I probably have the only e-Zephyr II in existence. The Zephyr II (made by Mark Miller at Isthmusmodels.com) is a very beautiful little HLG in its pure form.

My goal was to build a small, light, tight turning electric thermal machine for lower altitude flying with hawks. My normal all around hawk plane is the Mirage.

The Zephyr II HLG has been around for a long time. It has a 1.5 meter span and has a normal AUW of 7.5 - 8.0 oz.

My plane has lost some of its beauty because I cut the nose off (cut off nose shown in picture) and replaced it with a motor. The final AUW is 10.0 ounces (280 grams).

The equipment consists of:

Hextronic 24 gram, 1300kv out runner (20 grams, $8)
Graupner CAM 9-5 folder on cut-down Graupner plastic hub (17 grams)
Berg 4 receiver (6 grams)
Turnigy Plush 12 amp controller (13 grams, $10)
Nano-tech LiPo, 460mah, 3s (45 grams, $5)
(2) each HS-55 servos (18 grams)
Covering: Coverite Microlite (0.6 oz per square yard)

The bird is somewhat overpowered, given that full throttle yields 92 watts, 8.25 amps.

After getting the bird fairly well trimmed, I am very happy with its performance (especially considering it is 2.5 oz heavier than the pure HLG).

Performance:

1. Only one flight (on a pretty breezy day) so I don’t yet know its Hawk flying capability.

2. With ¾ throttle it will climb straight up and be small in about 10 seconds. At full throttle the climb out is like a rocket.

3. With the CG close to where it should be it has a very nice glide and is very responsive. It took me a while to learn how to not over-control it. I have big rudder and elevator throws. But you must keep it flying or a tip-stall will result. I might add a little washout to the tips. But it recovers immediately from a stall.

4. In good lift it goes up like an elevator. Circling is not always required. It is very easy to know if you are in lift.

5. Since nearly trimmed I have only flown it once and was able to thermal and gain considerable altitude. I brought it in after a half hour as the wind was increasing and I was afraid. After several climb outs the battery drain was 307mah.

Anyway, I want to thank Mark Miller for a quality kit and a great flying little e-sailplane.

Craig

Hi. am in the San Diego area as well, and have a zephyr in the box I bought from Mark last year with the intention of electrifying. I decided against it because it looks like a thing of beauty as is. I have a semi slope sight nearby, actually across the street, and something like the Zephyr would be perfect for the site. I am still looking for an alternative, and may yet uglify my Zephyr. Great job, tk

Well, Someone finally did it. Nice looking job and it's good to have a baseline for equipment needed. I have been thinking of making an e-fuselage but have been looking for a motor that would fit inside an expanded front end. The wing is well proven even if it takes some different construction methods. Have you tried a 2S setup?

Great going Craig!

Mark Miller

Originally Posted by Mark Miller

Well, Someone finally did it. Nice looking job and it's good to have a baseline for equipment needed. I have been thinking of making an e-fuselage but have been looking for a motor that would fit inside an expanded front end. The wing is well proven even if it takes some different construction methods. Have you tried a 2S setup?

Great going Craig!

Mark Miller

Hi, Mark:

Yes, it would be better looking without motor stuck on the front; I might carve a two piece cowling to fit around the rear of the motor.

As for 2S instead of 3S: I have tried several battery/prop configurations. With this 9-5 prop a 2S develops only 35 watts. A bigger prop would be more efficient for 2S, but it would weigh more.
The motor develops mucho power with 3S and the climbouts are over quickly.
But I may replace the 460mah 3S with a 370mah 3S (39 grams) and save 7 grams.

Craig

Hi Craig,

Here is a pix of my two year old e-Zepher. It weighs in at 9 ozs with an EMax 2812 motor, 15 amp ESC and a 2S 500 mAh battery. I "guppied" the front of the fuse to fit my electronics.

I like your bolt on wing better than my rubber bands. I'll do bolt on with my next one and go for a sleeker looking front end.

Best thermal time is 55 min and hope to break the hour threshold soon.

These are great gliders. Good thermal hunting.

Cheers,
Don

Originally Posted by Don Bourdon

Hi Craig,

Here is a pix of my two year old e-Zepher. It weighs in at 9 ozs with an EMax 2812 motor, 15 amp ESC and a 2S 500 mAh battery. I "guppied" the front of the fuse to fit my electronics.

I like your bolt on wing better than my rubber bands. I'll do bolt on with my next one and go for a sleeker looking front end.

Best thermal time is 55 min and hope to break the hour threshold soon.

These are great gliders. Good thermal hunting.

Cheers,
Don

Hi, Don:

The bolt on wing is per drawing on my kit.

Your fuse looks sleeker than mine; I just stuck a motor on the front of the firewall.

I am getting 45 minute flights out of my 460mah 3s LiPo, so I have ordered a 360mah 3s LiPo to get rid of some weight.
Climbouts last about 5 seconds so the battery lasts a long time.

I love this little bird. Today was my first thermal flight with my resident red tail hawks and it was exciting. I bought this plane to be a low level hawk plane and it appears to be a good fit. I got scared when we all got fairly small. The plane does a nice tight flat spin (to lose altitude) and recovers immediately. I have added some small pieces of reflective chrome Monokote to wing leading edge.

I am amazed at how strong the wing is. I have screwed up and flown this plane really fast with some high G pull outs and the wing doesn't even flutter. I am now flying more sanely.

I am still moving the CG back; it is now at max recommended 3.0" and flys great.
I put a little washout in the wing tips and it improved the stall characteristics.

This is a sweet little bird.

Craig