Thermal Duration Flight

Vladimir E Supra Ultralite

2011-06-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

After seeing a buddy of mine, Ronnie, who flew the Vladimir " Sprite ", I was so tempted to get one of those but apparently there is also a larger version called the " Supra ". The " Supra " aerodynamic was design by Dr Mark Drela himself with the ability to even to catch the weakest thermal as well as having a high ability of penetrate. All of the elements were made very accurately and are stable according to the characteristics. After reading a few articles and gathering of some advice, I've made up my mind to settle for one.

Ordered the kit from Hyperflight UK as they are the distributor for Vladimir. Within 4 working days, the box finally arrived. I must say that Hyperflight UK did a very good job on the packaging and also they have an outstanding service. Neil was the owner and he was very helpful.

Sorted the kit out and was really impressed with the quality which Vladimir have to offer. No time wasted, I begin the building process. The whole kit can only take around 10-11 hrs and of course with the curing of epoxy and other misc stuff, it'll take about 4 -5 evenings.

For my setup, I have decided to use a MVVS motor which is around 840Kv with a 14/8 aeronaut prop. For the ESC, I decided to use the Castle Creation ice lite 75A. Servos are all of Hitec 5125MG slim digital servos. The receiver are place in the wings which is unique and the kit are also supplied with some wire connectors which is ready made.

After 4-5 days of slow building, the " Supra " is finally ready and the day after was a Saturday.

When down to Old Holland Road and my buddy Ronnie came later to join me with his " Supra ". Did some photo shoots and all was set for the first flight.

The " Supra " was really a graceful flyer, not much trim was applied as the setting was accurate. Overall the performance was superb and with it's low sinking rate and you can thermal for hours.

Day 1 of my " E Supra Ultralite "....Ronnie posing with those sexy wings

A finish tail...very sexy looking

Installation of receivers...gosh!...it was a nightmare getting the wires sorted out

The receivers are in the wings

The two " Supra's " posing for photo taking...Ronnie is at the back ground busy taking the planes from all angle

That's Ronnie and his " Supra "

The thermal hunt begins....

BlackHorse " Mosquito Mk IV "

2011-06-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

Got my hands itchy again and decided to purchase my first twin prop aircraft. It's called the ' DeHavilland Mosquito Mk IV ' which is a 2nd World Wr aircraft where they uses it to fight the axis force. I also remember some stories from my uncle that the Mosquito were also in my hometown, Kuching during the 2nd World War to fight against the Japanese.

The model itself takes around 4 to 5 days to complete depending on your building skill. There were some modification to be done to the retractable landing. Apart from that, the rest of the build are quite straight forward. You would also need 2 identical ESC as well as motor. My setup are consist of 2 units 800kv motor ( Rimfire ), 2 units ESC 40A ( Hobbywing ), 12 x 6 prop and I am using a 2 4s 3800mah lipo.

Flying it was indeed a new experience as I have never flown a twin motor aircraft before. I realised that you need to be gentle on the control sticks and it will behave well.

Taking off was easy with a little flap applied and landing was a real challenge. It needs to be powered when landing. Overall the performance of the Mosquito was very satisfying.

Coming in for landing after the maiden flight

Did some test on the flaps

A low pass flyby

Another low pass flyby

Some old photographs which was taken in Australia

2011-04-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

As I was scrolling thru my portable hard drive, I've found some old photographs of a beautiful Spitfire which belongs to my uncle in Australia. He have been flying since I was in my primary years. I also remember being his so called ground crew where by I will clean the plane after every flight, fill it with nitro and of course held the plane when he starts them up. Till today, he is still enjoy the hobby as he was 30 years ago and he's into scale models. He would normally purchase the plane in kits ( not ARF ) and took his time in building them up.

Here are some of the photos of the Spitfre :)

Piper J Cub

2011-03-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

Decided to get my hand on another
Piper J Cub which is slightly more
larger than my previous one. Since it
was still one of my all time favorite,
I decide to own it.

