Eraser combat glider and Walkera Dragonfly 4 helicopter

by Pete
(UK)

These are my two trustee RC models at present, an Eraser combat glider and a Walkera Dragonfly 4 electric FP helicopter.
I'm a big fan of rc gliders, and the Eraser (from Canterbury Sailplanes of New Zealand) is an excellent glider to have a LOT of fun with!

Combat gliders are made from EPP, which is a very durable polystyrene, and they are covered in reinforced tape, then coloured tape on top. The reinforced tape gives the strength. Of course, there are other covering alternatives with heat-shrink film, but the tape method is the bog-standard one for flyers not too worried about getting a top-class finish to their glider!

EPP combat gliders like the Eraser and CS's fantastic range of such models, are damn-near indestructible and can be thrown around the sky without mercy. They don't always have a great size:weight ratio, so stronger winds may be required, but the extra speed only adds to the entertainment! Highly recommended if you live in a hilly area :-)

My Walkera Dragonfly 4 is an FP (Fixed Pitch) 4 channel electric helicopter, probably the cheapest FP around, and very popular by all accounts.
I've had a lot of fun with mine, and it's gone through a couple of upgrades. The pic above shows the DF4 sporting its Xtreme Skids, but these have since been replaced back to the stock landing gear (weight issues).
The other upgrade is to a lipo battery pack to extend the flight time. The DualSky 7.4V 1000mAh is the one I have, though their are other options.

My future RC models... I'm in the process of getting together a Tamiya Rough Rider - a vintage rc buggy that I had back in the early 80s. If I'd known, I would never have sold mine back then - now I'm having to pay a small fortune on eBay to take that trip down Memory Lanne :-(
I've also got plans to scale up some of the vintage Hi-Flier balsa kits (yep, again from my youth) to electric rc power, I can't wait to get my teeth into that little project! :-)

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