Construction Report “Olympia”

The idea to build the plane again came quickly. I had the wood, the film, the servos—and the power source, too. I quickly found the original plans in the plan archive (a 20-cm stack of paper). I even sketched in the changes I’d made back then with a pencil. Needs are a bit different today, so it was clear that the model would be built with a motor and ailerons. There’s a small drawer in the workshop where template ribs have always been stored. The template ribs for the Olympia were even labeled. Let’s get started.

Build it the old-fashioned way again. The ribs from a block set, the fuselage as a box-type fuselage. With only minor adjustments for the engine frame.

The tail surfaces are built a bit lighter; the rest is the same as before. Due to the ailerons and the powerplant, there will be a bit more weight. However, a direct comparison is no longer possible—and it doesn’t really matter anyway. It will always be sufficient for slope flying, and on flat terrain, the glider isn’t particularly strong in thermals anyway. It’s really all about the joy of building.

The motor is off the shelf and doesn't fit perfectly. Using the intended battery would put too much weight on the tail. So the plane just has to be flown with a smaller battery. In the rearmost position, that works just fine, and the "old thing" flies very satisfactorily.

It's nice how such a coincidence can bring so much joy.

Photos: Old photo by Mr. Widmer
; new photo by J. Vetterli
; construction photos by E. Rechsteiner