Top Flight 3 Meter "Bird of Time" Sailplane & Cox Medallion .15

wow 9 foot that is insane.
i magie taking that down the local park.

they would arrest you because of the insanely loud engine before you would even throw it.

GermanBeez wrote:they would arrest you because of the insanely loud engine before you would even throw it.

i suppose but i have flow cox engines in the park before.

but did you ever use a huge .15 with open exhaust? i would wear ear protection,
if i wanted to run one.

That is true but it would be fun because by the time they caught you it would be at about 800 feet and they would barely hear it.

hm, thats right. point withdrawn.

No I think they may still give you a telling off.

It's definitely got to be a pretty stout powerpod---it's a balsa and ply sandwich with a ply base...and has worked out pretty nicely. I put extra effort into balancing the prop, and the vibration is very tolerable. I use a muffler to redirect the exhaust downward, to keep the oil off a tiny video cam I like to mount on the tip of the fin. The muffller mellows out the .15 nicely, but I haven't yet taken a tach reading to see how much RPMs it costs me. Doesn't really matter, as the B.O.T. climbs out just fine, even with a larger camera on board. Gonna post a Youtube video of it's flights as soon as I can get to it.

I have a six foot B.O.T. also, with different pods for testing assorted engines. I REALLY enjoy strapping small video cameras to my planes, and the smaller B.O.T. uses a well-worn TD .051 with another film-canister tank that I seldom fill more than halfway for fear of the thing going out of sight. It's got a video on Youtube of it's flight WAY up high on a beautiful summer afternoon.

Luckily for me, I live out in the country, and can make noise when need be. I do have a new subdivision a 1/2 mile away so, to be a good neighbor, I usually circle my planes up high over the farm field on the other side of my house, then cruise them all around once the their fuel is gone. We (just two of us) also fly un-muffled control liner, and it IS a good idea to us ear protection.

One thing that is REALLY fun with either plane, is having someone tell me, "Ain't NO way that tiny motor is gonna make that plane fly!". Right before I launch and watch it blast away !

I just posted some photos and video frames from the B.O.T.'s flights Still haven't gotten the knack for including them in my notes here...

I had a Sig Riser that I wanted to put a Cox power pod onto for convienience but never found one before I passed the plane onto someone else.

The BOT's a beautiful and I bet they sail excellent. I've always wanted to see one fly or build one. Maybe my next ship for a glider.

First time I've heard of someone using a .15 size power pod. That's wild.

jetpack wrote:I had a Sig Riser that I wanted to put a Cox power pod onto for convienience but never found one before I passed the plane onto someone else.

The BOT's a beautiful and I bet they sail excellent. I've always wanted to see one fly or build one. Maybe my next ship for a glider.

First time I've heard of someone using a .15 size power pod. That's wild.

I hope you give it a shot sometime...think you'd really like it!

You can build your own pod without too much trouble. On the .049/.051 pods, I use a slab of balsa (can't remember it's width at the moment), sandwiched between two 1/16 ply sheets. Use the plan or a spare rib to match it's base to the curve of the airfoil.

With the .051 and other beam-mounted engines, I just leave space in the middle for some hardwood blocks I get free from the scrap bin at a local cabinet maker. I made up a bunch of them while I had the materials out, and have several "Blanks" for use on odd engines in the future.

I usually don't even paint them...just trowel on a smooth, thin layer of slow epoxy with a scrap of balsa. I cover the wing center with wax paper and butt together two pads of 1/16 ply, and use 5 minute epoxy to glue the pylon on to them. When it's cured, I shape some triangle stock as side supports and slow epoxy them in place...and you've got an engine pod!

35mm film canisters hold one ounce of fuel and make great tanks. On the new pods, I just hook the tanks with rubber bands to the opposite side of the pod...feel like that lets more air swirl around the engine.

I thought about the .15 size pod for while...mostly because I wasn't sure how well it would pull the B.O.T., but it's more than enough power, and the pod is just a scaled-up version of the 1/2A pod. The .15 currently on the B.O.T. was broken in gradually, and a great starting engine. It thinks it's an .049!

All of the B.O.T.'s are beautiful planes with those graceful Thermic-Zaic-type wings. I just test-flew a Berkley "Sinbad" Sailplane I modified with a "Thermic" wing...I call it the "Sinic"!