The kit was easy to build as it was an
ARF kit. The manufacturer of this kit
is called "Blackhorse " which is made
in Vietnam.

The packaging for the kit was presentable and was properly packed.
The whole building proces was simple and no modification was needed to be done. All you need was a motor ( 1200kv ), 4 servos and an ESC. The battery tray of the models can only accomadate a 3s 2500mAh.

Did a maiden flight at BBAFC last Sunday and it was a simple and gentle
model to fly. Needed only half throttle for take off and need a little bit of flaperon setting for landing. It was easy to spot the plane as it was yellow.

Recently I have attached a Gyro from GWS for the tail rudder as it was a little difficult for take during a cross wind. With the help of the gyro, it took off perfectly.

Been enjoying flying the Cub since then. If the weather is not good for thermalling, then the Cub will be out to take the sky.

Back to the 70's classic sailplane " The Bird of Time "

2011-03-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

After broswing the hobby shop lately I came across a very retro looking sailplane which caught my eyes. It has a beautiful 3 meter design wings and it also has this very classic look. It's called " The Bird of Time" which was designed by Dave Thornburg in the late 70's for competiton purpose during that time. Currently it's been manufactured by Dynaflite USA and it is sold here by NTC hobby Singapore.

After some browsing thru the internet and have read some articles about " The Bird of Time " I have decided to go for it. There were very good review about it and many were amazed with the performance of this sailplane. Some even had it for 10 years or so. The only differences it that currently there are ARF ( almost ready to fly ) kits. There is still the full balsa kits and it needed lots of patience and time to build it.

The build process is very straight forward and it took me three days to complete the bird although it says on the manual that it takes only a couple of hours to complete but I have decided to take my time with it. Did some modification on it as it was a pure sailplane for high start. I had to cut out the nose cone in order to convert it to electric power. The sailplane does not have any ailerons on and it only need 3 channel to operate which is throttle, rudder and elevator. The livery is a beauty to look at. Did add on a pair of spoilers too.

Finally the time have come for me to take the first flight. One fine afternoon at Old Holland Road, I took it to the sky. It went up gracefully with power setting which I have choosen. I'm currently using a MVVS 960Kv motor with a Castle 50 ICE esc. After reaching the desired altitude, I shut down the motor and the real thing begins...thermal hunting! It thermal very well as it has a very low wing loading. It was a beauty to see it soaring in the open sky.

Finally...the flight of the Stork 2 Pro

2011-01-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

Did maiden flight at BBAFC yesterday and it flew very gracefully despite of the windy condition. Not much of a trim was needed except for the slight down elevator was needed. Test out the chambering and it was well setup. Penetrate well during windy condition with a slight negative chamber. ( Approx -3mm )

Apart from that no problem of any unexpected move like tips stalling when turning at a very low speed. Very responsive and it is also very gentle with the landing. With a full butterfly flap down, the sailplane was really slow and gentle for touch down. It was worth the money...I guess you get what you paid for.

It soared beautifully.

Very sensitive to thermals.
Did a low pass for Vincent to capture the bottom side of the sailplane.

Start climbing to test the burst...climb rate is very fast due to it's light weight. Was using 4s 2500mAh and it did take much of the battery capacity. It was just perfect.

Testing out the Butterfly brakes...everthing seems to be just right.

Did a High G turn and it was indeed very responsive.

Stork 2 Pro Building Process

2011-01-02T03:12:00.000-08:00

Finally I have received my Stork 2 Pro which I have ordered from Soaring USA. It took 5 days for it to be delivered right to my door step. With full of excitement, I have decided to take it slow this time since Christmas was just around the corner back then. As mention in my last message, I will try my very best to capture some photos of the building process.

The kit comes with an electro fuselage, 3 piece wing with all the joinners, a bag of screws, elevators fins, rudders fins and some multiplex connectors.

