it on my part.
Normally, this would be the end of the review, but I still have a lot to learn about my Stork 2 Pro and that will take time and practice. Accordingly, as stated at the start of this review, I plan to post Part II this summer. It will be work, work, work, as I try to improve my flying skills and practice my landings in different conditions. Fortunately, I can be a hard worker when it comes to flying. The Stork 2 Pro is a great glider and I am going to enjoy learning to become more proficient flying it.
Good luck and I hope you found this review helpful. My thanks to Bob Breaux and his team at SoaringUSA for his help with this review and to the two Jeff’s and Team Futaba for their contributions as well as Edward Stewart for his friendliness in Visalia. My thanks as always to Editor AnnMarie Cross for her assistance with this article.
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|> <b>Wingspan:</b> |< 127"
|> <b>Wing Area:</b> |< 974 sq. in.
|> <b>Weight:</b> |< 62 oz.
|> <b>Length:</b> |< 57"
|> <b>Wing Loading:</b> |< 9 oz/sq. ft. approximately
|> <b>Servos:</b> |< 6 S3150 thin metal gear digitals, thank you Team Futaba!
|> <b>Transmitter:</b> |< JR 9303
|> <b>Receiver:</b> |< Berg 7P
|> <b>Battery:</b> |< 2700 mAh NiMH pack from SoaringUSA
|> <b>Airfoil:</b> |< Listed as: NH 354SM
|> <b>Available From:</b> |< <a href=http://www.SoaringUSA.com>SoaringUSA</a>
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!Assembly / Setup Primer
As experienced glider pilots know, very little or nothing in the way of instruction usually comes with these high tech gliders. It seems it is assumed you know what you are doing if you are buying this level of glider. Therefore, this review, Part I, will focus on the assembly and recommended programming of settings in the transmitter for the Stork 2 Pro. So I am intentionally going into some detail in this review of the assembly. Part II will focus more on its flight and handling characteristics.
While this review is of the assembly of the STORK 2 PRO, this glider is very similar to many of the modern molded full house gliders sold by SoaringUSA. So to those of you new to gliders, much of the assembly discussion should be applicable to others. In this case the term "full house" means the glider has control surfaces of rudder, elevator, ailerons and flaps.
For those more experienced glider pilots, we hope this article will give you a thorough look at this new beauty. For the newer glider pilots or those who've always purchased someone else's built birds, we hope this detailed look at assembly will help you feel more comfortable about what you have ahead as you build your first fiberglass beauty on your own!
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Having seen Edward Stewart's Stork 2 Pro fly at Visalia in October of 06, I was delighted to have this opportunity to assemble, fly and review this beautiful molded glider.
Some claim the new molded gliders "All look alike!" There is a little truth to that, especially when they are at altitude, but the real differences are in the airfoil, the building components and the weight. On the Stork 2 Pro the airfoil is the NH 354SM. No other information on the airfoil is given. The aircraft is basically a fiberglass lay-up with carbon reinforcement where needed for strength. I will be using my JR 9303 computerized transmitter so that I can program in multiple "set" positions for the flaps and ailerons so that the Stork Can..." be all that it can be!"
But we well get there in good time. Stick with me as I get this bird ready to fly and have my first few flights with the Stork 2 Pro.
!Kit Contents
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*Kit contains:
*two molded outer wing tip panels
*the central wing panel
*full flying horizontal stabilizers and the rudder
*very long fuselage
*a bag of hardware with connector rods & covers for the servos
*a bag of brass weights that are used to ballast the plane's wing for flying on windy days or when you want it to penetrate better or more quickly.
Jeff Pfeifer forwarded the glider to me. I received an almost complete kit. Missing from mine was the servo tray that goes into the front of the fuselage and the ballast that might go in the fuselage behind the canopy. With the exception of the missing servo tray (I got one later) and fuselage ballast, it was a very nice and complete kit.
Thank you to Team Futaba for providing the servos for this review!
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*Kit Requires:
*Six servos, as discussed above
*Three strand servo wire (approximately 8 feet)
*4 two-foot long servo wire extensions with JR connectors used in the fuselage harness
*4 one-foot long servo wire extensions with JR connectors for use in wing or More 3 strand wire
*1 Pair Multiplex multi-connector plug (for connecting the wing wiring with the fuselage)
*2 Pairs of Dean Micro Plug 4R connectors (for aileron wiring between wing panels)
*Dremel type drill with assorted grinding bits and sanders
*Masking tape
*Wire strippers
*Soldering iron, flux and solder
*Shrink tubing, various sizes
*On/Off switch with charging plug
*CA glue
*5-minute epoxy & stirring sticks
*micro balloons for use in epoxy
*Landing skeg
*lead shot for nose weight in small baggies
*small foam cup
*Wax paper
*Exacto knife
*3M plastic tape clear for wing and white for fuselage
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!!Servo Selection
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I could have used a number of different brands of servos in the Stork 2 Pro. No matter what brand I used I would want them to be strong, quality servos like the Futaba S3150s provided for my Stork 2 Pro. The Stork has molded servo bays in the wing panels that are designed to fit Voltz servos. Just plug (actually screw them in place) and play.
For the first-time assembler, the Voltz servos would've simplified the assembly process. But the Voltz servos would cost me about $300.00 more than the Futabas, based upon my research. Once installed the Futaba servos would work as well as the Voltz servos (my opinion) so for me this decision was a no brainer.
