Good post, H-46 !

Originally Posted by Hostage-46

You won't see sailplane pilots doing acro with this thing, the motor is nothing more then a replacement for a highstart or winch. Bottom line, at least for soaring junkies, it's all about finding lift, that is our context....

Well said!

If you want to understand what gets a sailplane pilot going, take a look at this discussion. It is about flying 2 meter Rudder/Elevator sailplanes. The Radian is an electric version of a 2M R/E sailplane.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...imple+Pleasure

I'm interested in becoming an expert (as much as possible with fickle weather) with thermal flying. I've done tons of slope flying and electric sailplane flying over the last 22 years, but let's face it, it's all cheating a bit. A dyed-in-the-wool sailplane pilot relies on pure thermal hunting & working skills - at least that's how I see it...

Any ideas on thermal chasing in winter time when your main flying field is the local schoolyard?

There are thermals every single day. No exceptions. Some of my longest flights have been in NY in January.

Some videos that can help you become an expert:

Thermals
http://www.radiocarbonart.com/Pages/...ermalmain.html

Performance Tuning
http://www.radiocarbonart.com/Pages/perftunemain.html

Soaring Master Class
http://www.radiocarbonart.com/Pages/...sterclass.html

Great links, thanks much!!!

FYI.. there is another large thread on the Radian under the 'park flier' category..
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...5#post11119566

Tested my strobe idea yesterday late afternoon and it SAVED MY BACON. Check out the other topic in this forum so I don't have to retype it all here.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=966408

OK, I thought the Radian had ailerons, but I just found some good pictures, and there's no control surfaces on the wing. It comes with a 5 channel receiver, so it shouldn't be too hard to add ailerons, right? I've been flying a sim for a while now, and much prefer the acrobatics of having aileron control, and would love to get something with this control and size (at the price of a Radian). What do you think? Would it work? How hard would it be? Would it handle OK for some simple loops, rolls, inverted flight, etc, or is the design simply not made for this?

(Of course, being my frist plane, I do want everything in one - a park flyer that can fast slope/ridge soar with acrobatics and can thermal well too. I'm assuming I can add weight for faster slope/ridge soaring.)

What do you think?

I add ailerons to just about everything I own - even my Slow Sticks. The Radian I'm going to leave alone however - It's not necessary or even desirable. If you want a hotliner, just get one. It's like modifying a canoe to pull a wakeboarder instead of buying a ski boat.

I fly a lot of really hot, fast planes as well as 3D ships and helicopters of all sizes. My Radian is my 'Prozac' ship to bring me down and relax me when I need it. Sometimes we just need to plop down on a reclining lawn chair, grab a cold beverage (maybe some hot chocolate right now) and simply float a 2 meter for an hour or two playing with the seagulls and trying to catch some thermals. Anyone else feel the same way or am I just being melodramatic?

You hit the nail on the head. I use my Radian as my Prozac ship as well. I often fly it in between my heli sessions.

Originally Posted by QuietRiot

....
Sometimes we all need to just get on a reclining lawn chair, a cold beverage (maybe some hot chocolate right now) and simply float a 2 meter for an hour or two playing with the seagulls. Anyone else feel the same way or am I just being melodramatic?

Nope that about sums it up. I say DO NOT mod this airplane other move the CG back to to suite your taste.

This is a sailplane, in fact a good one, would you try to thermal a zagi? I have, it was futile.....

OK, all good advice. I will look around at some other models. The Radian still looks like an awesome plane, but yes, maybe it's not quite what I'm after at the moment. Thanks!

I have over 20 gliders and airplanes. They fall into 5 or 6 categories. This way I can fly what I want when I want.

The Radian would make an excellent first plane. Too many have started out looking for that, "does it all" as their first plane. Then they wreck 5 or 6 and finally come to realize that those stunt pilots didn't start flying in stunt planes, they started in trainers.

Some day the Radian, or something like it, will be the right plane for you. When you are ready, it will be here.

Trust me, I started on gliders, and once you hit a nice thermal your hooked for life, even flew one with binoculars laying back on a recliner, it was a mere dot in the sky, took binoculars to pull out the wing visual, flew over an hour with a ship far below the level of the improved Radain, watch the Radian float past you eye level its a site to behold, my friend new to sailplanes gasped as this beautiful bird majestically floated in for a landing, its a honey, perhaps not everyones ideal thought of what a bird should be, I now fly a Jet Pusher and loving it, but if I had a choice, would be hard to not include this increadible flyer, its all they advertise and much more, takes some skill to land these at your feet with the long glide, keep you busy for some time...BEST ..<>..

Will add the Radian is an excellent starter plane, with a tad of caution with the brushless motor, and delay on stick you have to fly slightly ahead of it, as most first outings a veteran rc sailplane flyer strongly suggested, I cringe seeing some newbies attempting this one without help, some are more gifted than others on the learning curve, yep good entry, but this one has an attitude especially at full throttle, hi hi, and its long glide, even a football - field is barely enough for this floater on maiden flights....BEST ..<>..

Went out flying yesterday (51 degrees, 6-8 mph, sunny). We set up the winch and D.O. flew his Supra and I flew my flapped AVA. Great flying. And then I got out the Radian. One minute to plug in the wings. One minute to do a range check. One short hand toss -- the glide was long enough that I just turned on the motor and flew. Four or five short motor runs, two thermals and 20-25 minutes of flying. The Radian is simply the nuts.

I purchased the whole RTF rig thinking the cost difference between the RTF and the ARF was a no-brainer. $90 for a transmitter, receiver, flight battery and charger. From a glider guider's point of view, this is the best flying, greatest value that anyone has ever offered. I've got an EZ glider and there is no comparison between the two planes either in value or in flying ability. As a really dedicated TD flyer who started this silliness in 1975 what I can't get over when I fly this "foam cooler" is that it is a real glider. It flies as well as any beginner RE plane I have ever owned or flown. It turns great. It lands great. It thermals great. It simply has no bad habits. And even for a hard-bitten TD flyer, it is fun to fly.

It is hard to think of a better setup to learn to fly on regardless of which flavor of glider guider you are (or even if you intend to go into power). It is simple. It is tough. Quick to get into the air. You can look away from the plane while you are flying it (D.O. observed that an instructor could actually grab transmitter from the student, ignore the plane, lecture the student, turn the transmitter back over to the student and continue the flight )

And for those of us who can't pass up a competition, this is a great club plane. Everyone lights the fuse at the same time, cuts the motor off at the same time -- last guy down wins. Wednesday night in the local park. No driving to the boondocks, no winch setup/takedown, first flight five minutes from when everyone shows up, five minutes after last flight everyone can go home. Talk about stupid simple. And did I say these things are actually fun to fly?

Happy Landings,

Don