RADIO CONTROL SOARING
Mike Garton 2733 NE 95th Ave., Ankeny IA 50021 E-mail: [email protected]
This month I list printed references on thermal soaring with brief, opinionated descriptions. If you know of a notable book I missed, e-mail me. I’ll provide a Web address for where to check for additions to this list. If a source is not included for a book, try Amazon.com.
Books
Model Aircraft Aerodynamics — Martin Simons (ISBN 1-85486-190-5)
If you buy only one model-airplane book, this is the essential reference. It explains in layman’s terms how and why airplanes fly. The assumed education level is roughly high school. The book covers the physics of wings, propellers, and airplane design in general, with relevant segments on gliding flight, wing planforms, tail shapes, airfoils, and stability. The current (fourth) edition has more illustrations and grayscale images than previous editions. At 344 pages and approximately $25, it is a real bargain.
Stop Abusing Bernoulli! How Airplanes Really Fly — Gale Craig
Aimed at explaining the physics of flight and debunking intuitive myths about lift. The author limits the use of math, but a bachelor’s degree in a technical field helps to follow the concepts. As an engineer I didn’t like the purely physicist perspective, but the book is valuable and I would not replace it if I lost it.
Old Buzzard’s Soaring Book — Dave Thornburg
A soaring classic full of thermal and slope soaring tips. Fun to read and requires no math knowledge. It should be in any glider pilot’s collection.
Fundamentals of Sailplane Design — Fred Thomas
A hardbound translation of a German book clearly aimed at full-scale gliders rather than models. It gives a brief overview of aerodynamic theory, sailplane requirements, and optimization. The sections provide a flavor of the methods but not enough detail to apply the knowledge step-by-step. One valuable feature is a comprehensive table of modern gliders with dimensional information—airfoil, planform, twist, tail airfoils, areas, and moment arms—enough for an aeronautical engineer to model basic performance and stability. A good purchase for an aeronautical engineer interested in sailplanes.
Sailplane Designer’s Handbook — Eric Lister
Originally published in 1974. Lister’s intent was to distill higher-level math of design into tables accessible to a broader audience. The approach is sound, but the material is dated. If you design to fit the tables, your glider may resemble early-1970s designs (relatively short fuselages and slower response to turn inputs). Still useful as historical/design-context material.
Airplane Design — Donald R. Crawford (A series of articles first printed in Kitplanes Magazine; published by Crawford Aviation)
Although it doesn’t mention gliders specifically, this collection contains many useful tools. Most articles about airplane performance include full listings of short computer programs, providing an excellent hands-on way to learn applied aerodynamics. Engineering students often learn best by implementing programs—the language used (BASIC) is irrelevant since the algorithms can be translated to any language. Topics include standard atmosphere calculations, power airplane performance, stability and control (including neutral point), and lifting-line theory. Printing quality is poor, but the content is invaluable for those who want to get their feet wet in applied aerodynamics.
Cross-Country Soaring — Helmut Reichmann and Thomson
Currently out of print, but widely regarded as the bible of full-scale cross-country soaring. It has been reprinted multiple times. Although intended for full scale, about 70% of the book is applicable to modelers. It contains excellent technical descriptions of slope, wave, and thermal soaring; tactics; speed-to-fly; meteorology; and RC equipment. If you fly RC cross-country, this book is an awesome reference.
Theory of Wing Sections Including a Summary of Airfoil Data — Ira H. Abbott and A. E. von Doenhoff
A college-level text with substantial mathematics, but well worth the (historically modest) price for readers who want to learn more about airfoils. The book contains a large body of experimental data on airfoils in its 693 softbound pages and is a standard reference for general airfoil trends. The sections on high-lift devices (flaps and slots) are particularly interesting.
