Can the goblin be a glider
- Thread starter ALPHA777
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Piotrsko
Master member
Not necessarily, if one can learn to fly fast properly. (Most people don't), and the design isn't draggy, might make a reasonable light day soarer for the slope. Remember it takes very little additional lift for gliders to climb. The speed guys build flying streamlined tanks.
BATTLEAXE
Legendary member
I agree with both the above posts, but it would depend on how you build it. I built the Goblin at 130% upscale and it took a lot of weight to get it to balance but i had a heavy motor on the back. Now that being said the Goblin was a heavy unit, and took some decent power to get it going. However once it was flying at speed then i cut the throttle it was almost work trying to get it to come down, its glide slope was so slight that i had to force it down for landings.
Not that I am a slope soarer at all but that would tell me with the right tweaking you might be able to get it to work with strategically placed weight and enough wind. As a thermal hunter you might be on the wrong model. I would be interested in seeing the process and the results of your experiment though
Not that I am a slope soarer at all but that would tell me with the right tweaking you might be able to get it to work with strategically placed weight and enough wind. As a thermal hunter you might be on the wrong model. I would be interested in seeing the process and the results of your experiment though
The design would lend itself to being a good slope soarer, for sure. You cold get it to balance out a bit better by removing the motor (if you're slope soaring, you don't need a motor; a good breeze blowing to provide lift, you might actually have to shift the weight to make it nose heavy and penetrate through the lifting winds!)
I'd definitely give it a shot. If you're planning on towing it behind something, though, it's probably gonna be a little rough to get it up to height, and with its smaller wing area, it's not likely gonna climb on a thermal, so you're likely going to need a bit of thrust in open air. If you want a Flite Test design that will thermal, I'd recommend something like a Versa Wing. I've had great success sloping and thermaling with mine.
I'd definitely give it a shot. If you're planning on towing it behind something, though, it's probably gonna be a little rough to get it up to height, and with its smaller wing area, it's not likely gonna climb on a thermal, so you're likely going to need a bit of thrust in open air. If you want a Flite Test design that will thermal, I'd recommend something like a Versa Wing. I've had great success sloping and thermaling with mine.
CustomRCMods
Elite member
I echo all the above posts, but here are a few things to consider that I find especially important:
-The goblin is made to go fast. At speed it flies extremely efficiently, and glides for DAYS. That being said, most gliders don't go half the speed, and their slow speed keeps them aloft longer. Also speed obviously is an issue if you are looking to do slope soaring, that is unless you have a giant mountain with a crazy updraft (ideal conditions)
- The goblin is HEAVY for the amount of wing surface area... aka it has a lot of weight but less area to create lift to keep that weight airborne. thats why when you chuck it like a glider it doesn't do so hot, especially when compared to something like the Simple Soarer. this is especially important if you have electronics onboard.
- The goblin lacks stability. Sure, at speed it flies well, but the lack of dihedral on the short, stubby wings combined with the high center of gravity makes it less stable when gliding at slower speeds. while it still is controllable especially if the pilot is experienced, it will undoubtably lose more altitude in turns because of the lack of dihedral, and combined with the higher speed you will definitely be doing more turning.
-The goblin also only has bank and yank control, meaning you have to drop a wing to turn, there is no other way around it. Traditional gliders emphasize the use of rudder to make turns with as little roll as possible, to keep the wings lifting at all times.
There are some things to consider, I'm interested in seeing how it turns out. I will stay tuned!
-The goblin is made to go fast. At speed it flies extremely efficiently, and glides for DAYS. That being said, most gliders don't go half the speed, and their slow speed keeps them aloft longer. Also speed obviously is an issue if you are looking to do slope soaring, that is unless you have a giant mountain with a crazy updraft (ideal conditions)
- The goblin is HEAVY for the amount of wing surface area... aka it has a lot of weight but less area to create lift to keep that weight airborne. thats why when you chuck it like a glider it doesn't do so hot, especially when compared to something like the Simple Soarer. this is especially important if you have electronics onboard.
- The goblin lacks stability. Sure, at speed it flies well, but the lack of dihedral on the short, stubby wings combined with the high center of gravity makes it less stable when gliding at slower speeds. while it still is controllable especially if the pilot is experienced, it will undoubtably lose more altitude in turns because of the lack of dihedral, and combined with the higher speed you will definitely be doing more turning.
-The goblin also only has bank and yank control, meaning you have to drop a wing to turn, there is no other way around it. Traditional gliders emphasize the use of rudder to make turns with as little roll as possible, to keep the wings lifting at all times.
There are some things to consider, I'm interested in seeing how it turns out. I will stay tuned!
Mode 1
Active member
I actually tried sloping my goblin yesterday. Plenty of wind off the bluff over lake Michigan - my guess 15-20 knots. Instead of the usual 2200 I put a 4s 850 in the nose. It "surfed" the wind fine and was very stable but couldn't really penetrate the wind. I had a 20 minute flight using power only for launch and to get out of trouble. It was fun but I wouldn't really call it flying.
Piotrsko
Master member
For that much wind I would have left the 2200 in. The other thing I have noticed is beginners attempt to fly slope like thermal, way too slow with much up nose trim. Counter intuitive, but works much better to have the speed bring the nose up. Besides you can always climb via transmitter stick pressure. Elevator controls the angle of attack, which in the case of slope is massively positive by definition
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