I have also realised that I have miss out certain photos of the building process as I got carried away and by the time I realised it, it was too late to capture it...haha. But nevertheless, I kept on reminding myself "photo first before proceeding to the next step"...which literally I have forgoten all about it.

Well, here are some of the photos taken during the building process.

Got the MVVS motor from Soaring Composite and it fits perfectly. It's a 690Kv motor with a 15/8 Aeronaut folding prop.

Did an opening with a Dremmel on the side in order for some ventialtion. From the pass experience, the motor do get hot when climbing up to the desire altitude due to lack of ventilations.

Next I have installed the Rudder and the ball joint celvis. A pin was attached to the top of the Rudder fin and you need to slot it in and screw from the bottom. Very nice and neat design.

The elevator comes with a carbon rod and a steel rod. Trial fit to see if it's smooth. Need to sand off a little of the carbon rod in order for it enter the loops smoothly.

A completed rudder and elevator.

Servo tray, rudder push rod & elevator push rod have already been pre-installed. Just need to trial fit the servo.

For this setup I am using the Hitec HS5085MG digital servo for the elevator and rudder. Once it fit perfectly, screw down the servo and attached the push rod. Before doing so, you would need to center the servo.

Ailerons and Flaps compartment. Trim off any excessive fibers to create a nice opening.

Wrap up the servo with heat shrink. The aileron and flap servos needed to be epoxied on to the wing tips and center wing servo compartment. I have use a Hitec HS5125MG Digital wing servo.

Trial fit the servo on to the Aileron and Flap servo compartment before appling epoxy. Centering of servo is required before proceeding to the next step.

Once all of the servo fits perfectly and all measurements are correct, you can now carry on applying the epoxy to the servos. Once that is done, attached the pushrod.

The wing tips and wing center are connected with a carbon rod supplied and for the connection of the aileron servo, the micro dean connectors are being used. The multiplex dean connector are provided with the kit.

Trial fit the connectors before attaching it permanently to the wings. I have use a thin CA for it.

This are all the aileron and flap wires which will be pulled thru the wings. The ailerons and flaps servos are connected to the fuselage with a Multiplex 6 pins connectors. There are very little rooms space to run the wire thru...was having a hard time pulling it thru.

Have to do a slight modification as the kit only comes with one opening which fits only one connectors. I have decided to open up another hole for the 2nd connectors.

On the fuselage, there is also one opening for the Multiplex connectors and another hole is needed for my case.

Attached all the connectors to the receiver and place it into the receiver bay on the fuselage. Test all connection by starting up the transmitter and receiver. Once all that is done, you can now cover the receiver bay with the cover provided.

Once everything is completed, the last is to attached the servo covers which have been supplied with the kit.

The battery compartment. As you can see, I have made a battery tray in order to avoid the batteries from falling back. The ESC are above the battery and it did hold the battery in place.

The finish product....Stork 2 Pro at BBAFC. Check the CG and all of the throws. Did the appropriate mixing and settings and it's ready to take the sky.

Me and my Stork 2 Pro

Did a maiden flight today at Bukit Batok Flying field and it was a beauty to see it soared across the sky. Vincent was there and he manage to capture some nice photographs of the Strok 2 Pro. Will publish it once he have posted it to me via email.

End of the Javelin E ( R.I.P )

2010-12-13T19:22:00.001-08:00

What a sad day it was when my Javelin E have a major accident. All this happened during last weekend when I was try to land the sailplane during a cross wind. It was sudden gust of wind that blew it off track and ended up hitting the fences and toppled. Damage was severe as the fuselage broke into 2 1/2 pieces and several cracks in the middle of the fuselage. The wing suffered severed damage on the tips where it was torn to pieces. Broke the aileron on the other wing. Repairing of the fuselage wouldn't be a prolem but the wing are beyond repair. The main spar in the wing broke and there no way I could access it unless teh whole pieces have been cut up. I have learn a lesson well from this as partly I was careless too.