Sooner or later there is a 1/2A Viking going to end up on my bench even though I've never free-flown or intend to. I think it is just one cool plane and I think of it as more of a hand-launched powered glider more than anything. I just had always imagined one flying around on RC and not picturing it as it would actually be flown...straight up or as close to it as possible for maximum altitude before its glide.

I am aware of the Berkeley glider kits as I have studied that company due to my interest in their 1/2A ducted fan series of kits from the '50's. Berkeley kits are very building intensive and theres always a mountain of balsa in each kit.

jetpack wrote:Sooner or later there is a 1/2A Viking going to end up on my bench even though I've never free-flown or intend to. I think it is just one cool plane and I think of it as more of a hand-launched powered glider more than anything.

I am aware of the Berkeley glider kits as I have studied that company due to my interest in their 1/2A ducted fan series of kits from the '50's. Berkeley kits are very building intensive and theres always a mountain of balsa in each kit.

Yeah, my "Sinic" (Sinbad/Thermic) sailplane's fuse was built from the Berkley plans in a kit that I have. All printwood...a LOT of time with a single edge razor blade and cellulose glue back in those days !

Kim wrote:...a lot higher if you can hook into a boomer for an extra boost !

Hi Kim. What's a Boomer?

RknRusty wrote:

Kim wrote:...a lot higher if you can hook into a boomer for an extra boost !

Hi Kim. What's a Boomer?

I can’t speak for Kim but I believe it’s a strong thermal that’s just shy of a brick-lifter .

If you fly a lot of RC youl know like when you are flying along pretty ig and then the model slows down a bit and just climbs by itself for ages.

RknRusty wrote:

Kim wrote:...a lot higher if you can hook into a boomer for an extra boost !

Hi Kim. What's a Boomer?

Sorry Rusty..."BOOMER" is sailplane slang for a REALLY strong and workable thermal ("updraft"...but sailplane pilots never use that term). Like all pilots, sailplane guys love having their own language in slang phrases that can be common or local phenomenon. I always say that you know you're in a "SUPER BOOMER" when there are trashcans and cats flying next to your plane!

Sometimes, they show up just when you DON'T need them! If you go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRXb_5cMgvA&feature=relmfu and forward the video to 3:39, you'll see me trying to land my 2 Meter B.O.T. as it punches into a strong thermal at a very low altitude. I had to circle the B.O.T. three extra times in what should have been one turn to landing in my front yard.

In Dave Thornburg's "Old Buzzards Soaring Book" (a GREAT read if you can track it down...about $20 in paperback), Mr. Thornburg lists a lot of wonderful slang terms that are worth the reading even if you never intend to touch a sailplane...
Gopher Belch---A really weak thermal....! and others. He also outlines in very understandable terms, the workings of thermal and slope lift as it applies to model and full scale sailplanes.



Anyway, that was the deal.

Big Al wrote:

RknRusty wrote:

Kim wrote:...a lot higher if you can hook into a boomer for an extra boost !

Hi Kim. What's a Boomer?

I can’t speak for Kim but I believe it’s a strong thermal that’s just shy of a brick-lifter .

YEP !

I've been in them and they are scarey. Your controls go to mush and its really hard to fly around, all the time getting higher and higher until you have to chicken out and find a way clear of it.

Hey,

Not sure about your particular experience, but a sailplane's airspeed typical increases in a thermal. Remember that they are just a 3 dimensional weather vane, and actually nose DOWN when encountering a thermal. The plane's airspeed is controlled by pitch...nose down--speed increases..nose up---it decreases.

When my 2 Meter B.O.T. punches into a thermal, it kicks up it's tail like a frisky pony. The controls instantly become super sensitive, and it starts climbing eventhough the nose is pointed slightly down...and you know that you got hold of a boomer...or vice versa...

Just the opposite happens in sink...the tail drops, you've got to trim forward to keep any speed, and the whole thing feels like someone just put lead in your plane.

Yep the one I am speaking of was my Sig Riser. I've had it go up on its own before in a thermal but I remember it acting like it was teetering on a stall the whole time unless I put speed to it. My other two gliders I highstarted but never was able to float as well as the Riser could. I would buy another one if I was to start gliders again.

Yeah, the Riser IS a great sailplane. Never owned one, but a friend of mine flew his hard-core for several summers. It was high-started, power-podded, and chucked off a lot of hills! We were even talking about trying to air-tow it when he had some stuff happen and he quit flying. He was wanting a "Ninja" (Sig?), but I haven't seen him in a long time, so don't know if he got one.
May have to give him a yell.