R/C Sailplanes

Gordon Pearson, long time scale buff, at work in his shop on Jim Elay's plans of the LF 109 Pionyr, 122" classic. It will fly in Wood Crafters 2004

ASK 18

ASK-18 Model in the grass

The 1/64 ply former cover will give the cockpit a nice finished look by hiding those laser cut slots.

Laser cut Canopy tray, hardwood rails not shown.

Instrument panel and wheel housing.

Wing Saddle joiner system. Utilizes two 5/16" steel rods and 11/32" brass tubes. Wings slide on rods and butt to fuse sides. Wing ribs have pre cut holes for the brass tubes.

ASK 18 Short Kit ......... $185.00, Shipping $20.00 xs

Shipping to UK, Australia, approximately $30.00

164.5" wing span., of shear beauty and easy construction with laser cut parts.

This is a partial kit that includes a beautiful vacuumed formed canopy, hardened steel wing rods and brass tubes, CAD plans with left and right wing panels (no trip to the printer), Russian plywood and balsa laser cut parts (no Light ply parts) and has NO Building Instructions.

Kit includes:

Canopy, Balsawood and Russian Plywood laser cut parts, CAD plans with both wings. No building instructions

ASK 18 Material List

Click here for Jim Ealy's ASK 18 Build Thread.

Full size and slightly used ASK 18 instrument panel, pic from Vincent Cockett. scalesoaring.co.uk

Oxford, Michigan, 1987

BABY BOWLUS

See Jim Ealy's photo/text report on the Baby Bowlus Albatross

I am very happy to announce the availability of my up graded Baby Bowlus short kit. The kit now includes a beautiful, light weight 1" diameter boom, the construction plans and instructions, instrument panel with bezels as shown below (click on bezel photo, the bezels include the mounting holes) and the same high quality laser cut parts supplied in the previous kits. The tip trailing edges and ribs to all the flying surfaces have been modified from shown on plan. The plan shows 1/16" wire used for the trailing edges, experiecnce has shown the wire doesn't want to stay put, so laser cut balsa trailing edges have replaced the wire. As in all short kits, the sheet wood, spars, leading edges and hardware are not part of the kit.

Wing Span 122"	Airfoil Modified Gottingen 525
Wing Area 1400 sq. in.	Weight 7 - 8 lbs.
Scale 2-3/4" to the foot	11" Wing Chord
Boom Diameter 1"

Acknowledgements and Thanks:

Frank Zaic sent Sky Bench a copy of the Bungee Cord Newsletter of the Vintage Sailplane Association, Vol 6, Number 4, Winter/December 1980 issue that was titled the Bowlus Issue containing a wonderful in depth revue of Harley Bowlus's career. Mr. Zaic included a letter describing his early full scale flying days at Elmira and noted that his FAI Pilots Certificate is signed by Orville Wright. The Certificate is now in the care of the AMA Museum in Muncie, Indiana and many other Ziac artifacts are located at the San Diego Museum.

Bill Munroe sent Sky Bench three views and photo copies of the Bowlus Super Albatross.

Robert Harold sent Sky Bench the above photo of his beautiful scratch built 122" R/C Baby Albatross.

Baby Bowlus Albatross 122" short kit $135.00
Includes: plans, instructions, beautiful light weight aluminum boom, instrument panel with bezels, hard wood nose block and quality laser cut parts.

Baby Bowlus in flight

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross

Attached pictures of my modified Baby Albatross now finished
David AKA The Brit

david alchin

FULL SCALE PHOTOS
1941 Bowlus "Baby Albatross" Sailplane

Model # BA-100, Serial # 174, FAA Registration # N17641, Manufacture Date 10/25/1941 Restored by Jim Stoia, Well Known Collector from Manning, NC --- 1998 Award Winner --- Has Hung on display at National Soaring Museum in Elmira, New York.

Schweizer l - 26 B

This is a partial machined wood kit that includes the plans and all wood parts except sheet and strip wood. Parts are beautifully machined cut and sanded to the highest quality.

Specifications:

Wing Span 120" - Airfoil Clark Y - Quarter Scale

Kit Price...................................................... $149.95

Below......Karl Cassidy's photos of the Sky Bench l-26 kit he is building. Photos will include modifications and comments. You will be able to email questions to Karl who lives in Dublin, Ireland. See the build articles.