Anyway, decided to salvage the electronics parts as it was still at a good working conditions. Got my hands itchy again and start browse the web to search for something new again. Finally it got my attention. The 'Stork 2 Pro' from Soaring USA. It was a beauty to look at it and after some calls and emails. I have decided to purchase it. The aircraft should be here in 5 to 6 days time period as it was sent by FEDEX. For the meantime I have manage to browse for the build thread for the 'Stork 2 Pro'. It wasn't that much work that needed to be done as mention on the thread and I believe the building is much easier than the Spirit and both the 'Stork 2 Pro' and 'Spirit' are from the same manufacturer which is NAN Models from CZ.

This time I would try to publish the building process of the 'Stork 2 Pro' :)

Got these photos of the 'Stork 2 Pro' from Soaring USA site. It does look elegant. Can't wait to get my hands on them.

The "E Javelin" from Soaring Composite

2010-11-28T18:51:00.000-08:00

Having caught the 'fully moulded sailplane fever', I have sold off my other large balsa sailplane in order to own a fleet of fully moulded sailplanes.

There are differences in flying a fully moulded sailplane compared to balsa sailplane. The balsa kit are normally light and easy on thermal but it does not penetrate well when there is a slight heavy wind not unless if it has a heavy ballast on. In contrast a moulded sailplane penetrates well due to the design of the wings and also the agility of the aircraft. A moulded sailplane is also tough as it has carbon stirps or carbon cloth moulded in the wings and fuselage.

One day about two weeks ago, I decided to purchase the "E-Javelin" from Soaring Composites. Mr Pang, the owner have flown the slope version before. He told me that the slope version have been proven to be a graceful aircraft. Without any hestitation, I decided to purchase it ( as an early Christmas present to myself...hahaha ).

It was rather easy to build apart from the minor modifications. The original cockpit was very tight for my batteries and electronics to fit in. After several days of building time, the bird is ready to take the sky. Waiting for the weekend for it to have its maiden flight was agonizing as I was eager to find out how the aircraft would perform at different stages of the flight.

I went down to BBAFC site in the ofternoon. Mr Pang was there to assist me on the last minute check and settings. Although the weather was not very good and the sky was cloudy, I decided to test the aircraft in flight. Vincent ( a.k.a Sonyalpha ) was also there to capture still photographs of the sailplane in flight. As a standard practice, he blessed the sailplane and the pilot before the commencement of the maiden flight.

Upon the first burst of launching power, the E-Javelin went up gracefully. With a MVVS glider motor ( 690Kv ) with a 15/10 aeronaut propeller, the climb was moderate and consistent. Once it reches a desired height above the flying site, I cut the throttle and the aircraft started thermalling. After some trimmings, it flew perfectly.

After five minutes of flight time, I brought it down and did a full round check before going up again. Everything was fine for another flight.

On the second flight, Mr Pang himself launch the plane for me. I allowed it to climb several meters up before cutting the throttle. The procedure was to allow me to evaluate the full potential of the aircraft while thermalling. Although there was an absence of a good thermal, I managed to catch several thermal bubbles. The aircraft responded well on the thermal bubbles. It glided for around 10 minutes. I decided to try a highspeed low pass above the runaway. It perform a dive and "wooosshhh!!" came the sound from the " E-Javelin ". Mr Pang was impressed with the aircraft and said that he would get another one for himself.

Having succesfully flown the E-Javelin twice, I am looking forward to enjoy its capabilities during the coming weeks. This glider indeed value for money.

I'm back again...this time with a fully moulded sailplane called "Spirit"

2010-11-28T18:23:00.000-08:00

Since my wife's successful operation four weeks ago, I had not been flying my gliders. I took a break from my usual flying to look after her. I am indeed very fortunate to have a wife who supports my hobby. I Hope I will be able to share the joy of flying a glider with her. It will be a moment to treasure.

