a jart is born

After polishing the mould and applying the PVA release agent, I laid up 3 layers of 195gsm glass.

This produces a 225g fuse that is very strong. Here is the first one out, a little porky at 300g, number 2 was the winner at 225g, and they have been consistently this weight since then.

I skipped a bit of picture taking, and ended up here with little to no pictures.

Paint trim and servos to go in and then it's ready to fly.

The moulding process

Here is the moulding process I used.

	After cutting out the shape of the plug into some chip board, I waxed the plug and applied PVA again. I then filled in the seam line with an epoxy/cabosil mixture from a plastic bag, kind of like an icing bag arrangement. Once cured the plug was removed and the seam sanded flat. This creates a fantastic seam.
	A closeup of the seam, see, no gap :)
	First layer of tooling coat on. Each coat is light and must not fillet the corners
	1 Layer 160gsm glass, 6 layers 400gsm Biaxial glass and then another layer of 160gsm glass, corners were filleted with carbon tow, should have used glass tow, but it was a pain to get so I just used carbon since I had it already.
	Mould just opened after second side was done. Needs a little cleanup(bit of paint came off the plug and stuck to the mould, quick scrape with a plastic scraper got rid of it without damaging the mould surface), but otherwise pretty nice surface

So it starts

After reading much about the Jart, I purchased the plans for Reed and got going.

	I decided to use a high density polyester foam for the plug, The shaping was all done with a razor saw and sandpaper. This stuff sands very nicely, but what a mess!
	Basic shaping done.
	Fin Shaped and epoxied on. Starting to look the part now
	First Layer of 160gsm glass on the plug
	All sanded down and looking pointy
	Canopy mould being laid up. The plug was polished 8 times with Ram wax and them buffed out. Then a layer of PVA release agent was applied with a sponge.

The New 70" AFR JART - News from Reed

Folks, I gotta tell you, I'm so happy with this thing. It's been a challenge, it's even been a little scary, but we have finally given birth to the new 70" ARF composite version of the JART design. Have a look at the YouTube channel, or just go to JARTWorld and check some of the latest posts to see video of the process and to watch the prototype fly on a mellow day out at the coast.




Use the PayPal buttons below to purchase your kit (or go to the Kits page on the website). You can use a credit card or your PayPal account, either will work. Production kits will be arriving here in a few days and I will begin inspecting and shipping immediately.



So this is how it goes: you hear that people want a rudder and flaps and a bigger version of the design and you say, "uh, ok!". To be honest I never needed all of that, I designed the plane as it was because it was all about me, me, me and I only wanted a simple plane that would fit in my car. Besides, I had to build them myself and didn't want to spend the extra time and money to fit flaps and rudder.




But here we are, 6 years later, and I find myself standing on a ridge, holding a 70" molded version of the plane with all of these bits and pieces wagging around, up down left right and all over. Just after launch I can already feel the size of the thing. Obviously I'm very familiar with the 56" wingspan, so having those big wings driving through the air is fascinating. At 72 ounces (yours should be lighter by 6 ounces or so) I'm surprised that the plane flies almost exactly like a 45 ounce standard-size JART, though I shouldn't have been. The extra size has a more than proportional affect on the airframe's efficiency so the numbers and the experience do match in this case.



For the first few minutes I flew with aileron and elevator only, just to get a feel for the handling characteristics. I certainly enjoyed it, and all of the maneuvers in the "teaser" video are with that setup. After a few minutes I decided to add flaps to the aileron movement and suddenly the plane felt more like a standard-size JART - very crisp and decisive in lateral control and overall very tight and neutral.



Then came the biggest surprise of all: the rudder. Honestly, I only added this to the design because a lot of people seemed to want it. For a 56" version I still wouldn't bother, but for this 70" version I thought the rudder might come in handy for inland "slermal" conditions where the pilot ranges out and looks for bubbles of lift away from the ridge and could use a flatter turn. It was a shock to me, though, when I pulled some rudder in on a racing turn and the plane came leaping out of the corner with unexpected energy. What I thought would be a fairly ineffective control surface is actually a very useful tool for keeping the nose straight through the turns and creating a "grippy" feeling, especially coming back from the downwind leg.



