Guys I made a few more changes to my setup on the ailerons and they now feel like they have better response. I am loving this glider more and more each time I fly it. Such a nice change of pace from my warbirds.

Originally Posted by ncflyer79

Guys I made a few more changes to my setup on the ailerons and they now feel like they have better response. I am loving this glider more and more each time I fly it. Such a nice change of pace from my warbirds.

and that is the whole point. Just to relax and enjoy things for a little bit. Challenge yourself to find the invisible lift in the river of air and stretch your times longer and longer

Originally Posted by coreman

and that is the whole point. Just to relax and enjoy things for a little bit. Challenge yourself to find the invisible lift in the river of air and stretch your times longer and longer

It might seem like a paradox at 1st glance but I find that flying my radian pro to is a lot more challenging and less relaxing than sport flying my warbirds.
With the warbirds, I just fly around doing whatever I want at a comfortable altitude and distance. When I fly the radian pro, I'm constantly searching for signs of lift and when I do find it, I try very hard to stay in the lift and fly as smooth as possible. This sometimes occurs at great heights and distances so my eyes are constantly straining (far distances and concentrating to see what the plane and the environment is doing) and my neck gets stiff. After a 5min warbird flight I feel fine. After a 1hr radian pro flight I need to stretch and unwind!


The good thing about stiffing up the wings and increasing the roll rate is when you want to relax and sport/slow fly it and of course when you want to slope fly. I also enjoy this hobby by modding and customizing the "one size fits all" aspect of any mass produced product.

Originally Posted by tlar633

.............But for the life of me I cannot understand why someone would buy what is marketed and designed as a sailplane and then complain because its too slow and does not fly 3D ! The idea behind motorized sailplanes is to use the motor to get you up then shut the motor off and try to find thermals, which both versions of the Radian does.

I agree also. The only performance modifications which I would consider carrying out are motor, prop and battery, all with the express reason to get higher quicker in club gliding comps.

Someone was asking about increasing aileron throw. I have to agree the ailerons are a bit "weak". I do mix in some rudder and I increased my end points but the difference on the latter was hardly noticeable. Freeing up te hinge by cutting small sections out made some difference as I noted the outer section of the aileron was not moving as much as the section closer to the horn. I also believe some people have taped the aileron to make it more rigid.

Hi All. Have just bought a RP as a novice I must say I am very impressed. On my last landing i caught a wing and the glider span gently on the grass strip. The result is that the plastic securing lug for the wing has broken. Does any one know where you can buy this plastic fuselage insert ( without buying a complete new fus). I have searched the web without success. Many thanks.

Originally Posted by Gtdunham

Hi All. Have just bought a RP as a novice I must say I am very impressed. On my last landing i caught a wing and the glider span gently on the grass strip. The result is that the plastic securing lug for the wing has broken. Does any one know where you can buy this plastic fuselage insert ( without buying a complete new fus). I have searched the web without success. Many thanks.

Yes this is one of the weak spots on the plane. When it happened to me, I glued it back together with JBWeld. After the glue was hardened, I added a piece of bubble pack plastic as a "scab" to make it stronger. I roughened up the surfaces before gluing the scab on. It has stayed together and even with a few rough landings, it's still good.

Someone was asking about increasing aileron throw. I have to agree the ailerons are a bit "weak". I do mix in some rudder and I increased my end points but the difference on the latter was hardly noticeable. Freeing up te hinge by cutting small sections out made some difference as I noted the outer section of the aileron was not moving as much as the section closer to the horn. I also believe some people have taped the aileron to make it more rigid.[/QUOTE]

Perhaps a small carbon (tow?) the length of the flap and aileron. As far as roll rate I just for what ifs I am going to make the flap/ aileron pair work as flapperons
In reality with the rudder mix the plane turns about right (coordination wise) for thermal flying. There really isn't a need for much more bank

Originally Posted by tlar633

There really isn't a need for much more bank

if you bank too much the wing spills lift. You could put it on a switch to boost the throw when you want to crank a roll out. or even just the dual rates

A buddy recently sent me a video of a guy in Florida doing a demo of a V-Tail powered glider. He was flying it like an aerobatic power plane and to be honest, I wouldn't buy it as a glider based on the video. And I wouldn't buy it as an aerobatic power plane either as it didn't have the roll rate for it. It was probably doing a roll every 2-3 seconds. To each their own. Each plane does specific things and you need to know what you are looking to do with them before evaluating what to buy.