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!Assembly
!!The Battery Pack
I purchased an assembled 4-cell receiver battery pack from SoaringUSA and it arrived completely assembled and was composed of 4-2700 mA NiMH cells. While I was assembling the Stork 2 Pro I cycled (charging and discharging) this battery pack -- the sixth charge was done just before I was ready for the first flight. It was especially important that NiMH pack be cycled! Even with quality cells like these they take several cycles to work properly and I didn't want to risk this project with a battery pack that hadn't been made ready for the job with proper cycling.
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!!Mounting Wing to Fuselage...the Only Misalignment
The Stork comes with two mounting bolts to secure the center wing panel to the fuselage. The mounting nuts came already installed in the fuselage and the center panel had two holes for the bolts already molded in place. My first real act of assembly was to trial fit them together. The back hole was perfectly positioned and the shorter bolt went in easily. The front hole was not perfectly aligned and the bolt would not go into the fuselage through the front hole. (See photos.)
This misalignment made me wonder if the wiring harness molded boxes in the bottom of the wing and the wing saddle in the fuselage would properly line up. I test fitted them...and they did! (The front bolt was the only thing that didn't line up perfectly on the entire project. That was easily corrected with the grinding.)
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!!The Wing
The wing comes completely built! It is a thing of beauty! The control surfaces on the wings were already hinged. The connecting spars and alignment pins were already installed in the outer panels and there was nothing to build for the wing's structure.
*Wing Steps to do:
*install the 2 aileron servos in the outer panels,
*install the 2 flap servos in the central wing panel
*connect the servos to the control surfaces with the supplied hardware
*wire such that these wing panels could be assembled and disassembled quickly
There were no plans, no instructions and limited working space at the very center of the wing. As mentioned above, the Voltz servos would have been plug-and-play into the servo bays. With the Futaba's it will be a little more work, starting with the outer wing panels.
!!!The Outer panels.
The Futaba S3150 servos did not simply mount into the aileron servo bays with screws. In fact the servo was just slightly too large to fit into the servo bay as molded. Additionally, there was no opening in the servo bay for the servo wire to get to the root of the outer wing panel. Good news, there WAS a pre-cut rectangular box opening in the wing panel root for the servo wire and a matching opening for a connector wire in the central panel. (Both perfectly cut to fit the Dean 4R micro connectors.)
My friend Jeff Hunter has designed and built several of his own full house gliders and he helped me out by cutting and expanding the aileron servo bays to fit the Futaba servos into the wing panels. After Jeff cut the bays for the aileron servos using a Dremel drill and a grinding bit, I took over the work on the outer wing panels. See the photo details for these steps.
*Outer Panel Servo steps:
*Tape the servo cases (to make easy removal at a later date)
*Adjust the servo bays due to oversized Futaba servos
*Use receiver to ensure servos were centered and travel the proper direction
*Cut the servo arm so that just the inner two holes were still available
*Put the servo arm on the servo one spline forward from center to give me a little more throw up than down (differential)
*Attach servo extension (Futaba leads not long enough stock)
*Seal connection with tape to ensure servo cannot get unhooked while running leads
*Use piano wire to run servo leads (The end of the servo extension wire was taped to the piano wire and it was pulled out of the panel at the wing root.)
*Use masking tape and taped around the hole in the wing root to protect the surface from glue. *Score the bottom of the servo bay (lightly scratched) with an Exacto knife to give the glue more surface area.
*Tape aileron in the neutral position.
*Screw the control horn onto the aileron
*Snap the connector onto the servo arm.
*Repeatedly trial fit the servo with the included linkage until desired position.
*Glue in place, with 5-minute epoxy & micro balloons
*Remove servo lead end, shrink-wrap and solder onto a Dean Mini Plug 4R male plug. (I had to trim the lip off the back of the Dean 4R connectors to get them to fit in the preformed box in the wing.)
*Attach matching "female" plug as 'hand hold', then use gap filling CA on all four sides at the <b>back</b> of the "male" plug to secure it into the opening in the wing tip panel's root.
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!!!The Center Panel
As stated above, Jeff Hunter trial fit a servo into the flap servo bay and carefully planned where it should fit. After careful calculation he sprung into action and routed out both of the flap servo bays in two minutes of actual Dremel router time. He removed a mounting block that was not going to be used. Because of moving to a new home Jeff's involvement in the assembly process and this review was ended with that one evening of work.
I started my work by finishing the cutting of the bays for the control rods that attach the servos to the flaps. Then I cut an opening for the servo wire to get to the center of the wing. When I finished the cutting on the center panel I went to run the wire through the center panel for the aileron servos.
Using three-strand wire I cut a four-foot length and twisted the wire except at the ends. I needed to run it from the outer opening in the "rib" of the center panel to the center hole. Making this task more difficult was the flap servo bay in the middle. I gravity feed the wire from the outer opening in the wing "rib" to the opening at the back of the wing's flap servo bay. Here I pulled out the end of the wire with tweezers and a foot and a half more wire. I taped the end of the wire to a thin piece of piano wire and reinserted the end of the wire back into the hole and pushed it across the back bottom of the wing with the piano wire to the center hole where I pulled it out with tweezers. I taped the wire in place and repeated the process on the other side of the panel.
