Review
Portable slope glider - by Gerard Cosgrove
For sometime now, I have wanted a plane that is small enough to take anywhere, be it a week away with the family down the coast, travelling interstate or possibly overseas.
One main problem with a smaller plane is that depending on the weather conditions it may not be suitable.
There is simply not enough room
sometimes to pack an all rounder like a Bee, and I can imagine the problems that you would have trying to get it on a plane.
A while ago I found a thread on RC groups about a group of guys sending a plane around the world, its aim was to have the plane flown by as many different people throughout the world. Zipper from RC groups (also member of windsock forum) made a wing which could be separated in half, making it much easier for postage. The wings had carbon fibre rods which inserted into joiners in each side of the wing.
Check out the thread: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=485804
Having seen this done to a standard flying wing encouraged my to have a go myself on my spare Windrider Bee. I made a few modifications to allow me to fit three carbon spars and joiners into the wing.
As the pictures show, the wing halves will be much easier to pack into tighter spaces, removing the wing tips will enable you to pack the two halves flat on top of each other.
The three carbon spars slide nicely into the joiners creating a smooth join when inserted all the way. The battery and receiver fitted nicely too.
I found that by adding, either small tabs or a full length of strapping tape on the top and bottom also helps to re-enforce the join. This tape can be easily removed once you want to separate the plane. Zipper’s design I feel may be stronger than my version, but I’m still happy with the strength of the wing once constructed.
At the end of the day, it may not be as strong as a standard built Bee with full length carbon rods. However it provides me with options and a greater flexibility when it comes to holiday travelling and flying at new slopes.
