Origin Story
A Fresh Start
This article originally appeared in the September-October, 2021 edition of Model Aviation Canada, the official publication of the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada (see Resources, below). It is reprinted here with their permission and our thanks. — Ed.
This isn’t really a kit review, or even a construction article. You might find some hints and tips later on in the article, but that isn’t what this is about either.
This is a story about coming full circle.
The First Time Around
My first model airplane was a 2m span Drifter II glider that I built over a winter, and broke on my first attempt to do a test glide. I had proudly marched to the nearby school field, checked my control surfaces, threw the glider…thunk.
The fuse split open and the ground was littered with the pennies I had used for nose weight. No idea what went wrong. I repaired the damage and the following weekend my father drove me out to the local glider club field where some of the guys there pointed me in the right direction…upwind. It was a new concept for me, and made all the difference in the world.
But, this story isn’t really about that experience either…but we will visit some more memories from then.
This Time Around
I hate to admit it, but I haven’t been actively flying for a long time now. I’ve kept in touch with the hobby, and the members, through my work with this magazine, and the passion for model aviation is still strong. But…not having shop space, other life priorities, and other hobby priorities have gotten in the way.
Recently, thanks to a new heated garage with workshop space, the desire to pick up the hobby again — just for fun — made me start looking seriously at how to return. Among the priorities is that I wanted it to be easy, fun, and simple.
There is a somewhat new glider contest format known as F3RES. It’s a play on the FAI F3 designation for Radio Controlled models, and RES, the abbreviation for rudder, elevator, and spoiler. The simplest controls available for a glider…just about. If I recall correctly, i didn’t build in the spoilers on by Drifter II, as they were show as an option.
The spec for the planes is fairly simple, Balsa, Ply, and limited composites. In the case of the model I chose, the Fresh F3RES, it used carbon tube wing spars and tail boom. The gliders are launched with a hi-start made from 15m of surgical tubing and 100m of fishing line, stretche out to about 4kg of pull.
Building Kits
Building is dead. Only foamies will be around in 10 years. Building is taking off again. There is always conflicting information out there. The truth of the matter is that it is easy to enjoy the hobby without needing to build a model from a kit, or from plans. But, it always has been. One of my first slope models I ended up having ‘custom built’ by a friend in the club…and I can’t even remember why. I was young, and it involved some building skills that I didn’t have…and that could have been it. But even after that, I tended to buy used models or, as time went on, buy composite sailplanes that were high performance ARFs, essentially, needing only radio installation.
I was never a great builder, for me it was a means to an end. On the other hand, I’ve known countless people for whom the hobby is all about the building board and the workshop. I can think of one friend who built stunning scale models, but never flew them…instead trusting them to the thumbs of others.
For me, though, I wanted to build my ‘return ship’ from a kit because I felt that was one of the things I wanted to reconnect with in the hobby. While I don’t think it is a mandatory part of being a model airplane enthusiast, I do think building helps you understand the model you’re flying and will also keep some ‘crashed’ models from being discarded.
Building Is Different Now
As I said, most of the planes I flew were bought, not built. In fact, I’m having trouble remembering the last model I built. It might have been the Decathlon I spun into the ground, or the Ninja sloper that I glued to my hands and had to have removed in the emergency department of the local hospital. Both of those were in the early/mid ’90s, and after then I didn’t really have a workshop.
But the real comparison, for the sake of this story, is looking back to that Drifter II kit. Of course I didn’t know what I was looking at, of even doing, so it was great that the instructions were well written and detailed, with the beginner in mind. The kit had everything I needed for the airframe, except for covering, glues, and radio. The ribs were all ‘die crush.’ Some would say die cut, but they tended to be a bit hard on the wood.
In comparison, the Fresh kit I ordered from hyperflight.co.uk featured no instructions, but great plans, CNC cut parts, and supplied and designed in jigging to make the model fit together easily, and straight. There is a translated manual online, but now that I’m through the build, I think it is somewhat lacking. In retrospect, I’d have built the model in a slightly different order, and would have done a couple of things differently.
Sticking Together
Another big difference was the glues available. My Drifter II was built with nothing but white glue and epoxy, as needed. A few years later, the first of the cyanoacrylates came on the market…Hot Stuff. Later came ‘thick’ CA , kickers, and ‘foam safe’ CA.
The Fresh called for mostly thick CA with some use of thin CA and kicker. A few key joints called out for 30 minute epoxy. This makes the build process absolutely fly.
Combined with a designed that keyed the main parts together with tabs and slots, and building is suddenly nearly foolproof. In contrast, the Drifter II parts were mostly hand cut from the sheet stock, or built on the plans from stick material.
The extensive use of CAs meant that I only had to dry fit the CNC cut parts, pin them in place on the plans, and then hit them with the CA. Give them a few minutes to cure, and its on to the next phase.
I took my time, building this over three weeks of evenings, but I can easily see going from opening the box to in-the-air in a week if you put your mind to it. A lot better than laying up parts and waiting overnight for the glue to set.
