H101- Salto from MHM / FliegerlandName: H101- Salto
Sold by: Fliegerland Manufacturer: Fliegerland / former MHM Category: aerobatic sailplane Material: Fuselage GFK / Wings Styro/Abachi/GFK Wingspan: 3,9m Aerobatic / 4,4m Thermal Length: 1,7m Weight: 5,1kg Price: ~720€ Link to the shop: Fliegerland Shop It started with the 2,7m Salto, from there on I have been Salto addicted... Who ever seen a Salto flying will understand me. A very beautiful plane that differs quite much to a Fox and it is just more graceful. Of course, in performance it can't catch up, but the flight image compensates everything.
There aren't many manufacturer of the Salto in this Size, but it is exactley that Salto who was designed mainly for aerobatic. Some are only for thermal soaring, some are build for loops and rolls and some are in between, but no one else is flying that excat and so good in aerobatics like this one. Also there is his little weight of only about 5kg and there are attachable wings for thermal soaring. Nevertheless his little weight the torquey is impressive and he is very easy to fly. This model is one of the few, very less known, masterpieces. So it is very sad that the Company MHM isn't anymore, but the moulds have been bought by the Company Fliegerland and so it is still on sale with some small modifications. |
|
I'm very happy that I have catched exactley this Salto, it is still an old MHM one where the ailerons are not going until the end of the wing (better stall characteristics) but it already have the round CFK strut and also the servos are already in the wings and not anymorein the fuselage. So to say it is one of the last MHM Salto's.
The size I find perfect, big enough to be taken serious, smal enough to get it to the field without any problems. As all MHM / Fliegerland Saltos this one is also equipped with spoilers which aren't scale like the original rotating spoilers, but they work very well. Allover this is not a full scale model, it is an everyday performance machine. Exactley what i was searching for.
The size I find perfect, big enough to be taken serious, smal enough to get it to the field without any problems. As all MHM / Fliegerland Saltos this one is also equipped with spoilers which aren't scale like the original rotating spoilers, but they work very well. Allover this is not a full scale model, it is an everyday performance machine. Exactley what i was searching for.
Shipping:
I bought this plane used, so I can't say anything about how this plane is shipped, but the shipping cost in the Fliegerland shop are quite high, so I think they will ship it very safe and without any damages.
My setup:
I haven't removed the covers on the servos of the aileron and elevator, so I can#t say which servos are built in, but with an V-tail you need very exact and play free ones.
On the spoiler and the tow coupling Graupner C5077 are used.
On the spoiler and the tow coupling Graupner C5077 are used.
As battery I'm still using a 1800mAh 4S NiCd from the preowner. As you can see on the picture there is plenty of weight attached to it because of the short nose of the Salto. in winter time I will change that to a double power supply with ~2000mAh NiMh cells.
I still don't want to use LiPo's in that case because I can't see any advantages, only disadvantages. I need the weight, there is no danger of burning and you can have them laying around for weeks without thinking about the charge level. Also you don't need that annoying balancing. Also you can solder the plugs in a way that you can plug both packs in series so that you only need to charge "one" battery. Also the charge level indicator is more trustful on a NiMh then on a LiPo.
I still don't want to use LiPo's in that case because I can't see any advantages, only disadvantages. I need the weight, there is no danger of burning and you can have them laying around for weeks without thinking about the charge level. Also you don't need that annoying balancing. Also you can solder the plugs in a way that you can plug both packs in series so that you only need to charge "one" battery. Also the charge level indicator is more trustful on a NiMh then on a LiPo.
As receiver I'm using in the meantime an Orange RX R620 who will be changed in wintertime against a R800X with one R110XL satellite.
Winter modification 2013/2014:
After i flew with the Salto in the Season 2013 as I bought it, I did some modifications during winter time like I would have done it, if I would have bought him new. Changes have been applied on the power supply, receiver and the cockpit.
Power supply:
As stated above, the 1800mAh NiCd battery was removed. That capacity is for an aerobatic sailplane of that size just too small. it works, but you don't have a good feeling with that.
At first, the Jeti DSM 10 dual power supply was built in. Here i especially like the magnetic power switch which is much more safer then any mechanical switch.
