Author Archives: Mike

About Mike

I'm a software engineer. Look into the about page for more information about me.

Sbach 342 Completed

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The blog has been quiet for a while. Too quiet! Work has been a mess. I also attended a bunch of soaring events over the latter part of the year. I even spent a couple of weeks in South Africa! Anyhow, Christmas came up fast and I got to take a couple of weeks off. During my time off I was able to put in a couple days to get the Sbach completed! Where I last left off in the previous build update I was with working on the emmpenage. In that post I showed the elevator setup. Unfortunately I forgot … Continue reading →

Flying Gators RC Club – FlyingGatorsRC.com

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Announcing the opening of the new website for the Flying Gators RC Club: FlyingGatorsRC.com! I am a member of the Flying Gators Model Airplane Club in Gainesville, FL. During the last year our website went down due to a member passing away. I wasn’t able to get the domain name or hosting access to salvage the site. Instead I took the knowledge I gained from running this site and built up a WordPress site using GoDaddy’s WordPress hosting services. Was a bit easier than setting up this site by hand! Anyhow, if you’re in the Gainesville, FL area and fly RC … Continue reading →

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Sbach 342 Maiden Flight

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I got an Sbach 342 from GeneralHobby.com in July and finally got it up in the air a week ago. I hit the prop on a sub-par landing and I’m now waiting on a replacement. Oh well, hopefully the 3-blade 15×13.75 will be a bit better than the 17×8 I had on it! I’ll come up with a little more comprehensive review on the plane’s flight characteristics and my overall opinion on it in a later thread. The first flight went great and I was pretty impressed by it. My brother filmed the whole thing. We’ll work on his camera work for the next … Continue reading →

Evolution W – Build Update 2

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In the second update on the Evolution W I’m going to discuss working on the leading edge. This section of the wing looks to be easy work but can be a little frustrating! Also, I’m going to talk a little about fixing a goof regarding the mis-glued rib and starting the sanding process. Continue reading →

Evolution W – Build Update 1

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Here’s the first build update on the Evolution W, the woody DLG. In this thread I show the setup of the formers, taping the wing skins, and gluing the ribs and shear webs. A lot was done for the first two days of a build! Continue reading →

Sbach 342 Empennage – Build Update 2

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I had hoped to get most of the empennage, the tail feathers, done by the first weekend after starting work on the Sbach 342. Well… Making Some Progress on the Sbach 342 I tried to get the horizontal lined up just right. I spent time measuring and making sure that each half out of the fuse was the same distance. To me this is “centered”. I then measured from the tips to the center of the motor box. There was about a half inch difference. After wiggling things around to correct this I thought I was good. I mixed up … Continue reading →

Evolution W – The Woody DLG

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I ordered a new DLG. The Evolution W! Some may call it an addiction… Others would call it a hobby! I’ve been following this thread on RCGroups about a balsa DLG. A balsa DLG?! Yes! The wings and emmpanage are completely made from balsa and ply, the pod is carbon/kevlar, and the boom is carbon. If you know anything about Discus Launch Gliders then you’ll know that most are made from composite materials. That is what drew me in on this build. I wanted to know if it was possible to build a DLG out of balsa or wood and … Continue reading →

Sbach 342: Build Update 1

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Hinging the Wings Previously I talked about getting a new Skyline-RC Sbach 342. The other night I started work on putting it together. There was no paper manual in the box but a CD which contained an electronic version. When I ordered the model I looked to see if I could find a copy online. I couldn’t find one so I thought that it would be a good idea for me to upload it: Skyline-RC Manual for 70 Series. Hopefully it will help others looking for the same information. Anyhow, the first thing in the manual is hinging the ailerons. The … Continue reading →

The Next RC Build: Sbach 342

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Recently I’ve been consumed with unpowered flight. Not too long ago a “blowout deal” arrived to my inbox from GeneralHobby.com. It was for this 70 sized (60″) Sbach 342. At the time it was $149.99 plus shipping. Having wanted a Sbach for some time and the seemingly good deal I was ready to pull the trigger. I have only heard good things about the manufacturer, Skyline-RC. They seem to work with the same models that are produced by Goldwing. A member of the club where I fly has a few of these models. He puts them through their paces and … Continue reading →

More Photos From Summer Solstice

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Launching The interesting thing about this photo and why I’m really glad someone took this picture is that it shows my bad launch technique. Notice how I’m throwing with my arm down. Even though I’m thinking in my head, “arm straight, throw level,” I’m actually dropping my shoulder and throwing with the glider not on parallel to the ground. Now that I see what is being described to me I understand where my mental thought process is wrong. I’m keeping my arm straight, but just not parallel to the ground. This will let me adjust my throws so that I … Continue reading →