looking for v-tail poly

[emersunn]

I am looking for a 2 meter or larger V-tail with a polyhedrial wing. 2 channels no ailerons, etc . . .

3 channel/spoilers would be ok.

Is there such a beast? Could I custom build one? Where could I find the right fuse/wing/tail?

Am I crazy to try?

[Ollie]

Laser Arts Soverign 2-meter and Majestic (110" span) are high quality kits at reasonable prices that fit your description. So is the DJ Aerotech Chrysalisis 2-meter. All are built up with laser cut precision parts. All three are excelent performers.

See:
http://members.aol.com/laserartco/page4.html
and
http://www.djaerotech.com/

[Fast-Forward]

How much are you looking to spend and do you want a kit or an arf?

[Fast-Forward]

Here is a link that lists class and web addresses of many sailplanes.

http://www.fatlion.com/sailplanes/other.html

[Jack Rowland]

Second Ollie's recommendations. Laser Arts Sovereign.

[vario]

buy canadain!! www.soboxplanes.com

these planes are almost the same as art hobby old slightly heavier because of thicker [stronger] popular skins,,


CRAZY to build a poly 2 metre????? not at all!


,,,,,,,,vario

[Jack Hyde]

Why are you only looking at v-tails? I fly v-tails about half time and don't see much difference from X-tails. I do like the elevator and rudder not dragging the ground, With v-tails I have a good idea where the elevator trim is before launch , compared to a floating horizontal stab that can be off and not easy to see before launch.

[emersunn]

Fast-Forward: less than $200. If I can find an affordable ARF, I will buy it. I just spent lot of time building another kit and would rather spend more time flying. (Beginner builder - two kids - small house - no workbench - real pain)

Jack: Here in Arizona, there is not a lot of soft landings in the desert. So you guessed right, I need to keep the tail off the ground.

[Fast-Forward]

There is two memebers of our club that have the Art Hobby Velvia. They both like the Velvia and it's survived many winch launches. Most of the sailplanes are under $200, take a look.

http://www.arthobby.com/gliders.html

[leverick]

Ive got about $130 into my great planes spirit ARF (http://www.greatplanes.com/airplanes/gpma1045.html)with many many hours of winch/hi-start thermal and slope flying. I've had a couple major impacts and it was easy to reconstruct. I've recovered the wings with new monokote and did all the modifications suggested on several sites.

Flys great, dependable, and even survived about 200 flights in the SW arizona desert at the CASL field in Mesa.

Good luck with your search, its nerve racking trying to make a choice.

Leverick

[Bernie Wolfard]

I bought an Art Hobby Thermic 2.5 meter to build as a RES. Andre at Art Hobby send me pictures of a Thermic set up like this along with dimensions for the polyhederal breaks and angles. Great service, great looking almost ARF. The wing area is small for a 100” airplane but it is very light. It has a thin undercambered airfoil. Should have a wider speed range than ‘traditional’ RES planes with high L/D and good sink rate. It is not suitable for hard winch launches but with a winch you can control the force of the launch to match the plane. I think this will be a great RES airplane and really looking forward to flying it. Our (PASS http://passoaring.us) club has many RES contests and I hope to be competitive with this plane :P (of course, another club member has the Art Hobby Hi-Aspect set up for RES so you never know). :mad:

[wingsnapper]

Go to DJ Aerotech , find the 2M crysialist model , click on buy now. You are finished. (ARFs are too heavy and aileron birds make you spen too much energy "Learning to Thermal them")
Really the thing is hard to beat. From what I have heard they are very quick building, lite, 2M, V-TAIL sailplanes. Just what you are after.
Same could be said about the 2M Lil Bird at SkyBench Areotech except it has a conventional tail. Just glass the stab and sub fin a bit and move the battery forward. I have one that was flying great today in over 15mph wind... no ballast about 25oz(I built a heavy one). If you do elect to build this one the only thing to watch out for is making sure that the wing and stab are both parralel to each other . Today I finnaly got mine shimmed correctly and man the thing flew great ( I accidentally built the stab support at a negative angle). JS

[emersunn]

I had never heard that before.

[Ollie]

While there may be exceptions, the very inexpensive ARFS made in the far east have high wing loadings and flimsy wing spars. The more expensive ARFS made in eastern Europe often are as light and stronger than kits because the quality ARFS employ well engineered composite structures.

Quality kits from Skybench, D J Aerotech and Laser Arts, when constructed with care, perform every bit as well as the quality ARFS except in the zoom launching department. The bonus you get with a kit is the satisfaction that comes with your own creative effort. Quality kits are far superior to cheap ARFS and mass marketed kits in every respect.

"The bitterness of poor quality lasts long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."

When discussing equipment alternatives it is well to keep in mind the importance of piloting and adjusting skills. The best pilots flying the worst equipment can beat the average pilot flying the best equipment. Don't neglect the development of your flying skills.