Bob Cotsford Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Orange Box - I built one when the plan was given away. Originally it was used on a bungee, then with a pod mounted 049 glow, it also was thrown off Mill Hill during holidays in Worthing with the MIL in the 80s, and finally got a 600 size motor inserted in it's snout before finally being condemned a few years ago. I had a second set of short span wings for windy slope sessions. There's no doubt that it is an excellent design for general sport flying and makes a good trainer, at it's best 'wheezing it's way up' - it's just a different beast to the sleek warm/hotliners you see today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I've just come across this thread and immediety had a flash back. I built an Orange Box back in the late eighties and taught my eldest son the finer points of slope soaring. Not only is a great model to learn gliding with, it's a good model to learn building too. Even though I still have the original free plan (now used and abused), I couldn't help buying another unused free plan at a local swap meet.......just in case! Two very happy lads with their Orange Box, courtesy of dad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul McCaughey Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Glad this is stimulating some good memories for people. Hopefully things go OK tomorrow. Might need to baby sit my neice but will hopefully be able to get out while the wind is on the slope as we usually have a westerly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul McCaughey Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 Mission successful! Had a flight with my bixler and got an idea where the lift was. Got the orange box rigged and gave it a good shove, a slight touch of up and off it went. A really good and stable flyer. Learned a lot in my first slope session. Sustained a bit of damage when my dog ran into it when she was being chased by another dog. Now fixed and battery charged ready to go again tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Great stuff! Of course the other thing about the OB is that it's quite robust and easy to repair should the worst happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatMc Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Great result, Paul. (Apart from the poochident) Hope your weather's better than ours. Visibility so bad that standing on the cliff tops this morning I couldn't see the sea 60ft below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul McCaughey Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 managed out on sunday as well. conditions were ok both days very overcast with about 1500m visibility. wind required on the slope is an easterly or north easterly. lift seemed strongest when wind was just off the trees in the bottom of the picture below. it's not a big slope but when the wind blows from the east there is nothing in it's path till it hits the slope. the edge of the town visible is Barrhead just outside Glasgow & Paisley. the bixler wasn't that great on the slope, i seemed to be getting wing flex and blown about in the stronger gusts. the orangebox was great though. will need to investigate cheap options for something a bit more slope focused. any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 If you fancy a build a Chris Foss Middel Phase 2 with ailerons might fit the bill, or the Phase 6 Sport. They'll both fly fairly light winds, but can be ballasted up for really windy conditions if needs be. There are plenty of great composite slopers available too, dependant upon how much you want to spend. My current favourite, mainly due to it's portability and relatively cheap cost, is the latest incarnation of the RCRCM Sunbird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Houghton 1 Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Another good place to look for a good kit to build is Phoenix MP. But if you want something that's a really good and robust flier, I cannot recommend more highly the SAS Wildthing . I have been flying mine for nearly 3 years and have just finished recovering it, so it should be good for another 3 years. The 46" version is the most popular and thousands must have been sold over the years. You will have to telephone Alan Head to order it, but be prepared to be on the phone for a good hour as Alan does love to chat. Steve A470Soaring.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 It seems that the sky had a purply hue, in your picture, that our own had a few days back. This made flying a bit more demanding, in that constant observation of the model was required to ensure that orientation did not become an issue. Did it cause you any issues? I do believe that the list of suitable model is almost limitless, often purely dependant on the wind. I have a Ridge Rover that is also a good machine in most conditions. Of far greater importance was that the flight was successful, gave a degree of satisfaction and was fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul McCaughey Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 Thanks for the suggestions. I probably need to have something that is capable of slope and thermal. Not sure if anything will be that versatile? It will also need to be fairly resiliant as I've still got my L plates on! I think I had the camera setting on the wrong one. The sky was a fairly murky grey. It did take on a strange hue at times. Only when the glider was heading directly away from me and the profile was low was it a problem, sunglasses probably never helped. I should really have had on my low light cycle glasses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatMc Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I use an Easyglider as a slope/thermal hack. It has a motor that's capable of getting it to 200mtres in 30 secs for flat field launches & has fairly good thermal hunting ability. From the slope it will fly from in very light through to a moderate breeze. It will do all the basic aerobatics quite well although the roll rate is leisurely. This can be speeded up a bit by mixing some rudder in with ailerons (even though they should be working in opposition during the inverted phase). The same 3s lipo is used for all flying but I never use the motor when flying on the slope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Joubert 1 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Hi All, Please need help in identifying the above bird, she came to me through a friend of a friend of a friend. can anybody ID this powered glider, also any information on C of G and the weight. weight without batteries is about 900g. This will be my first attempt at glider / 3 channel flying. Any recommendations / thoughts? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Does anyone know if this is normal / correct seems like the wing is joined by some kind of tape, does this serve any purpose is it meant to be a flexible joint? Many thanks guys, Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Hi Jack, Welcome to the forum! That is a Ripmax Nebula 2000E, Jack - mine disappeared into a cloud last July and I haven't seen it since... There's some info in threads here and here. The wings are polyhedral and each section remains rigid in relation to its neighbour. It may be that the constructor has not glued the wing joiners in that joint but has used tape to stop them slipping apart. Perfectly sound method and allows a bit of 'crashability'. Can't recall the C of G but I've got the instruction booklet here. If I can't find a PDF on the 'net, PM me your email and I'll scan the booklet and send it to you. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down Under Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Hi Jack normally a taped wing joint is to allow for removal of the outer wing panels for transportation. Not uncommon with larger wing span gliders. Looks like electrical tape to me so should come off fairly cleanly and easily. allows you to fit the glider in a normal size car boot. I suspect this is the reason for taped joint on your glider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Joubert 1 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Thanks guys thats helped a lot allready, noticed that the motor (900kv job) and esc is not the original. This being the reason why I am a bit concerned about the weight and c of g. I guess these taped joints need to be redone, is electrcal tape the best to use? cheers, Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down Under Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Don't know if electrical tape is the best to use as it gets a but soft in the heat and can distort. I would think some scotch tape or 3M tape would be just as good. Perhaps another pilot who utilises this method might be able to confirm / advise.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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