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Next, starting at the outer "rib" with the three individual wire ends I soldered on the female Dean 4R connector plug to match the wiring sequence on the male plug in the outer wing panel. The connections were then covered with shrink tubing in the same way as described above in the outer wing panels. The connector hole in the outer "rib" of the center wing panel was lined with masking tape. I put the wing spar from the outer wing panel into the center wing panel and connected the female 4R plug to the male plug and tested the fit by bringing the panels together.
Happy with the test fit I separated them completely. I applied gap filling Ca onto all sides of the female 4R plug at the back and fit the female plug back into the panel and let the glue dry. When dry I removed the tape and did another test fitting and it was perfect. The wire exiting at the middle rear of the center panel was marked with a tape label as right aileron. The process was then repeated for the other side of the wing panel. When finished this second wire at the center plughole was marked left aileron.
The wing tip panels now simply plugged onto the center wing section and the aileron servos were electrically connected to the central wing panel via the Deans 4R micro plugs. For flight the outer wing panels are secured in place using simple clear plastic 3M tape, taping top and bottom where the panels join. The wing joiner rod takes all the pressure and alignment pins make sure it is properly positioned.
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Next I installed the servos for the flaps into their servo bays. Here I used foot long Futaba servo extension wires and made the connection permanent by wrapping it with tape. I could have cut off the wire leads from the servos and soldered on extensions but I was lazy. The photos clearly show this installation. Once I trimmed the ends off the extension, I had four sets of three wires exiting from the hole at the center bottom of the wing and was ready to make a wiring harness!
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!!Wiring Harness/Radio Installation
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The making of the wiring harness can freeze you in your tracks the first time you go to make one. If that happens to you, plan it out and then jump in and JUST DO IT!
We've already connected the outer panels connected three wires from the aileron servo to the center wing section with the Deans 4R connectors. The wing servos used a six prong Multiplex plug to connect all four into a harness that connects to a matching fuselage harness. I connected the twelve wires of the servos in the wing to only six wire prongs on the Multiplex connector.
The four positive wires connected together to one prong at the end of the Multiplex connector and the four negative wires connected together to the prong at the other end of the Multiplex connector. This left the four center prongs, one per servo, for the signal wires from each servo. Those individual signal wires were soldered in place and sealed in heat shrink tubing.
I made a chart of the signal wires and which prong they were connected to so that a matching arrangement could be made in the fuselage harness. The harness for the wing was wired and 99% finished. I pushed the small amount of excess wire back into the wing. (This took me a lot of time as there is very little space in this part of the wing and the wires fill the space all too well!) I then trial fitted the Multiplex connector into the box that came molded for it on the underside of the center wing panel. I attached the matching half of the Multiplex plug to the wing Multiplex plug and trial fitted that into the wing saddle in the fuselage and bolted the center panel in place. IT STILL FIT! So far so good.
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!!!Switch Wiring
The connecting half of the Multiplex connector that goes inside the fuselage was wired in a matching fashion, except for the switch wiring.
This time I wired a single positive wire to the end that matched up with the positive wires in the wing and a single negative wire that matched up with the negative wires in the wing. That positive and negative wire were at the end of a two-foot long aileron servo wire extension that had the female plug on the end. I spliced the positive and negative wires with a male servo connector onto the power wires coming from the on/off switch. The on/off switch then had two live power connectors coming from it when the switch was on and both turned off with the switch in the off position. (See picture!)
One connector powered the receiver and the servos for the rudder and elevator that were powered through the receiver. The servos in the wings were directly powered through this second connector by plugging it into the connector I wired into the harness. Four 2-foot long aileron extension wires were stripped down to their male connector and only the signal wire. The signal wires were different colors and the stripped wire end was soldered to the Multiplex connector. The signal and power wires coming out of the harness were pushed into the fuselage at the reamed out mounting hole in the wing saddle one by one. Gravity action got the wires forward holding the fuselage with nose down and shaking as needed. (The 12-inch servo extension wires were slightly short I only had the 24-inch servo extension wires on hand. Those were trimmed to 14 inches to do the job.)
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The signal wires with male connectors were plugged into the Berg receiver based on their color wire cided for their function. Using my JR 9303 transmitter, all of the servos in the wing were once again tested for proper operation. Once proper operation and set-up was confirmed, I glued the Multiplex plug into the bottom of the wing with gap CA and let the glue dry. Later the wires for the fuselage harness were tucked into the fuselage along with the Multiplex plug and proper fit was confirmed by plugging the wing into it. Satisfied with the fit the plug was then glued into the fuselage. The radio installation was completed later by plugging the rudder and elevator servos into the receiver. There is a tube mounted in the fuselage for the radio antenna and that was helpful.
!!Tail Feathers, the Back of the Fuselage
To mount the rudder I simply slid it onto a pin that came mounted into the top of the fuselage. With the rudder installed at the top, I screwed a pin into the bottom of the fuselage and the bottom pin went up into the centered rudder and secured it in place. The nicest rudder installation I have ever experienced! The rudder came with a ball connector installed on the bottom right front of the rudder. There was a socket connector installed in the back of the fuselage. I snapped the socket onto the ball and the rudder installation was complete.
