D-Light Boost Glider

Sweepette Hand Launch GliderConversion

Notes for those who only need a basic idea andnot a lot of details

by George Gassaway

The Sweepette is a design for a Hand Launch Glider series by Lee Hines , dating back to the 1950's.

Some Free Flight HLG fliers still fly Sweepettes.

In the photo at right, Lee Hines is on the left.

The Sweepette 19 is a good size to convert for a D B/G.

Fortunately, Campbell's Custom Kits makes the Sweepette 19 and sells it in kit form.

Other dealers for Campbell's ksits are: FAI Model Supply and Radical R/C.

The wing is 1/4" thick balsa, and the kit has the wing airfoil roughly shaped. You still have to sand the final airfoil, but it is easier than starting with unshaped 1/4" balsa.

In the mid to late 1970's, I used the Sweepette design a lot for various sizes of B/G's and even R/G's.

To get the most use out of a 36" long sheet of wood, I made 18" span Sweepettes for C and D B/G. Functionally though, the 18" and 19" Sweepette are both fine for D B/G.

I do not have a Campbell kit to give you any detailed conversion info. Basically, if you've been thinking aobut converting an HLG, I can at least recommend the Sweepete as a proven model.

I recently came across an old Sweepette-18 I'd scratch built, from the late 1970's when Tony Williams and I flew as the Maddog Fatcat Team. It is shown at right, minus the lower rudder. The wing was covered with Japanese tissue. Aluminum foil was added to the center 2" to protect against exhaust damage. These days, I'd recommend adhesive aluminum tape, sometimes sold as Muffler Tape, or as metal duct tape.

For the rudder, make a new one that is a larger than the original, say about 30% larger. That will help make sure that the side area of the pop-pod is accounted for. Glue the rudder to the BOTTOM of the fuselage, not the top.

Click for larger image

For your model, use your favorite pop-pod attachment method. For this old model, I used what could be considered to the the old Manta type attachment method, but reversed, where the part with the side plates is on the glider instead of the pod.

In the photo at right, the Drop-Weight Dethermalizer is shown. It was made from 1/32" plywood. A small cord runs to the tail, so when the DT falls off, it swings to the tail and destabilizes it, so it sort of tumbles down. Elastic thread was used to hold the DT in place unti lthe SIG DT fuse burned thru the thread.

The pop-pod was BT-50, and the model flew on a D12-3. This model also would probably be suitable to fly on a D10. I would not recommend a D13.

Click for larger image

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The Sweepette is a design for a Hand Launch Glider series by Lee Hines , dating back to the 1950's. Some Free Flight HLG fliers still fly Sweepettes. In the photo at right, Lee Hines is on the left.

The Sweepette 19 is a good size to convert for a D B/G. Fortunately, Campbell's Custom Kits makes the Sweepette 19 and sells it in kit form. Other dealers for Campbell's ksits are: FAI Model Supply and Radical R/C. The wing is 1/4" thick balsa, and the kit has the wing airfoil roughly shaped. You still have to sand the final airfoil, but it is easier than starting with unshaped 1/4" balsa.

In the mid to late 1970's, I used the Sweepette design a lot for various sizes of B/G's and even R/G's. To get the most use out of a 36" long sheet of wood, I made 18" span Sweepettes for C and D B/G. Functionally though, the 18" and 19" Sweepette are both fine for D B/G. I do not have a Campbell kit to give you any detailed conversion info. Basically, if you've been thinking aobut converting an HLG, I can at least recommend the Sweepete as a proven model. I recently came across an old Sweepette-18 I'd scratch built, from the late 1970's when Tony Williams and I flew as the Maddog Fatcat Team. It is shown at right, minus the lower rudder. The wing was covered with Japanese tissue. Aluminum foil was added to the center 2" to protect against exhaust damage. These days, I'd recommend adhesive aluminum tape, sometimes sold as Muffler Tape, or as metal duct tape. For the rudder, make a new one that is a larger than the original, say about 30% larger. That will help make sure that the side area of the pop-pod is accounted for. Glue the rudder to the BOTTOM of the fuselage, not the top.	Click for larger image

For your model, use your favorite pop-pod attachment method. For this old model, I used what could be considered to the the old Manta type attachment method, but reversed, where the part with the side plates is on the glider instead of the pod. In the photo at right, the Drop-Weight Dethermalizer is shown. It was made from 1/32" plywood. A small cord runs to the tail, so when the DT falls off, it swings to the tail and destabilizes it, so it sort of tumbles down. Elastic thread was used to hold the DT in place unti lthe SIG DT fuse burned thru the thread. The pop-pod was BT-50, and the model flew on a D12-3. This model also would probably be suitable to fly on a D10. I would not recommend a D13.	Click for larger image