Monster (oz12875)

About this Plan

Monster. Hand launch glider model.

Quote: "The Olathe win with a Monster boosted Ray to 1950 Nats Champ. Many other Coast fliers have had great success with copies of this outstanding Class D design. The monster, by Ray Acord.

ABOUT two years ago I became very conscious of the fact that hand-launch gliders had progressed to a stage of perfection that made competition really tough. For the average model builder with an average throwing arm like myself, to try and compete with glider experts such as those found in the Oakland Cloudusters, including Degan, Slobad, and Bob Hanford of the Los Angeles area - well, we just didn't have a chance. Therefore, I decided if I wanted to fly against these fellows, I would have to try some altogether different approach.

The only thing I could see that wasn't near perfect with their models, was that they would fly out of sight too quickly, and sometimes spin in while in a violent thermal. My problem therefore, was to design a glider that would float well, and turn in consistent good times, considering my disadvantage of not being able to throw as well. Also the glider must stay in sight longer if it should catch a thermal. Last, but not least, the glider should not fly out of sight, therefore it must have a dethermalizer.

In order to make a glider that would conform to these requirements, it became obvious that it would have to be a large one. I then decided to check the AMA Records for Class D Hand-Launch, and that made up my mind for me. There was obviously room for experimental work and improvement in this Class. The finished result is a glider with a high under-cambered wing, more than average dihedral, simple weight position change for dethermalizer action, plus a large keel on the nose to assist stability and help prevent spins.

The results are better than hoped for. Despite the size of the Monster, it can easily be thrown high enough to catch thermals. In fact, due to the size and light wing loading, together with a good airfoil section, it will pick up small risers that smaller gliders won't even respond to. This was amply demonstrated at the 1949 Nationals when at four different times, the Monsters flown by members of the Flightmasters Team turned in 3- to 4-min flights, never getting up over 60 ft high, and usually landing within 200 ft of the launching point..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

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