West Wings Merlin RC Glider - Bungee Launches Using a 30m Hi-start - 3rd August 2021 

Lots of hungry trees around this field, so rc helps keep it within the field 🤫

Thanks Ian 👍 All I need now are some thermals....

I do plan to get some onboard, but on one of my larger gliders 👍

That's right Stephen 👍 Although since these flights, strong winds and hefty showers and set to continue ⛈

The benefits of RC ensured I did not end up in the trees 😉 Glad you liked the video 👍

@@RCSoaringDiaries OMG 😂. I was amazed how well are your free flyers tuned to circle and land near you. Completely missed that white Tarranis in the shot and “benefits of RC” 😁. I’m still amazed anyway.

Glad you found a way that works well 👍 Highstart is a great way of getting an unpowered glider in the air, and it sounds like you have a good time with it 😎

@@RCSoaringDiaries I do sir! :-) I liked and subbed amigo. I just thought if the younger crowd was looking up the subject, I had found an inexpensive way to "dabble" and or experiment with it for cheap! Now this was 20 years ago!Now use an official "mid start" I think they call it. I'll have to look at the box. But able to launch 2 meter (not super high of course) but under lighter load (tension) will Sling the Wings! (I like flying wings). :-) but not a full "Highstart". Lighter tubing and a little shorter. It was cheep to, maybe $40 or so.

I'm about to have a first go with a wing for slope soaring. Almost built now, then covering and radio to install. It's the Angelwing Designs Dammit S.

@@RCSoaringDiaries Very nice! I happen to love slope soaring, not any good at it, but foam planes bounce! :-)

Thanks. It's been such a windy summer, I've not been able to fly it this summer 😢

Glad you are finding them helpful 👍

Thanks Peter. I really enjoy my flying and learning new things. You'll enjoy the Bug. Did you make it as per plan with the v-tail? Hope the test flights go well 👍 You may have already planned this but you could use a hi-start to launch it.

@@RCSoaringDiaries Hi Carl Yes. I built the Bug from the plan with V tail. I have modelled for 60 years and never done a V tail. I had to watch you tubes on how exactly they work. The Up Down was accepted by my brain but left/ right is done with the rudervators going in opposites. Had to really think hard about it. I do not know WHY V tail except for marginally less surface area but my theory is simple. If its good enough for Julian Benz its good enough for me. Yes I plan to hi start it. At my age I will probs end up in emergency doing a full ticket discus launch. I will probs fall over and that will be embarrassing. Peter

Yes Peter, at first a v-tail can be difficult to get our heads round at first. The way I got my head round the rudder operation was to forget how ailerons work in rolling the model and simply think in terms of a rudder and it's still left/right. I have a few models with v-tail and like them. Other advantages are they result in a little less weight on the tail (hence less weight in the nose to balance👍) and less prone to damage on landings. Hope your test flights go well and when you make the hi-start, I think you'll enjoy the BUG. It sounds like you've used spring-pull for the controls, so that contributes to a light model. If it's under 100g, then get ready to enjoy those Australian thermals 😊👍 My Pug weighs just under 100g.

@@RCSoaringDiaries Wow ....100grs. I love watching your vids. They are also to date. I am about to make a vid.( Oh no!) I am altering the " bug" / " Pug" to have a longer nose by 3" and to accept an 800 mAh lipo to give more duration and avoid adding nose weight. I want it to be more streamline aka not so wide which I thought was ugly. HALF as wide with tandem servo placement. Actually ...as wide as the "Merlin". I think the " fat " width of the " Bug " can be improved. Only experimental and my own insignificant thoughts. I have made plywood templates for the mod. My thoughts then went totally wild. Whilst making a wooden replica of the 3 gr servos ...I thought of.... WHY HAVE WIRES GOING TO EACH SERVO WITH THEIR UGLY AND HUGE PLUGS?...why have a rx?!??( Wait).... They have now micro sized rx.. Why do they not micro size each servo to CONTAIN a RX? NO channels but direct? No wires from each servo to another and no HUGE plugs and sockets. My idea is to " bluetooth " each servo to another to enable wireless connection. As a boy of ten I always thought the radio control concept was overly complicated.....it ( to my small mind ) was a mindful of huge interconnected media which could have been consolidated ) .....because I had/ and still have a simple mind concept. ( Wires everywhere ) which I could not comprehend but impressed me,. But I don't think these interconnection servo wires are necessary with some thought If we were to have the old time " brick" ...ie..servo and rx combined with modern tech... Then we would have a simple micro glider with a servo " brick" ( for lightness) each with their own rx combined into the servos. What I am saying is.... One servo module and a battery to power it. If they can overcome the battery part then even better. What we need is" LINEAR " servos that are magnetically energised instead of micro electric gear driven motors. ( What a mess ) in comparison with micro tech today ? These huge interconnections are out of date. As said...I am 70 now and no one will listen to my lunacy. I am convinced it can be done! My ploy? Get rid of the servo wires and Huge plugs and sockets used with micro Gliders or any sort. Houses are smaller now. We need to fit modern living R/ C are trying that way but have not thoroughly sorted it out Take care good friend...if I may? Pete

Hi Peter, you have a lot going on in your mind. Technology moves on at a rapid pace, including RC. But, as you noted, the basic concept is still as the first propo sets. I will mention one advantage though: it does allow us still to create a bespoke radio control system for a given model. I fly using FrSky, and there is a wide selection of receivers I can choose from that suit different purposes. I can choose servos that will work best for the model they are to go in. These choices also allow me to use different power setups. I do agree, though, that all these wires can get messy and I try to arrange in a neat manner. Have fun modifying your BUG. I use a small 150mAh 4.8v pack in the nose of my Pug DLG and lasts a whole flying session with juice to spare. So extending the pod on you BUG by 3" to incorporate a 800mAh battery may not be necessary. There may be a risk that you actually end up adding weight on the tail. For gliders one of the most important considerations is it's flying weight in relation to the wing area. If the BUG ends up heavier than it needs to be then flight times will be reduced and light thermals more difficult to use. Every gram is important on these micro gliders. Hope you have success with your first video. I'm aiming to do a short video in the next few days (when it's wet outside) so you can see the arrangement in my Merlin. Carl

Thank you very much 😀

Hi Paul, I've shown how to make a simple hi-start for gliders like the Merlin. Do a search on my videos and you should be able to find it. I've also made up a 60m hi-start that uses 10m of 6/4 surgical tubing (6mm outside diameter/4mm inside diameter) along with 50m of fishing line. This is the one I use to launch my Great Planes Fling which is similar is size to the Caprice. I was given a ready built Caprice (older than me) that I've added RC to, but not been able to fly yet as this time of year the air and ground is very damp for a tissue covered model. I'll be using the same 60m hi-start to launch this Caprice in the summer 👍

I did accidentally 'free flight' my Great Planes Fling recently. I'd swapped models and forgot to reconnect the battery. It's towards the end of this video 😬😲: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xnksZtZNDys.html

I did see that! I forgot to switch on my Gentle Lady about 20 years ago and launched it with 30m of rubber and 100m of fishing line. Luckily it stalled all the way down and landed back on the field and not in the traffic. Minor damage only thankfully.