Prior Issues
Where to find issues of RCSD once they leave the navigation bar.
March 2023
We had a blizzard of great stories in the March issue with a smattering of subjects for the broad range of interests of the widely varied New RCSD readership:
- The Launch Zone — We weren’t quite sure what The Ed had up his sleeve for In The Air in March. We saw the key photo in advance and that alone made us think it was worth taking a look. Yes, we also had our quirkily old school Letters to the Editor and yet more Cool New Stuff.
- Features — We were wondering when we’d hear from Pierre Rondel again and our fingers were crossed it would be soon. It must be kismet or karma or whatever because an amazing article from him showed up maybe a day later — it was about his latest project which spans no less than 5m! Bill Kuhlman returned with the second part of Twist Distribution for Swept Wings and Tiberiu Atudorei’s break-out-hit Project ALTius was back for a return engagement. We also had an exciting new collaboration to announce with a big name you were almost guaranteed to recognise! Finally, there was a surprise, late addition to this month’s Features.
- Ongoing Series — Science for Model Flyers was back this time focusing (pun entirely intended) on the important subject of visual acuity. After all if you can’t see it, you can’t fly it right? Chuck Fulton’s Soaring the Sky Podcast was back as well as the brand-new, regular column on flight simulation called Condor Corner ably penned by CFIG Scott Manley.
- Retrospectives — In addition to Simine Short’s next instalment of her popular Stamps That Tell a Story and another interesting article in our Glider Patents series, we had Gary Fogel returning with another really fascinating and lovingly rendered feature. It’s entitled A History of Gliding and Soaring in the Inland Empire (1930–1940). Nobody tells these stories quite like Gary.
We wrapped up the March issue with The Trailing Edge of course and the entire issue can be browsed with the Table of Contents.
February 2023
Highlights from the February 2023 issue:
- The Launch Zone — The Ed introduced a couple of new and exciting features in his In The Air editorial this month. Without giving too much away, he said he was going to ‘broaden the editorial footprint’ a little which should have you downright intrigued. As usual we had some interesting Letters to the Editor — there are some readers looking for help again, which has really worked out well in the past. And rounding out this section was more Cool New Stuff to fill you with enthusiasm and potentially help empty your wallet.
- Features — Domenico Bosco wrapped up his acclaimed Dream 2700 | A Tailless Tale series — the beautiful bird flies! Chris Williams also wrapped up his Downsizing the Bergfalke IV with some superb inflight photos. A extensive new design/build series kicked off — from Tiberiu Atudorei who is based in Romania.
- Ongoing Series — Professor Pete returned with the next in his series Science for Model Flyers. This time he turned his attention to the subject of aerials. If you learn half as much reading it as we learned editing it you’re going to wish you had stayed in school. Chuck Fulton’s Soaring the Sky Podcast was back as well for those who like their words the old-fashioned way: spoken. We also launched a new, regular column called Condor Corner by Scott Manley. Recognise that name?
- Retrospectives — Simine Short regaled us with another fascinating philatelic feature and we had another in our Glider Patents series. The last one — which claimed to find thermals automatically! — really stirred the pot and we think this one will too. We’ve souped it up with some unique period photos as well.
We wrapped up the February issue with The Trailing Edge with a wonderful end-of-a-perfect-day picture from our friend Leo Horta in Belo Horizonte, Brasil. If you’re like us it’ll really make you smile — or maybe even make you wipe away a little tear. It’s worth the price of admission alone. Table of Contents
January 2023
Highlights from the January 2023 issue:
- The Launch Zone Right off the hop we have The Ed’s deranged ramblings in his In The Air column. Peaking over his shoulder we can see the draft subtitle which is a line from George Gershwin’s Summertime. This is odd given “the weather outside is frightful”, actually. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what he’s on about this month. We also have some great Letters to the Editor and Cool New Stuff to share with you.
- Features Domenico Bosco returns with Part III of his very popular Dream 2700 | A Tailless Tale. The build begins! Chris Williams has another great article to share with us — see the key photo above for a hint as to what that’s all about. Professor Pete has a write-up of Youme batteries he tested recently. There’s even a chance that Iain Medley-Rose’s much-anticipated follow up to The Road to Gruibingen is ready to go. Fingers and toes crossed on that one.
