>Mine didn't come with a hook, where is the best position?
There's a plastic plate for the hook mount. Most people drill a small
hole a few mm forward of the end of the plate and slightly offset and
stick a 'L' shaped metal hook in there. The offset is to allow the hook
to be glued to a plastic spar running the length of the fuse. The CG is
quite a way back -- like many people I've had to put a small weight on
the tail; the plane can be a bit sensitive but that's half the fun of
flying it.
You can easily winch launch the plane if you're gentle. Many people slip
a carbon fiber arrowshaft inside the fiberglass spar tube.
>Also, is there a specific weight that will cause this thing to get "on
step" and really fly or is it doomed to be a floater?
If you've got it set up right then it will fly like a real sailplane.
Out the box its very much a "launch and land" plane because the standard
setup is so conservative. Once you've got it dialed in it flies pretty
much like any other saiplane. My setup includes significant aileron
differential (4:1), exponential on the elevator and very limited
coupling between aileron and rudder (you steer it with the rudder, not
the ailerons). It likes to fly quite fast, its a bit like a 2 meter, so
don't be tempted to keep pulling back on the stick because it will be
mushy and not perform very well. I don't know about aerobatics with
these things, the game around here seems to be to see how long you can
keep one up flying thermals off a winch launch (one of our club members
regularly gets over an hour)(I'm not so good but I've still had a few
30+ minute flights), its a sort of "lets see if we can outlast the
upmarket moldie" challenge. I suppose flying one off a slope would just
be a case of how long your receiver battery and your patience lasts.
Martin Usher
PS ("Motor?" ..... what's a "motor"?)
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