I have resumed my flying activity. While on leave to look after my wife, I assembles and my first fully moulded sailplane called the Spirit. I purchase it online from Soaring USA as I could not get it from any of the local rc shop as none of them carries it. The model E-Typhoon from Soaring Composites is very much similar to it. Since I wanted a glider which is different from it, I called up Bob from Soaring USA and he introduce the Spirit V2. It has the X tail instead of the V tail. I placed the order, made the payment and waited for it to arrive. I was surprised that the kit arrived in five days from the US. It was a fast delivery which I did not expect.

Not wanting to make any mistake in building and assembling the aircraft, I spent three weeks on it. It was time well spent. When the aircraft was ready to take the sky, it was a beauty.

Spirit had its maiden flight on one hot afternoon last week. To my amazement, it flew perfectly without much trim. It is a thermal sensitive sailplane. With one burst of power for launch, I have detected several thermals over the sites. It remained aloft without power for forty-five minutes before I landed it for inspection so that I cold perform some aerobatics with it during the next flight.

After a thorough inspection, Spirit took to the sky again to perform the usual aerobatics which I had practised with my Eagle 5 and the Siren. It performed steep dives, hard G turns, rolls, and some highspeed low passes. I tried doing a tips stall turn but it was rather difficult for it to tip stall on a normal flight. It will perform a tip stall if it get too slow but it was not that severed compared to my Eagle 5 which I bought from Soaring Composites.

Spirit is indeed a beauty to soar with and it is worth the money, time and efforts I put in.

When Spirit saw me assembling the E-Javelin, it was a little disheartened. However, I assure it that it will still received the same affection as before as it is my first fully moulded 'full house' sailplane.

"Eagle 5" fully moulded hotliner

2010-10-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

Finally got my hands on the fully moulded Eagle 5 hotliner. Beautiful finishing and it wasn't very difficult to put it together. You would need to use a specific motor as the diameter of the fuselage are small. I have used a MVVS motor which I purchase from Soaring Composite. It fits in well and for the esc, the Castle Creation ones are recommended.

My setup are simple which only uses 1 pack of 3s 2500mAH Lipo. I have known that some are using 2 packs of 3s Lipo for it. The wings servos are wrap up in heat shrinks before epoxied it to the wings and tail.

Did the maiden flight at Tuas and it was a beauty to see it conquering the skies. Did some aerobatics and fast dives and it gives out a sharp screeching sound as it approach due to the design of the wings. Tried doing a slow sharp turn and it tip stall easily which means that this plane needed speed to do a sharp turn. Apart from that, there's no much negative behaviour which I encountered. The only drawback for this model is that you need to remove the wings to replace the battery as there is no opening for canopy.

As for the controls, it's very sensitive especially during a high speed run. You will need to reduce the throw as well as the expo.

Seriously, I would recommend this model to intermediate or advance flyers. If you are a beginner, than you might want to consider the Greatplane "Siren" first before jumping into this bird.

Greatplane "Siren"

2010-09-30T19:59:00.001-07:00

After reading a few review about this Greatplane "Siren" I have decided to give it a try. got the model from NTC and the packing of the kit is very presentable. Even the manual are well printed out with all the flying regulations and reminders.

The building process of the "Siren" are somewhat simple as it is and ARF kit except for some slight modifications that needed to be done. Wings comes in 3 pieces and it has a wooden spar for the joints. The joining of wings are very crucial as a little mistake will cost the performance of the plane. Extra focus needed for that.

The fuselage itself have a great livery and it's fully carbon which means that the receiver antenna need to be out of the fuselage. The plane was design for Nicad cell and since we are now using Lipo's, there some modification needed to be done in order to get the right CG. Apart from that, the assembly of the servo and other electronics are a simple.

Did a flight test some weeks back and it was sort of a warmliner. This is base on my configurations and I have read somewhere in the net that they are some flyers who actually pushes the plane to the limit and it became somewhat of a hotliner.

