Etienne and his elves at ICARE have been busy travelling the world. They’ve conspired to bring back a number of new toys to North America. No matter what your taste in sailplane design, there is probably something here that will have you thinking about selling that second car or taking out a second mortgage. Read on as RCAeroTowing.com previews these specacular new offerings from our good friends up north.
THE SMALL: DFS-Kranich at 3.6 meters
The Kranich was produced from 1935 until the late 1950‘s. Many hundreds of Kranich’s were built in Germany before the War, in Germany, Sweden, Spain and Czechoslovakia during the War, and in Poland, Yugoslavia and Spain after the War. That’s a who lotta Kracichs of various heritage! This nice new RC model makes history both affordable and manageable in size. We love the fact that at just under 4 meters it fills a gap in quality models fror aerotow and scale slope flying.
The model sports built-up wings that show off fine craftsmanship and that fantastic “look” that only rib and spar building can offer. The wings can easily be retrofitted with airbrakes. The box to receive the airbrakes is actually prebuilt at the factory, so only gluing in the airbrakes is required. The servo tray will receive four standard servos so there is no need to expend big dollars on specialized servos: rudder, elevator, tow release. Yes, we know that’s only three — the elevator can be actuated by means of two servos as an option.
Best of all, this Kranich comes in a very manageable 1:5 scale size that offers gentile flying characteristics and great thermal performance. Perfect for the slope of flying aerotow from your local field.
For more information: http://www.icare-rc.com/dfs_kranich.htm
The classic lines of the Kranich is a size perfect for transportation in a family sedan
THE BIG: ASG-29 at 9 meter span
If you subscribe to the theory that bigger flies better (we certainly do), the 1:2 scale ASG-29 is DA PLANE!
This kit is manufactured in Germany to the highest building standard by HB Modell. It features interchangeable wing tips. Wings are in four pieces for ease of transportation. All control surfaces are gapless knuckle hinged. Winglets are molded. It features extra large airbrakes to get this beast into your flying field and safely on the ground — stopped! This kit comes highly prefabricated from the hard work standpoint, and has the complete wing joiners system installed. Rudder post and rudder fitted. They report a “high end” retractable landing gear comes pre-installed. Canopy scale opening mechanism is supplied, but needs to be fitted. Wings and tail parts are finished sanded, ready to cover. The kit includes: white epoxy gel coated fiberglass fuselage; wings, elevator and rudder are obechi sheeted, carbon reinforced, ready to cover; airbrakes installed; landing gear installed; and, canopy and frame, hinge system supplied in scale detail.
For more information: http://www.icare-rc.com/asg-29-9m.htm
A gigantic scale ASG 29 at a level of partial construction that makes the project viable
Swift S-1 at 5.5 meter span
Gotta love a Swift! Winner of the 1995 Aerobatic World championship in France, it was designed as a successor of the famous Kobuz 3 in Poland. The model is a 1:2.75 semi-scale. It carries the HQ1.5 airfoil, giving the sailplane smooth, fast and versatile flying characteristics. It is fully aerobatic, has a wide speed range, thermals well, and races well. At 5.5m wingspan, it features the extended wing tips and has also flaps. A nose release can be fitted for aerotowing. This all moulded kit has a white epoxy Fiberglas fuselage and has the square wing joiner’s carrying tube installed. The fibreglass moulded, carbon reinforced wings are finished, no additional work is required on the wings, except installing the wing servo. The elevator is finished, the rudder is finished too. A clear plastic canopy and a fiberglass canopy tray is supplied.
Standard kit content: White epoxy glass fuselage with reinforcement installed; clear canopy and fiberglass frame; all molded pieces wings, airbrakes installed, control surfaces hinged; molded tail units, rudder and elevator; and, hardware, short instructions, cnc vinyl cut decals set.
Deluxe kit content: White epoxy glass fuselage with reinforcement, retractable landing gear, tail wheel, tow release and pushrod installed; clear canopy framed and hinged; cockpit interior; all molded pieces wings, airbrakes installed, control surfaces hinged; moulded tail units, rudder and elevator; decals factory applied; and, all hardware, short instructions, protective wing bags. Yes, there is also a turbine version with full carbon wings and fuselage!!! Oh Len…
For more information http://www.icare-rc.com/swift_55.htm
Who needs a Fox when you can have a Swift? This one gets our aerobatic stupidity gene all excited.
DG-303 at 6.5 meter span
The DG-303 Elan Acro is a superb high performance standard class sailplane. This 1:2.3 scale model is simply a superb all around large scale RC glider. The MH airfoil has a wide speed range and very smooth flying characteristics, it responds well to thermal and its low camber allows for high speed and great energy retention for seamless sequences of aerobatics. This is a great all purpose glider, it has been successfully powered as well by turbines and electric SLS systems . The optional winglets are great for improved handling in thermals but will take away aerobatic performace. It’s nice to have options either way.
This is a highly prefabricated kit, all components are hollow molded. Fuselage comes repainted for a seamless top and features carbon reinforced sandwich technology. Wings are hollow molded, carbon reinforced, control surfaces are live hinged and gapless.
For more information: http://www.icare-rc.com/dg303_65m.htm
The lines of the 303 Elan are just plain sexy. Yes, we have been known to hit on a lonely sailplane in singles bars
SZD-59 at 6 meter span
The full scale SZD-59 Acro is a single-seat glass composite glider for aerobatics and cross-country flying . This version offered by ICARE is the most successful model from HB in Germany. It has entered several Acro-Cup contests over Europe since 2008 with pilots scoring top honors. This model has been designed and built at 1:2.5 scale, and comes with extension wing tips, which are great for thermal flying. Without wingtips, it has been proven to be a master aerobatic airframe that will do easily and precisely the complete AcroCup routines.
The fuselage has been built with additional torsionnal reinforcement, as well as an integrated cockpit seat to increase the overall fuselage stiffness. Wings and stab are obechi sheeted foam while wings are carbon tow reinforced sandwich spar and carbon D-Box. The long wingtips can be fitted with winglets. The model has also a retractable landing gear. Elevator is two-piece but is actuated by just one servo. The rudder is based on an airfoil shape and is a weight optimized, hollow molded construction. This kit comes highly prefabricated and has a complete wing joiners system installed in the wings. Rudder post is installed and rudder finished. Retractable landing gear. Canopy scale opening mechanism is supplied, but needs to be fitted. Wings and tail parts are finished sanded, ready to cover.
For more information: http://www.icare-rc.com/szd-59.htm
If you're looking for a distinctive airframe the SZD may be just the ticket. A lift ticket!
KA 7 5.3 at meter span
The Ka-7 is a two-place tandem trainer which has very effective dive brakes. It once held the multi-place world record for speed around a 500 km. This is another very nice model from HB in Germany. It has won several international aerotow contests already. It features exceptional tow and thermal characteristics. Its unique forward swept wing plan form and overall character has been reproduced at 1:3 scale. This kit comes highly prefabricated, and has the complete wing joiners system installed in the wings. Rudder post and rudder finished. Spring loaded landing gear is supplied. The canopy needs to be fitted. Wings and tail parts are finished sanded, ready to cover.
For more information http://www.icare-rc.com/ka7.htm
We end where we began with the lines of a classic sailplane -- this time the georgeous KA7
So there you have it. A range of nice new additions to the already impressive ICARE fleet. These are great times to be in the scale soaring hobby. So many exciting options coming to market. If only our wallets and checkbooks kept the same pace of growth.
Steve Pasierb and the RCAeroTowing.com Team
