Sagitta 900

[Don Mackay]

I recently was given an Airtronics Sagitta 900 from a friend. It needs new covering, and a few tail repairs. Any suggestions on getting the old covering material to release from the solid balsa areas. I managed to peel most of it off, but small sections remain stubborn. If anyone has a building manual for this kit I'd be very iterested in buyiny one. I have plans, but would like the building manual for reference.
Thanks
Don

[fledge]

hello don i have the building instructions for the 900 sagitta ,i can send them to you but i will need a few days if thats alrite??
i just finished moving and im not unpacked yet fledge

[Don Mackay]

Fledge,
Thanks very much for the offer, I appreciate it. I did a search at a few sites and got some good info about mods to the Sagitta 900. The wing rods are also missing, would carbon fiber be a better alternative to the original specs.
When you get squared away, I'll take you up on your offer.
Thanks
Don

I'll PM you with my address etc.

[Lee R. Wheeler]

Hi Don! This is how you get the rest of the covering off the wood frame. Get some steel wool. Not to course.but med. Take your heat gun and heat up the covering that won't come off and rub it with the wool lightly. Late. :D

[Don Mackay]

Lee,
I was pickin and not grinin for hours, knew there had to be a better way, thanks for the tip.
Don

[danny_isr]

i got the original manual as well,
If you for some reason you wont get it , let me know

Danny

[Daveairway]

"The wing rods are also missing, would carbon fiber be a better alternative to the original specs."

Don,

You will really like the Sagitta 900.

You need to use steel not carbon for the wing rod. It takes a much larger diameter carbon rod to get the same strength. ( A carbon rod would snap at the fuse)

Enjoy,
Dave

PS: Lost my old computer's c: drive, but I have a new system up and run'n. Can you re-send the last email that you sent me?

[Daveairway]

Since she needs new covering, I do suggest dark on the bottom and light on top.

Like this :)

[Daveairway]

And maybe Top and Bottom Spoilers. They work really nice, with very little pitch change when deployed.

[Daveairway]

Here is a shot from the TE. The horns are offset and you can see the carbon fiber bottoms to keep them from warping.

[Don Mackay]

Hey Dave,
I'll send you an email, I would love to relieve you of some of your inventory. I like your color combo,
where did you purchase those spoilers? I got some really good tips from fellow zoners Ollie, and Jared, (thanks guys). I'm building up the fin to eliminate the counterbalanced rudder, and glassing the fuselage. Since I'll be recovering, one of the original spoilers is missing, and the other ill fitting, I'd like to upgrade. Can I lengthen the spoilers? The top and bottom spoilers in the pictures, looks like the hot setup.Thanks for posting the pictures, I'll get in touch.
Don

[AllThumbs]

I have a Sagitta 900 new in a box I'm thinking of building this winter...I have a manual and the original RCM magazine articles for both the 900 and 600 when they first came out.
So let me know if you need copies.

The Sagitta was my favorite glider.
I lost mine after the wings folded on a winch launch..something has to be done about that pine spar box!!

I did the Lee Renaud recommended mod - and the steel wing rod still broke out of the box.

I did a shovel and bucket recovery, but still got it repaired for the end of the season contest.
Never could take chances with it after that and the box gave way again.

Other mods in our club included:
- thickening the horizontal stab (too thin)
- moving the spoilers out on the wing one bay to get them out of the stab zone.
- converting the split rudder to a single rudder
:D

[Daveairway]

Nice post AllThumbs,

But Hey, this is a light plane.

If you winch, tap, tap,wait, tap,tap.. no petal to the metal stuff ;)

"Other mods in our club included:
- thickening the horizontal stab (too thin)
- moving the spoilers out on the wing one bay to get them out of the stab zone.
- converting the split rudder to a single rudder "

Yes, you have the mods right. The rudder is easy, it gets rid of the wag and high speed wing failure while doing rolling circles on the slope :D Big Fun!

Spoilers, well mine are moved out and T+B on Sag #3..