The plane is very agile and it can also thermal very well. Tried climbing and it went straight up will lots of power...suitable for F5B. Did a few laps with power cut and it did actually floats but with a slight fast sinking rate but nevertheless when you hit a thermal, it goes up again. Apart from that, did some aerobatic maneuver and it responed well. Did a couple of highspeed low pass and also tried to tip stall it and it was difficult to get it tip stall. Overall it was indeed a good model :)

I would say that it's a good model to begin with if you are a beginner with hotliner as I am. The next model that I currently assembling is the fully moulded "Eagle 5" which looks similar to the "Siren"

My Baracuda with new livery

2010-09-15T18:41:00.001-07:00

Added some colors ( black ) to the Baracuda. New color are at the wing tips and also the horizontal tail fins.

BBFAC open day & Night Flying

2010-09-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

Somemore photos taken during the day and night....what a day!

The guys after the BBQ and into drinking session

The night flyers with full concerntration..." Don't go looking at the wrong plane now "

Howey's night flying Heli....a beautiful sight

David with his Easy Glider...very colorful

Howey with his fully light up plane...can see it for miles!

Goh's with his night flying plane...looks like a lantern in the sky

BBQ in the evening...yummy :)

Kalvin's Suhkoi doing a knife edge

Mr Johnny Yong, owner of Singapore Hobby doing a fine tunning before take off

Francis with his Stevia...ready to launch

Vincent Lee with his Soaring Star... up to the sky

Kalvin doing one of his 3D stunt...he manage to grab the tail of the plane while hovering ( never do this at home )

Not sure whose Spitfire is this but it was a beautiful plane

Goh's warbird

Spkye and his new bird ( the green one )

Bukit Batok Open Day Fun Fly

2010-09-13T17:45:00.001-07:00

BBFAC have organised an Open Day fun fly on the 11 September and it turn out to be very entertaining. Some other clubs members were there to perform some spectacular aerobatic 3D flight. Overall, there's gliders, helicopters and even gasoline aircraft.

As ususal me and Mr Goh will arrive early to clear up some the place and did some spring cleaning. The crowd came in around noon time and stay on till late evening.

After the day's event, we had an evening BBQ sponsor by the club and did some nice night flying.

Flyer Kalvin with his beautiful SUKOI

This Beautiful Huey belongs to flyer Derrick from the UK

Mr Johnny Yong, owner of Singapore Hobby supply setting up his Comander to do a precision flying aerobatic

Derrick Heli in action

Pilot 'Tumeric'

2010-09-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

Got myself a Pilot 'Tumeric' recently and did a maiden flight this morning at BBFAC. The assembly was rather difficult at certain point especially trying to get the servo and extension cables thru the wings. The wings are foam core and sheeted with balsa and it really a thin wing. Apart from that the rest of the assembly are fine. A very typical japanese design and the manual was simple. You just need to be prepared to do some minor modifications.

Flew it today and it was a beauty to see it up in the sky. It was a fast and agile aircaft but at the same time it's light enough to ride the thermals. Vincent was there to taken some nice shot of the aircraft.

Here we go...

Pilot 'Masala' in the air...taken by Vincent Ng

2010-08-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

Got some photos from Vincent's camera. He manage to take the 'Masala' while in the air. The new livery looks very nice in the air.

Flying activities at South Tuas

2010-08-21T05:19:00.001-07:00

Saturday usuall spot...South of Tuas

David's plane doing a low pass just before the sunset

David trying to locate his plane

Vincent collecting his plane while David's plane is on it's final approach

Vincent inspecting his plane...Rudder! good to go, Throttle! good to go, Elevator! good to go

Francis doing the final inspection

Someone with the paraglider!...but never manage to take off

The three of them...Vincent, Francis and David

Francis was trying out Vincent's Easy Star

Vincent and hisn colorful Easy Star...way to go Vincent!

Vincent and his camera...trying to spot Francis little plane

Francis and his new bird "Swift"

The usuall flyer which turn up today at tuas are Francis, Vincent, David and myself. There were also some paragliding activites were spotted. As mention earlier on, Francis was flying his new bird and he was very please with it but having a hard time spotting the plane as it was tiny. Vincent brought his Easy Star from Multiflex and he was struggling at first due to some setup problem. After setting it up properly with the advice from Francis and David, it flew very well. Manage to capture some of the activities.

