Once I had grasped more or less the Acacia and had owned the Carraccho for a few months or maybe only weeks I put an add out on the BMFA. Wanted F3B glider, cash waiting! As you can imagine I had various people reply some wanting beserk money for average gliders , a couple of others and a couple of people with skorpion F3B's.
I decided I was going to go with the skorpion so I replied to the 2 potential vendors and asked for pictures. The choice was an orange / black one and a mint green / black one. Not much of a choice really!!
I headed off , trekked around the M25 and met up with a nice guy, Pete Beadle. He had only owned the skorpion for a few months but found it to be a bit of a hand full so was looking to get rid, we came to an agreement on price and that was it, job done.
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| Top side of wings and 'V' Tail |
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| Bottom Side |
I ended up with what I believed at the time to be and still believe to be a very pretty glider. It came comeplete with a ballast set , wing bags and futaba digital servos all round
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| Ballast Set and spacers |
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| Good old Futaba 3155's in the nose it has trusty 3015's in the wings |
The skorpion that I have I am still unsure if it is the Skorpion F3b version or Skorpion F3f Version. Everybody I meet has a different opinion. Some say because it doesn't have upturned tips it is the Skorpion F3B version, some say its quite heavy so it must be The Skorpion F3f Version. To be honest I am happy with whatever it is.
When I first got it it did take an age for me to set it up. Apparently the Skorpion F3F is notoriousely difficult to set up. I was very close to the point of off loading it. I had been flying it for probably 4 months and although it did everything I wanted it to do i.e the nose went where you pointed it, I couldn't get the ''feel'' of her. By this I mean I was struggling to build a relationship with her. Rob flew it a couple of time and even the Mighty ''masterclass'' Hudd had a go. Both agreed she was a very neutral glider, no feel.
Anyway finally I cracked the Skorpion F3F and believe me it was worthwhile. The Skorpion once flying how you want her to fly is a very rewarding model to fly. She is one of the quickest models around which is qualified by the fact she held the F3F record for quite a while, aerobatics with her are a doddle and also very smooth as she has very little dihedral ( no messy rolls ) and she will also perform fairly well in light winds. I have out performed an ''Alula'' in light winds much to the disgust of the ''Alula'' pilot.
If you ever get a chance to own one, I would recommend it. The Skorpion F3F is a classic, much like the Truimph stag from the 80's or even Robs hair style!
Now for the one and only bad point of this glider, the ''flaming'' Tail cone
This tail cone is held on with black electrical tape, the problem with it is that it protrudes out probably 3centimteres ( just over an inch in old money) from the elevators. If when you are landing, normally in longer grass ,one of the wing tips catches and the glider spins round, invariably the tail catches and pulls off. This has probably happened 4 times in the last year, normally not a problem but on 2 occasions has knocked the horn out of the elevator. Whilst this is not a great problem it is quite an annoying one. I have thought about modifying the cone so it doesn't poke out further that the elevators.
The picture below was taken at Alton Barnes by Aris Man. Again the Skorpion is an undeniably good looking glider, very strong and a great performer. As I said before, If you get a chance to own one, don't pass it up
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| SKORPION F3F or SKORPION F3B??.......Who Cares, she's ace!! .....spot the Tail cone! |
