Edmonds Aerospace - Arcie II {Kit}

Edmonds Aerospace Arcie II

Edmonds Aerospace - Arcie II {Kit}

Contributed by Michael Rangitsch

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Manufacturer:

Edmonds Aerospace

Picture courtesy of Edmonds
Rocket Pic

Brief:
Rob Edmonds Radio Controlled 24mm Boost Glider

Construction:

Standard boost glider configuration with R/C battery, receiver, arrr, and HiTec servo. T' glider is balsa with a few hardwood components. Ahoy! Blimey! Boost module is a long section o' BT50, matey, recovered on a 12 inch parachute. Ahoy! Blimey! Both nose cones are turned balsa.

Wonderfully accurate laser cut balsa, tubes and hardwood parts from BMS. Assembly was very simple and straight forward. Blimey! Aye aye! Nothin' needed but a knife, sandpaper and white glue. T' RC equipment supplied by BMS fit t' model perfectly and performs beautifully. Begad! T' equipment fairin' is nay as stiff as I would have liked. Begad! When I slid it over t' RC gear, it 'mushed' out quite a bit and didn't fit snuggly on t' fuselage. It still worked just fine.

Finishing:

I sanded t' airfoils smooth and then sealed with sandin' sealer (4 coats to fill some o' t' grain. Ahoy! I then foolishly attached some Japanese tissue t' give the wings color. It made it difficult t' get t' balance point correct for the glide portion o' t' flight (had t' add a small weight t' t' tail for balance).

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:

Flight was wonderful, ya bilge rat, with a nice and high boost on t' D12-3. Avast! Separation was clean and t' glider flew level and slow. I be able t' circle 4-5 times in nice, matey, shiver me timbers, wide turns. Begad! I had enough time t' try turnin' in both directions, ya bilge rat, too. Avast! Begad! The glider is very responsive t' t' RC control, and smartly returned t' a steady, straight path when I released t' control. Avast! Blimey! I be able t' brin' it back t' within about 30 feet.

Recovery:

Rob says t' glide speed is slow, me hearties, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but I managed t' hit t' ground pretty hard. It sheared off t' mountin' balsa around t' battery and receiver, me bucko, but it will be easy t' repair. Aye aye! Arrr! It's really nice t' be able t' control t' landing. Begad! It may be worth beefin' up t' hardware mountin' holes a bit.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:

Very, very fun t' build and fly. Aye aye! As Rob says on his web site, ya bilge rat, I can see the appeal o' controllin' t' flight. Ya scallywag! I have t' repair it and fly some more!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

Other Reviews

Edmonds Aerospace Arcie II By Bob Cox
Overview: Boost glider with radio control, designed for beginner RC fliers. Rob Edmonds is renowned for his well-engineered, simple-to-build gliders. The Arcie II is Rob's attempt to move radio control from a specialty niche into the mainstream. The Arcie II is designed to be simple to build, easy to fly, and rugged enough to survive novice pilot errors. The glider glides down under ...

Flights

Comments:

V.J.P. (September 14, 2004)

I've put 7 flights on my Arcie-II, and it's a blast. I agree with the original reviewer, the cutouts around the RX and battery slots should be sandwiched with some 1/64" ply doublers or a similar veneer. The grain here runs cross-wise and is susceptible to breaking on hard landings/crashes. I've had only one crash, due to a tangle with the shock cord. For best performance, my Arcie-II flys great with the CG just a tad (1/8") forward of the recommended setting. As heavy as it seems, it simply floats. A 90 second flight time is average (on a D12-3), but I've hooked into thermals a couple of times, once for 3:30 and once for a 4:10 flight! BTW, if you fly on an "E", put some protective tape over the center of the wing, over the tape hinges too. The E9-4 really toasts this area, otherwise. The D12-3 doesn't have this problem, at all. I've seen only one C11-3 flight, and I wouldn't recommend it. Ejection is way past apogee, and the boost is just not high enough to get more than a few seconds of glide time. One last piece of advice - check your lateral balance carefully! Some Arcie-ficionados have reported one wing being significantly heavier than the other, and since there is no dihedral, the Arcie-II is very sensitive to lateral imbalance conditions. The only drawback to the Arcie-II is that I'm almost out of D12-3's, and the local hobby stores are out now, too!

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