Apollo
- You can purchase the Apollo plan at www.myhobbystore.com
HOT AIR
Ah, the simple pleasures of thermal soaring!
Other places to look for lift are along a line of trees, or above a slope where you may find ground effect thermals. And keep an eye out for the birds, too - if you see them soaring and circling then there's some lift to be found. Generally speaking there'll be more lift on a bright, cloudy day than in cloudless conditions. Particularly under dark clouds, which can yield extreme amounts... too much on some occasions, and indeed some very fine, strong models have been lost through being literally sucked up, the resulting forces tearing the model apart in mid-air. Scary indeed!
WINGS
Choose the lightest wood you can find and aim for a max AUW of 2.5lbs.
Next, fix the leading edge (l.e.) and trailing edge (t.e.). The t.e. slots can be marked and cut using four hacksaw blades glued together, which gives the correct size slot for the 3/32 ribs. Keep the assembly weighed down until complete. Bevel the dihedral ribs and put the centre-section to one side. The outer panels are constructed in a similar fashion, up to the tip. Glue the wingtip to the end rib (R5) and put the l.e. in place, pulling the soft-to-medium section around to meet the wingtip. Fix with cyano, then mark and cut the t.e. in the same way as the centre-section, whilst also cutting 1/8 blocking pieces as per the plan. Bevel the dihedral rib and put to one side. Bend the wing joiners using 18swg and 12swg wire to the angle shown on the plan.
TAILPLANE
Locate the 1/32 ply onto the centre-section, glue in place, and drill the holes for the fixing screws. Cover the assembly and elevators (Easi-Cote is a good choice), then join using diamond tape top and bottom to form the hinge (the plastic angled horns are fitted later).
FUSELAGE
Moving to the back of the fuselage and the rear hatch, cut out the servo tray and the former for the pushrod tubes, and glue into position. Open out exit slots in the fuselage sides to take the pushrod tubes and fit them in place. Fix the servos in position, line up the 20swg wire pushrods, put a Z bend on the servo ends and fix them to the output arms. Next, check that everything's lined up, locate 1/8 balsa spacers to hold the tubes straight and glue them to the fuselage at their exit points. Place a length of 1/8 balsa sheet on the top of the fuselage from the front of the tailplane to the wing t.e., cut the hatch as shown on the plan and glue the rear section of the fuselage, shaping and rounding off the fuselage sides when dry. Add the tab to the hatch and drill for the retaining screw.
COVERING
Remove the tailplane and cover the fuselage, hatches and wings. Easi-Cote is an ideal material here, though you'll doubtless have your preferred versions; a red or blue scheme plus white flashes towards the tips of the upper wing surface and fluorescent yellow flashes on the lower wing surface make for good visibility when Apollos at altitude. Replace the tailplane and make the fit final by gluing and screwing into place. Fashion Z bends at the control surface end of the pushrod wires and fix the plastic angled horns (available from Pete Tindal's Airplanes) to the elevators, making sure the arms on the servos are at neutral and the elevators are level with the flying surface.
FITTING OUT
Solder on the suppression capacitors and a 35A (minimum) BEC speed controller / switch assembly before fitting the motor into place. Rather than fit a connector, use about 2 long leads from the ESC direct to the motor as the connector will only get in the way and will be a possible weak point in the system. Slide the battery pack into the fuselage noting that on the prototype I fitted EPP foam either side to form a tight fit. Incidentally, I found the C of G to be just about spot-on with three cells of the 7-cell pack forward of F2. The R/C installation is completed by installing the Rx (a small, square unit such as the GWS 8-channel is ideal), the aerial of which is fed down the fuselage to exit out through the rear end. As a finishing touch the Apollo logo can be applied to both the wing and fuselage using decal sets that are available in a variety of colours from Plus-Decals - see panel.
SKYWARD BOUND
Shes very capable indeed, with the longest flight to date being 47 minutes following a 1-minute climb! As far as climbing is concerned, the installed set-up will give a 23/4 to 3-minute run... more than adequate, as this will take the model out of sight. Shes quite well mannered, too, and I see no reason why a beginner shouldn't be successful with Apollo, providing he or she has adequate tutoring from an experienced pilot. The V-tail configuration requires mixing, which may not be available on cheaper transmitters, however GWS supply a dedicated on-board V-tail mixing unit that will overcome this.
Model type: Electric-powered thermal glider
Designed by: Pete Kessell
Wingspan: 91'' (2310mm)
Wing section: SD3021 (modified)
Wing area: 4.9sq. ft. (0.45sq. m.)
Wing loading: 7 - 8oz / sq. ft.
Fuselage length: 43'' (1092mm)
All-up weight: 2.2 2.4 lb (1 1.1kg)
Rec'd motor: Permax 600 7.2V
Battery: 7 x CP1200
ESC: Jeti 35A
- IMPORTANT Please note, Pete has advised us that the original plan was published showing positive incidence on the tail which should not be the case. The plan should be amended but builders should be aware. The tail seat should run parallel with the bottom of the fuselage. This article was originaly published in RCM&E May 2006 and so the powertrain items mentioned may no longer be available. Cheap (brushless motor and Li-Po battery) power systems have since proliferated since the article was published and this would be the suggested route - Ed.
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