As battery I'm using now two times a 4S pack of 2400mAh NiMh. I soldered the plugs also in that way, that you can charge it without any additional accessories as 8S pack in one charging. As plugs I have choosen 4mm gold ones, they would have not been necessary, but in an over all view, they fit quite well. Also i soldered the output of the power supply on two servo plugs which are plugged in on the left and the right side of the receiver, so the current should be balanced and if one plug have a mechanical defect, the other one should still work. Also I attached a Tower Pro charge indicator so that i always know how full or empty the batteries are. To see the charge level of only one pack, you only need to unplug the second one, so it is still possible to recognize a defect battery before it leads to problems.
As stated above, the 1800mAh NiCd battery was removed. That capacity is for an aerobatic sailplane of that size just too small. it works, but you don't have a good feeling with that.
At first, the Jeti DSM 10 dual power supply was built in. Here i especially like the magnetic power switch which is much more safer then any mechanical switch.
As battery I'm using now two times a 4S pack of 2400mAh NiMh. I soldered the plugs also in that way, that you can charge it without any additional accessories as 8S pack in one charging. As plugs I have choosen 4mm gold ones, they would have not been necessary, but in an over all view, they fit quite well. Also i soldered the output of the power supply on two servo plugs which are plugged in on the left and the right side of the receiver, so the current should be balanced and if one plug have a mechanical defect, the other one should still work. Also I attached a Tower Pro charge indicator so that i always know how full or empty the batteries are. To see the charge level of only one pack, you only need to unplug the second one, so it is still possible to recognize a defect battery before it leads to problems.
Receiver:
When i bought the Salto, I just put in an OrangeRX R620 which is more then enough for this model. For safety reasons I only added an OrangeRx R100 satellite.
When i bought the Salto, I just put in an OrangeRX R620 which is more then enough for this model. For safety reasons I only added an OrangeRx R100 satellite.
Cockpit:
I can't understand what must be the reason to paint the cockpit of the Salto read and on top of it, to put in such an ugly bear. So there was the most "important" change overall...
The most tricky thing is to get the canopy off without any damage. Lucky me it was glued very thick, so there was no problem to cut only through the glue to get it off and then remove the rest of the glue.
So the bear was removed and the holes from the "safety belt" of the bear where closed with Epoxy. Then I grinded everything only roughly and startet to paint it.
I used Duplicolor granite effect paint and needed the whole can only for the cockpit. Also I needed to spray more then ten very thin layers until it covered perfectly. Also you should not wonder if it first starts to cover after 6th or 7th time spraying. In the end one layer of clearcoat and it was done.
I wasn't up to do a full cockpit expansion or putting in any other pilot doll, so I decided to take a picture of an original Salto cockpit, edit it with Photoshop and printed it on photo paper. I think this looks now quite good and if you need the photoshop file, just contact me. How long it will last under the sun needs still to be found out.
Finaly only the canopy needs to be reglued. For that I used UHU Max Repair. This glue looked very good to me because it is really see trough and stays flexible. Also there is a small trick fro glueing a canopy: The whole in the fuselage needs to be covered very wide with cling film and then put the cockpit on it. When you are now glueing the canopy you can move it for a perfect fit without beeing scared to glue the fuselage. Also you don't need any fixture because the UHU Max Repair starts to glue very good after 5 minutes, so you only need to hold down the canopy for that time.
I think the result looks quite good.
I can't understand what must be the reason to paint the cockpit of the Salto read and on top of it, to put in such an ugly bear. So there was the most "important" change overall...
The most tricky thing is to get the canopy off without any damage. Lucky me it was glued very thick, so there was no problem to cut only through the glue to get it off and then remove the rest of the glue.
So the bear was removed and the holes from the "safety belt" of the bear where closed with Epoxy. Then I grinded everything only roughly and startet to paint it.
I used Duplicolor granite effect paint and needed the whole can only for the cockpit. Also I needed to spray more then ten very thin layers until it covered perfectly. Also you should not wonder if it first starts to cover after 6th or 7th time spraying. In the end one layer of clearcoat and it was done.
