Kamco Kloudrider review
I recently bought this as a short kit from eBay, the parts have been in storage for around 30 years as the model was originally designed back in the 70s. The kit was £45 and the cost of additional stock balsa was around another £25. Comes with freshly printed full size plans and canopy. With the recent spell of low wind I decided to get this built and have thoroughly enjoyed the build process so far, as ive only built one or two balsa planes around 15 years ago and recently a middle phase, im certainly no expert but its gone together very well with no real drama.
The wings go together very quickly with only balsa spars, you need to buy some 4mm ID metal tubing for the wing joiners and 8 SWG piano wire joiners. 8 SWG is a smidgen bigger than 4mm so I ended up running a 4.1mm drill down the tube. They seem like a nice thin section wing with good rigidity and resist twist. Total wingspan is 97 inches.
The fuselage seems very basic and boxy, made from balsa sides with ply doubles front and back. I added a fair bit of extra balsa and ply around the nose and wing mounting area. The canopy is a little disappointing and I feel it wont be long before im replacing it with a much stronger solid balsa one with an access hatch to the servos. Talking of servos, standard ones only just sit low enough to avoid the arms from touching the underside of the canopy, once the clevis is fitted im sure that will rub. I plan to finish the model in orange and white
Overall im very happy the design and like the look of it a lot, chances are the wind will pick up now and will have to wait for a balmy sunny day
Bob
Hi Bob, That is really looking very good.... for something that's been sitting around for such a long time, it's amazing it hasn't warped or whatever. Can't wait to see it flying.
ReplyDeleteWell done Bob. She looks a great. Look forward to seeing her fly.
ReplyDeleteA mighty majestic looking model Bob, well done. I remember the same problem with my MacGregor servos back in '76, I ended up slicing notches in the 2mm ply canopy base to allow free movement. Mine had an orange fuselage and white wings - all doped tissue! (not recommended).
ReplyDeleteI gave the Kloudrider away when I sold my car a few years later. I've since built a Sig Riser 100 which is a very practical alternative - see review under 'Plan Built Gliders' on the left of this page.