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1.5m Moulded Gliders ... and Bigger?


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Scruffmeister
Posted

Contemplating an RCRCM Sunbird for general "sport" flying in a reasonably sized air frame that fits easily in car. Generally reports seem to be good and I know a few on the forum here are flying them. Anything I should be aware of? Are they robust enough to handle the odd dodgy landing as not all my slopes have amazing landing areas?

Posted

Rcrcm build quality..... 😶

Sticking elevator push rods are common.  Snapped tail booms.

 

Scruffmeister
Posted

Hi @satinet, thanks for the feedback. Are there any manufacturers you'd recommend as alternatives?

Posted

I knew about the build quality issues but still got a Sunbird :)

Yes the boom snapped on my original one, but that was from an incident at an F3F event, it was an out of sight (over the brow of a small hill at Levisham) 'landing' that looked like it hit the upslope of an undulation.

It got repaired and now flies just as good as before.

Since getting my original I now have the e version and a 2 servo wing. All parts are fully interchangeable!

It packs up into a small rucksack that can live in my car. The e fuselage and lightweight wings all fit in there :)

A storage charged 2200 3S is ample for a couple of launches ;)

I would say that if you can do it then install the ballast tube. If I ever fit out my spare glider fuselage then I intend to do my best to add one.

 

Tony 

Posted

Sunbird flies great, haven't had sticking ele problems but mine were bought from Sloperacer 9 years ago and Zim probably did a good QC check.

Haven't had any breakages from landings, but broke the boom by the vert stab with a nose in from 6', fixed with carbon tow and no problems since.

Definitely fit a ballast tube, easy to do and if you look at the RCG thread you'll be advised to set CoG back, I'm at about 80mm and coud go back a bit more but not sure as far as the 87mm that someone else has gone to. I use lead filled tube most of the time for 440g of ballast but can use brass to drop it to 380g or less, but it's carries ballast nicely and I prefer it loaded up when possible. I went to Pole Cottage for the 1st time on Thursday, a few asked what it was and commented on how well it flew. Big flaps makes landings easy.

For the money, they are a great plane IMO, other brands might be better built but they will be more expensive. The Magnus could be another option, I'd fit a fuse ballast tube though https://www.t9hobbysport.com/magnus-60inch-moulded-glider

 

 

  • Like 1
Scruffmeister
Posted

Thanks all, I'll take a look at all the models mentioned. @satinet, would you happen to know if your order direct from Mibo or is there a UK importer?

@Feefo I'd have gone for a Magnus already but I really like having a rudder!

 

 

Posted
1 hour ago, Scruffmeister said:

Thanks all, I'll take a look at all the models mentioned. @satinet, would you happen to know if your order direct from Mibo or is there a UK importer?

@Feefo I'd have gone for a Magnus already but I really like having a rudder!

 

 

Yeah a rudder is nice, I use mine quite a bit but have had to train myself to use it as a lot of powered models I have don't have one.

Mini Terminator is nice but it's expensive IMO, a Merlin F3F isn't much more for the airframe.

 

Posted
8 hours ago, Scruffmeister said:

Hi @satinet, thanks for the feedback. Are there any manufacturers you'd recommend as alternatives?

Have a look at the tjirc Dream. I have one, and they fly brilliantly. I did order it to put a motor up the front, but it came with the nose intact, so I built it as a glider instead. It’s the standard layup, for about £354 from T9. It seems to be built ok, and the fuse is strong enough. A doddle to land on crow, and is a great aerobat. 

  • Like 1
Posted
1 hour ago, Feefo said:

Yeah a rudder is nice, I use mine quite a bit but have had to train myself to use it as a lot of powered models I have don't have one.

Mini Terminator is nice but it's expensive IMO, a Merlin F3F isn't much more for the airframe.

 

Expensive for what though? It's made like an f3f model but 60 inches. In europe. If you consider what a carbon sunbird costs it's cheap if you compare the quality and materials. 

The problem with rcrcm/Hammond planes isn't that they don't fly well. Far from it. They're like a box of chocolates. But not in good way.

I had a typhoon. I can't really think of a way it could fly better for a 2m but it was built badly. The nose fell off, the boom broke and the joiner was silly.

I got a sunbird but it had a sticky elevator and warped ailerons. I also had a tomcat and that was far worse than either of them.

I don't think they are cheap enough to justify what they are. Maybe they have improved since but I would not risk it personally. It always amazes me when you see some euro sellers upselling rcrcm stuff with new names.

I would buy a sunbird if it was made well. It's got everything you want in a 60. Looks nice, flies well, packs down small, cross tail. 

I've never been a massive fan of xmodels bit they are solid models from what I see.

