I love all 3 of my hobies. I grew up flying these with my dad in Southern California. I love em' some hate em' some don't know how to tame em'. Others try and add things to the airframe to make them behave. Its all about knowing how the hobies behave, and how to utilize our modern tech radios to tame, and get the most out of these most recognizable classics. Superb flying, fast, smooth, and nose down. HAWKS FOREVER !
Your short video pretty much sums up how I spent my youth, coming of age in Southern California. It was all flying, building and repairing my Hobie Hawks, morning, noon and night for me. From age 13 to 16 that's what my best friend and I did while many of our other friends did drugs and booze.
Perfect video of a Hobie Hawk in its element "flying over the coast". I can remember driving down to Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point, CA to meet up with my ex-brother-in-law. He would be hang gliding, me flying my gliders. Often times Hobie Alter himself would be flying one of his Hobie Hawk's from there as well. It used to be one of the best spots in CA for flying, now the Ritz Carlton sits on the point and I'm still trying to figure out if I can fly off the slope. Those were some golden days, hang gliders jumping off the point, RC gliders from the slope and Hobie Cats on the shore. If you had to make a shore landing you could drive all the way to the beach and load up your hang glider or Cat from the sand. 33°28'33.11"N, 117°43'17.43"W
Mine was translucent yellow wing and tail with orange fuse. It was a beautiful sailplane in the air with the wing shape. She liked to fly fast and landing was always interesting, as the wing incidence kept wanting to pull the model up until the airspeed bled down to stall speed. She was expensive as mentioned but durable and stable flier. I never got into a good thermal with her, as i spent most time repairing her, I learned to fly with Hobie off a high start, and had the .09 Enya power pod as well, but never used the power pod. She was not a good beginners plane for sure! Thanks for a blast from the past John!!!!
Ah yes. The old Hobie Hawk from around ~76 -77? The first model that I heard referred to as a 'Cheque book model'. For those who don't know, this was an ARTF (Almost Ready To Fly) model and it meant that it required no real building skill or patience, and as such it could be bought (at a fairly high price for the day if I recall) by anyone who had enough money. Dads would often buy these for their kids. Having said all that, they did fly well - in the right hands.
Back in the day it was 80 for the ARTF and 120 for RTF I think. I wasn’t alive then but I work at a Hobie dealer / rental shop and I read about these hawks. Very cool
I had always wanted a Hobbie Hawk. It was all the all elements that seem to meld together. But due to not having a place to really fly one and the fact I have read where they can be a handful at times, I will just watch them on videos.
Hobie Alter's breakthrough masterpiece, not for it's flying abilities, but for it's construction, (like a surfboard which was Hobie's main business), and it's Almost Ready to fly kitting, It blazed the way for all Sailplanes to come some years after this was introduced in the US. It was flying art at the time.
I love how when you launch it, it just sort of floats away, like it’s weightless. Our minds think, there must be an invisible hand carrying her away, and it’s surreal. But it really is an invisible hand- the winds are an unseen force, sometimes there, sometimes not, and you can only be sure until you see a glider ride the flow.
My first love (airplane) and the only reason aside from the price was I heard that it tended to 'Dutch roll' on hi-start launching. It's a wonder it has not made a reappearance.
The fuselage almost looks like one of the modern(ish) variants. I remember one from Hawaii, but the name escapes me. There were a few that tried to make improvements mainly in the form of a longer fuse.
Heard on the news that your part of the UK were in for a proper gale the other day. Bit surprised you didn't have a roof slate with servos ready to do some 'high velocity soaring'. Flying a flat stone in a storm ... I dare you :-)
Hi John, Back in the day, lots of the guys in California put a dorsal fin which extended about 6" forward of the tail and up to the fuselage just below the rudder, or about 2" tall. Tape one on and try it next time you go out and see what you think.
@@SlopeRCGliders Some guys resorted to building a larger rudder as well. The heavy wings coupled with the elliptical dihedral wasn't wonderful when you slowed them down, so lots of things were tried. Col. Bob Thacker made a set of flat wings without the ellipse. Didn't look as cool but flew better.
@@SlopeRCGliders with modern radios add a good amount of expo. That will help the dutch roll. I run around 40-50% on my hobies. The problem with hobies is over control, and over correction. Guys mechanically fixed them to accommodate sloppy flying. I can fly mine with zero dutch roll, just knowing how to fly them.
