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R/C Stryker Slope Glider

October 14th, 2009

I finally took my newly built Stryker to the slope for some unpowered slope gliding at Ensign peak in Salt Lake City, Utah. I built the Stryker with these parts:

I did not put a motor on the Stryker and used a tiny battery. It slopes beautifully in 15-20mph wind. In fact, I had to add some weight to get better penetration.

I highly recommend the Stryker for slope flying.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 1:50 pm and is filed under RC Planes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

8 Responses to “R/C Stryker Slope Glider”

  1. Ross Says:
    November 2nd, 2010 at 8:38 am

    Hi Dave
    I changed my Stryker to a slope soarer, it is way more fun!
    I used two cheap servos, park flyer rec. a 15A speed controller and old 1200 3S pack. Programmed my DX6i for flaperons.
    Regards
    Ross

  2. Matt Says:
    June 14th, 2011 at 5:25 pm

    I’m turning my Stryker into a slope glider too. I just did away with the lipo and esc all together and used a 4 cell receiver battery and switch. I fly sailplanes with a brushless motor on a pod to find thermals but I have never flown from a slope before. I was just hoping that the Stryker was a good plane for this and you guys have confirmed it! Thanks!!!

  3. Dave Says:
    June 14th, 2011 at 5:32 pm

    Matt, I flew my Stryker as a slope glider for a couple years and had okay fun with it, but it turns out that the Stryker is a really really bad slope airplane. It has bad energy retention and a very poor glide ratio. I am building a Grim Reaper from Crash Test Hobby to replace it: http://crashtesthobby.com/index.php?p=1_16_The-Grim-Reaper

  4. Matt Says:
    June 15th, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    Dave, have you been slope soaring long? I fly thermals with a 2 meter glider. I have never sloped before. I know of a couple of places that people slope but I can never catch anyone there to help me learn. I don’t know anything about it, ballasting, landing, or total overall setup. I hear that ballast is needed and down trim. Is this right? Any pointers will help. Thanks!

  5. Dave Says:
    June 15th, 2011 at 10:06 pm

    I’ve been sloping for about 2 years. I’ve flown a variety of planes on the slope, from combat wings to sailplanes. Once you find the right location, there’s not much to it for the beginner. Living in Salt Lake City, I’ve got three world-class sloping sites practically in my backyard so I’ve never had to master the finer art of sloping. I guess that makes me a clumsy flyer in that regard. :)

    Once you find the right combination of wind and terrain, the rest comes pretty naturally. For high wind days, I do need to add ballast (or not fly at all) to be able to keep the plane in front of me (and not get blown up and over the slope behind me). As for trim, that will vary from plane to plane but flying in slope is like a perpetual dive, the degree of which depends on how strong the slope lift is.

    Anyway, good luck on the slope! I recommend you use a more durable plane for your first try!

  6. Matt Says:
    June 16th, 2011 at 1:20 pm

    Thanks for the info Dave! I’ll let you know how I do. I hope to try it this evening after work. Hopfully I will still have a plane to talk about when I get home! :) Thanks again!

  7. Dave Says:
    June 16th, 2011 at 2:27 pm

    Matt, good luck! Hopefully the wind is light for your first try.

  8. Matt Says:
    June 16th, 2011 at 7:52 pm

    Not a lot of wind. I tried a small slope with wind around 5mph. I got some lift but not a lot. I did get an ideal as to what to expect when I go to the bigger slope with more wind. I think that I’m gonna like this more than flying thermals! BTW, I brought my plane home in one piece! :)

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