USING THE SLINGSHOT LAUNCHER

The preassembled launcher comes with about 18 inches (50 cm) of rubber band (model airplane rubber motor stock). To replace the rubber band, knot new rubber motor stock into a loop, and then tie the loop to the dowel as shown. Give it a good pull to tighten the knots.

Hook the end of the rubber loop over the hook on the nose of the plane, and hold the plane by the very back of the fuselage. For the first flight, bank the plane about 45 degrees to the side and angle it about 45 degrees up from the horizontal. Pull the plane back slightly without twisting, make sure the area is clear, and let go. Work up to big flights slowly. Don’t pull too hard until your plane is trimmed (adjusted for optimal flights—see pages 28–30 and page 36).

Different planes fly best at different angles. Some are best launched almost straight up. They should rise in a long, loose spiral, and then transition into a gentle glide. Experiment a bit with light pulls to see what works best and gives the greatest climb. Too strong a launch may cause flutter (vibration of the wings), which can hurt the plane. If the plane curves straight into the ground instead of going up, try launching it with the other hand.

On a calm day, a 30-second flight is pretty good. But on a day with thermals, your plane may fly a minute or more, or even go right out of sight. Thermals are big bubbles of rising warm air that form over open areas. If your plane circles inside one that rises faster than the plane sinks, it will climb with the air, like an eagle or sailplane.

To keep your planes from going too far, you’ll want them to circle. Most planes have a natural tendency to circle, but if not, try angling the stabilizer as shown. Because lift works at right angles to the lifting surface, and the stabilizer makes a little lift, part of the lift pulls to the side. This makes the tail drift to that side, and the plane circles. You can do the same thing by changing the angle of one wing or the other.

Most of the planes in this kit fly fine just as built, but to get really long flights, you can turn the inner part of the back edge of the stabilizer down very slightly. Th is makes the stabilizer act like a small wing, lifting the tail and preventing loops at launch speeds. But to balance that trim, you may need to turn up the outer corners of the stabilizer the same amount. Th e stabilizer tips will bend and have no effect at high speed, but go back into shape and hold the nose up when the slow glide starts. Add this trim a little at a time to prevent high-speed dives and damage.