Eliminator 134

[Miraj]

Found this website for the eliminators, but the email bounces back. Anyone have a contact for John Stevens?
http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/amusement/cards/45/

Cheers

[Curare]

looks pretty old school Miraj, it's using a E193.

looks very 80's airtronics, doesn't it

[schrederman]

That pod and boom fuselage is beautiful. If he's still in business, I might have to have one...

Jack

[Miraj]

I think thats the attraction, the old style.
Still one cant help "collecting" these. ;-) You never know what may take your building addiction may fancy down the road.
I found another post on rcuniverse that said he had gone out of business. I've managed to track down someone in the UK that has both the 100" and 134". Email isnt back yet.


Curare, the sagittas wing foils are almost done. I'll do another thread later tonight.

M

[southern soarer uk]

he`s no longer producing them i`m afraid guys i tried a few years back with no luck

[Miraj]

Bugger! oh well, maybe some plans might pop up, always nice to add a plan to the collection for future building.
Cheers for the info.
M

[billscottuk]

one of our members has one and it's a lovely flyer, but he says he would never build another one as it has a HUGE number of pieces involeved and some of the build is very intricate.

[Miraj]

Bill
Now you have done it, mentioned lovely flyer and intricate building, lol. That's a lethal combination for motivation to find plans for one.
Cheers for the reply.

M

[schrederman]

Bill
Now you have done it, mentioned lovely flyer and intricate building, lol. That's a lethal combination for motivation to find plans for one.


I hate it when that happens! :D

[Barnsey]

Now you have done it, mentioned lovely flyer and intricate building, lol. That's a lethal combination for motivation to find plans for one.'Tis indeed a wonderful flyer, a comment which applies equally to the 100" version. Both impeccably mannered soarers. Mine's been flying comps since the mid 90's, has the original ply fuselage. Tracks as straight as a laser and indicates subtle air movements by waving a flag. Once a turn is initiated the tranny can be laid on the ground until it needs straightening or the end of a slot draws nearer, the 134 now tracking perfect circles until the cows come home. The letterbox spoilers give excellent glide path control. Short-coupled and a 3 piece wing, so transport is easy.

The airframe is tough, this one having survived flying into a bridge when the rx pack went to sleep and, in many decades of r/c flying, my first launch without switching on. It never came off the line, just arced gracefully over at around 200', planet Earth and the 134 rushing to embrace one another. Rain-soaked ground, so Phew!

I love moulded soarers, but I have a particular fondness for Aquila's, Sagitta's (900 & 600), BoT's and the like. For me, the 134 represents the final evolutionary pinnacle of the glorious age of home-built, balsa-based r/e/s ships, the ultimate refinement of the breed into something really special.

If I could only have one soarer for the remainder of my soaring life, it'd be a 134.

Other than that, it's nothing special.

If no-one else comes up with details, I can give John S. a call and see if plans are, or can be made, available. A steady build but so, so worth the wait.

John
PS - Chouffe a delightful, hangover-free Belgian beer, another passion.

[3810]

Sounds like another one for the list.
3810

[mhodgson]

It's a lovely model, I built several for other people (including one before the plan/kit was even available) so can speak with some authority on the design.

Yes it does have lots of parts, but not more than most wood thermal soarers. It is very strong (I never saw one fold its wings even when towed by gorrilas like me). It flies beautifully and the section (a thinned, 9.5%, version of the E193 with the bottom flat to help building) performs excellently. John, and his wife Sara, won many a competion with the design in their day, even against mouldies.

My own version was modified because I always like to tinker with existing designs. I built what may have been (though I could be wrong) the first aileron version and certainly the first (if not only) full house version. Being a cheapskate student at the time I even used standard (yes full size) cheap Hitech servos in the wings and they fitted, just.
Personal changes also included a couple of inches on the boom and a thicker tail section to smooth out the elevator response. But I do that to any design I build.
Then to cap it all I fully sheeted the wing, glassed the lot except for the tail bits that were film covered.
Oh and I modified the nose into a slip on cone type- all made from wood mind you. It flew brilliantly, handled like a dream and was my favourite model for a long time before retiring it.

A wonderfully versatile high performing design that is easy to modify. Must built some more as I still have the plans and some of the ribs sets, might even try the 100s which I never got around to building- I may even have a set of the 100s MH32 ribs Steven was going to provide but never did.

[Barnsey]

It's a lovely model, I built several for other people (including one before the plan/kit was even available) so can speak with some authority on the design.I haven't finished building mine! The one in the pics, built exactly to plan, was being campaigned by a friend in Euro F3J comps during the 90's when it tried to attack a bridge at HollandGlide one year. I'd made a start on mine. The friend passed the sorry-looking 134 to me so I could see where the weak spots were. Stripped down it looked re-buildable, so... Then another pal swapped his aileroned version for something I had. Since then ownership has stalled at 2.3 134's.

There was a time when UK Open thermal duration comp entries were so big that fly-offs often took place in the evening, that magical time when thermals, sink and wind have gone to bed, the trick to glide from launch to landing taking as much time as possible. A minimum sink comp. The 134 excelled at this, light weight giving easy full-height launches and a majestically slow, anti-gravity flight to the landing circle.

In Scotland, the one calm day of the year never seems to co-incide with comp days, so the rebuilt 134 weighs 5lbs(2.27kg), the aileron version 6lbs(2.73kg), well up on the plan-built weight. Odd thing is, despite being able to range to the limits of visibility in any direction looking for the elusive twice-a-year thermal, neither seems to fall out of the sky any faster than the lighter version. Both can still waft around like a Gentle Lady.

The rebuilt one was glassed all over, 3oz/yd (I give up!) for the wing and front fuselage, 1.5oz further back. It's covered in LiteSpan to save weight. :D

John

[mhodgson]

I built an all red one for Dave East in the Late 90's, but I think I put a nose cone on it. I could make one in 2 weeks in those days using PVA (hate Cyano), ready to fly, but I was single with no social life...

I remember those Barcs comps. I organised some for a while, one of them had 72 entries for the one day, though some were double entries (open and 100s). That was a full day I can tell you. Gone are the days when you had a comp every weekend, sometimes 2 or 3 to choose from on one day. I partly blame F3J towing but that's another story.

The first 134 I built was actually to light and would porpoise when slowed to much so a little weight helps.

Seing your pictures is making me want to get the bits out and start another one or two or three...

[Miraj]

The pictures are great, still no joy with any plans here in Oz, but i have located a guy that has scanned, converted to dxf and has laser cut the parts. Unfortunately his job list is backlogged 12 months, probably no big deal as thats probably when i could next get a chance to start on one.lol
Anyway, I'll keep looking and let you know if I come across anything.

M

[Curare]

Miraj, see of you can get the drawings off him, and we might be able to do another print of them, one for you and one for me.

hehehe

[Hossfly72]

If any of you guys run across plans for the Hi-Lite, please keep me in mind. That's a little cutey and I'm just weird enough that I still enjoy javelin launch.

[Stuntman]

I make no promises, but I might be able to help with plans. Two guys in my club have the 134's and they were the ones that got the ribs/parts laser cut (so they could have a couple of additonal planes.)

Having watched a couple getting built it is a complex build - but they are strong!

(I am off overseas for work for a couple weeks so watch this space)

Shawn

[Miraj]

Shawn
Thanks for the info, i spoke to Dave the guy doing the cutting and he is chasing at his end as well. Most likely the same people. lol

M

[Miraj]

Had an email from Tom and he is able to assist with plans. All Good!

[Stuntman]

Yep, same people. Talked to Tom and he mentioned you had contacted him.

cheers, Shawn.