Jolly Roger

Awesome as always Chris. For vintage gliders it doesn’t get better than this - brilliant model design, great flying skills and gripping videography. I appreciate the mountain of effort that went into this. 😇

There’s a build thread for an 86” depron Spit in this forum, back in 2013/14 by Electrifier. The finish looks excellent to me. https://youtu.be/eeqXjhGjWGE

Cheers Richard, I may just try that - repair the dings and carefully sand everywhere with 400+ sandpaper. As you say, Oracover is good stuff and slightly thicker than the old Solarfilm. I’ll experiment on the wing undersides and if unsatisfactory then I can always use filler on the top side. Thanks again folks for your thoughtful advice.

Definitely a hat and gloves day on the North York Moors yesterday, but worth it for the fine 50 mile views across to the Pennines. Bumpy sinking air early on turned into bountiful lift by midday, allowing a fun cross country along the ridge and back to the cars with Merry Mark.

Many thanks folks for taking the time to reply. I fancied an epoxy-based filler as the resin would give a harder surface finish (it’s a slope soarer) but I like the look of the Deluxe product. It should be easier to sand and is non-toxic. It’s also more likely to leave the veneer porous so I don’t get bubbles under the film.

I’m refurbishing an old model and am recovering the obeche-veneered foam wing. The tatty old Solarfilm came off pretty well, but before I iron on shiny new Oracover, I’m wondering if there is a lightweight filler I could apply to fill the grain, and sand back to a super smooth finish? Was thinking a mix of epoxy and microballoons, screeded on with a (old 🤣) credit card? What do people use? Thanks for your thoughts.

Frosty but dead calm conditions, perfect to remaiden my 1990s Simprop Solution that is half way through refurbishment. I’ve brought all the control systems into the 21st century, made good some old repairs, and put a motor in the nose. A few tweaks to the CG and trim and it flies an absolute treat. Happy days 😊. I’m now inspired to crack on with a new colour scheme. Sorry photos are rubbish - multi-tasking has never been a strength.

It looks like you’ve cloned yourself Mark! 😎😎

May be worth also checking out Easycomposites? They offer all the materials you could need, at competitive prices and with good technical support if you get stuck (or, not stuck!😆). I find their EL2 epoxy resin is excellent and versatile. Hope the repairs go well!

IMG_3417.mov

As a Yorkshireman it pains me to say this, but the Swiss Alps takes some beating if you want dramatic scenery for your model gliding. Great flying weather here these last few days, perfect for every size and type of model. IMG_9248.mov IMG_3745.mov

More of Mark’s handiwork with his iPhone…and thanks for one of those rare slope sessions last night when all the stars aligned. 3355dbe8-353d-4d0b-8eb7-10f2acd38bdd.mov ed92b78b-0a10-4561-b233-90dec44a5af0.mov b3e86df5-3174-4069-bb6c-613f9e1c8c63.mov

And he doesn’t fly drones around other peoples’ gardens without permission 😇