You may have discovered the Air 100 in Marc LRs Aerobatic Slope Glider list thread


Well this glider has a very long history, fist of all the original is not at all for aerobatics it was a performance glider that held a few world records in it’s time. The 4 meter model was built to run in scale competitions by Eric Carlhan over 20 years ago. A couple of guys from the same club (Bellegarde France) decided do make an aerobatic version because of the great lateral surface and since they had the mold... They did make some minor modification from the scale version; they moved the wing slightly back so there would be less lead for the CG, and they changed the elevator to be all moving horizontal tail plane. These were easy since there was no wing or elevator fillet. Any way to make a long story short one of the cofounders of the aerobatic version went on yearly vacations to Menez-Hom where the locals fell in love with the model and made their own mold.

Now the Bellegarde mold has disappeared and "Menez-Hom” mold is in such bad shape that nobody wants to use it.
By chance I stumbled upon the original shape of the Air 100 made by Eric Carlhan over 20 years ago! (see pics)

It seems like history is going to carry on with the new generation since there are plans to make a new mold in Bretagne (Remi and Eric) and me in the Alps.

I’ll try to keep you up to date on the making of this legend.

By the way I have a video of an Air 100 on my web page, the beginning is a bit shaky but it's better by the end.

Well I don’t know if anyone is really interested but I’ll go on anyway.
The plug needed work but I suppose it’s nothing next to making one from scratch, I have the final primer on, the wing and elevator positions are marked so the show on the future fuses. We already cut the foam cores for 2 gliders, the wings are pretty impressive very tapered the root airfoil is 35cm (13.78”) the tip is 14cm (5.5”).
I hope to get the final paint on the plug this week and start on the mold nest week.

I’ve added some pictures of the air 100 some 20-25 years ago!

Looks great Eric, love the retro look.

Very cool. Looking forward to seeing the progression!

impressively small slopes!

Love this plane! I'll be watching this one- thanks for the pics.

Thanks guys

I sanded it down wet with 600 grain, it looks good, but in some spots I sanded down to the wood.
I need expert advice,; do I need to prime it again to cover the wood spots or can I paint it (PU car paint)?

Erik-

If you want an even finish on the final plug, you'd proably want to spot prime the wood. I doubt if another full coat of primer is necessary- but another full coat would help eliminate any unevenness.

Remember that primer doesn't just help achieve a smooth and even finish, it also serves to create a stronger bond between the final coat and the original surface. The bonding is just as important here as the smoothness. When you pull your mold you don't want any paint peel. Between a good paint bonding structure (surface prep, primer, final paint, polish) and your mold release, you'll eliminate any problems in that part of the process.

cheers,
Michael

Well I’ve come out of hibernation a few weeks ago and on back on track. I made a hotbox because my workshop/garage isn’t heated.
I’ve got the first half mold done, it’s a lot of work, to give you an idea on the size, the parting board is 2m by 60cm. So if everything goes well I’ll leave it cure a week, wax for a week, cure the other half for a week and then wax for a week…. The first fuse should be done in over a month

Daedaluscan, did you receive my email concerning this: http://www.hotgliders.com/articles/r...07/affiche.JPG ?

Hey, I missed this the first time around, but I'm interested now!!

I know from MarcLR (hope he is OK) that this is one of the stand-out VTPR models in France. I've seen the videos from Menez-Hom and these things fly great. I can't wait to see this progress, please do keep it up!!

Steve

Originally Posted by surfimp

I know from MarcLR (hope he is OK)

I've never met him but we occasionally exchange emails, he seems to be too overworked with his day job to be playing around with our toys

I miss Marc's contribution, that thread you linked to above (Aerobatic Slope Glider list) is a real classic. So many awesome airplanes in there!

Your Air 100 has got me thinking (again) about how much I'd like to have a really big aerobatics / VTPR glider. I would love to have a Toons but they are quite costly, and the shipping here would surely be horrendous. But man, how cool would it be?? I really want to get into the slow, graceful and truly momentous flying which you can do with large, high-inertia gliders that have a lot of inertia. Some day, hopefully!

Will you do bagged wings for the Air 100, or sheeted? Also, what is the target all up weight? I know light is best for these creatures.

Steve

The wings are (will be) sheeted, I'm thinking about bagging the next pair but I don't know about bagging such big wings, I'm afraid it won't look good, difficult to get a regular suface on such.. plus I think bagging would he heavier wouldn't it?

Target weight... in Brittany they make them extremly light, down to 4kg (8.8lb) but they are fragile, around here we tend to make them heavier/stronger 5 to 5.5kg (12lb) so the first one I'm making is to the Alps standard around 12lb then I have a few ideas to make a lighter but strong one. The one on the shakey video (first post) is 12lb and seems to fly pretty well. I guess it depends on what type of slope you have.

The toon is not at all VTPR more standard aerobatics.
If the mold works out and you like building I'll see how much shipping will be..

Originally Posted by Erik.R

The toon is not at all VTPR more standard aerobatics.

That's an interesting notion. As you can probably imagine, VTPR is pretty much unknown here in the US, and even people who are interested in the concept may not really understand what is meant by it.

In my mind--and I would love your comment on this--VTPR is more a style of flying than a type of plane. VTPR is characterized, to my way of understanding, mainly by how close to the ground you fly rather than how fast or slow you go. The objective seems to be to fly as close to the ground as possible while doing as many different varieties of aerobatic figures possible.

Insofar as that goes, it doesn't seem to me it matters too much what kind of plane you fly, so long as it is a truly aerobatic plane (i.e. a minimum 3 axis of control - rudder, elevator, aileron, plus flaperon for 4 axis is desired). Nor does it seem like it matters how fast or slow you fly, so long as you fly low.

I would love to understand how my concept of VTPR stacks up with what VTPR "really" means, in France. It is my great regret that I can't speak or read French, otherwise I would already know this answer.

If the mold works out and you like building I'll see how much shipping will be..

Now that could be interesting! I would be happy to consider it

Steve

Well yes and no

Watch this video of Eric and Rémi with their Excaliburs http://aero35.free.fr/Videos/Menez2.wmv (60mo)

It is hard to imagine a glider with twice the wing loading doing the same manoeuvres, rolls with only inches to spare, accidental landings on its back...

It is a different style with high wing loading you will have great energy retention so I guess you’re not close to the ground...

Starting to see what I mean? I thing the video is explicit.

If you want to know more about the Excalibur: http://hotgliders.com/index.php?opti...d=19&Itemid=37