Orbit Catapult Launch Glider - By Adam Butler
The Orbit is a 380mm Wingspan Glider Model
 Click on any image to enlarge

Kit contains:
Pre-shaped & Diecut Balsa wood Parts, Building and flying instructions.

Construction:
Fuselage:
Round the nose, and rear fuselage. Be very careful not to round off Between the lines where the wing and Stab will be glued on later.

Wing Shaping:
Hold the wing down flat on the bench and sand the leading and trailing edges until it is the shape shown on the instructions. I used 120 grit paper and a sanding block.

Then follow the shape of the leading edge with the sanding block and curve around the wing tip so the wing tips are sanded until they are less than 1mm thick.

At this stage I give the wing a coat of sanding sealer and allow it to dry before sanding the model with 300grit paper to finish the wing.

Wing Assembly:
Cut the wing at the marks scribed on the underside. I use a fine toothed saw.

Block the wing panels up on the bench to the required angle and sand the end of the wing panel straight with the end of the bench. This will allow the wing panels to fit together with the required Dihedral.

Put the wing Panels together Upside Down on the bench and tape the panels back in place. Turn the wing over and lift the panels the required amount and glue them in place.

Do this for the 2 outer panels, then when the glue is dry do the centre joint the same way.

Stab & Fin:
I give these a coat of sanding sealer before I start to sand them.
The stab is just lightly sanded to give a rounded leading edge and a thin trailing edge.
Make sure you sand both the top and bottom of the stab and keep it even.

Glue the Stab & Fin on the back of the fuselage.

Assembly:
Glue the wing on to the fuselage and check the alignment, make sure the wings are both up the same amount.

Balance the model using Blu-Tac or plastercine on the nose until it balances about half way back down the wing.

Test Gliding:
Give the model a gentle throw slightly nose down (Always launch straight into the wind)

It should fly in a gentle descent and turn to the left.

If the model climbs and stalls add some weight to the nose , if it dives steeply then remove some weight from the nose. Keep doing this until you are happy with the glide trim.

Give it a flick:
As the model leaves the catapult it should be pointing about 45degrees nose up and banked about 45 degrees to the right.

The model will climb sharply then as it slows down it will level its wings and start a circle to the right.