- Ongoing Series It’s a Peter-Scott-a-palooza with another two articles by the tireless contributor: his latest Science for Model Flyers and then also his final curated excerpts from Martin Simons’ model aircraft-oriented books. We also have another instalment of Chuck Fulton’s Soaring the Sky Podcast if your eyes have tired of all that reading.
- Retrospectives Simine Short regales us with the story of Bitterwasser, in Namibia — the ‘best gliding site in the world’ — in her latest Stamps That Tell a Story. We also have another one of our fun and informative Glider Patents series.
All that and we wrap up with the superb photography and pithy commentary of The Trailing Edge and that will be it — it will be all over but the cryin’. Table of Contents.
December 2022
Here are a few of the highlights from the December 2022 issue:
- In The Launch Zone there’s The Ed’s latest missive subtitled, curiously, The French have a word for it as well as a welcome return of Letters to the Editor, Cool New Stuff and the a spectacular F3F World Championship.
- Features this month: Philip L. Richardson of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution provided the science — and math — behind high speed dynamic soaring. Marc Panton finished up and flew the Rico-SHE he started in the November issue. Domenico Bosco provided the next fascinating instalment of his Dream 2700 design/build/fly. Our old friend Rene Wallage returned with a new nugget and Vincent de Bode finished up his series on the Slingsby King Kite.
- We continued with our beloved Ongoing Series once more with return visits from Peter Scott, Chuck Fulton and Tom Broeski with their Science for Model Flyers, Soaring the Sky Podcast and another time-saving tip, respectively.
- Amongst the usual stories in Retrospectives, we had our annual celebration of Wright-mas with an amazing story by Simine Short: The Year of 1911 in Aviation…and the Wright Glider. It was a stunner and put you right there on the bluffs of Kitty Hawk on arguably the day recreational soaring began.
And, of course, we concluded with the The Trailing Edge as we do every issue. Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
November 2022
Featured this month we have a great new mini-series entitled Dream 2700 | A Tailless Tale by Domenico Bosco. It’s a stunner. Also, Raymond Esveldt has been out travelling again, and brings back a great story from the Seiser Alm in the northern Italian Dolomiti mountains. What scenery! What flying sites! Next up, we’re featuring instalments from Chris Williams and Vincent de Bode, with their Rhönadler 35 and The Slingsby King Kite projects, respectively. We have a few other possibilities bubbling away, but you’ll just have to wait for November to see if they panned out in time.
For those of you still mourning the conclusion of Peter Scott’s Electricity for Model Flyers, dry your tears, Professor Pete launches a brand new extensive series this month: Science for Model Flyers. Thought you knew everything about the periodic table as it related to RC flying? Think again! Chuck Fulton is back with another curated episode of the Soaring the Sky Podcast and Tom Broeski returns from a one month absence on how to build a battery for your broomstick.
For history buffs, we have the next Rediscovering Martin Simons and Simine Short is also returning with another philatelic tale in Stamps That Tell a Story. We have yet another one of our Glider Patents series, which folks really seem to be enjoying. In addition, we have another bonus item from Simine which might just be ready for November.
As well, we have our usual bookends: In The Air and The Trailing Edge with their usual mix of pithy ‘wisdom’ and some marvellous photographs we can’t wait to share with all of you.
And last but not least, the RC Soaring Digest Staff wrap up the issue with the The Trailing Edge, along with its signature end-of-the-perfect-soaring-day photograph.” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
October 2022
It’s gratifying to see how the New RCSD has grown since we kicked off the rebooted journal in January 2021 — it had just eight articles. Although we never quite know what an issue will include until the final moment before it goes out into the wild, our October 2022 issue is looking mighty impressive. As we like to say — often! — there is truly something for everybody in the upcoming issue.
- Launch Zone We lead off with Managing Editor Terence C. Gannon’s monthly In The Air editorial and we also have some meaty Letters to the Editor that will likely stir up some discussion.
- Features We have a long-awaited and eagerly anticipated new product review from F3F legend Pierre Rondel this month — but it’s not for an aircraft, this time. What then, you may ask? You’ll just have to tune in to find out! Also, recall that teaser we sent out last month from Chris Williams? He’s a man of his word and he’s back with his full article on the Rhönadler 35. Amongst a few other things bubbling away at the margins, Vincent de Bode is back with the fourth instalment of The Slingsby King Kite.
