Radio Control: Soaring
ONE OF THE best things about RC Soaring pilots is their strong willingness to help each other. Soaring competitors regularly help a newcomer launch, find lift, and score landing points. Generally, if you need help or advice, just ask and you'll get it. For me, meeting Soaring people is the best part of going to a contest. This month's column presents hints, tips, and ideas that I learned from talking with competitors at the 1995 AMA/LSF Soaring Nationals. Top Soaring pilots at the 1995 Nats included Skip Miller and Dale Nutter from the first USA F3B team; Mike Fox, the 1994 LSF Nats overall winner; and three Lee Renaud Memorial Trophy winners (for highest overall thermal scores at AMA Nats): Terry Edmonds (1985, Massachusetts); Al Scidmore (1987, Nebraska); and Jim Thomas (1990, Illinois).
Radio Control: Soaring
SAILPLANE LAUNCHING METHODS: "What's a hi-start? Does that mean you get up on a high place and launch the sailplane?" "How big a field do I need to fly my sailplane?" These questions in my mail suggested I should discuss the basics of launching sailplanes. We have several ways to launch RC sailplanes, including human muscle, hi-start, winch, and aero-tow by another model airplane. Hand-launch gliders and HLG techniques are specialized, and will be treated separately in an upcoming column. F3B hand-tow was discussed in the Nats coverage in the December 1995 issue. There are esoteric methods like rocket power and tow by RC car, but they are not in widespread use. This column introduces the three most common launch techniques for thermal sailplanes, and gives some insight on what it's like to pilot a full-scale sailplane on auto-tow.
Radio Control: Soaring
WE HAVE A BUILDING SEASON in my part of the country. With five inches of new snow on the ground, and a wind chill factor in the single digits, I didn't get to fly today. I did join some balsa sheets to make a skin for a foam wing, and in this season of short days and cold weather, many of you may also be spending more time in the shop. This month I'll discuss some of the tools that I've come to rely on. I've also listed and described four specialized RC Soaring magazines. But before I get to these topics, I'll tell you about Bob Harold's aluminum gliders.
Radio Control: Soaring
HAND-LAUNCH GLIDER (HLG), the purest form of RC Soaring, spurns complicated launch equipment and leaves only you, your airplane, and the air. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to see your model in flight, to see the results of your control inputs, and the learn to read the air. HLGs are the smallest and can be the least expensive thermal sailplanes, but the feeling of launching into a thermal and riding it upward until your sailplane is but a speck in the sky is one of the greatest kicks in model sailplane flight.
Radio Control: Soaring
NEWCOMERS TO SOARING: One of this month's photos shows two Soaring newcomers in 1988-myself and my son Louis. At the time Louis was 10 years old and I was 40; we were both starting in RC Soaring. We flew together for several years, and then Lou left town; he's in college now and has put sailplanes aside, at least for the time being. I stayed with it, became addicted to it, and have flown Sailplanes exclusively for the last six years. This month's column concentrates on what newcomers need to know to get started Soaring. I realize that newcomers may be any age. I also realize that not all RC Soaring newcomers are new to RC; some may have extensive power-flying experience. First-time visitors to the Soaring field often ask two questions that help them come to terms with their astonishment when they discover that the model airplanes 'way up there don't have engines:
