Chris Kendall’s Blizzard

Multiplex Blizzard

I got my first Blizzard in 20160. Saw it hanging from the ceiling in a now-gone model shop in a housing estate outside Exeter. I think it was £60 including all hardware and a Spektrum Rx. It had been damaged but was generally sound.

I got it home and started to get it sorted. One of the problems with the Blizzard is if you follow the instructions you bind the Rx and then lock it inside the fuselage before you glue the halves together, never to see it again. I had to cut a hatch to get at it so I could bind to my Tx.

First time I “flew” it was when I met the secretary and treasurer of my northern club. I flew my Radian and they seemed happy with that. Their rule was if they were happy you could fly solo. Then I tried the Blizzard and immediately crashed and broke fuselage. That flying field is part of a golf course, so we went to the clubhouse, I bought them a pint and they forgot the crash. I am now sure it was gremlins that reversed the ailerons. Probably felt bad because neither of them had spotted the ailerons. It lay in a corner for over a year. Finally fixed it and flew it and enjoyed flying it.

One day I was landing – and it took ages to land – and when I was nearly down decided to go round again. Hit the throttle. Too late. Hit the ground while accelerating. Fuselage broke in the same place.

Decided to get another and it has been lying in a box waiting for time and inspiration. Lockdown 3 provided both.

The wings are thin and there are lots and lots of fibreglass reinforcing strips which need to be glued in. I used Multiplex CA rather than ordinary. I had salvaged all the hardware but needed to do a lot of soldering to replace damaged wires, and decided to avoid plug joins inside the fuselage. Used POR to stick the fuselage together to give myself time to get the servo wires safely in place. Covered it with coloured parcel tape.

The battery is supposed to be a 3s 2200 but I am sure when I had the other I flew it on less – because I might not have possessed a 2200 then. I didn’t lock my Rx in the fuselage so it is a bit crowded in the cockpit area and a 3s 1600 fits better.

It is finished now, apart from the ID label and I am not printing that till I get my new number. All the controls move in the right direction now. All controls are set on low rates. I don’t know how quickly it will turn on those low rates, and I know how quick our trees can move, so I will probably maiden it in the wide open spaces of Epsom.

The Blizzard first appeared in 2008. It was promoted as a “hot liner” but seems to be regarded as a “warm liner”. They can move fast and do have a distinctive sound, not as good as a Vulcan howl, but pretty good. There are lots of Blizzard videos on Youtube, most, but not all, from German flyers.

Next build is a Keil Kraft /Ripmax Caprice 51” towline glider. Still cant decide whether to put a small motor on it – but really that wouldn’t be much different from my ex Graham Bentley glider of the same size, or put a tow hook on it and try towline and rudder and elevator controlled “free flight” at Epsom, or just throw it off hills in very low wind.

Chris Kendall’s Blizzard

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