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The Kestrel has been very popular and a fantastic flier. Many of our customers have requested a larger version on of this wonderful flying sailplane, so here it is! The Kestrel 2M is a great flyer and the Kestrel 100, with its larger span and higher aspect ratio, has even greater performance. The SD7084 airfoil is used on the wing to increase the speed range and penetration and with this wingloading and planform the sinkrate and L/D is fantastic. Truly another breakthrough sailplane from NSP!
Like the Kestrel 2M, the Kestrel 100 features high quality wood with accurate laser cut parts. The bolt-on wing breaks down to two pieces and requires only two 1/4-20 bolts to hold down the wing, utilizing the same unique and strong system that has been used so successfully on the Alcyone series of sailplanes. One of the most unique features of the Kestrel 100 is its optional ailerons/flaperons. This arrangement allows the builder to have ailerons coupled to the rudder using only one servo! The wing retains polyhedral for stability (slightly reduced in the aileron version) and is as easy to fly as any rudder/elevator ship. With the ailerons coupled to the rudder and the polyhedral platform, the Kestrel has the quick response of a high performance aileron ship and the stability of a poly ship. You can use the ailerons as spoilerons or flapperons. Hooking a third servo to the throttle stick and using the slide tray supplied in the kit, you can now have the ability to control the flight path, so useful in contest landings. Due to the size of the ailerons and because of the large tail surfaces, little or no elevator compensation is needed. This makes for a great second sailplane. The wing has a strong reinforced spar to take a hard winch launch, yet it's light enough for our standard Pinnacle High Start to launch it easily to thermal heights.
The Kestrel 100 is complete with an extensive hardware package, full-sized plans and illustrated instructions. The slim fuselage, while designed for minimal drag, is very strong because it is made with a combination of lite ply and balsa with generous corner longerons, allowing the builder to mold the fuselage to a rounded shape. The wing is made with laser cut ribs to ensure an easy fit and accuracy so important to performance. The kit is replete with added touches to ensure a pleasant building experience. The CAD-drawn plans are highly detailed and along with the illustrated instructions guide the modeler through the building process. The kit is complete with all parts and hardware and the modeler only needs to supply glue and covering.
With a long tail moment and generous tail surfaces, the Kestrel 100 is very smooth in pitch response. There are other benefits: the large tail surfaces and long tail moment allow a wide CG range and very low stall speed while maintaining control authority. The modeler can then tailor the handling characteristics of this sailplane to his own choosing. For the beginner this means that a small variation in CG will not mean a crash, the Kestrel 100 will still fly allowing changes to be made instead of repairs! The fuselage, even though they are wood have the look of sleek fiberglass. The Kestrel 100 takes full-sized receiver and battery and three full-sized servos for the rudder, elevator, and flapperons. The Kestrel 100 will help the beginner/novice to progress quickly and learn not only to fly, but to soar!
Sal Says:
We have made every effort to make the Kestrel 100 the best large sailplane available to the beginner/novice pilot. We have succeeded better than we could have ever anticipated. This sailplane teaches full three-axis control and has the controllability of the full computer-controlled glass high performance ships, and can be controlled with a simple 3-4 channel radio with No Mixing!
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