Last Updated 26/08/98 22:32
It is difficult to categorise a Pat Teakle Sailplanes kit. Whilst the quality of the various parts is faultless, there is an awful lot of the construction left to the builder (Purbeck kits have ruined me!). The content of the kit is also minimalist, requiring the builder to find wing joiners trailing edges, tips, all other wooden parts and all the accessories. Excellent page for information on HP Sailplanes Waynes Soaring Page
Download HP18-K Three View Coming soon -Building and flying review of Pat Teakle Sailplanes HP18. It is hoped to use the basic kit as a basis for constructing the latest 'k' version of the HP 18. This is a variant on the standard Richard Schreder HP18 by Bob Kuykendal. His page deta- iling the design and construction so far can be found at The HP-18K Project. About The HP18 The HP-18 is a kit built sailplane designed by Richard Schreder of Bryan, Ohio. One of the more numerous kit sailplanes flying in North America, it was designed as a no compro- mise racer for the then new FAI 15m class in the mid 1970's. It combines Schreder trademarks of 90 degree landing flaps instead of spoilers, a v-tail with fixed stabilators balanced ruddervators and retractable gear with then innovative approaches to high perfor- mance design including a very shallow fuselage (27 inches deep), fully supine seating, side stick control, interlocked flaps and ailerons and a steerable tail wheel. Forward fuselage is fiberglass, the balance of the craft is aluminum skinned with the wing skins bonded to closely spaced foam ribs over an aluminum wing spar consisting of two hefty tapered c-channels separated by two shear webs. The interior of the wing spar is sealed and forms the water ballast tank. Unlike other metal skinned sailplanes, the 4" rib spacing and bonded construction result in a wing that is totally quiet even in the roughest air and retains its contour and finish for hundreds of flight hours.
In flight, it rewards it's pilot with plenty of performance, well finished examples show performance similar to PIK-20's and LS-3's. Handling characteristics are straightforward, but the ship reflects it's contest heritage with low stability on all three axes and delivers best performance and handling near aft CG. The cockpit is very comfortable for long flights. The side stick control is unusual but requires little effort and is an easy transition. Towing is via retractable nose hook which accepts a Schweizer style ring. Flaps are generally positioned to -10 degrees for take off roll, +10 for take off, normal tow and thermaling, 0 to -10 for cruise and 20 to 90 degrees for pattern and landing, with -10 recommended again for the final landing rollout for best aileron control. Landings feature the incredible braking action of 16.5 square feet of flap. Glide ratio sinks to a minimum of about 2:1 and the pilot finds himself standing on the rudder pedals with 45 degrees nose down to hold 50 mph. Experienced HP pilots have been seen to touch down and roll out in less than 100 feet with a ten knot headwind component. Less experie- nced HP pilots are apt to carry too much speed into ground effect and float a bit before touching down. Sounds great - I hope the model exhibits some of these qualities.
Back to features page homepage about us photo album favourite sites
Download HP18-K Three View
Coming soon -Building and flying review of Pat Teakle Sailplanes HP18. It is hoped to use
the basic kit as a basis for constructing the latest 'k' version of the HP 18.
This is a variant on the standard Richard Schreder HP18 by Bob Kuykendal. His page deta-
iling the design and construction so far can be found at The HP-18K Project.
About The HP18
The HP-18 is a kit built sailplane designed by Richard Schreder of Bryan, Ohio. One of
the more numerous kit sailplanes flying in North America, it was designed as a no compro-
mise racer for the then new FAI 15m class in the mid 1970's. It combines Schreder
trademarks of 90 degree landing flaps instead of spoilers, a v-tail with fixed stabilators
balanced ruddervators and retractable gear with then innovative approaches to high perfor-
mance design including a very shallow fuselage (27 inches deep), fully supine seating,
side stick control, interlocked flaps and ailerons and a steerable tail wheel. Forward
fuselage is fiberglass, the balance of the craft is aluminum skinned with the wing skins
bonded to closely spaced foam ribs over an aluminum wing spar consisting of two hefty
tapered c-channels separated by two shear webs. The interior of the wing spar is sealed
and forms the water ballast tank. Unlike other metal skinned sailplanes, the 4" rib
spacing and bonded construction result in a wing that is totally quiet even in the
roughest air and retains its contour and finish for hundreds of flight hours.
Site created and maintained by Carl Trollope 61 The Chequers Lichfield Staffordshire WS13 6BP