Radi C ntr lled - Radio Controlled Soaring Digest

32
Electric
I like sailplanes because they post a
challenge in creativity. I have flown them
since 1948 when I built my first free flight
glider from an English kit. I was eight
years old then and the glider name was
FROG. Launching those freeflighters was
simple: all one needed was a line and
good running legs.
When RC came into the scene things
became more sophisticated, so did the
launching methods to reach higher and
faster. Then, recently, the electric motors
appeared. I thought they would simplify
the RC glider launching, but what I saw
in the market were new electric gliders
departing from the thoroughbreds in
concept. I wanted an electrified classic,
a thoroughbred with an electric motor to
do the high start job. So I purchased a
Spirit Elite and started a project to add
an electric motor without modifying the
original glider, except where mandatory.
Leonidas Castello Jr, leocastello@uol.com.br
R/C Soaring Digest