 

Posted
1 hour ago, satinet said:

Expensive for what though? It's made like an f3f model but 60 inches. In europe. If you consider what a carbon sunbird costs it's cheap if you compare the quality and materials. 

The problem with rcrcm/Hammond planes isn't that they don't fly well. Far from it. They're like a box of chocolates. But not in good way.

I had a typhoon. I can't really think of a way it could fly better for a 2m but it was built badly. The nose fell off, the boom broke and the joiner was silly.

I got a sunbird but it had a sticky elevator and warped ailerons. I also had a tomcat and that was far worse than either of them.

I don't think they are cheap enough to justify what they are. Maybe they have improved since but I would not risk it personally. It always amazes me when you see some euro sellers upselling rcrcm stuff with new names.

I would buy a sunbird if it was made well. It's got everything you want in a 60. Looks nice, flies well, packs down small, cross tail. 

I've never been a massive fan of xmodels bit they are solid models from what I see.

 

I think it's expensive for a 60" model, at it's price I expect it to be made to a better standard but I'd struggle to justify the cost. Glass Sunbird is £195, Carbon is £272 from RCRCM,  the Mini T is twice the price.

That said the Bird 60" was raved about and that wasn't great, the Banana has the softest fuse I've come across, even a JP Perkins 'Pretty' had a stronger fuse. I think we get carried away what is expected from a budget plane, but if the low end stuff doesn't appeal or your experience with them isn't as you expect then yes there's more premium products that you can pay more for. 

I've been happy with my Sunbird, no sticking ele but I did I break the boom in a crash, other models may or may not have broke but think it's reasonable to accept mine was hard enough to break it and it wasn't 'weak'. Pretty much same with my Typhoon, yes it broke but in an arrival that seemed fair it broke....I definitely don't blame QC on my needed repairs anyway. If other, more expensive RCRCM models suffer bad build and QC issues I wouldn't know, I don't follow those threads, but could see your point more if they do. 

Owners threads usually paint a balanced picture, and I think the RCG thread has a fair enough balance that says the Sunbird is a decent enough model for it's price.

 

  • Like 1
Posted

Mine's been fine, flies great, likes a bit of weight and flies better for it, decent energy retention, stops brilliantly, doesn't fall apart when I land it, packs down small. 👍

Posted

It is hard to see where the cost goes,
right up until you get a well built model. 

 

Scruffmeister
Posted

I must admit, I really like the Mibo Mini-T - it's a lot of money, but I've never found this hobby cheap! The company have proved to be really responsive on e-mail already which is always a good sign. There's not a huge amount of info out there on the model but I will continue to research that...

I've never built a moulded glider before so any of this type would be a learning curve, but I expect the experience would be better if the model doesn't need too much fettling. I suppose the only question on my mind is whether to stick at 1.5m or go to "full F3F size". I don't really plan to compete at this point, so I think a 1.5m would give a reasonable grounding without the added cost of going "full-size" and additional transport/storage issues that go with this - I want to be able to just get out and fly aerobatics and get a feel for the speed pattens/handling used for F3F. I'd be interested on any feedback on this plan, versus biting the bullet as I wouldn't rule out competition in a few years time as family demands decrease (kids!).

Posted

go out and buy a 3mtr model ,a 1.5mtr doesnt fly anything like a 3mtr  with very few exceptions .

If you want to fly aerobatics then buy an aerobatic model not a 1.5mtr sports model 

There are lots of options for a 3mtr  thats not new ...ploughing £500 into something that you want to progress from in 12 months isnt the way 

 

and as has already been mentioned .....you get what you pay for 

  • Like 2
Scruffmeister
Posted
2 hours ago, Andy_B said:

go out and buy a 3mtr model ,a 1.5mtr doesnt fly anything like a 3mtr  with very few exceptions .

If you want to fly aerobatics then buy an aerobatic model not a 1.5mtr sports model 

There are lots of options for a 3mtr  thats not new ...ploughing £500 into something that you want to progress from in 12 months isnt the way 

 

and as has already been mentioned .....you get what you pay for 

@Andy B, thank you. I guess this talks to the crux of what I am looking for - a smaller (<2m) moulded glider capable of nice precise aerobatics in a range of wind speeds/lift conditions. It occurs to me that I may have been assuming an F3F or smaller but similar planform would be able to fit this brief whilst expanding into the timed competition side of things later. Now I write it down like that, it does seem a bit of a leap of faith as F3F models are designed for a very clear brief. You seem to be suggesting (probably quite rightly!) that models such as the Mini-T/Sunbird/etc. wouldn't fit this profile? Am I looking in the wrong place / could you give me some examples of a pure aerobatic model so I can better understand?

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