Radio Control: Soaring
Byron Blakeslee 3134 N. Winnebago Dr. Sedalia, CO 80135
NEW — The Westwind (Max Mills Models)
The Westwind is a straight-wing version of Max Mills's Southwind. It was designed for pilots who have progressed beyond entry-level sailplanes, are proficient at thermaling and landing, and want a predictable, easy-to-fly new type. The Westwind shares the Southwind's rugged fuselage and tail; the Southwind fuselage can be used with Westwind wings if desired.
Key features:
- Straight wings for predictable roll response and easy handling (suitable for pilots with little or no aileron experience)
- Balsa-sheeted foam cores, spruce spars, and 1/4‑in steel joiner rod
- Can be launched aggressively by winch yet remains hi-startable
- Works well with modest radios; advanced computer radios (e.g., Airtronics Vision) allow useful couplings (flaps↔elevator, ailerons↔rudder, ailerons↔flaps)
The Westwind is suitable for Sportsman, Multi-Task, and practice F3B Speed/Distance tasks, and is well suited to thermalling, fun-flys, AMA contests, and spot landings.
Specs:
- Airfoil: Selig 3021
- Wingspan: 104 in
- Area: 910 sq in
- Dry weight: 60 oz
- Root chord: 10 in
- Wing: triple-swept-back planform with straight trailing edge
Price and contact:
- Westwind: $125.00 plus shipping
- Max Mills Models, 3820 Chavez NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111
- Tel: 1-505-292-3510
Brian Agnew — Overkill and foam-wing cutting
Brian Agnew (Florida) — winner at the 1988 Nats in Two-Meter Standard Unlimited and member of the Dan Pruss Memorial Team Trophy-winning team — reports on his Cross-Country ship, Overkill, and a new foam-wing-cutting business.
Overkill (summary):
- Wingspan: 160 in
- Airfoil: E374
- Fuselage: Bob Sealy X-C
- Planform: flat center section with dihedral at the tips
- Chord: 13 in at center panel, tapering to 8 in at tips
- Weight: FAI max (11 lb)
- Construction: vacuum-bagged sandwich — white foam, unidirectional glass, 3/32-in balsa sheeting (strong, allows MonoKote covering)
- Performance: excellent thermaling; wing loading ≈ 13 oz/sq ft (too light for serious X-C). Brian plans a future X-C ship with higher aspect ratio and ~15 oz/sq ft wing loading, glass over blue foam without balsa sheeting.
Foam-wing-cutting business:
- Computer-stored plots for over 80 airfoils
- Can cut cores up to 15 in wide × 80 in long
- Pricing: conventional cores (full-size construction saddles) $45 per set; multipanel wings $22.50 per panel; templates (root & tip) $30 per set
Contact:
- Brian Agnew, 5625 Youngquist Road #22, Ft. Myers, FL 33912
- Tel: 1-813-433-5910
Scale Glider Components (Bill Liscomb) and Torrey Pines Scale Fun Fly
Scale Glider Components (SGC) supplies high-quality hardware and kits for scale fliers. Bill Liscomb’s offerings include quarter- and 1/5-scale retract units (sturdy units, each $50 plus $5 P&H) and a quarter-scale DG-202 kit with a one-piece gel-coated fuselage, foam-core wings with carbon-fiber spars, and obeche sheeting. The workmanship is comparable to top European products.
Contact:
- SGC, 7034 Fern Place, Carlsbad, CA 92009
- Tel: 1-619-931-1438
Torrey Pines Scale Fun Fly (notes from Bill Liscomb):
- About 60 pilots registered each day; ~120 models present
- Weather varied from rain and heavy wind to soarable conditions; flying occurred every day
- Large numbers of power slope models and scale sailplanes were flown (WWII, Korea, Vietnam eras, modern jets, vintage trainers, combat gliders, modern glass ships)
- Torrey Pines Gulls club and Torrey Pines Flight Park helped manage the event and air traffic
1990 event:
- Planned for Labor Day weekend (September 1–3) with banquet and raffle
- Info/contact: Charlie Morey, Slope Soaring News, 2601 E. 19th St., #29, Signal Hill, CA 90804
Slope Soaring News (SSN):
- Growing monthly journal (now ~20 pages) focused on slope flying, mainly Southern California but with wider interest
- Annual subscription: $15.95
Bradley Model Products (Jim Bradley)
Jim Bradley, experienced in Free Flight, supplies carbon-fiber sheet and mat and has lengthy experience supplying builders. He produces a "Product List and Application Notes" for using carbon fiber materials and will send a copy on request (SASE). Jim offers help by mail and phone and welcomes questions.
Contact:
- Bradley Model Products, 1337 Pine Sap Court, Orlando, FL 32825
- Tel: 1-407-277-9132
Model Construction Videos (MCV) — D.O. Darnell
Model Construction Videos (MCV) produces videotapes showing the construction of state-of-the-art competition sailplane kits. Tapes demonstrate materials, plans, building techniques, and flying sequences including launch and maiden flight. The project was created to help builders decode written instructions and see the full build process.
Current tape:
- "Building the Falcon 800" — price $21.95 plus $3.50 S&H
- Availability: tape available May 1 (readers were invited to suggest future projects)
Contact:
- Model Construction Videos (D.O. Darnell), P.O. Box 8466, Tulsa, OK 74101
Falcon 800 (Flite Lite Composites)
The Falcon 800 kit remains extremely popular (winner of the "RCSD Challenge"). Flite Lite has produced about 250 kits and, by working overtime, reduced the backlog to about eight weeks (as of March). The presheeted-wing version was temporarily suspended due to extra labor but is now offered again; 75% of orders have been for the presheeted version despite its higher price.
Notes from the author:
- The Falcon flies very well (winch and hi-start launches, good speed range, easy to fly)
- The Airtronics Vision radio's three-position Flight Mode Switch is useful for presetting flaps/ailerons for launch and flight modes
Contact:
- Flite Lite Composites, P.O. Box 1493, Windsor, CA 95492
- Tel: 1-707-838-3390
F3B‑U.S.A.
F3B‑U.S.A. is a newsletter for F3B and Sportsman Multi-Task fliers, printing news and detailed information for competitors. Subscriptions are $12 per year for six issues. Subscription handling moved to Andy Reynolds and Randy Reynolds.
Contact / subscription:
- Randy Reynolds, 122 E. Clint St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903
- Tel: 1-719-471-3160
R/C Soaring Digest (RCSD)
R/C Soaring Digest (RCSD), founded by Jim Gray, has been sold to Jerry and Judy Slates of Concord, CA. Jim Gray will continue producing Viking Models fiberglass fuselages. RCSD continues to deliver high-quality content; a new series by Martin Simons, "Understanding Thermal Soaring Sailplanes," began in January and is highly recommended.
Subscription:
- Annual subscription: $17 (contact RCSD for mailing details and to subscribe)
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Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
