This is a full kit for a Gold Rush tip/hand launch glider. It is based on the Design by the late great Martyn Crowley published in Aeromodeller (Dec. 1983) and Model Aviation (March 1985). The design was a model of the year award winner had an excellent contest record. This updated, Gold Rush 24/26 has a 24 or 26 inch wing span and is designed to be launched from the wing tip using a straight arm, horizontal, swinging motion. This particular version is quite small as far as traditional tip launch gliders go, these are usually larger with wingspan of 30-36”. The advantage of this smaller design is that it is easier to launch, it gets just as high as the larger models, and it flies very well in very weak lift and small thermals because it is lighter and can handle a smaller turn radius. This fuselage is different from my larger tip launch glider fuselages in that it is designed for a pop-forward wing (see video: here). To see this glider in action go here. The fuselage kits all included one of my new extra stiff medium booms.

This kit comes with a wing blank that allows for a 26” or a 24” wing as you prefer. The kit also comes with an ultra stiff carbon boom, a small hardware pack and the stab and fin. The wing blank is broken into a leading and trailing edge with the trailing edge already tapered and ready for final shaping. The wood used is 6-7# stock, and usually C-grain. You will be asked to select either “RDT” (I supply a fuselage with a hollow cavity for RDT servo and electronics) or “Standard” (I supply a fuselage designed for a silly putty timer as well as the timer parts and some silly putty). If you need a micro or nano servo that will fit a glider fuselage see here (note that the GS1083 is ideal for this smaller glider).

This kit can be purchased as a standard kit or a deluxe kit. See instruction booklet here to get a sense of how this kit goes together.

1. the standard kit includes the wood required to build the glider as well as a boom and the basic hardware to assemble the wing pivot and timer.

2. The deluxe kit includes a set of jigs and tools that are assembled from a sheet of laser cut parts. The jigs help with fuselage alignment, stab angle and alignment, and fin alignment. The tools include a series of angled sanding blocks for the dihedral joints and 3D printed airfoil shaped sanding blocks for sanding the airfoils.