|
Great
Planes Spirit 2 metre glider is available as a
build up kit or ARTF version and is a good
beginners model as well as being competitive in the
2 metre competitions
Even
if you wish to fly electric powered gliders or
aircraft, if you have never flown a radio
controlled aircraft before, we recommend you
commence with a 2 channel glider.
The
reasons for this are; there are less controls to
learn, the initial outlay is less until you know
you like the hobby, the lower wing loading gives
you a more sedate model that gives you time to
recover, and this is a tried and proven entry
method. Moreover the same 2 channel glider can be
entered into competitions especially if the
wingspan is 2 metres or less.
For
this reason and because our club uses Hi-start
bungees
for launching that restrict the weight of a glider
to no more than around 2.5 metres for reasonable
launches, a 1.8 to 2 metre span 2 channel glider is
the ideal entry into our hobby.
|
(cont from
previous column)
2 channel
gliders can be scratch or plan built, or bought as
a balsa kit, or as a prefabricated ARTF (almost
ready to fly), or ARC (almost ready to cover) kit.
Scratch or building from a plan is probably beyond
the scope of most beginners to the hobby until some
kit building experience is 'built
up'.
The choice
comes down to do you wish to spend a week or so
building and covering a built up kit, or buying a
prefabricated version. Built up balsa kits
can be purchased for less than A$100, however don't
forget you will need to purchase accessories
especially covering material. ARTF kits can be
completed in a few hours and are available for
around A$200. The disadvantage is, in a crash, you
are not as familiar with the structure as if you
had built it yourself.
To round
off, we recommend you visit the club first before
making your model purchase, to seek advise from
members, as you need a model that one of the
instructors can help you in flying..
|