Re-maiden at South Tuas

2010-08-21T04:45:00.000-07:00

That's how you do it, self launch a 3.5m glider!....up and away! Pictures was taken by Vincent...Thanks a million Vincent.

My new livery!!!

After changing my "Masala" livery and some minor repair, it's time to take it to the sky again. Vincent fetch me up from Bukit Batok Aeromodelling Flying Club and headed to South Tuas for the usuall Saturday flight. This time I brought my own camera so that Vincent will have the chance to be in the photo too. Anyway, weather was a bit cloudy and humid. Once arriving at the site, Francis was already flying his new bird which he just purchase the day before. It's called the "Swift". A very agile aircraft. So, after being a busy body inspecting his new bird, decided to set mine up. Took it up to the sky and it flew beautifully regardless of the previous damage. Very happy with the new outlook and performance of it. Even Vincent was please with the new colors.

"Pilot Masala" new livery

2010-08-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

Flew my "Masala" last few weeks back and had a slight damage on it's wing as I hit a little rock which was hidden by the grass on the field. Damage wasn't that severe and it was a hazzle trying to get it repaired. The mid wing joint came off and had to epoxied it back with the carbon rod. After that I decided to change the outlook of it. Went down to Singapore Hobby to get some oracoat. After cutting and ironing the new bird to ready to take the sky again. I have use the Reichard Blizzard color concept and did some slight modification on it. Will post some of the new livery once i have down loaded it to the computer. ( should be this evening i think )

Apart from that, I'm also looking at the "Pilot Tumeric" as my next plane but at the sametime I'm also looking at some carbon composites glider. Just couldn't make up my mind..oh well, might just as well put it on hold for now as I still can decide. Will do more browsing.

I have browse the web and found that there are some nice quality gliders around. Mostly in European countries as there is where the best gliders would come from. If you are browsing the net, you should try http://www.valentamodel.cz/ or http://www.topmodel.cz/ They have a very wide varities of glider models. Apart from that the US website are also very nice. Try http://www.soaringusa.com/

Sometime, you just can't decide which glider to purchase due to the wide varities. As for me, I'll just stick to my own preference which is more to thermal soaring.

Some new links added

2010-08-13T02:43:00.000-07:00

Just added some new links which I got it from Mr Phang ( www.soaringcomposites.com ) It's all about their trip for the F3F Typhoon race. A very interesting blog with some nice photos taken. You can browse it at my link.

Baracuda flight at South of Tuas

2010-08-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Finally...I get to test the full potential of my Baracuda last weekend at South of Tuas. The weather was superb and the thermal was great. The Baracuda flew beautifuly and it's very agile too. Did a very low pass and "swooossssh!!!" it went. Vincent was there to take some beautiful pictures of it and he was impress too. It was indeed worth the penny. Will up load some photos taken during that afternoon.

What is thermalling all about?

2010-08-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

Thermal came from a greek word which means "heat". For all gliders, thermal will be the fuel and power source for it. Without it, gliders will not be able to soar in the open skies. And even birds rely on it too. A very good example of birds which soars are eagles, hawks, cranes and even swift.

The main source for thermal is the sun. The higher it stand in the sky, the more light and warmth it emit to the irridated surface below. The sun irridates everything around it be it water, soil, trees, roads and even houses. Anything that reflect light will also reflect heat and eventually thermals are form . As thermal gathered together it will develop into a bigger thermal called thermal columms. Apart from that, there are also thermal called "Boomer Thermal" which you will only encounter it at high altitude and it will take you several meters in a minute.

Back in the 1954, Carmichal started out with 3 standard models:
Strong thermals
Weak thermals
Wide thermals

Strong thermals refer to thermal updraughts that produce maximum rate of climb of 6 meter per second. The radius of such thermals are small, Charmichal's measurement gave it a maximum of 200m.

