Sinbad bushveld build

[Chris Freeman 3]

I recently had some time away on a game farm in what we in South Africa refer to the Bushveld. This area has a large number of smaller trees so they are not like a forest. Lots of game is on the farm and it is a great area to relax as even the internet reception is limited. My Wife enjoys her sleep while I am not the best sleeper so I take a building project with to keep me busy. The project for this trip was a 72" Sinbad glider that my mates had made a laser cut kit of.

It was a last minute decession to take this with so planning was not as good as I would like so some tools were left behind along with some of the kit parts. Did most of the structure and added parts to strengthen som of the structure was very weak. The sheeting was 1mm balsa and it is long time that I since I used this thickness, infact the stock I had was still Solarbo Balsa!

The Bushveld was very hot and dry so the wood glue dried very fast and I would build on the patio outside but you had to watch out or the monkeys would steal of break the parts.

[Piers Bowlan]

Thanks for sharing your build Chris which looks very nicely done. I used to take a build project with me on my frequent travels abroad but the building took place in my hotel room so monkeys weren't a problem! I know how frustrating it can be when you leave something vital behind like a razor plane or even the cyano, but often you can find something to be getting on with, as long as you have some wood. I used to have a checklist but it wasn't infallible, especially when I forgot to refer to it!

A wonderful country South Africa.

[Chris Freeman 3]

Just to show that I did not just build the Sinbad whilst on holiday, here are some pictures from 1 of the 2 game drives that we went on, one was a night drive.

[Chris Freeman 3]

The Sinbad is an old free flight design and is popular due a u tube clip showing a very good pilot having a ball flying on a outstanding slope. The problem is that I do not have easy access to a slope so it will have to be launched via Bungee or aircraft. I made up a launch gradle but the depth of the fuselage made the gradle very high. The design is also weak incertain areas so mods had to be made, I added cross grain sheeting between the fuselage longerons so you can get a good grip when using the bungee. Not sure how good the glide will be, the wing is undercamber and with the large fuselage the drag will be high.

[Chris Freeman 3]

Covering is Oracover and colours are what was in the cuboard.

[Chris Freeman 3]

My son and I went to test fly the Sinbad last Sunday afternoon as it was wind still. My Bungee is tired but we decided the Sinbad would not need much pull so we tried to see if it would work. The hand lauch test confirmed it would fly so it was time to commit to a bungee launch. First attempt showed that the towhook was in the correct position with a straight climb but not enough pull. Next attempt we streached the rubber a bit more but it snapped. We tied a knot and tried again. 2 launches showed the glide was fair but we needed more pull, when we tried the rubber snapped. I decided to try and hand tow. My son and I are more like props or locks than wings so we were a little slow for the initial launch so I suggested that we try having a litle of the rubber on the line for extra pull on the line. My son ran and I flew the Sinbad, this launch was good but it appeared to pop of the line near the top of the launch. When I landed my son was moaning that the rubber had snapped and stung his hand. My turn to run, good launch and getting nice height when suddenly it was my turn to have a sore hand, the rubber had snapped again! We decided to pack up and go home before we were on the next episode of The Science of Stupid!