Years ago, the Sig Ninja was my first ever slope plane. Epp foam had not yet made the scene. The plane flew well and looked good, but the fuselage was extremely weak. Anything less than a perfect landing resulted in structural damage every time. A couple of years later there was even an article in RCM magazine about how to build your own fuselage to replace the inadequate one the kit comes with.
I live in Hawaii, and fly slope in high winds a lot. Most of my planes are foamies. I do supplement the stock wing spars with a layer of heavy glass top and bottom, I use lots of filament tape barrel wrapping on the fuse for extra stiffness, and sometimes I replace the tail parts with wood, again to stiffen up the plane and reduce drag. Currently I like the Patton Aircraft planes and the SR Hobbies BD5. They have a better look and higher performance than the Dave's planes. Put a little ballast on a well built example of one of these planes, and it will rock. Huge, huge consecutive loops, multiple rolls at about one and a half per second roll rate, very respectable speed, and unlimited inverted flight. Lots of fun, and absolutely no "pucker factor" when landing time comes. I also fly original designs with ply sheeted foam wings and heavy duty wood fuselages, similar in layout and performance to the Slope Scale type planes. Those planes are definitely faster and retain more energy. They also require a lot more concentration to fly and can be a handful to land. If I had to choose between a Ninja and a good foamie, I'd take the foamy. If your home slope has a lot of wind and you have a lot of confidence in your piloting skills, try a Slope Scale type built up plane. Good Luck!!!! -----Original Message----- From: Jeff Nibler [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, November 19, 2001 10:15 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [RCSE] Built-up Balsa slope kits? Bruce and Keith... you both recommended the SIG Ninja. It looks right along the lines of what I'm looking for. I live in Oregon and the slope winds here can be strong a lot of the time. With some extra ballast, how does this plane handle strong winds? What about in times of light lift? Also, how durable is it compared to an all EPP ship? Thanks in advance!! Jeff >From: "Bruce" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: "Jeff Nibler" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: [RCSE] Built-up Balsa slope kits? >Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 09:47:26 -0800 > >Try this one maybe it will fill the bill > >http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/258663.htm > >I have one and I'am very happy with it > >Bruce > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Jeff Nibler" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Monday, November 19, 2001 9:28 AM >Subject: [RCSE] Built-up Balsa slope kits? > > > > Hi all. I'm in need of a slope plane and have never owned one before. >I > > currently have a 2M Spirit and a Chrysalis HLG. I'm fairly new to the >sport > > but am catching on fast. Since thermal soaring is next to impossible >where > > I live in winter, I'd like to build a nice slope ship. Most of the >slope > > kits I see online are glass or carbon/glass ARF type kits. I was >wondering > > if anyone could recommend a good balsa slope kit. I can put together >about > > anything and my only criteria is that it have ailerons, and I'd like it >to > > be reasonably sized (maybe around 2 meters or larger). Part of the >reason > > for the size is that around here, slope lift is pretty strong so it >needs >to > > have some weight to it. > > > > About the only kit I've found so far is the Dragonfly from Dream >Catcher. > > Has anyone had any experience with this plane? The only thing I don't >like > > is that it is on the smaller side with a 50" span and 12 oz weight. > > > > Alright, thanks in advance for any kit advice! > > > > -Jeff > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > > Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at >http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp > > > > RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" >and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.282 / Virus Database: 150 - Release Date: 9/25/2001 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.282 / Virus Database: 150 - Release Date: 9/25/2001 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
