Links

Linkage to sites that we find useful, interesting, or otherwise edifying in some way or another...if you'd like to see a link featured on this page, please contact us to make a suggestion.

Websites by R/C Soaring Enthusiasts throughout Santa Barbara & the Central Coast:

• Dave's Hobby Central
  A great local hobby shop that supports slope soaring and stocks the Weasel and Alula. Located on Anapamu Street in downtown Santa Barbara.
  
  
• flyWeasel Yahoo! Group
  A Yahoo! Group dedicated to the Weasel and miniWeasel from Richter R/C. The mailing list serves as a de facto communications forum for local SBslopers...check it out!
  
  
• Waco CG-4A Project Mini-Site
  A mini-site devoted to Steve Lange's scratchbuilt 1/16 scale Waco CG-4A cargo glider from World War II. Has construction photos, links to 3-views and plans of the CG-4A, and links to some of the better online resources for scale information about the glider.
  
  
• Rudy & Deb's Website
  The personal website of Rudy Hergenrother, a genuine rocket scientist (retired) and a great local flier.
  
  
• Pismo Beach Soaring Society
  A very nice site run by pilots who fly in and around San Luis Obispo. Has a great photos section, flying site info, and links to webpages maintained by various members. Good source of info!
  
  
• Santa Barbara R/C Modelers
  (AMA #797)
  The website for the local AMA club dedicated to powered R/C flight. They have a flying site near Lake Cachuma in the Santa Ynez Valley, about 30 minutes from downtown Santa Barbara. Check 'em out!
  
  

Websites by R/C Soaring Enthusiasts That We Know Throughout the World:

• Club Planeador - Gijón, Spain
  A very cool website created by a sailplane and glider flying club in Gijón, Spain. Great information for anyone thinking to travel to that region! (In Spanish, obviously)
  
  
• Miliamperios Aeromodelismo
  Sort of the Spanish RCGroups. Focuses on flying in Spain, so if you want to check out La Muela, this is the place to ask! "AEROMODELOS DE VUELO A VELA" is the sailplanes forum.
  
  
• Knewt's Place - South Wales, UK
  Site by F3F guru Kevin Newton about "fast radio controlled sailplanes and the people who fly them" - mainly soaring in South Wales, but he's got tons of kit reviews, photos, competition reports, and similar. There's a LOT of content here and it's worth a look. Oh, and did I mention the photos of the Bwlch?
  
  

R/C Soaring "Info-tainment" Websites:

• RCGroups.com
  Home to the best and most popular English language R/C slope soaring discussion anywhere. The range of resources freely available via RCGroups is amazing... photos, videos, build threads, model reviews and more. It is free and easy to register, and can put you in touch with slope enthusiasts all over the world. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
  
  
• SlopeFlyer.com
  Another great resource, this time dedicated solely to slope soaring. Has a great list of slope soaring sites around the country...and now even links to SBslopers! :) Worth a look!
  
  
• FatLion
  Has good information for those of you who are new to R/C soaring.
  
  
• Inland Slope Rebels
  Website for one of the coolest slope soaring clubs in Southern California, the Inland Slope Rebels. These guys are the masters of Power Soaring Scale (PSS) building and flying in the United States. Check 'em out!
  
  
• SlopeAerobatics.com
  Dedicated to radio controlled slope and glider aerobatics worldwide.
  
  

FREE R/C Glider Plans:

• Mugi
  The Mugi is a really interesting little delta wing airplane that's made entirely from a single sheet of folded Coroplast, a readily available (and cheap!) corrugated plastic material used for signage. Plans and instructions available for free from the website.
  
  
• Pibros
  Website with free plans for the construction of the Pibros, a small delta wing slope glider made from sheets of Depron foam. They are cheap, fun and fast to build--a great first scratchbuild project.
  
  
• MiniToons
  Website in French with free .CNC files for the construction of the MiniToons, a 60" EPP glider designed for 3D-style aerobatics. A very cool little plane! Use Google's Language Tools to translate as needed.
  
  
• Micro Slope Stik
  A simple two channel SPAD glider made from a piece of basswood and some Coroplast! It flies fine in relatively light lift and is a lot of fun. Extremely simple to build. Free plans by yours truly.
  
  
• Open Source Rodent
  A page dedicated to my development of the Open Source Rodent, a scratchbuilt homebrew homage to the John Higgins classic ballistic energy design.
  
  

Manufacturers & Distributors of EPP (Expand Polypropylene) R/C Sailplanes:

• Dream-Flight
  Home of the Santa Barbara born-and-bred Weasel slope soarer and the Alula side arm launch slope/thermaller. One of the very best planes made for flying in our generally extremely light lift conditions here in Santa Barbara.
  
  
• North County Flying Machines
  Home of two absolutely awesome flying wings, the Moth and the M60. When you really wanna rock, these EPP slope shredders are a great way to do it. These planes really come into their own in moderate to strong lift conditions.
  
  
• Leading Edge Gliders
  Manufactures the widest number of EPP Power Scale Soaring (PSS) warbirds on the market. Most planes available in 36", 48", 60" and 72" wingspans! A great choice for strong lift days up at the Ruins.
  
  
• Wing Warrior
  Home of some of the best performing and most popular "flying V" -type wings on the market, including the Raider.
  
  
• Wowings
  Manufacturer of the Skua and Booby, some of the most radically shaped flying wings ever!
  
  
• Combat Wings
  Another producer of popular EPP "flying V" -type wings, including the XR and XL.
  
  
• California Sailplanes
  An American distributor of Canterbury Sailplanes, Tuffplanes, and a number of useful products.
  
  
• Tuffplanes
  Producer of the Electron flying wing and other EPP planes.
  
  

Manufacturers & Distributors of Scale & Composite R/C Sailplanes:

• SoaringUSA
  Great service, good prices and FAST shipping! US distributor of the extremely popular Mini Blade slope racer/dynamic soarer. In addition they carry a wide range of beautiful molded sailplanes with excellent performance.
  
  
• F3X
  Importer of a wide range of highly competitive F3F and F3B aircraft from Europe. If you're interested in slope racing or thermal duration contests, this site should be in your bookmarks!
  
  
• Icare-RC
  Canadian importer of numerous beautiful scale sailplanes from Eastern Europe, with a number of all-molded planes in the 4m+ wingspan realm. Also has some nice scale aerobatic gliders in the 2m range.
  
  

Manufacturers and Distributors of R/C Accessories:

• Axel's Scale Pilots
  The Rolls Royce of scale pilots! Widely considered the best of the best, and price accordingly. From Germany and available in a wide range of scales.
  
  
• Pete's Pilots
  UK source for relatively more affordable scale glider pilots with real clothing and accessories in 1:2, 1:3, 1:3.5, and 1:4 scale.
  
  
• ServoCity
  A great place to buy your radio gear online. Free shipping for orders over $100 and good prices.