The full flying stab was even easier to install. I slid one side onto the fuselage while putting the rectangular carbon fiber spar through the square space for it in the vertical stabilizer. This was in the center of the Bell crank inside the vertical stabilizer. As the horizontal stabilizer got near the fuselage I made sure the alignment pin slid into it's place on the outer end of the Bell crank arm. Next I slid the other half of the stab onto the spar and the alignment pin. They were held in place by friction. For transportation and storage they can be easily slid off the fuselage. It was that easy!
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!!The front of the Fuselage, servos, landing skeg and C/G balance
As with the wing there was no construction necessary for the fuselage as a whole. At first I thought I would have to be creative about how I installed the servos into the fuselage as there was no servo tray with MY Stork. But Bob at Soaring USA procured one for me. THANKS BOB! It made the servo installation in the fuselage very easy. The right servo faces forward and has a short servo arm. The left servo faces backward and has a long servo arm going over to the right side of the fuselage. Both of the cables for the rudder/elevator are pre-mounted on the right side of the fuselage. The tray mounted into the fuselage with four screws through the side of the fuselage via pre-drilled holes in the fuselage. Very simple and accurate installation as shown in the pictures.
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The only tricky aspect of the fuselage assembly involved mounting a landing skeg that was purchased separately and was/is used to stop the Stork precisely for scored landings by keeping it from sliding. That needed to be installed and then the plane balanced for proper C/G by adding the battery pack and lead to the Stork's nose. I had two landing skegs to choose from and mounting per the instructions that came with the landing skegs could involve drilling a hole in the fuselage/or not. I could also choose gluing on the skeg or taping on the skeg. For now I opted to use the smaller of the skegs that I had and to tape it in place for this review. Landing skegs are allowed by the AMA but not in FAI competition.
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!Discussion Point
Your recommendations on size and mounting of landing skegs are requested. PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS on this subject at the end of the review. (Large or small skeg, bolted glued or taped in place?)
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The method I used to balance the Stork was to put about an inch or two of foam in the nose of the fuselage and then install the battery pack. With the glider completely assembled and completely ready with ALL PARTS (see side bar). I taped a cut down foam cup to the top nose of the glider and started to fill the cup with lead (I used lead shot) until the glider balanced at the recommended C/G about 103mm behind the wings leading edge next to the fuselage. Next I carefully removed the cup with the shot from the fuselage. I took the wing off the fuselage and removed the battery pack from the fuselage and the foam from the nose. I poured the shot from the cup into a small plastic baggy. (I save the small resealable bags that some of our hobby parts come in for this purpose such as the bag with the Berg crystal.) I inserted that baggy into the nose and secured it in place with foam with the battery pack tightly secured behind it with more foam. I reassembled the Stork and rechecked the balance at the C/G. This way lead can be added or subtracted as needed to get the "desired balance" that will be determined through test flying.
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!!!Adjustable C/G Balance...for now.
I plan to use my Eagle Tree Seagull transmission system with this glider. It will be necessary to balance for the weight of the components of this system and that will depend on their location within the fuselage. I also must decide if I will be mounting a Pitot tube in the nose of this glider. These decisions will not be made until after the initial review has been completed and will be discussed in an update later this year. Thus I had a special need to keep the nose ballast adjustable at this time.
After the exact amount of needed nose weight has been determined and confirmed with all components installed and test flights completed, I will want to make my nose ballast permanently secure. To do this I will mix-up a batch of slow epoxy and weigh it on my digital postal scale and set aside a like amount weight of the shot I have been using in the nose. I will pour a slight amount of epoxy into the nose of the glider, add some shot, stir with a stick. Add some more epoxy and add more shot and stir, more epoxy and more shot and stir until all the shot except that amount I set aside is in the nose of the glider and mixed with epoxy. I will set the fuselage aside resting on its nose and let the epoxy/shot mixture harden over night. I will completely reassemble the Stork and again test that it balances where I have determined the balance point should be by my test flying.
!!Tow hook
The adjustable Tow Hook came installed in the bottom of the fuselage. No assembly was necessary here but adjustment in operation might well be necessary. I will discuss the aspect of adjustment of the tow hook for beginners following this review.
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!!Programming the Transmitter to Maximize the Stork
It may be possible to fly the Stork 2 Pro just using a simple five or six channel transmitter and receiver and using wiring that amounts to Y-connectors for the flaps and the ailerons. But I don't know anyone that would do so, as it greatly limits the ability to control the various functions of the Stork in flight. Instead, I used my JR 9303 transmitter and its various functions, and I am very happy with it. It has the flexibility and mixes that allow me to program and setup the Stork for complete control. My final programming of positions for the flaps and ailerons will be entirely based upon recommendations from Bob Breaux and his team at SoaringUSA. I will first review the sub-trim settings and then the 5 recommended pre-set positions for the ailerons/flaps.
!!Subtrim Setup
The transmitter's subtrim adjustment lets me control how far the control surfaces will move at maximum throw. It is important to properly set up these throws for smooth control and response by the glider to my commands. I used a metric ruler and measured at the back of the control surfaces. The full throw of each of the surfaces was programmed to be as follows:
*Control Surface Maximum Throw
*ailerons 25mm up, 5mm down**
*Flaps 2mm up, 65mm down
*elevator 10mm up and down
*rudder 14mm side to side
<b>NOTE: </b>While SoaringUSA has recommended only 5mm of down ailerons I initially used 12mm of down as I am used to using a 2-1 differential between up and down throws. I will gradually reduce the amount of up and down aileron throw in future test flights and report on this later. SoaringUSA's recommended differential was +13mm and down -5mm. I went with what I was comfortable with for these initial flights.
