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ASH 26 Composite RC Gliders


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A friend of mine recently bought a 6m Ventus from the company. To cut a long story short he was not pleased at all!

 

He made a bespoke order with them to include a pilot which they had in stock, a particular registration number to be applied, a Spanish tail flag and a whole of other things which were all agreed.

 

He heard nothing from them for almost two months despite emailing them several times with enquiries re the models progress. When they finally answered him they reeled off a load of excuses and promised him another date for completion which came and went. Turned out that the worker was telling my friend a bunch of lies about the models progress and accused my friend of lying. A letter came from the company owner who promised to sort things out but delays persisted for another couple of weeks.

 

When the model was finally delivered there were several defects to the surface finish; the underside of the fuselage had an area of about 20mm x 100mm that seemed to have had filler applied and very badly finished and there were several small blemishes on the wings. The model registration number was not as ordered, the Spanish flag was absent and one of the decals alongside the cockpit area was peeling off. Additionally, the pilot figure did not arrive with the model although it was in stock and available from the begining.

 

He and I put the model together to check all was ok and there were no problems on that front and the model did look great from all normal viewing distances.

 

Unfortunately my friend had to then go away on busines for a couple of months and I won't get to spek to him again before August. Therefore I can't offer a final judgement on the model and it will be a while before it's fully completely and takes to the air for the first time.

 

   

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3 minutes ago, Steve Colman said:

What about the Multiplex Lentus? Or is a foam model out of the question for some reason?

I have a MPX Heron and made it less than perfect during the build, it was the kit version (my excuse), so I thought I would go for something more robust. 

 

Steve

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I’ve just maidened mine and I’m very happy with it. There were a few problems with the delivery time, not helped by staff shortages caused by covid, but the company offered compensation for the delay. The model is well finished and assembly was straightforward, although connecting up the spoilers was a bit fiddly, but the supplied accessories and wiring harness made it very quick. The instruction sheet could be improved but then this is not a model intended for an inexperienced  builder.

All controls were set to the recommended movements and the first flight went very smoothly with no trim changes required. It’s a very high aspect ratio wing so I was initially a bit dubious about how effective the tiny chord ailerons and flaps would be but there were no problems and a good roll rate, especially with ailerons and flaps linked. Likewise despite the apparently small size the crow brakes and spoilers slowed the model down nicely for landing.
All in all I was very happy with its flight performance and it looked very nice in the air. I’ve only had time for one flight on the slopes so far but I have a tow release fitted so I’ll be checking out its thermal performance soon.

I bought an Edge 1500 electric RTF from them at the same time and I have no complaints about either the model or the assembly of it. The company were very easy to deal with and emails were always answered promptly and I’m fairly sure I’ll be buying from them again. 

 

 

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I would agree on a high aspect wing around 4m is a good sweet spot, not too big to transport and launch and more forgiving than a 3m one.

 

A while back a couple of flying buddies bought a Ventus and Discus from Top Model CZ, both very nice and fly well, around 3.8m. Theirs were pure gliders though so I'm not sure if they do an electric option.

 

Keep you eye on the BMFA and BARCS classifieds some of the older moulded gliders come up from time to time, we recently acquired a 2.85 Multiplex Kranich and 3.3m Simprop Solo, the Kranich flies lovely, not yet put the Simprop together but no reason why it shouldn't fly as well.

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I’ve been out for a second flight this afternoon on the same slope but much lighter winds which it handled very well, staying up without too much effort using the suggested thermal flight settings.

I could tell the CoG wasn’t quite right though so I obviously hadn’t compensated enough for my new pilot, he must need to diet!

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Postman Pat? That takes me back many years.

 

I am looking at the 3-4m range and my first thought, because price goes up with size, is how much am I willing to spend. I like the Ventus 3.6, a club mate has a larger version, but discovered it's a 50-day delivery, so my second thought is how long am I willing to wait. Fifty days takes me into October which means I will be looking at next year's flying season. Nothings simple or straightforward. The DG-1001 is three days delivery with the advantage of being a two-seat trainer which means there will be space for a black and white cat called Jess IIRC. This decision is going to take time.

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

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On 20/07/2022 at 19:48, Nick Somerville said:

Agree that it’s a very pricey route for only 3m. This looks much better value and from a very well respected manufacturer 

https://classifieds.bmfa.org/acadp_listings/let-models-asw-28-3m

Hi Nick,

Following your recommendation, I have had a look at Let Models (www.letmodel.cz) and in particular the ASW-28.

 

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Negotiations have started by filling in the order form and getting a price, lots of options to make decisions on like colours and lettering.

 

Nice 🙂

 

The plan is to fly my MPX Heron and then this with the option of the MPX Lentus in between the two, if needed (they don't last forever/long in my hands). Then maybe next year the Composite RC Gliders ASH 26. 

 

Steve

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12 hours ago, Frank Skilbeck said:

If this is your first composite glider, you may want to add a bit of ballast to your Heron, the composite models don't lose energy as quickly as the foamies, even the good ones like the Heron.

Hi Frank,

 

Gliders have always been of passing interest to me and it's not until recently that I have realised that they are not all the same. One day I counted twelve full size over my house and assumed they were having a competition at the club some twenty miles away. Wanting to know more I installed flightradar24 and watched to see where they came from. First problem was that gliders don't leave a track as they don't have engines but eventually, I picked one up approaching Scunthorpe (D-KOOL) and it left a track, it climbed to 15,000 feet under a very dark cloud then headed south losing 5000 ft before gaining height again south of Lincoln. He made it back home, much to my amazement, Dunstable Downs. Intrigued I followed it again down to Cornwall and South Wales. 

 

D-KOOL | Schleicher ASH-25 | Private | Oliver Holmes | JetPhotos

 

It leaves a track because it is self-launching using a pop-up motor. I have found others doing the same, different makes and models, then in BMFA news Manny Williamson explains what is going on. 500 km in a day is a target for these pilots, Dunstable to me and back will be about that, speed machines they must be.

 

With the ASW28 I do wonder what I am getting myself into and anticipate lots of fun to come.

 

Adding ballast to the Heron will speed it up which will prepare me for the ASW28 I assume Frank.

I am fortunate to have a very experienced helpful glider pilot in my club which means I will not be on my own. I need all the help I can get!

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

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Steve, 15000’ would have been IFR flying into cloud as in the UK cloudbase doesn’t get that high.  In 20 years of paragliding  the highest in the UK I have achieved was just under 7000”. Some club mates have managed 8500’ on a few rare days after long hot summer spells. Others who have flown higher have dome so by flying into cloud, which is very disorienting if for more than a few minutes. BTW paraglider pilots regularly fly long distances in the UK (200km +) but 100km + triangle flights are only achievable on light wind days. Not glass ship performance by any means but when you consider a paraglider, harness and instruments pack up into a manageable rucksack of typically 15kg its a remarkable way to get airborne.

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3 hours ago, EarlyBird said:

First problem was that gliders don't leave a track as they don't have engines

Actually it’s nothing to do with whether or not they have an engine, aircraft are tracked by responses from a transponder, an electronic device in the cockpit which replies with identification and other information, such as altitude, when interrogated by a radar pulse. They are compulsory in controlled airspace but only recommended when outside CAS. They can be battery operated for aircraft without a motor to generate power and so sometimes pilots will turn them off to save battery capacity even though they are the basis of the electronic anti-collision system, TCAS, which commercial traffic relies on and is very useful for private pilots even when flying VFR. 

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There are a number of different Electronic Conspicuity (EC) devices available for gliders & light aircraft in addition to transponders - eg Sky Echo, Pilot Aware, FLARM. As far as I am aware there will only appear on Flight Radar if they are configured to transmit ADS-B out (a specific sort of signal linked to their GPS position) in addition to their own protocols.

 

The most common used on gliders is FLARM, https://flarm.com/solutions/for-pilots-aircraft-owners/gliders/ which transmits & receives a signal which enables the position and predicted track of other gliders nearby to be shown on a display in the cockpit.  There are a number of Websites that enable gliders & their tow planes to be viewed eg GliderTracker: https://glidertracker.org

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