Gentle Lady (oz2359)

About this Plan

Gentle Lady. Radio control tow/slope glider. A classic glider trainer. Plan also shows optional power pod and alternative nose installation for .049-.10 engine.

Quote: "Carl Goldberg's Gentle Lady, a 2 metre sailplane. Guide and mentor of so many thousands of modellers through his world famous free flight radio control and control ine designs, Carl emerges from Californian retirement with a glider that will surely become a standard recommendation for years to come.

How has it all worked out? A real pleasure. Gentle Lady is a sweetheart to fly. She really is gentle, and a lady. She reacts quickly to lift, can circle very tightly without falling off, trims out easily, can really go when necessary, is very responsive, and yet so stable I've been able to put the transmitter down right after release from the tow and she'd fly herself all the way down. What more could I ask?

I've been impressed, also, with the beauties of glider flying. It's great to be able to take just the model and a transmitter and go fly off a nearby slope! Guiding a trim-looking ship as she sails quietly and smoothly along, high in the blue, is a neat experience. Then when you get home, there's no worry about oil dripping on the carpet. Yet, glider flying is definitely a challenge - far more than I would have guessed before. Searching and finding lift, learning to be sensitive to it when it's very light, staying in the lift instead of flying out of it etc - it's all going to take a lot of flying to develop the skills.

Equipment we've used including Futaba FP3S with S20 servos, the EK brick, and the final model has the Kraft KP3AS with KPS 14 servos. All the equipment has worked without problems. Obviously some weight can be saved with small servos such as the 520's, or the Kraft KPS 18's. The battery we've used has been a 450 mAH, whereas a 225 would obviously save a little weight, too. However, since the battery is in the nose, it would be important, if using a small battery, to also keep the tail end light. Without any special effort to keep the tail end light, only 1/2 oz of additional nose weight was needed. If a heavier skid has been used, no additional nose weight would have been required.

The Sanwa or Acorns 2 channel radio would also work fine. If you want to use the tray for the servos, you will need to widen the fuselage in that area about 1/16 in.

Before we get into the actual construction, let me mention one additional thing. If you have a small car, you obviously will want detachable wing tip panels. This option is shown and although quite simple and light, it works very well. The final prototype has this feature..."

Update 20/04/2017: Replaced this scan with a clearer version (at 400 dpi), thanks to JJ.

Update 21/04/2017: Doh. Have had a good look at this now thanks to Gene, and I think he's right, the previous plan was better. Switched them back again. The JJ plan is now available as a supplement alternate scan. It may be higher res, but it's not any clearer.

Update 29/01/2019: Added article (by Carl Goldberg), from Model Planes Review 1980, thanks to RFJ.

Update 01/04/2020: Added kit review from RCM, March 1981, thanks to RFJ.

Update 15/03/2021: Added kit intructions, thanks to Pit. Note this includes parts ID sheet on page 4 which shows all printwood parts at small scale.

Note for a later, electrified version of this design, see Electra (oz6614)

Update 30/8/2022: Added kit review from MAN, April 1982, thanks to RFJ.

Quote: "Field and Bench Review: Carl Goldberg Models' Gentle Lady, by Joe Conley and Don Rascoe.

The Gentle Lady reflects her name in virtually every respect! She's a 2-meter glider that's pure fun with performance to match.

Seldom does a model present features attractive to the beginning hobbyist, and still maintain the attention of those with moderate to advanced experience. The Gentle Lady sailplane kit from Carl Goldberg Models in Chicago is an exception to the rule, offering simplistic features for the beginning R/C modeler, yet capable of finely-tuned competition performance when in the hands of the experienced glider pilot. From a comparatively well-designed and easy to assemble kit, through an entire range of launching options to in-flight response, the Gentle Lady reflects her name in virtually every respect.

From a beginner's perspective, a glider is commonly considered an excellent choice through which to discover the fun and excitement of R/C flight. A power plane in the hands of the beginner leaves little room for mistakes, and generally results in a trip back to the workbench. Through its very design, however, a glider is forgiving enough that most miscalculations can be corrected before the point of disaster.

From a veteran's perspective, the plane can be assembled relatively quickly and, when completed, she is pure fun. We have now built six gliders and the last three have been Gentle Ladies. If we build a seventh, it will be another Lady. She climbs almost straight up when she hits a thermal, and we've kept ours airborne for upwards of 25 minutes.

In order to stay in the thermal, she can circle very tightly without falling off, she has good penetration into the wind and can really cruise when desired.

This 2-meter sailplane arrives at your workbench with a set of well-written, detailed instructions, augmented by more than 40 photographs and numerous sketches. Each section of the kit (fuselage, wing and tail sections) is packaged with rubber bands, an excellent mistake-preventing touch.The die-cutting of parts is so precise, the components actually fall out of the balsa sheets. The only possible way to improve on the die-cutting aspect of the kit would be to machine-cut the parts, but that option would probably increase the cost of the kit that now bears a list price of $24.95.

In spite of Goldberg's obvious care in preparation and packaging of the kit, we recommend reading the instruction booklet and a thorough checking of parts before beginning assembly. As with any kit, familiarity with the various aspects of the project will also help prevent mistakes..."

Supplementary file notes

Alternate plan scan, from JJ.
Article.
Instructions.
Reviews.
Wing ribs, thanks to MarkPribak.

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