!!Five programmed positions for flaps and ailerons for normal launches, flight and landings.
SoaringUSA supplied me with information for programming four different in-flight trim positions for flaps and ailerons and a fifth position, Butterfly, for landing the Stork 2 Pro. My JR 9303 is reportedly capable of five mixes and I will find that out in Part II of this review. But I am used to using three program settings and that is what I used initially. I programmed my transmitter for positions 1-3 discussed below and dialed position 3 to position 4 to test it out. For my initial landings I just deployed flaps without using Butterfly. I will review all five pre-set positions recommended here and now but save more detailed discussion of them for Part II of this review.
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The JR 9303 has a three position switch (top left front of transmitter) that I programmed with the first three desired trim settings and I could instantly change the trim with the flick of that switch. Position 1 for my three-position switch is the launch position for the trims. Elevator and rudder positions remain neutral for all of these positions. For initial toss and climb using a winch the aileron position is -3mm and the flap position is -5mm.
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The second position is a transition for the upcoming drop of the winch line and then zooming. The switch is moved to this position when the Stork reaches position two on the drawing below. The settings for position 2 have the ailerons +1mm and the flaps +2mm. The glider remains with the trim in position 2 to the top of the zoom and when the plane starts to level off I switched to position 3.
Position 3 is the recommended position for normal thermal flying of the Stork. Many pilots use the neutral flap and aileron trim positions for thermal flying. However, neutral position allows you to fly fairly quickly with the Stork and you may actually fly right through a weak thermal and not know that you have done so. SoaringUSA recommended that position three on the switch be set so that the ailerons are at -2mm of deflection and the flaps are at -4 mm of deflection for normal flight.
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Should you hit sink while searching for a thermal flick the switch to position 2 and obtain the fast cruise position that was used in the zoom. Stay in this trim as you race to get out of the sink and when clear of the sink flick the switch back to the thermal search position, position 3.
!!Ballast & Trim for Wind
When flying in wind or with weight the recommended trim setting is the neutral/neutral position for the flaps and ailerons AKA position 4. Normally, I will only be flying with ballast in windy conditions anyway. Penetration is more difficult into wind and the neutral position and the weight help make penetration easier. For these first flights I manually adjusted my transmitter by changing the position 3 settings to those recommended for position 4. This was an easy transition to make.
Talking about Ballast... a bag of brass weights came with the Stork 2 Pro as shown in the pictures below. These weights weigh 1.4 ounces each and thirteen of them came with the glider. When all 13 are used that adds 18.2 ounces or 1 pound 2.2 ounces. This increases the glider's weight by about 30% over the unballasted glider. This ballast goes into tube in the wing with access thru the top of the wing. Six weights go into each side of the wing from this entrance, pictured below and one stays right in the middle.
There is also a tube in the fuselage for a locking weight that would be inserted in through the canopy, but no weight for this tube was included in my package. I got this glider kit second hand so I am not sure if that weight is an optional item or not.
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As stated above, so far positions 1-4 have been tested but I have only deployed flaps thus far for landing and I still need to program in the Butterfly. My excuse was a good day to fly and only so much time to get everything ready for the first flights!
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!!Butterfly Trim for Landing
In my initial flights I just deployed flaps for landing and the Stork would initially climb while I wanted it to keep tracking towards my landing point so I had to add down elevator. To prevent this in the future, Butterfly uses up ailerons and down flaps as a combined landing aid. SoaringUSA recommends that Butterfly be programmed so that the ailerons go up to +5mm and the flaps go down to -65mm.
Being able to switch between these different trim positions instantly at the flick of a switch or two allows you to truly control the glider's performance with ease. If you have never flown a full house glider and wondered why anyone would need all those "bells and whistles" hopefully you can now understand why all those controls are helpful. With my transmitter programmed to work positions 1-3 and easily reprogrammed for position 4, it was time to check everything over one last time.
!!Completion
At this point I had to make sure the plane balanced properly from side to side and front to back. The CG -- the point of front to back balance is necessary to make the glider controllable. Tail heavy the glider can easily be uncontrollable. While controllable a little nose heavy it is less efficient and we want our glider to be efficient. The recommended position for the C/G is from 100mm to 105mm behind the leading edge of the wing. Balancing on the C/G was discussed above.
It seems almost all pilots are aware of the need to have a plane balanced on the Center of Gravity or C/G for short. However, it is also important for the glider to be balanced from side to side. When working with a small electric plane with a 42 inch wing span it is easy to properly fly it even if one wing tip is slightly heavier then the other. However with 127-inch wingspan if one wing tip is slightly heavier then the other it might take several mm of aileron adjustment to get the plane to balance and that affects the plane's efficiency.
Years ago with my Oly II glider I had one wing heavier than the other as the wood was heavier on one side. I ballasted the plane with a nail into the wood on one tip and covered it with monocoat and my plane was balanced and still looked pretty. With the Stork, if one wing side is heavier than the other you can secure some weight in the aileron servo bay of the lighter side to balance the wings. Simply place little amounts on top of the wing above the servo bay until balance is achieved and then secure that amount of weight, out of the way, in the aileron servo bay. No weight was needed to balance the wings on my Stork.
