Thermal flying

[Diceman]

I have been getting anxious to get back to my roots and fly thermal type planes again. I just purchased 4 powered foam gliders to play with for the early mornings at a field or possibly far away from everything a some random coastal hill. I purchased a Night Radian for those super light lazy days, a Heron for a bit more fun, a FMS ASW-17 for a bit more aerobatic glider flying and even a Eflite Coscendo for sport type glider low flying fun. I like having multiple options when I go to fly and I am not the guy who can take one plane with him and fly all day. I get bored too quickly. LOL.
It is real amazing to be able to find and catch thermals to stay up for long periods of time without using the motor. Plus it is nice to not have to drive far to have fun with gliders. I love to watch the birds that soar with you and show you where the thermals are to ride up with them and learning that a breeze is created by thermals as well and you want to fly downwind a bit into the thermal that is pulling the wind up. Crazy how that works. There is a field across the street from my house that would be perfect to fly in (at least until they finish the construction of new buildings there).
I am anxious to eventually get a F5J plane, but I need to see if I am going to commit to flying that style before jumping into a 2k plane for sure. LOL.

 

[Konrad]

You will love the Heron!

Here is a review/build I did years ago that you might find helpful. I've flown or owned some of the others you mention and found them more frustrating than anything else for flat land work.

Login

Login

www.hippocketaeronautics.com

 

[Wayne]

With the things I hear about the Heron, I suspect that will be your favorite, but who knows.. Think it is a little more of a sport plane than a thermal hunter.

(Just a heads up, Hitec is no longer going to import the larger Multiplex planes. I have asked about us importing them, they seem to be considering this. They make a lot of great foam.)

You do not need to spend $2000 to get a good thermal ship!! I suspect a nice F5K may be in your future.

The nice thing about flying electrics is you will meet new or aspiring pilots that you would not have found otherwise. Pretty typical around here to find some new pilots that spotted you flying.. Before you know it you might have some more flying buddies in your area.

I have a bunch of foam planes for testing here at the shop. So I'll be doing the same sorting of stuff as soon as I have a little time to escape the chores at home.

 

[Hank GB Z]

There is a new importer of multiplex. Mr.Mpx. I actually sold him my Ka8 the other day.
Here is a link to his site.
Hank

Mr MPX Hobbies - Multiplex Products for Modelers

mrmpxhobbies.com

 

[Konrad]

I have the Multiplex Cularis and compare the Heron to it in the linked thread. The Cularis is the one that is more of a sport ship. But I can thermal the Cularis just fine at Rancho San Antonio almost at will. While the Heron is a bit smaller at 2.4m vs 2.6 the Heron thermals noticeably better. Now real thermal ships aren't gas bags. This is a good thing when trying to find thermals, that is in reflex she can actually cover ground. Most gas bags can't. That is if launching into anything other than lift you will down very soon. The Heron is the best thermal foam glider under 3 meter. There is only one foam glider that is better. You guessed it, it is made by Multiplex, the 3 meter Lentus.

Now these foamies aren't a match for a well flown TopModel glider. Now as a low cost F5J type entry model the Samsara is great.

 

[Diceman]

Thanks for the info guys. I am excited to compare them all and bought ones purposely different from one another so I can have fun with them all in all sorts of situations. The Heron is pretty agile as I have seen it flown like a VTPR ship off a bluff in light winds. I am sure the ASW and the Conscendo will be the same.

 

[gp49]

@Diceman , if you got the RR version of the Heron make sure you replace the servos asap. They are plastic gear, HS81 in a red case. I had to replace the flap servos on our Heron pretty early after buying it used. Great sailplane.

 

[Wayne]

There is a new importer of multiplex. Mr.Mpx. I actually sold him my Ka8 the other day.
Here is a link to his site.
Hank

Mr MPX Hobbies - Multiplex Products for Modelers

mrmpxhobbies.com

OH, sweet. Guess someone else had the same idea.

 

[SailHigh]

I have been getting anxious to get back to my roots and fly thermal type planes again. I just purchased 4 powered foam gliders to play with for the early mornings at a field or possibly far away from everything a some random coastal hill. I purchased a Night Radian for those super light lazy days, a Heron for a bit more fun, a FMS ASW-17 for a bit more aerobatic glider flying and even a Eflite Coscendo for sport type glider low flying fun. I like having multiple options when I go to fly and I am not the guy who can take one plane with him and fly all day. I get bored too quickly. LOL.
It is real amazing to be able to find and catch thermals to stay up for long periods of time without using the motor. Plus it is nice to not have to drive far to have fun with gliders. I love to watch the birds that soar with you and show you where the thermals are to ride up with them and learning that a breeze is created by thermals as well and you want to fly downwind a bit into the thermal that is pulling the wind up. Crazy how that works. There is a field across the street from my house that would be perfect to fly in (at least until they finish the construction of new buildings there).
I am anxious to eventually get a F5J plane, but I need to see if I am going to commit to flying that style before jumping into a 2k plane for sure. LOL.

I fly electric sailplanes at Baylands along with others . Let me know next time you want to give it a try.

 

[thenated0g]

@Wayne I'll take a multiplex lentus if you do make an order from them ?

 

[Diceman]

I fly electric sailplanes at Baylands along with others . Let me know next time you want to give it a try.

Give it a try? LOL. Thank you Sean. I have flown thermals since I was a child, so I am good in that area, just not used to all the electrics for motors & prop combos. Thank you for the help though! I could definitely use it.

You will love the Heron!

