December 2005 — Vol. 22, No. 12 - RC Soaring - RCSoaring.com

Control linkages The
control linkages are made of
cheap molded plastic which
will break at any given
opportunity, leaving the pilot
with little recourse unless they
are prepared with extra
components. It is my advice to
get higher quality parts from a
hobby store and use those
from the start.
Covering material The
covering materials also fell way
short of the quality mark for a
few reasons. First, they come
in rolls about three inches wide
which forces the modeler to lay
many strips of covering down
resulting in a striping effect
and plenty of seams. Second,
the material itself is
translucent and so any marks
on the wing itself will show
through. In my case these
marks were the wing-taping
diagram marks. Also, where
the tape overlaps you get a
darker strip which just doesn’t
look right.
I opted for some iron-on
covering material from a
hobby store, a deep, dark red
for the top, silver for the
bottom and yellow for the
wing tips. I was able to use
fewer individual pieces of the
material because it comes in
large rolls that you cut to shape
yourself.
Vertical Stabilizers From
an aesthetic standpoint I also
have to admit that I disliked
the vertical stabilizers on the
Bat. These consist of these
funky little “bat feet” that
simply slide onto two rods that
come out from the central part
of the trailing edge of the
plane. To me, they are ugly and
childish in appearance.
One plan I have is to move
these stabilizers to the
wingtips and attach them with
velcro for a sleeker, more
grown-up appearance. My final
complaint is that the design of
the Bat, combined with its
weight made for difficult
one-handed launching. There
The Bat is a well designed plane
that flies well in all but light lift.
was no really good place to
firmly hold the plane; it was
awkward and difficult to
throw.
Aside from these very easily
modifiable issues, I found that
the Bat has everything that I
would want in a simple, yet
high performance
slope-soaring wing.
Conclusion
Despite the aforementioned
problems, the Bat by
Windrider Aviation is a great
slope plane. The kit is
easy-to-build, inexpensive,
and durable - all qualities
desirable in a foam glider.
Windrider has perfected the
simple do-it-yourself kit. On a
scale of one to ten I would rate
the Bat at eight, the only thing
taking away from a perfect
score being the finishing
materials, covering, and
control linkages.
My Bat flies excellently,
though, and I am quite pleased
with the plane as a whole. If
you ask me whether I would
purchase this kit, the answer is
a resounding yes.
For more information on the
Bat and other Windrider kits,
see their website at:
or the US importers at:
and:
.
Information on Hitec radio
gear is available at:
.
34 R/C Soaring Digest