Kirk G
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2012
- Messages
- 1,326
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Today I hauled out my Edmonds Aerospace CiCi glider which had lost a fin somehow, and grabbed some scrap balsa flashing.
I hustled myself out to our club launch, and before going to far to prep any other rockets, I took my razor blade and scraped the
remains of the missing fin off the model, and then traced out from the existing fin, the pattern of a replacement.
Carefully, I cut off the excess flashing, and fashioned a notch to dovetail the piece in place. (Not as easy as it sounds... somewhat
more difficult that just assembling laser cut pieces and gluing.)
Fortunately, my tent-mate had brought some Bob Smith's Medium grade CA Super glue, and with a little patience, I glued on the new
fin and let it set for at least a half hour to an hour, while preping and flying other rockets that had performed well in the past.
Finally, I broke out an A8-3 and loaded the glider onto a rod, and launched it. I must have secured it with a little too much tape, as the
glider did not go terribly high and after about one circuit, dove gently to the ground.
I broke out a C6-3 as the only other low power motor at hand, and loaded it. A number of people stopped to watch THIS launch, and I
have to say it went up like a rocket, and ejected the motor, beginning long, lazy circles, almost hovering as it nosed into the wind, and
after a few more circles, landed softly on the cut grass.
"Wow, that was great," they exclaimed. "You should save that one for competition," one urged. "What a great flight," several complimented.
What followed was a discussion of where I had gotten that terrific glider and where someone could get it nowadays.
I'm afraid, as far as I know, the website that HAD stocked Edmond Aerospace gliders is shut down, and someone has told me they are out of the hobby.
With such a simple, easy kit, and such a crowd-pleaser, I can't imagine why anyone would not want to produce a run of these gliders and get them out
in front of the public again.
Can anyone tell me why they are no longer for sale, or where a stockpile of the kit might be?
Who owns the design, and why aren't they selling it?
I hustled myself out to our club launch, and before going to far to prep any other rockets, I took my razor blade and scraped the
remains of the missing fin off the model, and then traced out from the existing fin, the pattern of a replacement.
Carefully, I cut off the excess flashing, and fashioned a notch to dovetail the piece in place. (Not as easy as it sounds... somewhat
more difficult that just assembling laser cut pieces and gluing.)
Fortunately, my tent-mate had brought some Bob Smith's Medium grade CA Super glue, and with a little patience, I glued on the new
fin and let it set for at least a half hour to an hour, while preping and flying other rockets that had performed well in the past.
Finally, I broke out an A8-3 and loaded the glider onto a rod, and launched it. I must have secured it with a little too much tape, as the
glider did not go terribly high and after about one circuit, dove gently to the ground.
I broke out a C6-3 as the only other low power motor at hand, and loaded it. A number of people stopped to watch THIS launch, and I
have to say it went up like a rocket, and ejected the motor, beginning long, lazy circles, almost hovering as it nosed into the wind, and
after a few more circles, landed softly on the cut grass.
"Wow, that was great," they exclaimed. "You should save that one for competition," one urged. "What a great flight," several complimented.
What followed was a discussion of where I had gotten that terrific glider and where someone could get it nowadays.
I'm afraid, as far as I know, the website that HAD stocked Edmond Aerospace gliders is shut down, and someone has told me they are out of the hobby.
With such a simple, easy kit, and such a crowd-pleaser, I can't imagine why anyone would not want to produce a run of these gliders and get them out
in front of the public again.
Can anyone tell me why they are no longer for sale, or where a stockpile of the kit might be?
Who owns the design, and why aren't they selling it?
