Carl Goldberg Sophisticated Lady

[JEdmunds]

Hi Folks,

 

 I have not built a glider since I was a child. I believe it was a precedent Hi Fly, though I could be wrong, it was 30 years ago 😄 . Anyhow, I picked up a Sophisticated Lady kit from the bay of fleas finally found some time to put it together. I have attached a photodump of the build (minus the wings). 

 I would certainly say that it is no laser cut modern kit. Many parts were not quite plum and required a small amount of fettling to make them fit. The tail section will be the first part to break off 😄  as it is fairly weak. With that said, if you can obtain one, it is a nice build and quite pretty

 The plane is covered in Oralight silver and some of the new Ripmax covering (Orange) for the fin, nose and outer wing panels underneath (I had some left over from something else). The servos are 2* Futaba S-300 with an R617 rx, all powered by a 4.8v NiMh. Total time to build was about 2 weeks of evenings. 

 

I took it too the local park when nobody was about to check how it glides, and with a little shove, it went for a good 50 metres. Now all I need to do is find a slope soaring club to teach me how to fly a glider, as I have only flown powered before. Does anybody know of one in the North Hampshire area that has an instructor ?

 

Given that I enjoyed building this glider so much, I just hoovered up a kit for a OK models Divine Wind (Kamikaze), might just be something in this glider thing 😄

 

 

Cheers

 

 John

[Wookman]

Nice job John.

A couple of, hopefully constructive, oservations.

Silver is a notoriously difficult colour to see in the air. More orange trim on the wing tip tops and the fuselage will help.

When you do fly it I imagine that trimming the elevator is going to be interesting with the two bends in the bowden cable and the raked back horn position that will give much more up than down elevator movement.

You could cure the unequal elevator movement, if it is an issue, by raking the servo arm aft and re centering the elevator.

If the backlash in the bowden cable proves to be excessive, I would suggest a mini or micro servo in the top of the fin with a short push rod to the elevator.

Club finder on the BMFA website is your friend. You may find that your nearest slope flying club is at Whitesheet in Wiltshire. There is certainly plenty of expertise at the club to help.

[Jonathan M]

17 hours ago, JEdmunds said:

Now all I need to do is find a slope soaring club to teach me how to fly a glider, as I have only flown powered before. Does anybody know of one in the North Hampshire area that has an instructor ?

 

Lovely job John.

 

If you already have flat-field power skills then you could convert yourself to the slope with the free (or with a very modest donation) PicaSim slope-soaring simulator.  Can mess about with it on a mobile or a tablet (by sliding fingers on the screen) but it really comes into its own on a laptop or better still on a PC with a decent sized monitor - all via a £45 wireless dongle to suit your equipment, e.g. Spektrum or Futaba etc (other retailers are available).

 

But there's nothing like flying at regular sites with folk who know their quirks in variations of wind direction etc.

 

Have a look on SlopeHunter (not updated for a few years but that's nothing in terms of geological time).

 

I've sometimes flown at Beacon Hill just off the A34 (not far from N Hampshire!), it is a bit of a climb up to the Iron Age Fort but good in a SE or ESE wind.

 

I've also flown a lot at White Horse Hill in SW Oxfordshire, an easier walk and a bowl that's great in a NW.

 

But better still contact Thames Valley Silent Fliers and/or Christchurch & District MFC for a steer (or to join).  White Sheet don't seem to have a club website, only a closed FB page, but have a look here.

 

Let us know how you get on.

[Cuban8]

I built a Sophisticated Lady way back in the 80s as a flat field thermaller.  A nice enough model and very elegant as the name suggests, but I do recall that it was very lightly constructed and had to treated with care.  The tail end was troublesome (that cable arrangement) as has been mentioned and very flimsy and the T tail is vulnerable,  so I don't hold out much confidence for it considering the rough and tumble of the slope. Certainly a model for very light conditions and where the landing area is particularly good.

Agree with the comments about choice of colour - I always finished my gliders in variations on a mainly bright red scheme with fluorescent flashes on the top wing - saved the models many times at the limit of visibility as I did used to push my luck at times. Good luck wih your model, it looks very nice.

[Robin Colbourne]

John, that's a very nicely built Sophisticated Lady. 

With regard to a slope site, I learned at Hankley Common, near Elstead, which is a Border Club site and an Army training area.   It is where in the scene in Skyfall was filmed, with the house being shot up by a helicopter. I think it is being used rather intensively for Army training at the moment though as it was covered in cartridge cases when I was last there.  I learned on a Bowman's Simpleton.

I did some hang gliding from Coombe Gibbet, near Inkpen, which is on the Hampshire/Berkshire Border, and good in a Northerly.  Your best bet however, is the Meon Valley Soaring Association (MVSA) who fly from Butser Hill, Harting Down, Wether Down (often called HMS Mercury after the nearby former Royal Navy shore station) and have use of my own club's site, The Trundle, near Chichester.

I look forward to reading and seeing the Pilot Divine Wind build in due course.  🙂

Echoing Cuban 8's comments, you definitely want some fluorescent patches to improve visibility.  Ideally contrasting top and bottom, and a wraparound strip along the leading edge helps when the model is coming towards you.


 

Edited August 29 by Robin Colbourne

[JEdmunds]

Thanks for the kind responses.

 

 I will take the suggestions for colouring on board :). Next time I get down the model shop, I will pick up some trim and use it in some strategic places 😄 . 

 

Truth be told, I did away with the bowden cable, It was so flimsy and did not require much pressure to distort any throw when using the servo. I changed it out for a piece of piano wire that I managed to thread down the curve. I made sure that the run was as straight as I could with next to no possible flex. I know this will cause a little friction, but the change in the control throw is night and day and the servo doesn't seem any more troubled than it was when it was just the cable, Now it stays where you tell it too.

 

To be more specific, I am in the Aldermaston area, so Beacon hill is not a million miles away and fairly easy to get too. Do any of you chaps know if anybody flies off of White Hill on the far side of Kingsclere ? I appreciate the club suggestion, I will check them out.

 

Cheers folks. 

 

 John