Hello folks,

I went after this kit and ended up with an unbuilt Graupner Cirrus as well. This is the early built-up wing and tail version, circa 1977.

The Mini Nimbus is a very special glider type to me as I owned and flew a full-size one for 20 years.

I have wanted to build one of these for ages and it will be my next project, hope to start building in a month or so.

The kit is fantastic quality, I have one small gripe with it though; the outline is not very scale. The forward fuselage is much thinner than it should be and the tail system rocker mount is a bit of an eyesore but model designers have to make compromises. Won't even mention the lack of trailing edge airbrakes!! Shall not be entering any scale competitions with it so who cares?!

The plan is to build it exactly as designed, the 'Variopop' linear servos might be difficult to get hold of though!

Some photos.

GB

Forgot to add some photos of the big one!

Mine was the same version as the model with the all-flying tail, known as the Mini Nimbus HS-7 (HS for the designer, Klaus Holighaus). This tail arrangement caused problems with British certification and the authorities insisted that an anti-balance tab was fitted.

It made little difference to the stick forces in reality, it did have some strange pitch stability behaviour but was not dangerous (technically known as phugoid oscillations!!).

The Mini Nimbus B had a conventional tailplane and elevator and the Mini Nimbus C had a carbon wing spar (could carry more water ballast I think).

If any modeller/full-size pilots get the chance to fly one I would highly recommend it, the airbrake/landing flap performance is eye watering if you use all of it!!

Cheers

GB

Gary, this is cool!!!

John

Wow, you got a hold of a couple of classic Graupner birds. Though not exactly scale, the mini Nimbus is a real looker in the skies. Did you fly your DG-600 yet?

Sean

Originally Posted by John Cole

Gary, this is cool!!!

John

Very cool indeed! Nice find on this kit.

Are you going to attempt to recreate the crazy "flaps mit dive brakes" as on your full-sized ship?

Subscribed,

Mike

That's the ones! Could hold them fully open and descend from wave so steeply that the loose ends of my shoulder straps floated up!! They froze up once, only needed a small piece of ice at the front to lock them, just flew about at low level in the warmer air until they unstuck.

Would be nice to replicate them but I'm going to use the designed Graupner blades.

Yes, I flew the DG600 last week, there is some blurb in the thread on it. Very nice.

Hope to make a start on this beastie soon, the building board is clear.

GB

Yikes! Major nostalgia flashback! In the 80's there was one of these on the very top shelf of my local model shop and I used to loiter furtively by it every night on my way home from school, hoping that the owner would take pity and sell it to me for pocket money. It lay there unsold for years until it had an inch of dust on the top. I came back from university to find the shop gone and sadder still the MiniNim.

It should have been mine.

This life has no justice.

How much was it, can you remember?

I saw one in a model shop in Innsbruck, Austria about 1990. I was flying the big one in the mountains. I wanted it quite badly but couldn't afford it. I wasn't building models at the time so couldn't justify it.

I might have some Graupner price lists in old magazines, will have a look.

Found some info from 'Aeromodeller' April 1981.

Ripmax give a price of £105.50 for this one, £149.50 for the larger span, foam wing version and £55.95 for the Cirrus. The Cirrus 75 was listed at £103. There's a photo of Graupner people laying up fuselages, must scan it.

Inflation calculators say the kit I have would cost around £320 today.

Originally Posted by Gary Binnie

How much was it, can you remember?

Way more than my pocket money.

It was £141.50. It's like I'm standing back in that shop again staring up at the top shelf. Seeing your photo of the box has brought it all flooding back!

By the way I'm a big fan of trailing edge brakes. I have a PT Vega too and fitted simple TE brakes as detailed on the plan. They stopped the plane dead, like an anchor had been thrown overboard, and then it just parachuted slowly downwards. I'd like to build another Vega someday, maybe @1/3 scale. Actually I'd like to build lots of things someday, but the Vega is definitely in the top 250.

Rog

Sounds like it was the foam wing version.

The PT Vega is quite a lump, I think this is supposed to be about five pounds, it would stop dead and go backwards!

I flew the full-size Sport Vega, that has trailing edge brakes but no flaps, never flew a standard Vega.

Must scan that photo.

Here's the photo, must be 30 fuselages there.

Worse jobs I suppose!!

I think the glider must be a Cirrus 75, maybe the fuselages are as well. (Thinking about it they must be Mini Nimbus fuselages as that was the only glass one according to the advert)

Sehr interessant.

Originally Posted by yyz

Very cool indeed! Nice find on this kit.

Are you going to attempt to recreate the crazy "flaps mit dive brakes" as on your full-sized ship?

Subscribed,

Mike

Agree that the scale working flaps & brakes would be challenging... but there is one way of doing it, see first pic below. It has been shamelessly ripped from old classic Radio Control Soaring by Dave Hughes from circa 1977. I have read this great book almost to shreds... 'my first rc book'..

That (fig. 99) implementation is rather easy. Just do not use it in planes which are fast... Only slow floaters.

Tuomas

I bought that book too in 1981 and still have the tattered copy! I agree it's a simplified way to get both flaps and brakes, but the brake below the wing is very vulnerable on landing. Full-size Salto has this arrangement, with two short sections on each wing I think.

If I had Gary's kit though I'd just build it per plan - it will fly better light I reckon.

Rog

I go to sleep reading that book most nights, the theory section at the back works best!

It would be a nice feature to have but my philosophy with these old kits or plans is to build them as they were intended, even keeping features that we know now could be better designed. I know it appears a strange way of doing things to some people.

I'm pretty stubborn about it. If I can make hidden internal improvements (like using carbon pushrods) then I will though. I used Multiplex 'Uni-Lock' wing retainers on the 'Hi-Phase' instead of rubber bands for instance. I do the same when I'm restoring old motorbikes (fit electronic ignition over contact breaker points).

No problem adding thoughts and ideas to the thread though, that's what the forum is for, someone else might like to build one with modifications. That's if you can get hold of a kit, the seller of this one thought it was probably the last unbuilt kit in England.

So, I better not mess it up!!!

Cheers

Gary