Airfoils at Low Speeds and the Summary of Low-Speed Airfoil Data series — Michael Selig and colleagues
Titles include:
- Airfoils at Low Speeds — Michael Selig, John Donovan, and David Fraser
- Summary of Low-Speed Airfoil Data, Volume 1 — Michael Selig, James Guglielmo, Andy Broeren, and Philippe Giguere
- Summary of Low-Speed Airfoil Data, Volume II — Michael Selig, Christopher Lyon, Philippe Giguere, Cameron Ninham, and James Guglielmo
- Summary of Low-Speed Airfoil Data — Christopher Lyon, Andy Broeren, Philippe Giguere, Ashok Gopalakrishnan, and Michael Selig
These publications contain the most extensive campaign of experimental low-speed airfoil testing ever published. Most pages are devoted to graphs of drag and lift coefficients versus angle of attack. The first ~50 pages of each book provide practical, well-explained information about the testing methods and goals. Selig and colleagues discuss why they tested particular airfoils, how they performed, and the effects of building errors on performance. The data and books support further testing and are available online at www.aee.uiuc.edu/m-selig/.
Hard-to-find German books
Profilprofile für den Modellflug and Profilprofile für den Modellflug, Band 2 — Dieter Althaus
These predate the Selig tests and contain volumes of experimental data on model airfoils. The airfoils are older and the text is in German. The test data lacks detailed accuracy information and is not directly comparable to Selig’s results because wind-tunnel turbulence levels differ. Useful mainly for hard-core airfoil aficionados.
The World’s Vintage Sailplanes 1908–45 and Sailplanes 1920–1945 — Martin Simons
Two overlapping but authoritative references on early full-scale sailplanes. Simons is a meticulous researcher and writer; the photos and illustrations are excellent. If vintage scale sailplanes interest you, buy one of these books. The second has slightly smaller scope but improved illustrations.
SoarTech (many volumes)
Originally a series of technical papers in the Tidewater Model Soaring Society newsletter, later called the TMSS Technical Journal. Before the Internet this infrequently published collection was one of the best references for soaring tech-heads. According to the Web site (http://members.cox.net/hstokely/soartech.htm), it’s an English-language technical forum for RC soaring, containing long or technical papers unsuitable for the popular press. The available issues make good reading.
Magazines
Model Aviation
http://modelaircraft.org/mag/index.htm Model Aviation features a token amount of soaring coverage, with alternating slope-soaring columns by Dave Garwood and thermal-soaring columns by me. Glider-flying Model Aviation subscribers are typically AMA members who need membership to attend sanctioned contests or belong to clubs that require it. If you have content ideas, e-mail Aeromodeling Editor Bob Hunt with an abstract before writing.
Quiet Flyer (formerly Sailplane and Electric Modeler)
http://www.quietflyer.com Mostly covers electrics but includes a fair amount of RC soaring content. Editor Wil Byers has successfully ridden the crest of the electric-powered-airplane wave. The magazine is worth the money for plentiful color photos. Don Bailey’s column is consistently good; I often wish the feature articles were longer. Quiet Flyer published a special edition in May 2003 reprinting some of the better past articles—authors’ names were removed in that issue, which I found uncool, but the issue is still worth the price.
Radio Control Modeler
http://www.rcmmagazine.com/ A general-interest RC-airplane publication with limited soaring coverage (Mike Lee’s monthly column). A good alternative to Model Aviation for non-AMA members with broad RC interests.
RC Soaring Digest (RCSD)
http://www.b2streamlines.com/RCSD.html A small U.S. soaring magazine that uses grayscale images; the editor does not pay contributors. Dedicated columnists continue to contribute passionately: Dave Register on technical issues, Gordy Stahl with “Gordy’s Travels,” Lee Murray on meteorology, and Bill and Bunny Kuhlman on tailless gliders. Mark Drela’s contributions (starting November 2003) bring strong technical depth. Back issues are inexpensive; editors Jerry and Judy Slater welcome new content.
Aufwind
http://www.aufwind-magazin.de/ An excellent German magazine about gliders and electrics. Articles are technically dense and photo quality is high. If only they published an English edition!
I will keep a running list of relevant glider books at www.eiss.cnde.iastate.edu/articles/. E-mail me if you want another book included on the list.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