I have a hobie hawk. Haven’t flown in yet as I’m still learning to fly. Better to crash the foamies first. The glider has the weirdest way of finding the balance.
Curious how the curved polyhedral is built: did you bend the balsa with steam, or is it hot-wire cut foam sections sanded to a curve...? It looks nice!
I have built a couple of gliders with curved dihedral by steaming the hardwood spars and then making the wing directly onto a curved building board. However this one is actually an old ARTF model from back in the 70s. The wings came ready built and are of blue foam construction, with plywood sheeting, then lightening holes cut. It’s quite a heavy model for what it is.
I like seeing your Hobie fly, very nice flying. I have one as well and need to get better at flying it. New to your channel. Looks like a great flying location, where are you flying at? Also, what kind of wind speed are you flying the Hobie in?
I love all 3 of my hobies. I grew up flying these with my dad in Southern California. I love em' some hate em' some don't know how to tame em'. Others try and add things to the airframe to make them behave. Its all about knowing how the hobies behave, and how to utilize our modern tech radios to tame, and get the most out of these most recognizable classics. Superb flying, fast, smooth, and nose down. HAWKS FOREVER !
I had one of these back in the day, 1978? Very nice flyer.
Your short video pretty much sums up how I spent my youth, coming of age in Southern California. It was all flying, building and repairing my Hobie Hawks, morning, noon and night for me. From age 13 to 16 that's what my best friend and I did while many of our other friends did drugs and booze.
Ahhh the legendary Hobie and that beautiful wing...
Thanks John, your videos are inspiring me. Have a nice day!
Perfect video of a Hobie Hawk in its element "flying over the coast". I can remember driving down to Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point, CA to meet up with my ex-brother-in-law. He would be hang gliding, me flying my gliders. Often times Hobie Alter himself would be flying one of his Hobie Hawk's from there as well. It used to be one of the best spots in CA for flying, now the Ritz Carlton sits on the point and I'm still trying to figure out if I can fly off the slope. Those were some golden days, hang gliders jumping off the point, RC gliders from the slope and Hobie Cats on the shore. If you had to make a shore landing you could drive all the way to the beach and load up your hang glider or Cat from the sand. 33°28'33.11"N, 117°43'17.43"W
Mine was translucent yellow wing and tail with orange fuse. It was a beautiful sailplane in the air with the wing shape. She liked to fly fast and landing was always interesting, as the wing incidence kept wanting to pull the model up until the airspeed bled down to stall speed. She was expensive as mentioned but durable and stable flier. I never got into a good thermal with her, as i spent most time repairing her, I learned to fly with Hobie off a high start, and had the .09 Enya power pod as well, but never used the power pod. She was not a good beginners plane for sure! Thanks for a blast from the past John!!!!
Thank you for this one.
I watched it through it’s entirety twice!!!
Me transmite Belleza !!! Es muy bonito, el video.
Gracias por video !!
a lot of good memories...thanks
What a beautiful classic. It does appear to want to stay up in the air.
She didn't want to land,
That curved wing design seems to have some nice behavioral characteristics
At low to medium speed.
Very nice model
Another great way to start my day with a video like this, thanks you guy's.! Still a great looking and flying plane. Thanks
Thank you
Ah yes. The old Hobie Hawk from around ~76 -77? The first model that I heard referred to as a 'Cheque book model'. For those who don't know, this was an ARTF (Almost Ready To Fly) model and it meant that it required no real building skill or patience, and as such it could be bought (at a fairly high price for the day if I recall) by anyone who had enough money. Dads would often buy these for their kids. Having said all that, they did fly well - in the right hands.
Back in the day it was 80 for the ARTF and 120 for RTF I think. I wasn’t alive then but I work at a Hobie dealer / rental shop and I read about these hawks. Very cool
Beautiful, loved the Soundtrack...🤔🤔🤔😀🇬🇧
Fantastic! Bravo Johan!!🇸🇮❤️❤️❤️
I had always wanted a Hobbie Hawk. It was all the all elements that seem to meld together. But due to not having a place to really fly one and the fact I have read where they can be a handful at times, I will just watch them on videos.
Nice one John. I love the dihedral.
