OLY II

Bob Legue's Electric Conversion

OLY II S Instructions and Photos (9.7 MB PDF)

Ray's OLY ll S

The best reason to own both an OLY ll and an OLY ll S is the difference in flight characteristics and the similarity.

Especially if you are relatively new to building and flying RC Sailplanes.

If your new to flying RC Sailplanes, start with the OLY ll. If you have flown other Sailplanes and are not intimidated building a D-Tube sheeted wing and built up trailing edge, then don't miss out on flying the OLY ll S.

Both will make fantastic Electric Powered RC Sailplanes.

Here are the set up specifications on my OLY ll S

Tow Hook located in laser cut whole in the Plywood Fuse bottom. Approximately an 1/8" behind the balance point.

I build my Spoilers on all of my kits to open straight up, they are very effective that way and that explains why my kits are designed with shorter spoiler blades. The shorter the spoiler blade, the less disturbance to flight performance when they are closed.

OLY ll S ........... It is going to build fast!

OLY ll S-X

This new version of the OLY ll S eliminates the rubber band wing hold down system. Wings are mounted to the fuse sides like the OLY lll.

Kit Price ... $168.95
Wing Area ... 908 sq in

OLY II SX BUILD

Long cold winter days puts you in the basement building next springs thermo ships. I purchased a Oly II SX from Sky Bench Models in Ind. This is a 100" thermo ship with wing rods not rubber bands to hold the wing on. You can install an elect motor with very little trouble.

I needed a project for the winter so I decided on the Oly II SX with electric power. I chose a Turnigy 2836/8 motor with a Turnigy Plush 30A ESC and some Turnigy Nano-tec 1300Ma 3 cell Li-Polys, a 10-6 and 11-6 folding prop and metal spinner. I hoped I would have enough power to get the 3lb a/c up and into the clouds.

I mounted the motor on a 4ft. piece of 4x4 pine and placed it on the floor, as it went by my nose I pulled the battery lose and managed keep from breaking the prop or the motor. Minor damage to my face and shirt. With the 10-6 prop it pulls 22 amps and 28amps with a 11-6. I guess if it will fly a 2x4x4' it should fly the Oly. The pix shows it ready for sanding, final assembly and covering.

John Lusk

Sorry to say but the Oly II SX-E is finished. I hoped to make the build last for a month and a half to get through the cold part of the winter. It was a fun and a easy build. Installing the electric motor was no problem, with the battery behind the motor, then servos then the ESC and the receiver under the wing rod tube. I installed flaps and cut them out of the trailing edge so they are flush with the bottom of the wing. I had to beef up the trailing edge and flaps with spruce and if I had do-over's I would use 1 1/2" trailing edge stock to make the wing a little more solid and could reflex the flaps for a little speed. The weather was up to 57 today (warm for Madison Wi.) and I had planed to do a test fly, BUT:

It rained all night and water got into the basement and I had to pull up the carpet and rent a dehumidifier. It's now dark, my back hurts and I think I will consume many adult beverages. Will let you know how it fly's this spring, we are having 6" of snow tomorrow and high of 6 degrees on Thursday.

John Lusk

If you're new to building Woody kits and flying them, I suggest you start with the OLY ll, the #1 trainer kit for thousands of newbies. If you have had building experience, but not much flying experience, choose between the OLY ll and OLY ll S. The difference is in the wing airfoil, consequently, the wing construction. The S has a sheeted top and bottom area between the leading edge and a bit past the spar, plus a built up trailing edge. Both have the SAFETY feature of the wings held on with Rubber bands. This method of wing attachment adds durability to a sailplane while improving your landing skills.

If you are going to install an electric motor, consider the fuse difference between the SX and the original OLY ll fuse. The wings held on by rubber bands means the fuse section under the wing allows super easy access to the large motor/Rx battery. The motor controller allows the motor battery to also power the Receiver, eliminating the need for two flight batteries. The SX requires a battery hatch access in the top of the fuse, long enough to fit the battery system you choose or in the bottom of the fuse. The bottom access requires cutting a hatch in the plywood bottom. Builders choice.

The OLY ll SX has a narrower fuse than the OLY ll and OLY ll S. ( The SX electric motor mount former dimensions are 1-3/8" wide, 1-5/8" tall ). This means less drag and coupled with eliminating the rubber band posts protruding from the fuse sides provides a better performance factor.

Please note: Sailplane Performance starts and ends with pilot skill, in the middle is sailplane performance potential. Beginner pilots need pilot skills first, sailplane performance second. However ... Many, Many contests have been won by the OLY ll.

The OLY ll S and SX can be agressively Zoomed launched from an electric powered winch. They can fly very well in windy conditions due to the airfoil, allowing you to fly more often and more competitively.

The OLY ll S Kit Series are starting a new chapter to continue the legacy of OLY 11.

Flaps will provide the best landing control for accuracy and safety. They can be coupled to the stab in your Tx to provide a slow and controlled landing. They can also be utilized during launch and flying, but there is a learning curve and most pilots over use the flaps.

Hi Ray! I had a 36+ minute flight today with the Oly III!! Love this sailplane. I could have stayed up longer, but my neck was aching. Going to have to exercise those muscles if I want to keep flying this plane. :-)

Ann

OLY lll

D-Tube Wing construction.
Wing Span 132"   Airfoil S 3014
Wing Area 1066 sq in   RES Flying weight 59 oz.
Wing loading in flight - 8 oz. per sq. ft.

Wing is D-Tube sheeting with built up trailing edge
Wings mount to fuse sides with pass through wing rod
Plans show optional ailerons, flaps and spoilers.

