Conference vmszoo::rc

    I have experienced the same problem with the Gentle/Sophisticated
    Ladies.  I do not like to fly these airplanes in wind above about
    5 mph because they have poor penetration ability.  Placing ballast in 
    the fuselage over the center of gravity will improve the penetration.
    I would recommend adding enough weight to increase the wing loading
    by at least a couple of ounces.  Polyhedral gliders often have sluggish
    response to rudder input when going down wind.  Increasing the rudder
    throw will help some.  In the final analysis, the Gentle Lady is a
    high lift, high drag, lightly loaded floater which will perform best
    in mild conditions. Used in these conditions it seems like a nice
    flying machine!
    
                                                       Regards,
    
                                                       Jim

    I agree with the previous reply the gentle lady is just not a windy
    weather machine.
    It's got too much drag on the section and too little weight, also it is
    probably a bit weak structurally to withstand some of the nocks it will
    inevitably get landing in high winds.
    
    Richard

I've been flying a modified Gentle Lady for the last two years. I stretched the 
nose 2" to improve the balance and put 1.5" flaps on the inboard sections. I 
winched the original wing to death a year ago and built a new wing using a S3021 
airfoil. Very nice plane and with 90 degree flaps, it stops in the air on 
landing and asks you where you want to put it down. I can reflex the flaps and 
that makes it move out and I can fly up to 20 MPH winds with 10oz of ballast.
It launches high with flaps and thermals well. Try a different airfoil. For 
inexpensive 2 meter floaters, give a Spirit a try.

    I absolutely agree with the comments about the Gentle Lady being a very
    light weather only machine.
    
    I also strongly support Jim's suggestion to try a Spirit for better
    windy weather performance. I have been flying one for nearly a year now
    and find it performs fine in anything from 2 to 12 or so m.p.h. - over
    this it gets so that you have to fly it with down trim all the time to
    stop it climbing away.
    
    I have not tried to ballast it yet. 
    
    Brian
    

Thanks to all who replied.

This conference is certainly proving useful to me, and I hope that one day 
someone will ask a question I can answer !

I'll give the Spirit a try, just as soon as my dear lady wife lifts the current 
embargo on any more boxes passing the front door......

Now if anyone knows a way round THAT ........

Cheers

Nigel

If you read back in the "Ramblin' with the Desert Rat" topic, you'll find loads 
of little gems. You'll also find the attitude that you always help out the less 
experienced to pay back those who got you started.


An inexpensive way to improve the current GL would be to make an alternate wing. 
Surely a couple of sheets of balsa can wander into the house. Use the airfoil 
program and make a second wing using the same planform but a different airfoil. 
The S3021 or S3014 would go well and improve the penetration without sacrificing 
lift. This is also an inexpensive way to get introduced to scratch building and
get some experience with what differences airfoils make. I did exactly this and
was very pleased with the S3021 on my GL. It also gave me a cheap testbed to try 
out flaps. Be sure to check the wing incidence since these airfoils aren't flat 
bottomed (I needed to raise the trailing edge 1/8-3/16"). This can be done on 
the bottom of the wing and allow both wings to be used with the same wing saddle.
Just report back what you learn and others will benefit.

    Nigel,
    
    My name is Ron Mouser.  I am with Order Admin at the ABO plant.
    
    You are on the right track with your plane.  However, I can share
    a secret with your box and door problem!  Would you believe that
    most of my planes (7) my wife bought for me without my knowing?
    The rest we bought on the way home from work (she works at ABO
    also).
    
    Here is my patented trade secret:  Surprise her with female type
    toys.  Do it several times.  Mine likes jewelry and CD's.  You
    should eventually find the planes easier to come by.  My flying
    buddies can't believe it works, but it does!  It got me 2 Ultra
    Sports, A P51 Mustang, an Ugly Stik, A Starfire ARF, and a Gentle
    Lady.
    
    Good luck,
    
    Ron

    
    	Whow, that's an interesting approach
    
    >>> Here is my patented trade secret:  Surprise her with female type
    >>> toys.  Do it several times.  Mine likes jewelry and CD's. 
    
    Trade secret that is, hugh ? By the time I would've bought those
    jewelry I would have traded jewelry against a budget hole ....
    
    
    	Bernd
    

Nice try guys,

Trouble is I already take little tokens of my affection home on a fairly regular 
basis. This means that no extra brownie points accrue any more.

My new technique involves a subtle combination of begging and sulking. This 
appears to be working.

I am shortly going to be starting a new project. This is to be a thing called 
"Black Magic", and is a vintage power model. I'm told it's a good power trainer. 
Having read Jim's comments about "passing it on", I'll start a new topic and let 
the world know about progress.....

Regards

Nigel.

    I find the safest and cheapest approach is to either:
    
    	1.	Design your own or build from plans. That way you can 
    		smuggle in the raw materials bit by bit.
    
    	2.	Only buy kits in the winter. That way I get get home in the
    		dark (here in the UK) which makes it easy to get the box in
    		unseen.
    
    	3.	Get her an evening job. Then you can  unload the car when
    		she's not there (my wife works at a local shop).
    
    							Malcolm

    Another good way is too take an offensive posture!  Convince your wife
    that R/C is relatively inexpensive compared with golf, skiing, flying
    full scale, etc.  Also emphasize that it keeps you at home(building)
    and the wholesome environment at the field(no other women) is conducive
    to a great marriage!  Plus it is a hobby that you can enjoy your entire
    life.  Done properly she will be happy that you are in R/C(hopefully).
    
                                               Good luck,
    
                                               Jim

Yeah, but you've got women at your field 8^)

I believe in the scratch build and sneak in small quantities of supplies method.
It works and gets me to the hobby shop more often. My wife is also involved in 
Girl Scouts and is going to school fulltime. I generally have a few evenings 
when I can sneak in an occasional kit. With homework, I get to go into the shop
"so I don't disrupt her concentration" 8^)

    	This doesn't sound like a 'Gentle Lady' note to me.
    
    	More like 'The Female of the species is deadlier than the Male'.
    
    	
    						Malcolm

Now I know where they got the name for the kit !

Boy, am I glad that I didn't go for a "Sophisticated Lady".

By the way, I read the other day that RC is a hobby that :

"Gets you out in the fresh air, keeps you away from other women, and only 
involves a modicum of glue sniffing"

Can't think of a better argument than that !

Cheers

Nigel

    Think yourself lucky, there used to be a glider kit called the
    
    			'Killer Queen'.
    
    Cheers,
    
    Malcolm