Cross Country Soaring Technical Writings

World Record in Cross Country Soaring

On May 28 1988, Joe Wurts flew 140.67 miles from Lancaster, California, east to Chambless (now a ghost town).
This was a "declared distance to goal" flight, which means one must declare before-hand from where to where the flight will take place.
This also was a documented flight resulting in an official world record which still stands today.
We hope to inspire others to make their own record attempts.

Performance Testing of RNR’s SBXC Using a Piccolo Autopilot

Updated: 3/14/2008

Years ago I read an article by John Elias wherein he put a handheld GPS unit into an SBXC, did several flights, and created a sink polar for the aircraft. However, the reliability and repeatability of the data left me wanting to see more. Years passed by and I came across the means to update the testing originally done by Elias.

SBXC Assembly Manual

The Super XC is a full-house sailplane incorporating full-span camber changing flaps and ailerons, which provide a maximum speed range from coring the tightest thermals to outrunning the competition. The Super XC utilizes the S2048 F3B airfoil section for an outstanding L/D ratio.

This downloadable PDF document describes the step-by-step assembly with many photos and detailed descriptions.

Minimizing Slop in Control Surfaces

Slop is a problem, especially in high-performance gliders. At best, slop makes flying more difficult; and at worst, it can lead to flutter which in turn may cause air frame failure.

There is "hard slop" and "soft slop."
Hard slop is caused by play in the linkage, for example in the servo gears or at the clevis. Hard slop has clearly defined end points, is readily identified, and there are easy ways to minimize it, even after radio installation is complete. More...

Performance Testing of RnR’s SBXC Using GPS

During the California Valley cross-country race in September of 2001, Dean Gradwell mentioned that he had installed a GPS unit in his glider. After talking with Dean about what type of GPS unit would be best, I decided to purchase one with the intention of recording my flights and hopefully obtaining accurate performance information. I have always found the performance testing articles in “Soaring” magazine very interesting and often wished such information was available for RC sailplanes.