RADIO CONTROL SOARING - 2003/01
A FolloW-up on Dihedral: The column
I wrote about dihedral in the September
issue generated a bunch of E-mail. This
month I will follow up on that topic; I’ll
clarify some things and re-emphasize
others. I will also discuss using a gyro to
augment spiral stability and give a source
for wing rods with larger bend angles.
RADIO CONTROL SOARING - 2001/05
This monTh I’ll feature some of Carl (Mac) McBurnett’s latest
airplanes. Mac manufactures composite gliders in San Antonio TX.
His Two-Meter Dartar was released roughly a year ago; in the fall
he worked with Pat Bowman to create a prototype airplane called the
DS-Demon, expressly for Dynamic Soaring; and the Texas Twister
discus-throw Hand-Launched Glider is Mac’s latest addition.
The Ds-Demon is the most exotic of the new airplanes. It was created
for the relatively new sport of Dynamic Soaring (DS), which is a way
of flying models through wind gradients to extract energy from them.
Imagine flying loops in a region where the air is moving faster up
high. The top of the loop is flown in the same direction as the fastermoving
air. Like the water wheel on an old mill, energy can be
extracted from the fluid.
RADIO CONTROL SOARING - 2001/04
this MOnth’s Soaring column will
cover three topics. I’ll review the
International Hand Launch Glider Festival
2000 video, then I’ll describe a high-tech
scratch-built Hand-Launched Glider
(HLG) by Matt Gewain.
Last, I’ll explain the good and the bad
of switch-jacks. These clever devices
perform the function of a power switch
and a charging jack for the flight pack.
People either love them or hate them. I
will attempt to explain why.
RADIO CONTROL SOARING - 2001/03
thE CoMMoN thread in this column is
that all the stuff is related (at least
tangentially) to DJ Aerotech products.
I’ll detail John Roe’s contest setup for the
DJ Aerotech Wizard. It made a huge
difference on my airplane that had been set
up in a more standard manner. This is a good
lesson, even if you don’t have a Wizard.
I’ll show neat modifications for wings,
demonstrated on a Wizard.
Then I’ll give some insight into why DJ
Aerotech’s new Spectre-series gliders fly
well with slender wings.
DJ Aerotech has been producing composite
Hand-Launched Gliders (HLGs) for many
years. I had a Monarch D-Lite and I loved it.
The Monarch had an excellent glide ratio
and forgiving handling. This polyhedral
airplane was easy to fly, with wellcoordinated
thermal turns. It was also highperformance
for its time.
Oc-Tow-berfest
How do you get a 1⁄3-scale model glider
into the sky?
You tow it with a 1⁄3-scale model towplane!
Aerotowing works well for full-scale
gliders, so it is no surprise that it works well
for models. It is the safest way to launch
large model gliders.
Oc-Tow-berfest 2000 was held September
29-October 1 near St. Louis MO. This was
the second year for the event. Pilots came
from New York, Michigan, Texas,
Wisconsin, North Carolina, Indiana, Illinois,
Iowa, and Missouri to participate.
Aerotow events are building in popularity. At
the end of this article I include a Web site with an
aerotowing contest calendar. At least 15 such
events were held in the United States last year.
Scheduling the event in the fall makes good
weather likely; this year it was perfect.
One pilot pointed out that for a good turnout
at an aerotow event, it is important to schedule
several days of flying. Many pilots won’t drive
halfway across the country for one day of flying
that could have bad weather.
Aerotowing joins the Radio Control (RC)
power fliers with glider fliers.
Contest Director Pete George enlisted the
help of the Midwest Air Wing (MAW) R/C
Club, which is primarily a power airplane group.
The event was held at the MAW flying
field—a nice facility northeast of St. Louis,
near Pontoon Beach IL. The friendly hosts
barbecued a vast quantity of ribs at the field
for Saturday dinner.
