Peewhit

Well done for the simulator Marc. The hard part about flying is the orientation when the machine is coming towards you, and a simulator will teach you this nicely. With a bit of experience in slope soaring you will want to do more than fly back and forth, and this is when the aerobatic bit kicks in. I have an Easy Glider electric which I use for flat field when there is little wind. On the slope the Easy Glider will fly in very light winds, it loops nicely yet struggles to do a decent roll. It is also made of Elapor which can break quite easily. The SAS models are foam, held together with tape (easily repaired) and will literally bounce with no damage on a bad landing. To the Cobra rolls, loops and inverted flying seem second nature, and it will even do an outside loop (bunt). At the end of the day, the choice is yours.

I have an SAS Fusion (Wild Thing equivalent) which I used to use for combat and to test slope conditions before throwing something a little more breakable into the air. It does fly very well. I few months ago, I saw a beginner on the slope with an SAS Cobra which is a recent addition (or more correctly revamp) to the SAS range. I was so impressed that I just had to get one. It is of similar construction to the Wild Thing and it is just as unbreakable. The aspect of it that really appealed to me is that it has a tail and elevator and looks like a proper plane. On low rates of elevator and aileron throw it is an excellent and docile beginners model. Dial up the rates and it is very aerobatic. Cobras fly superbly, in fact far too well for what they are and what they cost. The Cobra always gets flown on my slope sessions and I have not flown the Fusion since getting it. The 46" wing is easily adapted to bolt on for storage and transportation. If I were a beginner looking for a first slope model, the Cobra would be my choice.

As one of the three mentioned by Royski, the cobra is an excellent choice as it is easy to fly for a beginner, yet great fun in more experienced hands. The ailerons and elevator are very effective and the recommended throws seem somewhat excessive. If you have not slope soared before Phil then I would recommend that you set up initially with half of the throws suggested and used plenty of exponential - say 60% Set the C of G to the most forward recommendation and you should have a nice smooth maiden. On a good slope, the Cobra will fly happily in 10mph yet will also penetrate well in 30mph. Good luck and have fun with what is a great little model.

Hi David, I have done this with both a Middlephase and a Phase 6. Servo positioning is not that critical. The further inboard the less inertia and therefore faster roll rate, yet the closer to the centre of the aileron length, the better control. I opted for the pushrods at the centre of the ailerons. Install the servos in the thickest part of the wing and build a box with ply (3/32" or so). Wrap the servos in insulating tape, sand down lightly and wipe with white spirit, meths or isopropyl alcohol. Glue in place using epoxy thickened with microbaloons. If the servo needs to be replaced simply cut the tape, take out the servo and peel the tape from the epoxy. You are left with a lovely servo shaped hole.

Hi Mark, CW tape has a release agent on the back of it to prevent it sticking to itself on the roll. Lightly sand the lower layer of tape and wipe with isopropylalcohol or methylated spirits to remove the release agent. The CW tape should then stick to itself. On difficult areas like wing tips a warm iron will also help with adhesion.

It will fly fine at 85mm and be nicely stable. Move it back when you get a bit of confidence and it becomes a very different plane - much more agile. 97mm is about spot on for me.

Yes the Typhoon has been around for a few years. Mine is now three years old and although I have some bigger and faster mouldies, I nearly always fly the Typhoon beacause it is so agile and just great fun. Hydeflyer, for a first mouldie build, you seem to have done a cracking job. What have you set the C of G at?

The plastic clevices will provide a weak point which will break in the event of any mishap, thus saving the servos from damage. Or, if you want to go the whole hog Edited By Peewhit on 05/02/2013 22:45:37

That is looking very good and thanks for all the pics. Have you put and reinforcement under the deck?

Hi Mark. I would use the DX6 for the WT and a cheaper 5 channel receiver. Set the throws to get the elevons correct and then reduce them for the lesser elevator movement. A simple way of doing this is to use the elevator dual rate function, and set both dual rates the same so that the dual rate switch has no effect.

The Wild Thing is a great first model and will take virtually any abuse that you can throw at it. One little tip. The instructions say to cover each wing with CW tape before you join them. If you join the wing halves first and them cover the whole wing with CW tape, the joint is much much stronger. Beware that tthis slope soaring thing is highly addictive, and can be expensive! After four years of it, I only have nine gliders including four mouldies.

I live near York and fly at the Hole of Horcum or Levisham on the North York Moors. It is not very often that there is no wind up there - can be lots of fog though. Do you have those wing servos potted in yet? Edited By Peewhit on 04/01/2013 19:17:33

Managed to get out today and fly the Typhoon. It was warm dry sunny and more like spring than winter - didn't even need gloves. Wind was straight on to the slope and 30mph on the edge - ideal stuff. With 20oz of ballast on board the Typhoon flew superbly, as always. Three good flights and three gentle "hover down" landings using crow braking. Also flew the Stinger F3B thing, but that's another story.

I am sure your niece's bithday balloons will be fine. Just fill them with helium, tie then to the Typhoon and let go. Then you won't need to bother about installing all the electrical gear, linkages, or programming.

Hi Slopeflyer, In some ways you are lucky that the control horns are not pre-fitted as you can be sure of getting them in the right place. The larger horns are for the flaps and the smaller ones for the ailerons. They need to point up from the control surface and should be trimmed down a bit so that when the clevice is attached they just clear the "hump" fairing, and when the control surface is in neutral position they are bang in line vertically with the hinge. They will then give the neccesary control surface movements. See page 2 of this thread for when I replaced my control horns with brass ones. Glue them in place with epoxy/ micro balloon mixture and if you trim them to be too small you can always support them using a drill. ps drill the horns to take the clevice before you glue them in place. If you are using M2 clevice then a 1/16" drill is just right but do test the hole size on a bit of scrap plastic or something first. The important thing is that you get both aileron horns in the same position and both flap horns in the same position.