Hobie Alter's breakthrough masterpiece, not for it's flying abilities, but for it's construction, (like a surfboard which was Hobie's main business), and it's Almost Ready to fly kitting, It blazed the way for all Sailplanes to come some years after this was introduced in the US. It was flying art at the time.
Had one forty five years ago. Best all around, almost ready to fly glider ever.
I love how when you launch it, it just sort of floats away, like it’s weightless. Our minds think, there must be an invisible hand carrying her away, and it’s surreal. But it really is an invisible hand- the winds are an unseen force, sometimes there, sometimes not, and you can only be sure until you see a glider ride the flow.
My first love (airplane) and the only reason aside from the price was I heard that it tended to 'Dutch roll' on hi-start launching. It's a wonder it has not made a reappearance.
The fuselage almost looks like one of the modern(ish) variants. I remember one from Hawaii, but the name escapes me. There were a few that tried to make improvements mainly in the form of a longer fuse.
Glad to see you survived the recent storm! I expected to see some of your ‘catches’ along with the crosswind landings at Heathrow!
Heard on the news that your part of the UK were in for a proper gale the other day.
Bit surprised you didn't have a roof slate with servos ready to do some 'high velocity soaring'.
Flying a flat stone in a storm ... I dare you :-)
cool vintage glider ..... I get the feeling that that slope is your back yard 😀
I’m lucky that the slope is just a short walk from my house.
Most of my attempts at building wings turn out that shape😆
Hi John,
Back in the day, lots of the guys in California put a dorsal fin which extended about 6" forward of the tail and up to the fuselage just below the rudder, or about 2" tall. Tape one on and try it next time you go out and see what you think.
Sounds like it may improve it wallowing about.
@@SlopeRCGliders Some guys resorted to building a larger rudder as well. The heavy wings coupled with the elliptical dihedral wasn't wonderful when you slowed them down, so lots of things were tried. Col. Bob Thacker made a set of flat wings without the ellipse. Didn't look as cool but flew better.
@@SlopeRCGliders with modern radios add a good amount of expo. That will help the dutch roll. I run around 40-50% on my hobies. The problem with hobies is over control, and over correction. Guys mechanically fixed them to accommodate sloppy flying. I can fly mine with zero dutch roll, just knowing how to fly them.
JOHN! Never seen you fly so fast! Don't see anyone at the beach today. Those Hobie Hawks are squirrelly.
Nothing beats a good floater on the right day !.
I have a hobie hawk. Haven’t flown in yet as I’m still learning to fly. Better to crash the foamies first. The glider has the weirdest way of finding the balance.
Yup, it certainly does. It’s not the easiest glider to fly smoothly for what is meant to be a beginners aircraft.
@@SlopeRCGliders hence the foamy comment.
Curious how the curved polyhedral is built: did you bend the balsa with steam, or is it hot-wire cut foam sections sanded to a curve...? It looks nice!
I have built a couple of gliders with curved dihedral by steaming the hardwood spars and then making the wing directly onto a curved building board. However this one is actually an old ARTF model from back in the 70s. The wings came ready built and are of blue foam construction, with plywood sheeting, then lightening holes cut. It’s quite a heavy model for what it is.
@@SlopeRCGliders Very cool. It certainly doesn't look heavy from the video!
The wing is a composite blank with routed bays.
MY RADIAN LOOKS ALMOST IDENTICAL...NICE BIRD !
Por favor como se llama el planeador?me encantó realmente,gracias
Se llama Hobie Hawk. Es un modelo antiguo de la década de 1980. Ya no puedes comprarlo.
I like seeing your Hobie fly, very nice flying. I have one as well and need to get better at flying it.
New to your channel. Looks like a great flying location, where are you flying at? Also, what kind of wind speed are you flying the Hobie in?
Thank you. I’m in Cornwall U.K.
I think it was blowing about 10-12 mph that day.
🛫👍👍😎
👏👏👏
I think I've seen feathers that look heavier than this airplane.
It wasn't very good at slow flight, and it had a tendency to Dutch roll.
It had good maneuverability and was good at rudder rolls.
Is it for sale?
Ron, Mine could be. Google should get you through to me relatively easily if you want to talk about the options. Thayer Syme
No storm. Always a gentle brise. 😉👍😅
🙏 Promo-SM!!!