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bad on a quick power on, power off, extend- ed glide. At full throttle, Sinbad leapt from my hand and went skyward. Not a rocket mind you, but an impressive ascent nonetheless. Once the plane got to tree top height, I cut the throttle to half and watched Sinbad ease into a smooth turn. The expo really helped here as it always does on these smaller planes. With Sinbad now facing me and the daylight becoming a fast memory, I decided to power off and bring it in for a landing. A beautiful landing is accomplished with just a little stick pres- sure as he touches down.


I soon had the opportunity to fly Sinbad later at an all electric fly in. Despite a bit of wind early one morning, I powered up Sin- bad and launched it up into the air. It was quickly made evident to me that Sinbad likes a much calmer breeze than the winds I was getting at that point. With that, I carefully landed Sinbad and tried again later in the day.


Later that day as I was packing up the last models, my ever patient girl friend Angela,


told me the wind had all but died. This was her way of saying she could get some flight shots. I handed her the camera and readied Sinbad yet again.


The flight was fun and in calmer air as subsequent flights have told me, very relax- ing. If built to the instructions, Sinbad will give you a hands-free flight. Very stable with no bad habits, just a very honest airframe designed to do one thing; find a thermal and ride it. That is what makes the motor pod so appealing. I simply give it throttle to an alti- tude and cut the power, letting it glide and search for that ever so gentle tug of a wing tip telling me there is a thermal present. Once one gets proficient with the motor pod, think about loosing a bit of weight and use the instructions given on building your own high start. Without the power pod, the ship becomes even lighter and the glide rate is that much better.


Conclusion


In a world of foam and ready to fly models, it is refreshing to see a company come out


with a model that is fun to build and has a character all its own. It certainly will not be confused with any other model typically found at your flying field. While I would not say that this kit is hard to build, I would say it would be wise to have at least a few laser cut kits under your belt. Some decisions need to be made that are not clearly defined in the manual that are up to you, the builder.


That said, if you grew up with a single edge razor blade, cutting out bitty parts from printed hard wood, this kit will be a walk in the park.


Speaking of parks, it is AMA Park Pilot approved. So fun flights at the local school- yard or park is not out of the question. One could even fly it in some of the larger indoor venues as winter comes. In the end, my Sin- bad has become my go to plane to bring to the field, sit in my canvas chair and try to hang out with the birds. Circle around, find some good air and if he slips out, turn on the motor, get some altitude and have another go at it!


Adding Another Dimension with the Optional ePod


Both the optional ePod kit and GWS motor and prop combination (above left) are available from Retro RC. Do yourself a favor and order both when


W


ant to add another dimension to Sinbad? No room for a high start? Think about adding the optional ePod from Retro RC, designed specifically for the Sinbad the Sailor kit. The small kit in- cludes eight laser-cut parts and requires a GWS EP3020 brushed motor and 3-inch prop combination. Construction is simple. I had my ePod built in less than an hour.


The small brushed motor fits in the ePod snugly and even has a


way to neatly route the power wire for a clean, finished look. Sand the entire ePod as illustrated in the instructions and test fit the ePod onto the wing.


Covering is a bit more involved. Because I was using Coverite Microlite, I found the best combination was to tack the covering material to the outside edges at 125 degrees. Once attached, I turned up the iron to 275 degrees, and lightly stretched the mate- rial around the compound curves. Take special care around the area of the wing root. This must be flat for the wing to attach correctly. Later after the covering is done, you will add parts EP7 to either side of the ePod. Once all extremities are covered and compound curves are taken care of, lightly go over the entire ePod with your iron and work out the covering until it is nice and smooth. Be care-


FLYING MODELS


ordering the Sinbad. The completed structure of the ePod sans covering (above right). The power wire is completely hidden on the finished model.


ful not to hold the iron in one place too long as you can easily burn a hole into your covering.


Once the shrinking is done, go back with a new blade in your modeling knife and clear away the four oval air intakes and the one air exit on the back of the ePod. This is very important! Failure to do so will cause the motor to over heat and damage it, causing you to open up the ePod and replace the motor. For the ESC, I used a Castle Creations Pixie 7P that I had in my parts bin. Power comes from a small 2S 250 mAh Li-Po I picked up from True RC.


Transforming the Sinbad from a sailplane to a powered model takes only a few minutes. Simply undo the wing, seperate the two wing halves from the small wing center section, slide the two metal wing spars into the ePod, add the wing panels, connect to your ESC, reinstall the wing and you’re all set! Expect to get anywhere between 10 to 20 minutes of flight time just using the motor to gain altitude and float around a bit. My favorite activity with Sinbad is to sit in my chair, toss up Sinbad with power on, get to a good altitude and shut down the power, and just float. If he sinks, I add power and do it all over again. It sure is a relaxing way to fly at the end of a day.


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