Hello RES Arfs

Kit Price $198.95

Joe Burns wrote:

Text enlarged and spacing widened for computer wrecked eyes and old folks-often one and the same.

Hope this adds something as it certainly helps me in the building process to see a pic with instructions.

Joe's rendition of Bob and Terry's instructions. (1.6 MByte)

Bob Leque's Oly III Instructions
MS Word Document Version(780 kByte)

Terry Forbes OLY III Instructions

Tips on adding carbon to the wing spars.

Hi Ray,

I just composed a long letter, the gist of which was to order a new Oly III. My first one bit the dust today from some sort of launching mishap...I tried to use both hands and managed to get something spoiled in the radio antenna in the process. Earlier in the day she'd specked out, actually faded out in some relatively low marine layer left over from the morning, and it was the "one last flight" that did it. I have truly enjoyed this plane and used her to capture my first trophy, first place in "Sportsman" at Torrey Pines Gulls! The dark blue and flaming orange colors light up the southern California skies, but today she spiraled into the ground in a shallow brush pile under a huge Sycamore that took care of the wings. You should know, the design and build was very strong as she really ripped through some upper branches before meeting her demise.

I am eager to get going on a replacement. Yes, I'll try to learn from this, but really am not skilled enough to rebuild the whole thing...fuse broke in two in front of the wing on impact, the empennage broke, though not badly, in front of the stab. and the wings tore out both joiner boxes. My nose canopy and "lid" are the only entire pieces left!

Bill Eckles

Hello Ray, just a note to show you the completed Oly III with flaps. She's ready to fly and balanced right on the spar. All up weight is 61oz. I hope to maiden as soon as the NW weather allows. Best regards.

Craig

Competition Flying
by Ray Hayes  LSF803

Manfred Waldmann's OLY III with ailerons flys the blue skies in Germany.

Hello Ray,

My Oly III flew for the first time today. My complements on the design and the kit, this is a very elegant sailplane at a very reasonable cost. I am attaching a low res photo, and looking forward to the release of your WF-XL kit.

Randy Smith

Hi Ray,

Here's a photo of my newly finished Olympic III, I'm very proud of the way it turned out. I must say that I was a bit intimidated beings this was my first build but when I got the kit, I knew I could do it. All the components were cut to perfection and fit like a glove and was very easy to visualize with the detail in the drawing. This has been one of the best experiences in my life thanks to you and the guys on RCG.

Best Regards,
Don

Thank you Ray for providing such an outstanding kit. Wood selection is superb, fit of all parts is amazing. Plans and instructions are accurate and thorough. I have never had more fun building a sailplane in my life! Everyone that has seen the kit was equally impressed and I count some top-notch builders in that group. I can't wait to build some of your other offerings. So many fine choices, so little time.

Sean Brown

Steve, from Australia with his beautiful OLY lll

Steve's OLY lll has attracted an Australian Magpie.

Steve's 2M Lil'Bird in action.

Jim Allen's mighty fine looking OLY lll

Tom Scully's winning OLY III, Toledo 08 Show.

Ray,

Just had to let you know how much we love this plane! Larry and I put the Olys up on Sunday and this plane just floats forever! We have Ammo 28-45-2100 brushless motors with 4.3-1 planetaries with 16-10 folders on them. Only took about a 20 sec. climb to get to 500ft. and mother nature provided the rest of the lift. After a 30 min. and 45 min. flight we decided that this is the best glider we have ever built/flown. We only used the power on initial climbout, the rest of the flight was thermal/slope off the top of hill at our field here in southeast Ohio. You will probably get another order for a kit from some of the onlookers that watched in ahhhhhh as these birds flew. Thank you for a great plane.
Frank Groza
Larry Townsend

Hi Ray -

I just want to share with you that I had the maiden flight of a Sky Bench Oly III yesterday evening. First was a hand toss and she flew straight as an arrow and without needing any trim adjustments. Next we hooked her onto a high start and away she went. She rotated perfectly upon release and climbed straight and true. Once aloft there was no need for trim adjustment either for directional or vertical stabilization. My buddy at the field was equally amazed by the flight characteristics of the O3. He flies a Paragon which in his words is a flying brick when compared to the O3. I want to thank you for building such a wonderful product. I believe that with time the O3 will help me to progress quickly up the LSF ladder of skills. I am a new pilot and my first plane was a Sig Riser which was a great plane to learn with. With the O3 I am convinced that my skill level will accelerate in it's development.

Kindest regards,

Ned Burdick
AMA 912988

Hi Ray. Neville and I successfully maidened our newly built birds today. They flew brilliantly! Awesome planes made from your wonderful kits. Thanks for your dedication to woodies!

Ann
Canada

2014 AMA Nationals, Neville flying his OLY lll, his wife and Ray Monroe cherring him on. This turned out to be a great reunion for all of us having flown in the Canadian Nats together in 1977. Hopefully, Ann will join them in the 2015 AMA Nats.

Hello Ray,

Well, this novice completed building the Oly III, on 8/20/2014, with your help and advice. I successfully flew it 10 times, and from the very first flight, 2 days ago, to the 10th flight this morning, it has flown spectacularly. STRAIGHT & LEVEL, FOREVER.

I took my time to prevent any warp in the wings and fuse. I very carefully aligned the stab and rudder; and ensured that wings were balance, and that the c.g. was right-on. Following your instructions to the letter, culminated in a fantastic 1st flight and an electric sail plane which will provide many hours of flight fun and enjoyment.

Please see the attached.

Thank You, RAY.

CRAIG HAYDEL