Weaker thermals are less than 3m per seconds for the rate of climb and in the center of the thermal, it can reach up to 5m per second. Weaker thermals have slightly a larger radius and it can be up to 300m wide.

Besides the irridation of the sun, the temperature is also one of the key factor. As we all know at our latitude temperature is much warmer compared to the to higher altitude. When warm air break loose, it will raise up till it cools down when it reaches certain altitude. So if the ground temperature is low and the differences are minimal, then you won't get any good thermals. In the tropical place such as Singapore, Malaysia or event Thailand, you will get thermal almost everywhere. It's only a matter of how wide and how frequent the thermal are produce.

There two main different areas which causes thermal develop which is dark and light areas. Light area consist of area such as corn field, open field, dry grass field, stone quarries, buildings, housing estate...etc whereas dark areas are humid meadow, forrest, empty car parks, mash,..etc

As we all know that here in singapore we do not corn fields, but we can take advantages of our surroundings such as open land ( tuas area ) or open field ( old holland road or even bukit batok )

The best time to hunt for thermal will be between 10.30am to 4pm. During this time, there will be lots of indicators to show you whether there is a thermal near you or far from you. A very good example of thermal indicator are the birds call "swift". They are masters in finding the core of the thermal as they feed while in the thermals. As we all know that whatever in the thermal's way will rise, so does insect which will be the "swift" food. You can tell whether if there is a thermal by seeing the "swift". If the "swift " flies chaoticly means there is thermal bubbles or a none rotating thermals and if it a rotating thermals, the "swift" will normally fly in an accordingly to the direction of the thermal rotating.

Another way to locate thermal is to see a sky predator ( eagles & hawks ) circling the skies. If you happen to come close to the eagles or hawk and start following them, you will notice that your glider will start to ascend.

What if there is no "swift" or eagles in the sky? Is there still thermal around? Yes, there is. How? The clouds!..clouds ( Cummullus ) will give you a very good indication of thermal activities around you. Try observing the clouds, you will notice there is a new cloud and old clouds. Thermals are normally present in the birth of a clouds. But the cloud are decepating so does the thermals.

What about in the evening, does it still have thermals around? Yes, there are and it comes from the dark areas like the forrest, sand quarries, roads, emptied car park. These dark area absorbed the heat during the day and released it during the evening time during sunset. But thermal that you get from them are aomewhat weak. If you are flying a 1.5m glider than you may have the chance to catch the thermals.

I won't go in details on how to read the clouds as it's indeed a very large episode. Anyway, I've got this book called " The Secret of Thermal Soaring" by Markus Lisken and Ulf Gerber. The book explain the fundamental of thermalling as well as giving you the better understanding of thermals. I got mine from RCS ( Radio Control Sports ) and it was the last copy of it. I believe you could get it from the net. Besides books, there is also some DVD's from Radio Carbon Art which you could get from www.soaringcomposites.com

Apart from that I have also some website which I have browse thru and it will actually help you to have a better understanding about thermals.

http://www.quicktechhobby.com/articles/thermal_surfing%20part%201.htm
http://www.quicktechhobby.com/articles/thermal_surfing%20part%202.htm
http://www.rc-airplane-world.com/thermal-soaring.html

There are many more websites in the net which i didn't mention about thermals and soaring. Try searching the net and you will be surprise that there are lots of information about thermals.

The Pheonix Glider

2010-08-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

After having a chat with Vincent recently and I was reminded about the Pheonix glider which I happen to own one before. It was my second glider and it and average glider. Cheap and good. Not much of a work to get it to the sky. Drawback is the fire wall which is plastic and when the motor gets really hot, then you will have a problem there.

Tips: It's always good to reinforce the firewall with plywood.

Mr Goh "Stuka"

2010-08-05T19:17:00.001-07:00

As i mention on my earlier post that I will put up Mr Goh's "Stuka" dive bomber. Here it is...