Thermal flying

[Diceman]

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.

Yes, I know what you mean. I am used to watching what the plane does and act accordingly. For instance if you see a wing rise up, always turn to that direction (basic knowledge), one thing I am not too good at is making tight turns when in a thermal (or the correct banking turn) it seems to be more of a high to low oval, not very linear, LOL. Ill get it though. It is fun to figure out where the thermals are and how they move. They change by size shape and speed and of course the higher you get, the bigger the thermal is. Some days are really good and some not so good, but all fun.

 

[Diceman]

Gottcha. Thanks Sean!

 

[Diceman]

I got a chance to get my planes out and maidened 3 new planes. The night Radian, a Conscendo and the FMS ASW-17. All flew great, but all flew of course differently, all good in there own way. The Radian of course thermals the best, the Conscendo was surprising in its thermal capabilities as well as its aerobatic capabilities and the FMS is very strong and flies the closest to a molded ship. Not as good in thermaling of course, but flies great! I cannot wait to get the FMS out on a slope. I recommend all of these planes, they are all fun in there own way. Ill keep the FMS for the slopes that you have never flown off of before.

 

[Diceman]

Just received my Heron and I am excited to get it going. I think this one will be ones of my "go to" planes.

 

[gp49]

I think the Lentus will be your other 'go to' plane, as soon as you get it!

 

[Wid]

Just don't get frustrated.

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

The plane leads you and the air leads the plane. So I think of it as dancing with the air.
And if you are lucky enough to fly with turkey vultures they will show the way and teach you a lot. And when you get good enough they will follow and join you when you find the lift! The vultures at my place know me and will open the circle to let me join them if I am flying smooth and slow. They are most accepting of my 2 meter ships (my Allegro Lite and Allegro E-Lite!). Soaring with the birds never gets old for me. Dancing with the birds is my favorite.
I have electric gliders too that I use so I get more air time to practice and less walking. Vast majority of time is spent with motor off.

 

[Wid]

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.

AS you probably know, days with low pressure have much more rising air than high pressure days. Gentle winds keep the thermals near longer.

 

[purview]

very nice soar. sometimes u need the down phases to get more of the up. I like your circling and direction changes a lot... that is crucial

 

[Wid]

very nice soar. sometimes u need the down phases to get more of the up. I like your circling and direction changes a lot... that is crucial

Thanks. That flight convinced me I had found the plane that could do what I wanted, Keep up with the vultures if I read the air correctly. I have learned a lot by watching how the vultures do it. You can see when they approach stall they will do a little dive to gain speed into the lift and then gain significant altitude. They actually do slow speed dynamic soaring on days nothing else is in the air. Watching them work the tiny ridge lines, staying up in what seem like impossible soaring conditions is inspiring. Flying with them never gets old.

 

[Flying Dutchman]

Just received my Heron and I am excited to get it going. I think this one will be ones of my "go to" planes.

Did you get the full RR version or the kit? I just ordered the basic Heron kit, so am curious which motor and other h/w you're using.

 

[Diceman]

Did you get the full RR version or the kit? I just ordered the basic Heron kit, so am curious which motor and other h/w you're using.

I bought the RR kit. I know the servos are weak, but they work. Ill replace them when needed.

 

[Diceman]

Got my first flight completed on Saturday morning real close to my house. There has been an big open field near me for 18 years and I have never really used it to thermal. They are finally starting to develop it, but so far just a gravel parking space with porta potties.
It turns out to have great thermals! I loved flying the Heron there. Perfect spot.

 

[Konrad]

The Heron is my favorite foamy thermal glider by a long shot. The 2.6m Cularis was great but the smaller 2.4 Heron is actually better. Multiplex has just come out with a 3 meter foamy. And by all reports it is even better than the Heron. And it is so much better than the FMS Fox 3 meter and 2.6 meter Radian XL that have given the large foamy glider such a black eye.

I might say that the large foamy gliders from Multiplex make some of the best thermal gliders as they allow one to roam about further than what we might dare do with a more delicate "high performance" glider.

 

[Diceman]

Yes, i have seen the Lentus and have seen it fly several times by Mehrdad. He tells me it does fly great, but he does say the Heron thermals better as does a radian of course.
But the Lentus is easier to see and performs very well.

 

[Konrad]

Which Radian? Not the 2.6 as it will blow up if you are trying to use any speed getting out of a thermal or cover ground looking for a thermal. It weights more than most 3 meter F3F ships! The 2 meter Radian is ok (simple to core) but isn't near the thermal hunter that the Heron is. Ok, in certain thermal activity where you don't need dropped camber or raised camber to cover ground the 2 meter might appear to be a better thermal ship. But out in the real world of elusive thermals that come and go. the Heron is the better thermal ship. The 2 meter Radian Is a great entry level glider that actually can ride a flat land thermal.

The Lentus, that's the 3 meter name I was looking for.
I haven't flown one. But some of my flat land flying friends actually tell me that often times it is a toss up between the Lentus and Heron. But the Lentus usually comes up on top if only by a few percentage points. While they love the Lentus they think the Heron was/is a much better value in large foamy sailplanes.

 

[purview]

The plane in your video performs steps better than the multiplex M-space technology (stiff aluminium rods in fuselage and wings) that is within their product line like Funray, Solius, Lentus or Heron. They are also good in thermals but they cannot handle that agility of your allegro.

The foamie product line is good for thermals not only flatlands, like Konrad quested. They will also perform well on the slope. Once I had a nice flying session with a solius in the air while me piloting a 2m gfk ship. I feared the landing spot more than the solius colleague, me without a motor and both with the landing spot 3x2m a few meters behind the strongest lift zone.

Sometimes it is more interesting to search a wider field for thermals, not only because they are moving, but elusive and especially to investigate "how" they are moving today's mood ? There the bigger Lentus or more than 3M is for visibility reasons the better choice, from performance viewpoint it ends within the f5j high end class. But fun make em all ? soaring all'round

 

[Wayne]

Wow- Are people really willing to pay $675 for a foam glider?

We just tested a new load of planes this weekend to see if they are good enough to offer at Aloft. Then we start looking at how they price out and are asking ourselves if our customers will be happy at these price points.

It is difficult right now with the VERY high shipping prices and the Trump Tariff still in effect. Currently it is about $12,000 to ship the smallest container, and in the past the trucking from the port to our location has cost more than the shipping across the ocean. Crazy!!

 

[Konrad]

Yep, The Multiplex Lentus is still at a fair price/value point at $675. But at this price point the foamy is not aimed at the casual or beginner pilot. So the market for the the R&R glider is a bit weak. Now for those of us that know how to fly gliders the kit version is a great value as we would add our own servos and power system to fit our own needs.

The Lentus (kit) is pulling on my wallet. But I have 2 NIB Heron kits and one NIB Cularis kit still needing to soar free from their shipping box!

PS
How does that 182 fly?

 

[Wayne]

The 182 did not pass our standards. The quality was not there. Seems to fly well enough once we fixed things up. It is available for sale. Actually almost all of these are for sale except the glider in the lower right has already been sold. We still have another glider and FW-190 that are not pictured we need to get into the air. We simply ran out of time.

 

[Konrad]

I'll be by on Friday. If any of these fine toys are still around I'll talk with you or your crew.