Technology to The Rescue
One of the biggest advantages of technology today was the fact that I could search out a couple different YouTube videos of Fresh builds. As with anything on Youtube, the videos varied in helpfulness, but at least let me see some of the common challenges.
Another pleasant surprise was the ability to use the Google Translate app’s live translate feature to translate the German plans into English when things weren’t clear. Of course the translations weren’t always clear either.
Time Away from The Screen
For me, at least, building time meant a clean break from screen time. Mostly. My shop is in a heated, but detached, garage. The bench is a multi-purpose bench, but built with working close to projects in mind. It’s almost perfect for this project.
I’d tend to go out to the garage in the evenings, and work on the build for an hour or so at a time. One thing my years have taught me is patience, so I’d review the plans, double check the materials, dry fit the parts, and pin carefully in place…when needed.
I’d finish a section, clean up the building board, and make way for the next part of the build…starting with a fresh and clean work surface. Suffice it to say…that’s very different from the Drifter II build.
A Different Approach
Patience was a virtue in all aspects of the build. Slow and methodical approach to sanding, shaping and finishing the plane paid dividends with great results. Take a close look and you’ll see where I rushed the project.
I’m definitely older, and possibly wiser, so between the patient approach and a more deliberate approach to things, this build went smooth and easy. Even though I hadn’t ‘built’ a model for 30 years, it was more than just not skipping a beat…I seemed to be instinctively a better builder. I have absolutely no doubt that the quality of the kit, and the thought behind the construction design helped make it easy.
Finishing
There were challenges along the way for sure. Some radio install issues and some other challenges along the way left me scratching my head and coming up with solutions. The model came in heavy. 17.75oz (503g) 2.45oz, or 16%, over weight. If I were doing it again, I know exactly how I’d shave that weight down…but it isn’t enough extra weight to be a huge concern. The two big things would be to replace the solid sheet fin with a built-up one and to put balancing weight in the nose cone…which came with space already hollowed out. Of course that would also mean building the fuse last, which makes a lot more sense for a number of reasons.
The fuse is tight, making the radio and nose weight installation a challenge. The control surfaces use a counter spring and single pull cable to actuate them…so a spring is always trying to pull the controls right and up…and the servos pull on a cable to centre them and turn left and down. It was my first exposure to the system, and that caused some problems…but I did get them working. Carbon pushrods may be in the future.
Covering the model went better than expected. Transparent yellow, orange and red Monokote was used, which no-doubt contributed to the weight gain. I probably could have used a lighter covering film, but old habits die hard.
Flying
Balanced, and with as much throw as I could get out of the tail surfaces, it was time to head out to the field. With club mate Warren Man-Son-Hing, MAAC 14220, offering to give the plane a throw or two, its time had come. The first throw showed it would fly fine. A second throw confirmed a slight trim change, and then it was out with the hi-start, essentially a 115m long slingshot.
Once again Warren threw for the first launch, and the Fresh went up like it was on rails. Stable, predictable, and climbing well. The first flight was all about trimming. Expecting it to be up, down and ready for the next launch for more trimming…but that was interrupted when the wing tipped up…lift. I turned into the thermal and started circling, and the Fresh held its ground and even gained some height. After a couple more flights to fine tune the CG, expo, and throws…it was time to call it a day. A successful day.
So…What’s This About Again?
In the few flights I had with the Fresh I know, without a doubt, that it flies better than the last small glider I owned, a high performance pre-built sailplane from Europe. Now, it could be that I just feel more affinity with the plan I build up from sheets of wood than I did with something that arrived just waiting for radio bits…but that reality doesn’t matter. The airplane I built with my own hands flys well, has a unique colour scheme, and gave me hours of relaxation and pleasure even before I took it out to the field for its first flights.
There is a growing number of model airplane enthusiasts who aren’t builders. Foamies and ARFs have opened the hobby to a range of people who otherwise may not have tried it. But, if you’re one of those who’ve never built a model to fly…think about trying it. Many of today’s kits are simpler to build than ever before, and I’m sure you’ll find experienced builders around you more than willing to give you some tips and advice. There is a definite thrill of flying something that is uniquely yours.
©2022 Keith Morison
Resources
- Model Aeronautics Association of Canada — Canada’s national organization supporting the development of model aviation in Canada.
- Model Aviation Canada — the September-October, 2021 edition in which this article was first published.
- Google Translate — your linguistic gateway to the world!
- HyperFlight.co.uk — From the webite: “We supply top quality RC gliders and accessories to discerning modellers worldwide. HyperFlight are Europe’s largest stockist of F3K hand launched gliders and F5J Esoarers. We stock the many of the best F3J RC gliders, scale sailplanes, wing servos, and R/C glider & DLG accessories.”
Keith Morison started the hobby by learning the basics on gliders with the intent of moving up to power models. He regularly flew gliders for over 20 years, and has only owned two power models. He managed two World Championship glider teams and was contest director for a World Championship event held near Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. He is a former Sailplane Chairman and Zone Director for MAAC, and has been publishing Model Aviation Canada since the turn of the century. Have your own Origin Story? We would love to hear from you!
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