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Predator Bat EPP DS Wing
Posted by Greg Smith on Sep 14, 2006, 22:40
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What do you get when you combine an inexpensive EPP plank wing from Windrider called the Bat and the modifications from pilots with experience wringing to most out of this plane? You get the Predator Bat.
I got my Predator Bat from Karl about a couple of months ago but just go to building it this past week. Didn't take long, probably 6 hours total and I'll bet I could do the next one in 4 or so.
I'm heading to South Dakota in a couple of weeks and I needed some EPP DS planes to get my groove back before I commit to the glass planes.
I took the completed Predator Bat to the Concordia slope today. Not much wind, 3 top 5 mph, but I figured that I could get a couple of passes in to check the CG. I started with the CG at 5 inches. In the light air this was a bit far back. The plane hyper-stalled a lot and was pretty unstable. So, I added a bit of lead to move the CG forward to 4-3/4 inches and the plane flew great! I flew in 3 mph of wind for about half an hour mostly a couple of feet above the slope lip. Couldn't really climb except for the turns, then dive down along the lip again but it kept amazing me that the plane flew in this light air. I did not work to build it light since it is really for DSing. It came in right at 30 ounces. Still, it was fun to hear it go by in the nearly still air. For some reason it sounds like a molded ship going by with a pleasing whoosh.
I built it pretty much to Karl's plans and would not change much in my next Bat build except maybe to plan for a bit more nose weight from the start and to remove a bit of the reflex from the foam tips. I know I could build it lighter but I don't really see the need at this point. In fact I will build my next one heavier for big wind days and don't think that it will affect light air performance much.
So far I heartily recommend the Predator Bat to anyone looking for a super deal in DS capable EPP wing. I'll have more on the DS end of things after the South Dakota trip unless I can find something local!
Check out Predator Wings at www.predatorwings.com.
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