Oct - Rcsoaring.com

in the hatch, thus holding the hatch inplace.Since the ’chute fits snuggly in itscompartment when the hatch is closed, itapplies a little pressure to the hatch andwhen released by the servo this allowsthe front edge to pop up allowing airflowto blow the hatch off the wing. The ’chuteis attached to the hatch thus it deploysthe ’chute.The servo has two actuations: 1. Duringthe first half of the movement of theservo the pushrod pulls towards the noseof the wing releasing the hatch, but notfar enough to expose the hole cut intothe rib, as this would release the ’chute.2. The second half of the actuationexposes the hole in the rib, releasing theloop of string and allowing the ’chute tobe emergency jettisoned.Also shown in this photo is the root riband skeg that’s cut as the one piece of1/8” plywood.The ’chute is somewhat effective butnowhere close to effective as the flaps.The ’chute is big in the “Wow!” factor,though!Here’s a video demonstration of the’chute: .FLYINGCurtis! Why did you name this beautifulmodel, that flies with the grace andbeauty of an Albatross, after a shy semiflightlessjungle bird that probably has thesame glide ratio as your transmitter?— Herk StokelyThe launches are a non-event and seemto have launch heights similar to my otherthermal duration models.The launches off the hi-start are a littledifferent than my tailed gliders as youdon’t lean back and give her a heftythrow with forward force. She should beheld with one hand by the skeg slightlynose high about waist level and the otherhand holding the trailing edge to keepher level. When you’re ready to launchyou lift her straight up about 12" and letgo at the top of the lift, slightly raising thenose during the lift.Tinamou will go straight up the launchwith very little correction required. Shedoesn’t seem to zoom off the launch aswell as other thermal duration models.She thermals well, but detecting lift willtake a lot of practice as the tail momentis short and it’s difficult to see changes inpitch.There is a bit of yawing during flight andturns but it’s negligible.The stall is quite sharp and will catchyou by surprise if you crank too much upelevator in a turn. It takes about 1½ turnsfor the recovery.I’ve tried wing fences and at first Ithought there was a significant differenceOctober 2008 75