- Ongoing Series ‘Professor’ Peter Scott’s always eagerly anticipated Electricity for Model Flyers is back for it’s eleventh straight appearance and Chuck Fulton returns with another stimulating episode of Soaring the Sky Podcast. Dale Gottdank also provides our latest Club in Focus, this time featuring the Torrey Pines Gulls.
- Retrospectives Simine Short has another one of her delightful Stamps That Tell a Story articles and we have another fascinating one of our Glider Patentsseries.
And last but not least, the RC Soaring Digest Staff wrap up the issue with the The Trailing Edge, along with its signature end-of-the-perfect-soaring-day photograph.” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
September 2022
From the In The Air editorial: “There’s a TV ad for the Staples stationery store chain which ran back in 1996. I remember the theme music as the big, brassy Andy Williams arrangement of the Christmas classic It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. But it wasn’t in the fall to support Black Friday or Christmas sales, but rather starting in mid-summer, to support that other annual spend-o-rama: ‘back to school’ in September…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version.
August 2022
From the In The Air editorial: “Quite often, I’m asked «so exactly how many people are into that RC soaring thing?» In response, I’m forced to fake a coughing fit, mumble something unintelligible, do a spit take or perhaps just pretend I don’t quite understand the question. In other words, just about anything other than provide a straight answer. That’s because I don’t know. And when I say I don’t know, I mean I really don’t know…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version.
July 2022
From the In The Air editorial: “Recently, I received an interesting letter from a gentlemen by the name of Jim Ealy, who some of you may know by his nom-de-plume of AstroJeff. For those of you who don’t know Jim — I didn’t — he is the proprietor of the Vintage Sailplaner website (see Resources, below, for link). Jim describes himself as a ‘radio control soaring consultant’. Heck, if I had known that was a job, I could have avoided a couple of decades doing jobs which are way less interesting than that…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version.
June 2022
From the In The Air editorial: “Regular readers of this column will recall last month’s missive where I told the story of the emotional rollercoaster I had been on regarding the Col de Costco. That’s my favourite slope which backs onto — you guessed it — a local mall smack in the middle of an industrial area in southeast Calgary, Alberta. Good storytelling dictates that each story should have an arc. That one certainly did, starting with the belief that I had just been thrown off the site through to figuring out the future of this particular location was actually fairly bright…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version.
May 2022
From the In The Air editorial: “There’s a Costco big box store not too far from where I live which stands just east of a great slope that runs due north and south for about two or three city blocks. The crest of the slope runs parallel to a road which is home to mostly light industrial tenants and low volume retail, so most times in the evening the street is empty. There’s a couple of parking spots at the north end of the slope about 20 or 30 paces from the best place to launch. My wife Michelle can sit in sheltered comfort parked parallel to the fall line. There, she can either knit or read while she also watches me stagger around the slope trying to make the best of the flagging evening breeze…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version.
April 2022
From the In The Air editorial: “I have been writing on Medium for six years (nearly to the day) and what attracted me to the platform in the first place was its focus primarily on a ‘pristine reading experience’. If you imagine a high quality, coffee table magazine — you know the ones that cost $20 in the local bookstore — the folks at Medium seemed to have used that as their Prime Directive for what readers would see when they were reading stories. Seemingly not far behind was making it an easy-to-use platform for writers…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version.
March 2022
From the In The Air editorial: “As usual, I have allowed my stream-of-conciousness prose get the better of me, so I won’t delay you further as you turn to the first article in this month’s issue. However, I do want to welcome a brand new contributor, Greg Lewis, who has a fantastic article on the ChocoFly 1/3-scale ASW 17. Greg’s article is entitled An Icon Goes Red and (spoiler alert!) provides details on the setup of this ship for GPS Triangle Racing…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version.
February 2022
From the In The Air editorial: “Sometime in the mid-1970s, the cinematic rendering of Richard Bach’s mega-hit book Jonathan Livingston Seagull had arrived in the movie theatres of Vancouver, BC. By the time our family got to the Vogue on Granville, the near street level marquee had already been defaced: some selected letters had been stolen, and the booty undoubtely used as an aide-mémoire for a would-be cinephile to help write up a review for his crappy mimeographed newsletter. The movie was — well — ‘complicated’. That, of course, is a 21st century metaphor for ‘not very good’. Incomprehensible for a 12 year old, certainly.…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version.