Time to put a final charge on all the batteries and go flying.
!Flying
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SIDE BAR DVD Recommendation
After the assembly for this project was done and the review 98% written, I viewed a DVD that fits in perfectly with this review's subject matter and gets my highest recommendation! The title is: "F 3 Building Clinic" and it is by Paul Nation and sold through his company, Radio Carbon Art. A review of the DVD can be found here in Liftzone and George Voss gave it his highest praise as well. It does an excellent job of taking you through the assembly of these molded "Prebuilt" aircraft. The featured glider is a Trinity that is also sold by SoaringUSA. There isn't that much difference between thermal, or F3 or F3B when it comes to the final assembly. There is a lot of good info in the video and a Stork 2 Pro even makes a cameo appearance in the video concerning its tail feathers. This DVD while especially helpful for the first time assembler of a high tech glider, has items that will help every builder/pilot. Paul and I have a number of building techniques in common but if there are any conflicts I will yield to Paul as the more experienced of the two of us.
NOTE to those who view the video: I used shorter pieces of shrink tubing than shown in Paul's video with the Multiplex connector. His connectors were going to be flexible and moved about in connecting and disconnecting. My Multiplex plugs were glued into fixed positions in the wing and fuselage and had very little clearance space behind them and thus the need for short tubes. I relied on the lack of motion with my connectors to protect the soldered wires from coming loose.
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I got to see Edward Stewart's Stork 2 Pro launch, fly and land several times while I was in Visalia. The launches I saw got good height with a zoom at the end of the launch as seen in the video below. One of his launches that I didn't catch on tape had an especially effective zoom at the end of the launch. The plane penetrated thru sink well and had a good speed envelope and when lift was spotted Edward was able to track circle and climb in it with his Stork 2 Pro. The two landings of his that I saw were both very good but the margin for error is so low at Visalia that he didn't get anything to show for his fine efforts. You can catch his disappointment at the end of the video after seeing how close he was to scoring a great landing. From watching Edward I knew the Stork 2 Pro was capable of great things before my first flight.
!!Launching by Winch and High Start
I started with the tow hook in what I felt was a good starting position with room to move it back (It is an adjustable tow hook) as I get more experience with how it launches. I started with it about 1/3 of an inch ahead of the conservative C/G. I will discuss tow hook position more for beginners after this review. For this review I only have a limited number of launches in with my Stork and I hope to improve with practice but the sequence will remain the same.
Launches were intense periods of action where in a few seconds I cycled through three of the preset positions for the flaps and ailerons and had to sometimes respond to unexpected side direction movement by my glider as it was going up to obtain a maximum launch. Like a golfer preparing for his tee shot I had lot's of time to setup properly and prepare a plan on where I would first go to search for lift when I got off the line. I looked over the sky before launching and made my initial decision as to where I was going to direct the Stork and start searching for lift as it came off the tow line. Sometimes I had great tells on where the lift was before I launched such as birds circling in a thermal or another glider in a thermal. Or on a calm day I suddenly felt the wind being drawn to my left when any breeze had been to the right. I believe it is important that whatever the deciding factors may be that I plan how I will start my search for lift before I toss my glider and start my launch. For the next ten seconds (the period of the launch) I am committed to my plan.
I start my launch with the ailerons and flaps in position one with both down in the launch position. I am facing forward with the glider at about a fifteen-degree up angle and I step on the winch pedal and start the winch and build up tension on the line. Feeling the tension I gave a very hard toss of the glider forward and just slightly up. The pull of the winch and the lift of the wing transitioned the glider to a near vertical climb for the first part of the launch. Depending on wind conditions and the winch I was using I either put peddle to the metal, or I was quickly tapping during this first stage of the launch. In a perfect world and launch I didn't have to give any directional changes to the Stork during this faze of the launch. Later when I have moved my tow hook back to optimize my climb I may have to make directional corrections during the launch. With the initial tow hook position my launches have been pretty straight and true. I personally am willing to sacrifice a little off of the maximum launch to keep the launches on the controlled side, straight and true.
After only a few seconds the glider transitioned from the vertical climb to a more horizontal angle and it was almost time to leave the launch line. I flicked the switch on my transmitter to position 2 for the ailerons and flaps and they went from the launch position to the slightly recessed or penetration position. I was then full on the peddle and I gave a down signal to the Stork's elevator and then the up signal and the tow loop slide off of the hook and the Stork ZOOMED upward and converted most of its forward speed to altitude. As its climb slowed I give a brief down elevator signal to level off the Stork and started my search pattern either by flying straight forward or starting a banking turn in the direction I planned to head to start my lift search pattern. If the air felt good (not sink) I flicked the switch to position 3 and my ailerons and flaps went to the normal flight position.
For this review I used a friend's winch and my club's winch. Fortunately, most of my launches will be with good winches. But I also used my very very heavy duty High Start for several launches. The toss at start was even more level than with the winch and the transition to vertical and climb was very slow. I started and stayed with position 2 on my transmitter to help the Stork keep up its speed as much as possible. It tracked upwards fairly nice but there was virtually no zoom at the end of the launch. No trouble with a High Start launch using a very very strong High Start, but better results, as would be expected, were obtained using a winch.
!!Basics: searching, circling and fleeing
With any thermal glider in competition you establish a pattern for searching for lift. You want the glider to track quickly yet still show some response to lift when it is encountered. Flying fast right thru lift is not a good thing. So far I only have a few flights on the Stork 2 Pro but it shows an ability to fly a nice pattern to allow me to cover a lot of new air relatively quickly but still give signs when lift is encountered. I am still going through the adjustment period and expect to get smoother and better at flying the Stork with practice.
I found the Stork circled nicely and could circle fairly tightly even in a small thermal. A combination of ailerons and rudder was used. I started with a programmed mix of 30% rudder/aileron mix on the main right aileron stick that could be engaged or disengaged with the flick of a switch on the top right of my transmitter. I like to use both sticks (rudder and aileron) but found that at times the mix was handy to have when my attention was focused on the search for lift or other distractions.
I have encountered sink and with a flick of the switch the flaps and ailerons go up a couple of degrees (position 2) and the nose goes down just slightly and the Stork 2 Pro speeds up and penetrates well without giving up much altitude. I found I did better using the programmed position 2 to get out of sink then to try and put the nose down using the elevator. I wasted less altitude getting out of sink using programmed position 2.
As I get in more flights there will be more fine-tuning of the program and thus better control of the glider as I get more experience but I am pleased with the settings recommended by Bob from SoaringUSA and the handling of the Stork 2 Pro.
!!Landing
Landing a full house glider exactly where you want to is an acquired skill and a bit of luck. The skill is developing a pattern that you repeat ideally with every landing. I use a three-leg approach where I go downwind, crosswind and then final approach into the wind to the landing spot. In a perfect world all landings would have those three legs and the wind would always be the same and every landing would be a copy of the one before it. Unfortunately, the real world and searches for lift and the race with the stopwatch and altitude deprivation often require us to deviate from that approach and race to the landing spot in hopes of timely getting down while getting landing points.
Years ago I discovered that the more I practiced my landings the luckier I got at them. I also learned it was important to practice in various degrees of wind so I could plan how long I should make the downwind leg and still be able to get back to the landing tape or spot when I was heading into the wind. In recent years I have done more flying of electrical planes and less flying of gliders and to put it bluntly: My landing skills currently suck!
I am able to safely land the Stork back on the field and relatively close to myself by deploying the flaps. I am not flying at a competition level at all and hope to improve that by programming in the Butterfly position and of course practice. Depending on conditions I will approach the landing area with the flaps and ailerons in position 3 or if penetration is necessary due to wind in position 2 or 4 and then near the end of the flight will use the Butterfly position to land the Stork where I want it to land. All it takes is practice, practice, and practice. I know the Stork is capable of making great landings time after time as I have seen Edward and others do it.
!!Aerobatics/Special Flight Performance
The Stork 2 Pro can perform a very nice big loop and a wallowing three-meter glider axial roll. The occasional trick is about all I suspect I will do with the Stork when burning off excess altitude. It is a specialized plane. I will fly it at the slope later and show some pictures later this year of it flying there and report on that then. But my plan is to use this glider "intelligently" as a thermal glider.
!!Is This For a Beginner?
NO! The Stork 2 Pro is a fantastic glider but it is not for a beginner nor is it for the experienced power pilot who is just starting at becoming a glider pilot. For the beginner it is simply way too much glider and it does not self-correct to level flight if the pilot goes hands off.
This is for an intermediate to advanced glider pilot. The reason I don't recommend it for the expert electric or power pilot as a first glider is that they are likely to fly right through lift and not recognize it with this glider. It isn't a question of control, it is a question of reading response. The person starting to thermal fly will be better served with a polyhedral glider that better displays a response to encountering lift or sink. After they learn to read the air with a beginner glider and spot the signs of lift and sink, their expert flying skills will make the transition to this glider as a second glider very easy.
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!Some Concepts for Those New to Setting Up Their Own Gliders
!!Adjusting the Ailerons & Flaps!
If you are new to soaring don't worry about flaps or spoilers for anything beyond a landing aid or a thermal disrupter if you get caught in a strong thermal and can't get down. All of these various flap/aileron settings are for utilization by the experienced soaring pilot and although they really aren't all that difficult, you should be thinking of thermal vs. sink and not what position should I be using for my ailerons? The programming of the movement is the critical aspect of this and that is done with the glider on the ground when programming your transmitter.
It sounds like a lot to think about and if you are new to soaring it is! That is part of the reason it is best to start with a simple polyhedral glider with only rudder and elevator to concern yourself with during normal flight. But really after you get used to circling in thermals and running from sink you will find that the throwing of the switch on the full house glider will become second nature. Remember this is a hobby that builds on your skills and your confidence. The discussion of the controls for this glider will apply to most other full house gliders. The degrees for your settings might change slightly but that will be a matter of the individual glider, your practice and your learning curve. Just as in swimming, don't jump into the deep end of the pool before you know what you are doing. Work you way up to the full house glider and you will love it when you are ready for it!
