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 In the tradition of the Sparrow from NSP, the Epsilon 1.5 is another great sailplane
from the guys who design and build the Omega Sailplane series. The Epsilon 1.5 is an
excellent new slope sailplane. Designed for lighter conditions, the Epsilon 1.5 does very
well on smaller slopes and will take over where an HLG has left off, but due to the strong
molded parts and RG 15 airfoil the Epsilon 1.5 will fly very well in strong conditions
too. Simply add ballast to the CG and the Epsilon will show you that it was built for
speed. This baby is really fast even at low wingloadings. Its truly a blast to be able to
stay up in light lift and still be able to produce some speed!
We have found that an airframe built with performance in mind and built to a reasonable
weight, has the advantage of being able to fly in a large variety of conditions, both
light to strong lift, both hard core racing and inland slope/thermal soaring. Build an
airframe with an efficient planform and very low drag with attention to detail and keeping
the airframe strong but as light as possible will give you these attributes. Add to this
the generous full span ailerons, one piece wing (lightweight and strong!) and generous
tail surfaces, and you have the type of sailplane we like the best and one that you can
take with you wherever you are flying. The wing planform is both beautiful and highly
efficeint with a full curved leading edge and a slightly curved trailing edge resulting in
very good left distriubution along the wing. This is the Epsilon 1.5.
The Epsilon 1.5 is fully molded sailplane with a Carbon/Kevlar fuselage. The wings
sport a full length carbon spar and full span ailerons. The servo bays are premolded into
the wings and as with the best molded sailplanes, the hinge line is molded into the wing
(called live hinges, which means no hinging needed!) the fuselage is designed so that the
ailerons come all the way to the center of the wing, the back of the fuselage is below the
wing allowing for the ailerons to move downward. This gives you the ability to have FULL
camber control of the wing, which is a very effective and efficient feature of the Epsilon
1.5 sailplane. All hardware is supplied with the kit . Everything in the Epsilon 1.5 is
made with performance in mind.
The generous sized ailerons are full span for very fast, smooth control. This means
roll authority at all speeds, aerobatic capability and best of all the ability to camber
change for light conditions. Full span ailerons also mean that you can mix the ailerons
(actually flapperons) to the elevator to get a very quick high speed turn without losing
your momentum. The Epsilon 1.5 has excellent speed and is designed to turn well with no
prestalling at the tail due to the generous size here. Setup to do extremely well in the
corners and holds its energy very well in the turns while reversing direction quickly can
be attributed to the way the airfoil when slightly cambered increases lift just enough to
enable the racer to pull a high G high speed, high CL without any tendency to skid or
stall. The design of the V-tail helps this in that it is reasonable in size, very
stiff and with large moveable surfaces.
The best part about the Epsilon 1.5 is its ability to fly in a great variety of wind
conditions and slope sites. We have found this sailplane to fly in lift similar to the
Sparrow series sailplanes but with more speed. This makes for a very good inland slope
ship as well as a good choice for the smaller hard to fly slopes. Now! this isn't the only
thing that the Epsilon 1.5 can do1 It has a very strong and fast airframe so add ballast
at the CG and the Epsilon becomes a real rocket ship with blinding speed and immediate
response. We find that Epsilon to be a true all purpose slope sailplane for the
performance minded and if you can only have one the Epsilon 1.5 would be that excellent
choice.
When you open the box you will find the Epsilon 1.5 almost ready to fly. You can
assemble the Epsilon 1.5 in just a few minutes! So do so, admire it, then it's time to put
the radio in! All hardware is included and it is very possible to have the Epsilon 1.5
flying in just one evening of light work. The finish is beautiful on this all molded
sailplane. The one piece wing and V-tail simply bolt onto the fuselage. The tails use a
ball and socket system for the maximum in smooth slope-free control and there are molded
fitting on the v-tails to simplify the installation. The ailerons are live hinged (as are
the elevators/ruddervators). The Epsilon 1.5 is flown with two aileron servos in the wings
for flapperons/spoiler/camber control, and either one or two servos in the fuselage for
either just elevator (this is the way I fly it) or two servos for ruddervator control. We
recommend using the Hitec HS 125MG wing servos. A HS-85BB for the elevator is sufficient
and very accurate. For ruddervators we suggest using 2- MX 50HP servos.
The fully curved leading edge ending in a slight turn up at the tips is a very
efficient planform and with the special version RG-15 airfoil results in a sailplane that
will accelerate immediately with a top speed only determined by the height of the hill and
the amount of ballast used.The fuselage is very low drag and the attractive canopy is made
from Carbon Fiber cloth. The Epsilon 1.5 comes in yellow/red or white/blue. Beautiful
sailplane and fantastic performance at a VERY reasonable price!
Sal Says:
Wow! This Baby is fast! On the fist day at the Cape I flew the Epsilon 1.5 in light lift with no ballast and it flew beautifully and flew higher than all the others on the slope. Then the wind picked up and it still flew really well...without ballast! It was fast! The third day we had strong winds and I put a little ballast into it and bot this babay can really cook! This is definetely a keeper!
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