Just recieved my Wizard, thanks! I was expecting the plans to include an option for a conventional tail as advertised on your web page.

None were included. Are they avaliable and what are your feelings about the conventional tail option for a person that has about a year of glider experience and this being my first HLG?

From : Don Stackhouse

OOPS! It looks like the info on our website is out of date!

We had to drop the conventional tail option when we went to the new fuselage design. The new tail saddle design simply isn't compatible with it. Since a computer radio is required anyway for the flaperons, and since there was almost no interest in the market for the straight tail anyway, we didn't think it would be an issue. We made the change last summer, and you are the first person to ask me about this, although Joe may have taken some calls I don't know about.

However, it appears we missed this on the website info (and probably missed it for the Monarch as well, which uses the same fuselage). I'm forwarding a copy of this to our webmaster, so we can get it corrected immediately. Thankyou for bringing it to our attention!

Meanwhile, what should you do? First of all, let me assure you that there is virtually no discernable difference in handling between the V-tail and conventional tail in the case of the Wizard. This is exactly as it should be for any good tail design. You will not have any more trouble flying the V-tail than you would have with a conventional tail. Despite all the folklore and old-wive's-tales to the contrary, it simply isn't an issue, at least for our designs.

What you will have to deal with is the extra programming required in the transmitter. The addition of V-tail mixing should be no big deal, certainly no more trouble than the programming for the flaperons. The other factor to consider is "V-tail differential". This gets a lot of smoke and mysticism attached to it on forums like RCSE, but it's really no big deal either. When you deflect rudder on a V-tail, one ruddervator (usually the "up" one) is often slightly more effective than the other. This means that the other ruddervator (usually the one going "down") needs just a little more travel to keep the forces on the two ruddervators equal. It's usually just a minor adjustment. If you make a rudder input and the model also tends to pitch up or down, just adjust the differential to correct it. The table of control throws in the instructions should get you in the ballpark.

If your year of sailplane experience was spent building and flying Gentle Ladies or Spirit type poly-floaters only, you're likely to find the programming of the Wizard a little intimidating, and your brain might need to work faster to stay ahead of the model while flying. The Wizard's controls are quick and powerful, and its speed range is very wide. However, to use that speed range to its best advantage you need to learn to use flaps properly. It's a bit like learning to drive in a family sedan, then switching to a Ferrari right after passing your driving test. If this is your situation, I'd strongly recommend you get some coaching from someone experienced with full-house HLG's to help you get it properly trimmed and to help you get used to flying it. On the other hand, if you're already comfortable with hi-tech composite 2-meter or open models, you probably won't have much trouble.

In any case, you are welcome to e-mail or call us with your questions. For flight trimming questions, Joe is probably the best one to call, he's the test pilot, I'm only the engineer. You can reach Joe at (937) 773-6772, or at "djwerks@bright.net". You can reach me by phone at (937) 473-5902. Both Joe and I are in western Ohio, in the eastern time zone. We like to hear comments from our customers, both good and bad, it's a major resource for telling us how to improve our kits!

Good luck, and please keep in touch!

Don Stackhouse
DJ Aerotech