This is a very important discussion for new glider pilots and I thank all the contributors for the valuable info you have provided re: preset fail safe

It's important to not give up when trying to locate a lost plane, i know that's obvious but what I mean is a lot of people don't bother with Craigslist or even the local paper but if you print up a bunch of flyers and distribute them to peoples homesyou just might be amazed. People do talk to others still and a simple flyer has been my salvation more than once. One time I had no sooner parked the car and took a seat when the phone rang and this was after beating the brush for three days. It turned out I never would have found the plane b/c the finder had put it inside for safety, LOL

Originally Posted by coreman

if you bank too much the wing spills lift. You could put it on a switch to boost the throw when you want to crank a roll out. or even just the dual rates

A buddy recently sent me a video of a guy in Florida doing a demo of a V-Tail powered glider. He was flying it like an aerobatic power plane and to be honest, I wouldn't buy it as a glider based on the video. And I wouldn't buy it as an aerobatic power plane either as it didn't have the roll rate for it. It was probably doing a roll every 2-3 seconds. To each their own. Each plane does specific things and you need to know what you are looking to do with them before evaluating what to buy.

Here's the video. Glider?

MOTIONRC 2.2M V-Tail Glider PNF Flight Demonstration by Rich Baker in HD (8 min 45 sec)

Originally Posted by davovinch

This is a very important discussion for new glider pilots and I thank all the contributors for the valuable info you have provided re: preset fail safe

It's important to not give up when trying to locate a lost plane, i know that's obvious but what I mean is a lot of people don't bother with Craigslist or even the local paper but if you print up a bunch of flyers and distribute them to peoples homesyou just might be amazed. People do talk to others still and a simple flyer has been my salvation more than once. One time I had no sooner parked the car and took a seat when the phone rang and this was after beating the brush for three days. It turned out I never would have found the plane b/c the finder had put it inside for safety, LOL

spoke to a guy at my local club a while ago.

he lost his ultra jet 4 weeks prior, pointed it the direction and said he had given up after having several people help him for 2 to 3 hours.

as i headed home i stopped at the "crash site" to have a quick look.
10 mins later i found it.

i took it back to him, as far as he was concerned it was mine as he had given up on it so long ago.

so im up one more plane. well i was till my brother took it out without me and crashed it!

Originally Posted by coreman

Here's the video. Glider?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLL5PqBCo_0

Exactly..Glider?? I'm seeing little to no gliding or soaring. This video is what I'd call sport/aerobatics flying. Are'nt real gliders supposed to be catcihng thermals, climbing out of sight, and landing on a spot?
Dave F
>< *>

Originally Posted by got-one

Exactly..Glider?? I'm seeing little to no gliding or soaring. This video is what I'd call sport/aerobatics flying. Are'nt real gliders supposed to be catcihng thermals, climbing out of sight, and landing on a spot?
Dave F
>< *>

or at the very least flying unpowered for more than 10-15 seconds

Looked more 'fast sport plane with a good glide-ratio' than 'high-performance powered sailplane'.

Hey, it's a hobby. Fly a TD glider like it's a pylon-racer, fly a Cub like it's a 3D ship, fly a warbird like it's a sport-plane. If that's what floats your boat - go for it - regardless of how goofy it may appear to experienced modelers. I never have been able to understand why people do that, given the nearly endless choices of aircraft which are actually designed for the purpose. Oh, well. A guy's gotta have time for a snack & a nature-break at the club field at some point. I'll take my break during those flights, since there won't be anything of interest to watch anyway.

Joel

@Gtdunham

That happened to me also. Instead of buying a wing set, I used some rare earth magnets I had handy to hold the wings on.. I drilled holes in the plastic portion of the fuse and CA'd the magnets in place, then CA'd a washer in the wing.. Works great and the wing has never come loose during flight and requires a bit of 'pull' to get them to part..

Paul