Here is a review/build I did years ago that you might find helpful. I've flown or owned some of the others you mention and found them more frustrating than anything else for flat land work.

Login

Login

www.hippocketaeronautics.com

Thank you for the link. I do not expect the ASW-17 to be a great thermal ship, but I do want to to have the option of having a more aerobatic bigger ship for days I can fly an electric near a hill or off of one. I do expect myself to drive up the the sierra's someday and try to find some great slope spots in the middle of nowhere and to have a ship like this when it is only a light breeze to test the slope would be awesome.

@Wayne I'll take a multiplex lentus if you do make an order from them ?

Alright Nathan! The Lentus is an awesome ship! Mehrdad has one and he flies it almost everyday. He loves his! You can also get a retraceable landing wheel for it that works great as he has shown me. You just have to make sure you set up the servo lock out correctly on the wheel to has no issues. I might end up with one of those as well, just depends, I might just go for a F5J type of ship.

 

[Diceman]

@Diceman , if you got the RR version of the Heron make sure you replace the servos asap. They are plastic gear, HS81 in a red case. I had to replace the flap servos on our Heron pretty early after buying it used. Great sailplane.

Ok, thanks for the tip!. I am sure Ill fly it the way it is until I have to replace the servos. LOL. It seems all these foam PNP gliders have servo issues if you fly it hard enough.

 

[Diceman]

There is a new importer of multiplex. Mr.Mpx. I actually sold him my Ka8 the other day.
Here is a link to his site.
Hank

Mr MPX Hobbies - Multiplex Products for Modelers

mrmpxhobbies.com

It is definitely cool what Mr. MPX is doing for the flying community for sure, especially with the new flying site he has up at Santa's Village down south. I hope to one day get out there and try it out!
He is a bit more expensive then just ordering them and waiting for them to get to you, but you do get them a lot faster, that is for sure!

 

[Diceman]

With the things I hear about the Heron, I suspect that will be your favorite, but who knows.. Think it is a little more of a sport plane than a thermal hunter.

(Just a heads up, Hitec is no longer going to import the larger Multiplex planes. I have asked about us importing them, they seem to be considering this. They make a lot of great foam.)

You do not need to spend $2000 to get a good thermal ship!! I suspect a nice F5K may be in your future.

The nice thing about flying electrics is you will meet new or aspiring pilots that you would not have found otherwise. Pretty typical around here to find some new pilots that spotted you flying.. Before you know it you might have some more flying buddies in your area.

I have a bunch of foam planes for testing here at the shop. So I'll be doing the same sorting of stuff as soon as I have a little time to escape the chores at home.

Let me know if you need anything tested!

 

[MPP]

Welcome to the rabbit hole. I started RC flying with power planes and that lasted maybe a month and I found thermal planes. That was over 15 years back. I now design and build composite sailplanes. Wayne will have his order in a couple of weeks providing things go smoothly in my shop. He will have a plane that thermals on a Gopher fart and I am pretty sure you can get one flying for a lot less than $2K.....

I am here to help folks enjoy thermal hunting so if you have any questions drop me a note. I fly just sailplanes and compete in F5J, I flew F3K for years but the F5J planes are the pinnacle of performance.

 

[Diceman]

Welcome to the rabbit hole. I started RC flying with power planes and that lasted maybe a month and I found thermal planes. That was over 15 years back. I now design and build composite sailplanes. Wayne will have his order in a couple of weeks providing things go smoothly in my shop. He will have a plane that thermals on a Gopher fart and I am pretty sure you can get one flying for a lot less than $2K.....

I am here to help folks enjoy thermal hunting so if you have any questions drop me a note. I fly just sailplanes and compete in F5J, I flew F3K for years but the F5J planes are the pinnacle of performance.

Awesome, Thank you. Look forward to someday getting a F5J, I just do not need a competition one. So, the lower the price the better for me. I have an X1, but I like the F3J/F5J a bit better for what I want to do I think. I am sure I will have fun with the X1 when it gets light.

 

[thenated0g]

i would like to try thermal stuff, havent tried that yet in the soaring hobby. I am almost done building a great planes spirit so will try that out and see what happens. Im thinking i should be able to hit some thermals off of the high schools indoor basketball hall's metal roof across the street. Got one of those new frsky vario rx's coming from aloft.

 

[MPP]

i would like to try thermal stuff, havent tried that yet in the soaring hobby. I am almost done building a great planes spirit so will try that out and see what happens. Im thinking i should be able to hit some thermals off of the high schools indoor basketball hall's metal roof across the street. Got one of those new frsky vario rx's coming from aloft.

Just don't get frustrated. I am teaching a buddy locally and helping someone else via long distance to learn to fly thermals. There is a LOT that goes on when thermal flying. The hardest part for most people is energy management. With a prop on a power plane or the slop you have a constant energy source. When thermal flying gravity is your potential energy and if you cash in some for forward motion you cannot get it back without finding lift. My teammate is one of the best I have ever flown with. Simply put he dos not stall a sailplane.

Thermal soaring is very much like a dance and the plane leads. You can only do what the plane has the energy to do.

 

[Konrad]

Thermal soaring is very much like a dance and the plane leads. You can only do what the plane has the energy to do.

 

[SailHigh]

Give it a try? LOL. Thank you Sean. I have flown thermals since I was a child, so I am good in that area, just not used to all the electrics for motors & prop combos. Thank you for the help though! I could definitely use it.

Didn't mean thermal soaring ,just Electric sailplanes and the location.