- Joined
- Jan 18, 2009
- Messages
- 325
- Reaction score
- 131
Well didn't get as much building time in today as I had planned. But I did get to assemble my Edmonds Arcie RCRG kit this evening.
It's a pretty nice kit like all of Rob's gliders. Not many parts. High quality laser cutting courtesy of BMS. But I hate having to sand off the char on the thicker wood parts. It's like handling left over wood from the fireplace. Noticed that the two wing halfs are cut from very different grained balsa. One is very nice C grain, the other more densely grained (and heavier). It's going to need a little weight to balance out.
It's designed for the Hitec feather receiver and HS-55 servo and a small battery pack. The single servo controls ailerons for fly control. Strapping tape is used for the hinges. Trick part is that the servo arm pushes against a lever mounted on the bottom of the flaps - no control rods or connections. You get the equivalent of rudder-only control.
There are compartments cut into the fuselage for the RC equipment. Once they're mounted, a BT-50-base pod (balsa nose cone and tube with a laser-cut slot) slides over the electronics to protect them and provide a bit more aerodynamic shape.
The glider uses a long pop pod (I would suggest putting a lot longer piece of elastic shock cord in the kit ), so there is no need for controlling the glider during boost which is the biggest hurdle for beginners. Rob recommends using D12-3s for the first flights, but it will fly on C11s and E9s. Bet an E9 would put it nearly out of sight.
Now I just have to rig up a couple of battery packs and I'm ready to fly. Need to work out a nice paint scheme (magic markers). Should have it ready for Saturday. I am making one modification to the pop pod - adding a long kevlar shock cord that will be mounted to the outside of the body tube. The supplied elastic is too short. Also noticed that the kit includes a parachute from the now-defunct Nova hobbies (remember their little ASP kit).
Next up - Semroc's Laser-X (boy I remember this rocket being a lot LARGER when I was a kid).
It's a pretty nice kit like all of Rob's gliders. Not many parts. High quality laser cutting courtesy of BMS. But I hate having to sand off the char on the thicker wood parts. It's like handling left over wood from the fireplace. Noticed that the two wing halfs are cut from very different grained balsa. One is very nice C grain, the other more densely grained (and heavier). It's going to need a little weight to balance out.
It's designed for the Hitec feather receiver and HS-55 servo and a small battery pack. The single servo controls ailerons for fly control. Strapping tape is used for the hinges. Trick part is that the servo arm pushes against a lever mounted on the bottom of the flaps - no control rods or connections. You get the equivalent of rudder-only control.
There are compartments cut into the fuselage for the RC equipment. Once they're mounted, a BT-50-base pod (balsa nose cone and tube with a laser-cut slot) slides over the electronics to protect them and provide a bit more aerodynamic shape.
The glider uses a long pop pod (I would suggest putting a lot longer piece of elastic shock cord in the kit ), so there is no need for controlling the glider during boost which is the biggest hurdle for beginners. Rob recommends using D12-3s for the first flights, but it will fly on C11s and E9s. Bet an E9 would put it nearly out of sight.
Now I just have to rig up a couple of battery packs and I'm ready to fly. Need to work out a nice paint scheme (magic markers). Should have it ready for Saturday. I am making one modification to the pop pod - adding a long kevlar shock cord that will be mounted to the outside of the body tube. The supplied elastic is too short. Also noticed that the kit includes a parachute from the now-defunct Nova hobbies (remember their little ASP kit).
Next up - Semroc's Laser-X (boy I remember this rocket being a lot LARGER when I was a kid).