Elevator? I suggest 1.5 to 2X on thickness. How about you?

Fly'm if you Got'm,
Dave

[Sparky Paul]

I bought one about 10 years ago.. took the box down today to see how to fit a motor in the thing.
(Built-in winch/thermal)

[vario]

i built a 900 a year ago just to say that i have one! real nice old glider but well out of date for the strength issues but i only fly mine buy aerotow! it does away with the worry of winch launches,but im really spoiled!:D

spoilers-----i used graupner tec spoilers and yes there great!
rudder------stock [counterbalanced] i had to have it look stock:rolleyes:

i really did try to build this thing just like they would have been built nearer to the production date ,call me crazy for not doing all the suggested mods but it sure is a nice glider for bringing back old memories!
funny thing is that; i have several oldtimers [glow timers] that love to tow it up!! ..........v

[gouda]

This plane makes a great "flat wing" aileron ship as well. Just be careful it doesn't get to heavy. I built two of them a few years ago, and don't recall a wing weakness issue. But, I may just not remember. But I know I never broke it. I sloped mine a lot as well with the flat wing. There was a article and plan in RCM that covered the modification. They may still have the plan for the mod etc. for sale.

[AllThumbs]

Vario:
Man ..Aeotow!

And from an Old Timer?

I've got to talk to you.
I'm interested in both topics.

Old Timers:
I'm dabbling in Old Timers myself.
I've just built a Lanzo Bomber for electric (looking for the right motor now) and I have a 54" Comet Zipper kit with an old Forster .29 ignition engine sitting around - waiting to restore the inlet and tank.

Aerotow:
I'm getting back into Glo power because the club field I now have access to is predominantly power RC (no club winches - sigh).
My RC experience is all gliders...(2M, standard, open, with a little slope thrown in)

But I have a set of quarter scale Piper Pawnee plans and I occassionally find myself dreaming...what if?

[AllThumbs]

Daveairway:
Yes, it happenened on a winch, but believe me I'm no lead foot.
And I never developed the courage to do a zoom launch.
When I used too see those wings begin to flex - it's just as if you had ME on the rack.

I was not a real competitive flyer...flew for fun.
And I had seen other Sagittas buy it in the club before me - so I did a tap dance on the winch pedal myself.

A look at the pine spar box showed it fractured and allowed the brass tube and steel rod to break out of the wing.
This happened even with the recommended laminated plywood plate epoxied on the front of the box.

The post mortem from the experts said epoxy gets brittle, and it can happen.
But it was only two seasons old.

From memory - the thickened stab sounds about right.

I had also heard widening the fuselage was recommended at the nose to get bigger servos in...(I had little Futaba S 133's side by side.They worked fine, even on the elevator rudder).

Loved the way it flew.
Got many a great thermal with the Sagitta 900, no bad habits, and even coming in to land it just never seemed to want to come down.
I often could milk a bubble for another several minutes at low altitude.

The only bad thing I remember was sanding those spruce trailing edges on the built up wing....what a chore to get the thin razors edge.
No wonder sheeted foam and vacumn bagged wings evetually took over.

[Don Mackay]

Thanks for all the great posts. My list of mods are:
Replace counterbalanced rudder/fin with full height rudder/fin
lengthen rudder to compensate for removed area
Thicken horizontal stabs
Move spoilers out one bay
Wrap the joiner boxes with kevlar tow
Glass and paint fuselage
Recover wings with dark bottoms
Any suggestions to strengthen the pine spar box?
Thanks
Don

[AllThumbs]

I used the term pine spar box, but if I'm not mistaken, it is the joiner boxes just the same.

There is one pre-drilled pine part in each wing root...predrilled at a slight angle and the steel wing rod in the fuselage goes into a brass tube set inside each of these.

The Lee Renaud modification suggested in a later RCM Soaring article sugested gluing a plywood plate to the front of this part in each wing.

Wrapping it as you stated was also another suggestion that I had heard of.