My first glass slipper! Well technically, my second. My first new glass slipper then.
My first one was a very nice second hand Jaro Muller F5J glider, which I dorked on the second flight, because I thought the guy who soldered the BESC and ESC knew what he was doing. And because I ignored the fact that during pre-flight I had to plug and un-plug the battery a few times for the ESC to give the proper signal.
Water under the bridge.

A while ago I tried to compete in a friendly slope soar event. During a quick pre-race flight I landed my Speedo hard in the sand, and the fuse broke in two places. That left me with a 8 year old WeaselPro to compete. Suffice to say my times were not very good. Consistent, but not very good. The seed was sown. I now wanted a “proper” full house sloper. (The Speedo mishap was partly due to the lack of landing speed control with a 4Ch Rx)

Gliders were compared, prices were compared. And in the end I decided that, for me, the current best available and best price, was the Typhoon of RCRCM.

Two hangar queens were sold, plus the “leftovers” of the Jaro Muller glider, and I had enough funds in my hands to put an order in.

Two weeks later:

Can’t complain about the way they packed and boxed her.

Suit included.
...Continue Reading

This mini review was previously published in the August 2012 edition of the Radio Control Soaring Digest

This August (2012) marks my 9th year flying RC; mainly electrics and gliders, and I don't know about you, but for the last 4 or 5 years I have seen a steady decline in prices of the various bits and pieces. It started with brushless motors, logically followed by cheaper ESC's, then the bottom fell out of the servo market. Mind you, these were all (and often still are) manufactured in the Far East - copies of reputable brands, or re-branded servos exiting the very same factories, but with less strict (i.e. cheaper) quality control.
Now I do not intend to start an argument (or a case) for or against these cheaper products. Fact is, some of these cheaper items aren't worth even the little bit of money you spend on them. However, some are. You just need to be either lucky, or knowledgeable about what you need, and where to buy it. For example, both my Riva Tango F5J glider and my Topmodels Nike2 hotliner have brand name quality servos. But they both sport "top-of-the-line" Turnigy motors and ESC's. My foamies on the other hand, all have $2 - $3 servos, and have withstood all possible abuse I could think of. And some even I couldn't think of…
But how about planes? Many ARF's are produced in the Far East nowadays, including a lot of brand names. And those prices are still way up there where they were 4 years ago.
So then, what kind of glider...Continue Reading

(Please note I would like to keep this blog "clean". If you have any questions and/or comments, please post them overhere.)

I have my Tango F5J for thermaling, a WeaselPro for the slope, and a FunWorld EP400 to try my aerobatic skills, or lack thereof, and some other assorted flying toys. But since the demise of my 42" Unicorn (now undergoing a lengthy process of refurbishing cum test bed to try new techniques) I have nothing speedy to slam about.

After much deliberation with myself, I finally opted to spend my birthday funds on a Nike2 as my next project.
Looking at prices and availability it quickly became apparent that buying directly from Czechia was (for me) the best option. Also, here I could buy the ARC (Almost Ready to Cover) version, which I preferred any way as I didn't really like their colour scheme. It will also make it easier to do some mods on the wings. AND it was cheaper. A lot cheaper. Postage was less then what I saved on the ARC version. So you might say I earned some money here…

Email communications with TopModel CZ were excellent, and after some questions (and answers) funds were hurled through cyberspace. Within a few weeks I received notification that a package had arrived at my local neighbourhood postoffice. Not the main one in town where I am usually send to pick up my large parcels, due to the payment of custom duties and import taxes. Why? The invoice on the box stated "test model - $10.-" So no...Continue Reading