Hobby Lobby "Skimmer
400"
Here's
a Link to Hobby-Lobby's web site

A hot little sailplane which climbs like crazy
and soars efficiently on a budget 400 motor and small battery pack.
Specs say 23 oz. but they usually build lighter.
The kit was a little crude but the balsa was good quality and lightweight.
Can't go wrong for $20. Only a fraction of
a roll of each color covering was required and these were bought from Hobby-Lobbies
clearance bin for $4.99 each. This makes for a very low budget plane indeed!
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I finished it a little more aerodynamically by careful re-profiling of the flying surfaces and aggressive fuselage sanding. Rubber band wing hold-down was omitted and a screw down mount incorporated instead. Wing incidence was reduced from about 4.5 degrees to about 2 degrees relative to datum. |
A folding prop will be used when I get it. Notice the cooling air inlets at sides of nose area There are a couple more smaller inlets in the motor mount behind the spinner. Oulets are aft of wing. |
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How did I get it so light? No, I didn't forget to cover the bottom of the wing. That's clear Oracover Lite on the bottom. |
This plane flys so well that it even has a very good climb rate using the tiny 7 cell AAA pack shown here with long flights. With the 8 cell SR MAX battery shown in front it really honks! |