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Discussion
Newbie Sloper
I had the pleasure to watch a number of flyers at our slope soaring site last week and was quite intrigued with the whole thing. I still consider myself to be a novice pilot so with that thought in mind what do you consider to be sloper planes for the beginner pilot. Do you have to have ailerons? What wingspan is considered ideal? Last week I got to observe a Sig Ninja, a v-tailed modified SuperGee DLG and unbelievably as it may sound, a Mini-Radian! They all flew well in the 20-25 mph winds!
Cheers! Lyle |
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Do you absolutely need ailerons...no, but it will be a lot more fun with them, especially if you already have experience with aileron power planes. Rudder/elevator-only gliders tend to be of the "floater" type, that are more fun in light or thermally slope conditions.
I'm not sure there's an ideal size, unless you have a really small hill. A 50 to 60 inch wingspan is a good starting point. There are some good EPP foam slopers out there that might be a good starting point, such as the Dream Flight Weasel, and various other flying wing types. These will be on par with the Sig Ninja as far as manuverability goes, but they are pretty much indestructible. |
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There is no ideal wingspan and if you are a beginner I would highly recommend building a Flite Test Versa Wing out of 2 sheets of Dollar Tree foam board. I fly them and combat them with much stronger laminated EPP wings with no problems.
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as a beginner, i STRONGLY recommend getting a flying wing made of EPP.
it's what i learned to slope with, it's what my son will learn how to slope with, and many other beginners learn to slope with a flying wing. it may not look as cool as a SIG Ninja or a V-tail Super Gee DLG, but those guys have a lt of experience landing. EPP survives crash after crash after crash. anyone can throw a plane off a hill and into the air, but landing, you want a plane that you can immediately pick-up and fly it again. going home with a busted up plane ain't no fun! EPP EPP EPP, oh, did i mention EPP  i just started a thread a week or so ago for a recommendation for a EPP flying wing for my son. my EPP flying wing retired about 10 years ago after several years of flying. so the guys on that thread know what's available today. i'll give you summary, get a Scout Bee or a 60" Kato https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=2781049 i would also STRONGLY recommend get a flying wing that's at least 48" but in my opinion a 60" is better for a beginner. in my opinion anything less than 48" will be too "twitchy" responding badly to turbulent air making a beginner pilot nervous about what happens next, and in my opinion a 60" is "more stable" and will be less "twitchy" than a 48" PLUS in my opinion a 60" is just easier to determine the plane's orientation. a plane's orientation is VERY important in the air. |
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Or a Weasel is excellent value , but there is plenty out there to choose from , an EPP ship is always good to start with as you get good bounce for your buck .There is also corflute wings that are cheap to make and fun to fly. One called the dAzi and one called Fluteboy ,I have the plans here somewhere I'll find them and post them up here if you like
update heres a link for 1 of them http://www.zipworld.com.au/~dazb/dAzi/dAzi.html |
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Last edited by steve wenban; Nov 29, 2016 at 12:21 AM.
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Quote:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=832972 if built heavy and super stiff it can be used as a intro to DS, but if built light, I've floated mine in 15mph winds, and they are tough! here's a long thread about the Skua 1500 https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255262 it's sold by WOWINGS (not to be confused with the ArtHobby Skua, they are not the same plane) from down under, build it stock and it will really carve through the air, mine is tough, and it's one of my top two favorite slopers, but the design is not as tough as a flying wing or the JW. |
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Last edited by atjurhs; Nov 29, 2016 at 10:36 AM.
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I'm fairly new to sloping and I just got building the Hobbyking Wicked WIng / Windrider Bee2.
Not much too it other than covering it in laminate with an iron which was uncharted territory for me, but you could do tape too. It's a nice quality wing, and if you are sloping, you'll want a combat wing. https://hobbyking.com/en_us/wicked-w...220mm-kit.html I have also built a foamboard version of the weasel which I have not sloped yet, but I think it will do well. |
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Quote:
Why? They have a very narrow Center of Gravity range. 1/8" off the CG either way and a rookie sloper will have their hands full just keeping it in the air and most likely not. Yes, they fly great when set up right, but can be much more challenging than a chevron wing to get flying. Planks in general are very pitch sensitive with an exacting CG point and few mm's either way and it's off. Not to discourage you from a JW...just sayin...be aware. |
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Steve is right, that the build is more involved than a flying wing, but if you follow the directions it's not too bad unless you have no building skills.
and Steve is right about being pith sensitive, but again if you follow directions explicitly, and yes having an experienced pilot take the first few flights is a good idea. but once it's set-up the JW is a fairly easy plank to fly, even in lite winds, and it can take abuse, a lot of abuse! |
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The JW is great, but get a Bee instead for your first bird. I love my planks, but they do require careful tuning to get to fly right. Also, your biggest challenge as a beginner is going to be landing. You absolutely will stuff it it a few times, and a combat wing is going to handle that better (yes, the JW is really tough, but a Bee coming in slow is tougher).
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