January 2022
From the In the Air editorial: “One of the great joys of editing this publication are the personal relationships I have established with the many people who contribute to the success of each issue. Of the many discussions which occur over the course of the month, one of the ones I enjoy the most is with Norimichi Kawakami, the author of Mita 3 Production Notes, the tenth part of which appears in this issue. I find I often remark to him that ‘time flies’ between our conversations, which typically occur about the middle of the month. Incidental to the most recent conversation, Kawakami referenced an ancient Japanese proverb…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version.
December 2021
From the In The Air editorial: “I have likely overstayed my welcome for this month, so I’ll simply direct you to the links below to launch into the December RCSD. You’ll be glad you did because it’s jam-packed with great articles Before I finish though, I want to humbly thank all of you who have joined and stayed with us over the course of the first year of the relaunch of the New RC Soaring Digest. Without the steadily growing readership, RCSD is nothing. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to all who have contributed to the 12 issues so far. RCSD would also quite literally be nothing without you..” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version.
November 2021
From the In The Air editorial: “The editorial staff and I have come up with what we think is a bumper crop of great stories for this issue. First, we have a great new first time RCSD contributor: Marc Panton arrives on our pages with a comprehensively-illustrated and well-written tutorial called What a Tool! Servo Templates for Dremel Rotary Tools. Welcome aboard Marc, and we hope it’s the first of many. Along with Marc, we also have another ‘first timer’: Rex Ashwell who contributes Going Postal. Actually, first timer is only true for the New RC Soaring Digest. Many of you will recognize Rex’s name from his many articles in the legacy RCSD. It’s always a thrill when a well known and respected contributor from the latter makes the leap to the new, digital-first publication…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
October 2021
From the In The Air editorial: “In the 1970s I had the great fortune to attend the model airplane air show held at the then-mothballed Boundary Bay airport in Delta, British Columbia. About the only specific logistical detail I can remember is that it was organized by the Radio Control Flying Club of British Columbia (RCFCBC). Perhaps taking its cue from the popular and nearby Abbotsford International Airshow, the model show featured a structured program of flying demonstrations and even included a PA announcer, just like the big show across the valley. All-in-all, it was quite the event…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
September 2021
From the In The Air editorial: “In the short time I have been Managing Editor of the NEW RC Soaring Digest, one of the things of which I’m most proud is the truly international group of authors who have assembled to bring you such outstanding material each month. In this issue alone, there are contributions from (alphabetically): Canada, France, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. I’m equally proud of the truly global audience that returns each month for a fresh dose of soaring journalism. We now have readers in 93 countries around the world…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
August 2021
From the Lift over Drag newsletter: “August — a traditional summer holiday month, at least in the Northern Hemisphere — means that many contributors are taking a well-earned vacation. Presumably at (or close to) their favourite flying site so that when time permits between beach barbecues, museum visits and sudden death lawn dart tournaments, they can escape for a respite in rising air. It also means that we have time to fire up the turn back time machine and revisit some our favourite events from the past. To wit, Chris Williams — who contributed the well-received homage to the Slingsby Petrel in the July issue — is back with retro coverage from the” Rétroplane 2007 event. The pictures…are amazing and there’s lots of timeless, entertaining reading to go with it…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
July 2021
From the In The Air editorial: “I started thinking about this when I read the third part of Bob Dodgson’s autobiography The Implementation of a Dream in this issue. In particular, that with a quarter of a century of producing some of the best glider kits around, Bob eventually wrote: “after we closed Dodgson Designs I did very little glider flying. I had lost my boundless passion for it — having turned my great hobby into my job for 25 years.” Clearly that many years is a good run, by any standard, but his comment still made me a little sad. Actually, a lot sad. I would hate to think a stiff breeze blowing straight up a seaside cliff, or a booming thermal sucking up everything in its path would ever become — well — boring. Just another crappy day in paradise…” Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
June 2021