Nice colour scheme which should both look good and be highly visible in the air. Here is a photo of my fus layout with the AMT servo arm longer than the rudder one. AMT movement is maxed to the limit of the slot and with a bit of snap flap mixed in it will do 6ft loops - also does big ones.

Well done for getting out and fying , particularly with 38mph on the edge. I remember flying my Middlephase in 40 mph with a pair of plyers taped underneath it as ballast. Bad luck with the car incident - Sod's law applies in that there will be a car just when you do not want it. The Typhoon will be easier to land in that it has crow braking - a bit like those on a car - sorry to mention cars again. Just get the Typhoon built (fitted out) and get it in the air. You will be amazed at its performance. Regards, Peter.

Yes Roger, I understand now and have the same battery in the Stinger with a two up and two into the nose configuration. Hydeflyer, The battery will be fine and should last for as long as you want to fly with the servos you are using. I run a 2000Mah Eneloop with four digital wing servos in my Typhoon and have had five hours flying time with some battery left at the end of it. Now here we have a bit of a coincidence, or even two. I used to live in Buxton - 1600ft above sea level, nine months winter, six inches of snow in a good year - and I loved it. Hence I know the Cat & Fiddle well - the pub that is as I was not into sloping at the time. I also learned to fly with a Middlephase - great plane and in some ways I regret passing it on to a colleague. it is now four years old and still flying. Must confess that I chickened out of flying today due to a forecast for rain/snow and a feels like factor of -5 deg C. - perhaps I am getting old! The Typhoon will fly much faster than the Middlephase, particularly when ballasted. I usually fly mine with at least 4oz of ballast (even in light wind conditions) as the faster it flies, the more lift the wing produces. The Typhoon was my first mouldie. Beware that the mouldie route is highly addictive and quite expensive. Three years on, I now have four mouldies and am still looking for another!

That seems a nice servo combination which should do the job well. I am not familiar with a "flat 4" battery configuration. What capacity (MAh) is it? Hope to get out flying mine tomorrow - 25mph wind which should be 30mph+ on the edge of the slope.

Mouldies are not "built". They are just fitted out with the gear, so in a lot of ways it is easier. Nevertheless, the deck of the Typhoon needs careful planning as there is not much space. What servos are you going to use?

As I have found out the hard way, the weak point on the Typhoon is just at the front of the ballast tube. This area does need reinforcing, so when I repaired mine I put in longer spruce rails going as far back into the fus as I could practically manage. They were shaped to the side profile of the fus and then epoxied to both the under deck and sides. Note that before gluing anything in this area you do need to bring the wiring through because you will not be able to do it afterwards. Just shout if you need any more help, and good luck with the build. My Typhoon is now nearly three years old, has been repaired a few times (usually broken due to my stupidity) and still flies superbly. I have nine gliders yet the Typhoon goes with me on every trip to the slope. It is a classic model.

I think that some parts of the manual are written very much "tongue in cheek" hence using "your wife's best saucepan" and "about a pound of lead". The C of G quoted as 65mm is definitely a misprint and should read 85mm to start. I am now running my Typhoon at 97mm and it flies much, much better. 7oz of noseweight brought my Typhoon to 85mm, and I have since removed about 2oz of that. Complete the model then look at what noseweight is needed. Balance it up with weights temporarily taped to the outside of the nose and that is how much lead you will need to put inside.

Hi Richard and glad to be of help. Thanks Chris. I did not know of those. My original post was nearly three years ago and I have since upgraded to a DSX9 which runs my six servo slope soarers beautifully. For those who have a DX7 and want to set up a full house sloper using a six channel receiver, this program works very well Spektrum DX7 Program For Four Servo Wing Gives flaps linked to ailerons for increased roll rate, ailerons linked to flaps for full wing camber, and crow braking (using the throttle stick) with elevator compensation. This program is based upon setting the ailerons as flaperons The instuctions are for a 6 channel receiver. If using a 7 channel receiver you can substitute Aux2 for GEAR which then leaves the GEAR channel free. Please note that the programmable mix numbers used MUST be exactly as stated, as 5 and 6 give a different effect to 1,2,3, and 4 Ailerons Enable flaperon mixing Right aileron to AIL channel Left aileron to AUX1 channel Flaps Disable gear switch by setting gear servo travel to 0%,0% Right flap to GEAR channel Left flap to THROTTLE channel Set up PMIX5 as THROTTLE master to GEAR slave with setting of 100%,100% This links both flaps together. Crow braking PMIX1 throttle master to elevator slave for crow braking elevator down compensation. Rates are top 0%, bottom – whatever you need for your required down elevator compensation. Offset value +100%. This sets the “mid point” of the throttle to stick full up and crow is activated by pulling the throttle stick down. PMIX2 throttle master to flap slave. As the ailerons are set up as flaperons, the flap channel controls the ailerons as flaps. This gives both ailerons up movement for crow braking. The throttle stick drives the left flap directly and as the flaps are linked by PMIX5, both flaps will move when the throttle stick is moved. Full wing camber The ailerons are set up as flapperons – use the flap system setting for the correct amount of camber and reflex, operated by the 3 postion flap switch. Set the aileron travel first. PMIX3 flap master to throttle slave this is the flap movement for camber and reflex. As the flaps are linked by PMIX5, both of them will move. Flaps moving with ailerons PMIX4 aileron master to gear slave – moves right flap with ailerons. PMIX6 aileron master to throttle slave – moves left flap with ailerons.