The "E Javelin" from Soaring Composite

Having caught the 'fully moulded sailplane fever', I have sold off my other large balsa sailplane in order to own a fleet of fully moulded sailplanes.

There are differences in flying a fully moulded sailplane compared to balsa sailplane. The balsa kit are normally light and easy on thermal but it does not penetrate well when there is a slight heavy wind not unless if it has a heavy ballast on. In contrast a moulded sailplane penetrates well due to the design of the wings and also the agility of the aircraft. A moulded sailplane is also tough as it has carbon stirps or carbon cloth moulded in the wings and fuselage.

One day about two weeks ago, I decided to purchase the "E-Javelin" from Soaring Composites. Mr Pang, the owner have flown the slope version before. He told me that the slope version have been proven to be a graceful aircraft. Without any hestitation, I decided to purchase it ( as an early Christmas present to myself...hahaha ).

It was rather easy to build apart from the minor modifications. The original cockpit was very tight for my batteries and electronics to fit in. After several days of building time, the bird is ready to take the sky. Waiting for the weekend for it to have its maiden flight was agonizing as I was eager to find out how the aircraft would perform at different stages of the flight.

I went down to BBAFC site in the ofternoon. Mr Pang was there to assist me on the last minute check and settings. Although the weather was not very good and the sky was cloudy, I decided to test the aircraft in flight. Vincent ( a.k.a Sonyalpha ) was also there to capture still photographs of the sailplane in flight. As a standard practice, he blessed the sailplane and the pilot before the commencement of the maiden flight.

Upon the first burst of launching power, the E-Javelin went up gracefully. With a MVVS glider motor ( 690Kv ) with a 15/10 aeronaut propeller, the climb was moderate and consistent. Once it reches a desired height above the flying site, I cut the throttle and the aircraft started thermalling. After some trimmings, it flew perfectly.

After five minutes of flight time, I brought it down and did a full round check before going up again. Everything was fine for another flight.

On the second flight, Mr Pang himself launch the plane for me. I allowed it to climb several meters up before cutting the throttle. The procedure was to allow me to evaluate the full potential of the aircraft while thermalling. Although there was an absence of a good thermal, I managed to catch several thermal bubbles. The aircraft responded well on the thermal bubbles. It glided for around 10 minutes. I decided to try a highspeed low pass above the runaway. It perform a dive and "wooosshhh!!" came the sound from the " E-Javelin ". Mr Pang was impressed with the aircraft and said that he would get another one for himself.

Having succesfully flown the E-Javelin twice, I am looking forward to enjoy its capabilities during the coming weeks. This glider indeed value for money.