Landing this thing is just a breeze, especially if you already know how to land with flaps and/or crow. Once I got the elevator compensation figured out, those big flaps just bring the plane down to a crawl and you can land it on a dime in reasonable conditions. Being new to the flaps game it has taken me a few flights to get it dialed in, but I have a good technique now where I set the plane up behind the ridge and then pull in aileron reflex to kill some energy. Once the plane begins to settle down toward the LZ I pull the flaps in also and pilot the plane down to about waist-high where I pull the flaps out and let the plane sit right down. I missed a bunch of landings trying to learn this method and the poor plane took a lot of abuse dealing with my learning curve. But despite all of the bashing about, I never broke anything and was able to launch immediately every time - she's tough.



There will be many more flights and I'll post my impressions as we go. Can't wait to get her out to one of our DS spots to rev her up on the dark side!



Thanks

I just want to take a moment to send a special thanks out to all of you who trusted me enough to send advance payment for your JART-M70 kit. You have helped me more than you know and you have made it possible for many others to fly this cool plane. You may not have meant to be so helpful and beneficent, but you were, and I deeply appreciate it. As I've said before, there is blood money in this endeavor and that can be a scary thing, especially when things don't go exactly as planned. Now, however, we are finally enjoying what we have all worked to see.



As always, a thousand thanks to all JARTists!

EPP mini Jart

The Jart was maidened on Friday at Tamatieberg, Volksrust. It fly beautifully and for sure a keeper. It was instantly my favourite model. At 600g I was not sure if it would go in the light lift, but it climbed out and after some trimming was zooming up and down the slope face. It is not as slippery as I thought it would be and actually can land slower than I envisaged. With more wind I will add ballast.

I resized it to a 1.2m wingspan to fit easily in my cars boot. I cut the wings and fuz on my CNC from EPP. She looks very sexy Hey!

Pity the weather turned to mist and rain on Saturday , so I will have to go back soon.

Cheers

Gert
TRMC Secunda

Double Trouble

The terrible twins are finally complete with thanks to all that contributed to the build. WELL DONE !!!
We are ready to take on the slopes of Hermanus next week. So watch out!

Sean on the left and myself on the SW Slipper face.

Flying Jarts in formation is not for the faint hearted

Filming Jarts ai'nt easy eather!

Give the file a moment & enjoy!

Baptism of fire

Yesterday, with the South Westerly wind blowing 80km/h, Sean and I decided to give the Red Bull Jart her baptism of fire and went up the Lady Slipper. The site is located on the highest peak in our area and generally works best on a South Westerly or North Easterly wind. The height above sea level usually provides ample lift.
80km/h winds are overkill to say the least!

One of a few landing attempts

Typical Jart Profile

Sean surprised that the plane was still in one piece

Wind speed indicator

Holding the camera in the wind was almost as bad as flying the plane, so look past the shakes!

JART-70 short kit announcement

JART-70 Short Kits Are Here!
The photo above has two cool subjects in it - one is Jeff Fukushima, legendary slope designer (Vortech Models) and his finished version of the new JART-70.I asked Jeff to help me create a new mold for a 70" JART kit. He did not disappoint. After a few weeks of craftsmanship Jeff had produced a big, gorgeous plug for this larger version. Now, he's been kind enough to crack a few fuses out of that mold and make them available to us mere mortals.Six of these fuselages are currently available, along with a set of beautiful, CNC-cut, spiderfoam wing and stab cores. The cost for this short kit is $190, plus shipping, so if you're interested just send me an email at reed@jartworld.com and I'll work out the total amount for you.Don't hesitate on these! Jeff says he'll make more when he has a chance, but there is no guarantee when that will be. This is pure love-of-the-craft, out-of-the-home-shop stuff - ain't nothin' mass-produced about these babies!

JART-LX news
Folks, we are sooooo close I can almost taste it. My push is to have kits ready for you by mid-December. But here's the biggest news - I've decided to go all out for this one! The new kit will have carbon wings, a beefy, rectangular carbon joiner, generous flaps, and even a rudder option. The design was always meant to be versatile, but now it will be hard to beat - fast, aerobatic and able to float down for a landing. Best of all the price will still be very reasonable. In fact, I'm going to try to keep it down around $300, plus shipping.Just to whet your appetite, I'm including an image of the CAD-generated file that will be used to tool this new beauty...