!!Optimized Tow Hook Location
The Stork has an adjustable tow hook and it will be adjusted backwards (slowly) to find the optimal location to maximize altitude while maintaining control and avoiding "Pop-offs." The more forward the tow hook is located the less climb from the pulling of the winch line. A common starting point in a basic glider is 30 degrees in front of the planes center of gravity. This location usually gives good lift with lots of control. In competition we want great lift and as we become more experienced we will trade off rock steady control for that lift by moving the tow hook further back. This backing up of the tow hook can make Pop Offs occur more easily. Pop-offs are where the tow hook pops off the winch line launch ring before you want it to and this is often at about 100 feet into the launch. After a pop off you have to gain control of your glider as it is stalling and bring it down safely or in some contests, fly it out as your launch. Launches into a strong wind also effect the chances for pop-offs as you climb more vertically with a strong wind. The other problem as the hook goes back is the plane will easily fall off to either side and you must work more to control the glider to get it to go up straight on launch.
As a beginner the control of your glider tracking straight up is more important then gaining a little extra altitude by moving the hook further back. The tow hook location is important on any glider that is launched be it by winch or by high start. This is an area where experience will come into play and your own personality will show itself. When I was younger I was more ambitious about my launches and would do the side-to-side corrective flying on occasion while going to maximize my launch. My launches today are a little more sedate.
!!Ballast
Some beginners have trouble with the concept of adding ballast/weight to their gliders as they think that lighter is better for keeping the glider up for as long as possible. Actually, while keeping light is very important, keeping the glider controllable is even more important. If it is being blown around by the wind and the only way you can penetrate into the wind is a steep dive, it is time to land and add ballast. Adding ballast can make the glider more controllable in windy conditions. Whether filling both ballast tubes or only one be sure to fill the tube as a weight shift during flight is the worse thing that can happen. You must make sure that your ballast is secure. In some of my gliders I have a bolt coming up from the bottom of the fuselage and I add drilled out lead fishing weights to that bolt and secure them with a wing nut. With the Stork I have the built in tubes. I will have to practice to determine when I will add lead and when I will fill one tube or both tubes. Remember that you have ballast in your plane when it comes time to land. A landing that might be OK for an unballasted plane may cause damage to the plane when it is filled with ballast.
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!Gallery/Video
My flights have been in winter skies with overcast, drizzle and fog, so for this review the in-flight stills and video feature Edward Stewart's beautiful Stork 2 Pro at Visalia. My Stork's in-flight shots will be all over part II of this review.
!!Edward Stewart's Stork 2 Pro at Visalia October 2006
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!!My Stork Pro 2
Here are a few pictures of the weather and my completed Stork.
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!Conclusions:
There were a lot of nice touches that really showed the pride of craftsmanship by the people who made this glider! The boxes in the wing panels for the Dean's 4R connectors allowed them to be easily secured in place. The boxes for the Multiplex plugs proved to work excellently as well. The rudder assembly and flying stabs were finished in minutes. This was the easiest full house glider I have ever assembled. It would be a great first assembly full house glider for a pilot ready to move-up to this glider.
I was hesitant about cutting into such beautifully molded servo bays but it was necessary to fit the Futaba servos. As discussed above and per the pictures, the mounting of the servos in the wing and the fuselage was actually very easy to do. The challenge in the assembly process was making and fitting the wiring harnesses in the wing and fuselage and deciding on lining up the Multiplex plug to fit in the space provided in the wing saddle or merely cutting a hole to fit the plug into the fuselage once it was connected as I had done with previous gliders. Fortunately this old dog went with the new (at least to me) trick. The Stork kit was/is beautifully engineered and made the assembly process actually very quick and easy. You just gotta jump in and do it.
My JR 9303 and its instruction manual made programming of the various trim positions possible.
I was used to using 3 pre-set positions and that is what I used in this first part of the review. In Part II The Stork will be programmed to the recommended 5 pre-sets: 1)Launch, 2)Zoom, 3) Normal flight, 4) Wind and 50 Butterfly for landing.
It does take time to properly set up the trim for all of the pre-set positions for the flaps and ailerons and the mix of aileron and rudder and you should be working with your radio gear and servos even before you start mounting anything into the glider. Get some of the basic programming done before you mount the servos, such as proper servo direction, and centered servos. Switching servo direction in some radio systems changes the "center" position on the servo and you want your glider to be setup mechanically as soundly as you can get it. That was my goal with this assembly and I think I succeeded very nicely. I would like to say it was nothing a simple genius couldn't do but truthfully it was the Stork and the JR that get the credit.
The Stork 2 Pro is a beautifully designed and manufactured full house glider. I have completed the assembly of the glider and the glider has been launched, flown and landed several times so far and I am very happy with the glider's performance. I am not yet happy with my handling of the glider. That will take more practice with it on my part.
Normally, this would be the end of the review, but I still have a lot to learn about my Stork 2 Pro and that will take time and practice. Accordingly, as stated at the start of this review, I plan to post Part II this summer. It will be work, work, work, as I try to improve my flying skills and practice my landings in different conditions. Fortunately, I can be a hard worker when it comes to flying. The Stork 2 Pro is a great glider and I am going to enjoy learning to become more proficient flying it.
Good luck and I hope you found this review helpful. My thanks to Bob Breaux and his team at SoaringUSA for his help with this review and to the two Jeff’s and Team Futaba for their contributions as well as Edward Stewart for his friendliness in Visalia. My thanks as always to Editor AnnMarie Cross for her assistance with this article.