Way back in the first issue of the NEW RCSD, Phil Cooke reported on the Power Scale Soaring Association (PSSA)’s September event at the Great Orme in Wales. I’m thrilled to welcome Phil back as he reports on their first post-pandemic event from just last month. As always, it’s hard to say which Phil does better, pictures or storytelling, because he does both so well. James Hammond returns with his fourth and final instalment in his Designing for… master class. This time ‘round, James covers aircraft which would be suitable for that beautiful Swiss landscape above. Fear not, though, turns out that James is going to be back next month after all — see his latest for a hint as to why. Pierre Rondel adds to his previous and very well-received article on the STGmodel Orden. It’s gone electro! And there’s much so much more: Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
May 2021
This month, In addition to the continuing and very welcome contributions of James Hammond and Pierre Rondel, we have a few additional treats in store. There is the first of a three part autobiography by Bob Dodgson, the legendary sailplane designer and manufacturer of many outstanding aircraft in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. We also have the second instalment of Norimichi Kawakami’s build log for his magnificent Mita Type 3. It is one of the most meticulous journals we have ever seen and we present it both in its original Japanese as well as an English translation. Next, we are relaunching the legacy RC Soaring Digest regular feature entitled PSS Candidate. It provides details on a full-size aircraft likely well-suited to power scale soaring. But here’s a twist: this particular article is written by the designer — and he’s prepared to take your questions. You simply have to check it out. And there’s much more. Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
April 2021
An essential element of the re-launch of the NEW R/C Soaring Digest was to clearly articulate, through our Community and Social Media Policystatements, the ground rules for interaction with the RCSD readership and the aspirations for how the readership would interact with each other when using any of RCSD’s platforms. In doing this, I more-or-less assumed there would be some push back of some sort at some point. The truth is, there has been virtually none. In fact, the opposite: feedback has been much more on the supportive side of the ledger. Anecdotally at least — and it’s early days, I realize — it seems that there is an appetite for a community which simply focuses on its shared interests and, for a while at least, sets aside those things on which we undoubtedly differ in an increasingly fractious world. Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
March 2021
For March, we tried to line up an array of stories so that there’s a bit of something for everybody. Leading off is the first part of a four part series by James ‘Doc’ Hammond entitled Designing for Slope Aerobatics. It’s the master class in sailplane design for which you’ve been waiting. We have a comprehensive product review from Pierre Rondel on MicroMAX, the Pocket F3F! Ryan Woebkenberg takes us along with him on My Southwest Classic F5J 2021 Experience which will make you want to attend the next one for sure. Rene Wallage turns the re-kitting of his Schwing Corsa into a Pre-Flight Check from which we can all benefit. Peter Scott walks us through the intricate details of the ToolkitRC ST8 Servo Tester and Tom Broeski (of Tom’s Tips fame) helps us build a Clevis Tool. And you may even find a few little extra surprises thrown in to the bargain. Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
February 2021
If you want history to come back to life — literally — you will want to check out Vincent de Bode’s article simply entitled The Fokker FG-2. For an analysis of discus launch gliders (DLG) that would not be out of place as a PhD thesis, see Theo Volkers and Tjarko van Empel’s The Aerodynamics of a DLG Unravelled. For an essay which captures the magic we all feel when we have a really good day at the flying field, you simply have to read Jim Carlton’s What a Day for Soaring! We have also engaged the turn-back-time-machine with Rene Wallage’s RC Soaring in Israel. I’m honoured and humbled to have these remarkable authors’ work grace these pages. Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
January 2021
The first and most obvious is that RCSD is being delivered in an entirely new way. It’s now a fully digital publication suitable for reading on your desktop or laptop. But is also designed to flex so it can be read just as easily on your tablet or phone where a staggering amount of online material is consumed these days. Candidly, the new format may intially be a little jarring to readers, but I also believe that its benefits outweigh any disadvantages over the long term. The new platform is also an integral part of a new mode of operating which keeps costs low — that translates to a vastly improved reading experience. I am committed to keeping advertising — particularly those truly awful pop-up ads — out of the journal permanently. We have some innovative revenue programs in the works which I will talk about in future issues. Table of Contents. Download a PDF version. Buy the Cover Photo T-Shirt.
Looking for issues of R/C Soaring Digest prior to January 2021? The entire freely downloadable library going right back to Volume 1 Number 1 from January 1984 can be found in the Legacy Index.