JART-EPP Kits Available
We have a few EPP kits available for those who like a bouncier plane. Same great quality you're used to with these kits: pre-shaped fuselage, clean-cut wings, carefully chosen wood, full hardware package, build instruction CD...about all you need is glue and covering!Kits are $150 plus shipping. Email me at reed@jartworld.com and I'll give you a total for your PayPal payment, personal check or money order.
Here's a shot of the kit and some finished versions...
Thanks
It hasn't always been easy, but knowing that people are out there who know and care about the JART always keeps me moving forward, trying new things, hoping to find ways to help folks enjoy the sport of RC soaring.

So thanks for keeping me in the game!

Reed

JARTWorldSan Francisco, Californiahttp://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102819695922&s=57&e=001Bm__nJPVDwidbMZGWOVJezMFQbQVofO_WeVVYOpj6eB8mWGXTj2SUNU_PjrEGp7EqM1TB-VnImwF2xLTJjTdFCtXN4cbpdEIEHvkden6eNaItu3LF5toCSt1xflIZvLVLKk1Vao7cCcN7-PP5iRXsQ==contact Reed

Maitlands

These photos show our slope location at Maitlands, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

1. This is an overhead shot of the Maitlands slope that we share with the para-gliders

2. This shot is slightly above and along

3. A Google location for Maitlands

Red Bull Maiden

1. The Jart in her new party dress

2. Looking good

3. Looking mean and fast

4. Belly shot

5. Sean and Vic giggling uncontrollably!

Friday arrived with a moderate South Westerly wind at about 20 Km/h ( note the lack of white horses in the background!) We decided to toss her anyway and managed to trim her up in flight. The aileron throws need to be readjusted as the roll rate was nowhere near the old Jart. Wind strength did not help much either....

The main thing is she flew, and we'll put her through her paces soon!

Red Bull Jart

I know, I know....... just another Red Bull plane that" gives you wings"!
So what, I enjoyed building it and the stickers were lying around. The process also taught me the art of spraying and masking! I must have sprayed the three colours six times and taken it down as many. We are just waiting for a strong south westerly!
The plane weighs in at 1150 grams fully loaded and is perfectly balanced. I have given Alain my old one as it has had a tough life. It's been crashed and flown hard and still flies beautifully!
I must just ensure this one lasts so that we can take it along to Hermanus in November!
As Daron would say, YOU HAVE TO HAVE ONE OF THESE IN YOUR QUIVER"!

Do I thank him or curse him?

Hi there all. Just joined the blog, thanx Evan. Thanx to Johann, or should I curse him? We went flying today, the conditions were SSW about 35km/h....On our "little" slope, that means.....PERFECT CONDITIONS!! Note the white horses in the background. I flew Johanns Jart...WOW!!...TWO WORDS.......ROLL RATE!!!!Ok, so now I have to get started on mine.

News From Reed at Jart World

JART-LT/LX Moulded Wings!

It's been a long road, but we finally have some decent moulded wings for you LT owners. These are the same wings that will come with the new, all-moulded JART-LX kits.

These wings fit perfectly to your LT fuselage, allowing you to plug-and-play with very little fiddling - just fit your servos and control bits and off you go.

The economy as it is, I'm forced to make smaller orders and sell them out rather than hold a bunch of stuff in inventory. So right now I have 4 white sets of moulded wings left from the original batch. They're all white and go for $145 plus shipping.

Email me at reed@jartworld.com for shipping costs and order details.

Also, we've had a few of the new JART-LX kits come in and they've already sold out. These will come in red, yellow, and white. Please email me your colour preference so I can get an idea of how many to order in the next batch.

Cheers,Reed

Johann & Daron

Finally we have a Jart the way it is supposed to be...... flown on the slope!
The wind was 25-30km South west on Monday and perfect for the Maitlands slope. The slope is not very high and therefore does not generate great lift, but if it blows directly up the face, one gets clean air. Daron was very apprehensive but maintained that the Jart wanted to fly. It is not the easiest plane to launch as there is very little holding space below the wing. I launched it with two hands and with very little adjustment on the elevator, it flew straight out. The plane flies beautifully!
Thanks to everyone for their support and useful advice.


Daron's yellow and black Jart

After getting the plane trimmed out, Daron was having such fun that I decided to join him and launched my more sedate Salto...... It has to be sods law, Five minutes later we had a head on in mid air... What are the chances?

WELL WE ARE BACK IN THE WORKSHOP!

Besides all the mishaps, we've had great fun and the plane really flies beautifully! We'll get the other one ready for it's trails. Lets hope it goes home.

It has been worth the time and trouble and we've learnt so much!