I wasn't up to do a full cockpit expansion or putting in any other pilot doll, so I decided to take a picture of an original Salto cockpit, edit it with Photoshop and printed it on photo paper. I think this looks now quite good and if you need the photoshop file, just contact me. How long it will last under the sun needs still to be found out.
Finaly only the canopy needs to be reglued. For that I used UHU Max Repair. This glue looked very good to me because it is really see trough and stays flexible. Also there is a small trick fro glueing a canopy: The whole in the fuselage needs to be covered very wide with cling film and then put the cockpit on it. When you are now glueing the canopy you can move it for a perfect fit without beeing scared to glue the fuselage. Also you don't need any fixture because the UHU Max Repair starts to glue very good after 5 minutes, so you only need to hold down the canopy for that time.
I think the result looks quite good.
Build up:
Also to the built up I can't say much. However, the model will be delivered with the need to cover the wings and finish the whole fuselage. For that you will need for sure some days or weeks, but because of the really good quality you should not run into any problems. The Salto is very light, so I would recomment to put the servos for the V-tail directly into that. The little more weight you will need in the nose is the precision you can get from that worth it by far. Also I'm using the Multiplex Multilock as connector for the V-tail and it is working very well. Some guys also use them for the wings, but there I would have a bad feeling so I'm happy that the builder of this Salto still used the old spring system.
Because of the removable V-tail, the Salto is very easy to transport and also finds a place in smaller cars:
The wingspan in the aerobatic version is 3,9m:
With attachable wings for thermal soaring the wingspan expands to 4,4m:
Flying characteristics:
Over the whole internet everybody is saying that this Salto is superb to fly, and guess what, thats true!
The take off on the tow line is working without any problems and you don't even have to hold up one wing to stay horizontal. Even with very low speed the effect of the ailerons is big enough to get him horizontal and shortly after that he is airborne.
Stress won't come up, he is following the line as he should. Even the towiing coupling is not there where the manual says (10cm from the nose on the underside), it is 2-3cm on the right side of the nose. Our towing plane, a Jodel with 2.2m and 80ccm engine, does not have any problems with the Salto and after one round the final height of around 300-400m is reached. Of course in a curve you have to steer with the rudder a little bit, but surpriseingly the V-tail is working very good.
Once off the line and in his element, the Salto just does one thing: Being a great machine! Nevertheless his low weight he accelerates very fast up to around 150-180km/h and can also get back up to around 95% of his starting height. Here the aerodynamic shape of the body and the V-tail will do the big difference to other planes. The rolling rate is also quite good for a Salto, slow rolls, four point rolls and of course loopings are not even challengeing. Typicaly for a V-tail you have to cheat a little bit on turns, but also these are done very nice. Upside down he is also very stable to fly and you don't need to push too much, but you can feel the higher V-shape of the wings along to a Fox or Swift, but he still also likes negativ loop. But I'm honest, you need to steer him quite much to make him do that. Spins are working also very good and are looking very impressive with such an plane. But take care of haveing enough height, with a plane of that size you will need it. Very spectacular are of course very fast low passes upside down and you won't have a problem to get back up to a height for a safe landing with two or three more rounds.
If you attach the additional wings you change the plane completely. Made for thermal soaring, it transforms him now nearly to an thermal soarer for grand daddys. There youf eel the low weight on a wingspan of 4,4m. on the ailerons he is getting now much slower and you can also fly him slower. However he is not showing you thermal fields like other planes are doing it, so a vario would be an advantage. For me it is the perfect compromise, an only thermal soarer would be too much boring, so you can have nine flights action and on the tenth flight you attach the wings and relax for a thermal flight.
Because of the spoilers the landing is very easy. You only need to to take care that you don't fly him too slow, because he is not showing it before he gets a stall. Then suddenly one wing is going down and you need about ten to 15 meeters to control him again. If you are direct on the final approach, this could be maybe too much. The Salto can be equipped with a wheel brake, but I have it not and I'm sure nobody else will really need it. Once he is on the ground, he needs only around ten to 15 meters until he stands still.
The take off on the tow line is working without any problems and you don't even have to hold up one wing to stay horizontal. Even with very low speed the effect of the ailerons is big enough to get him horizontal and shortly after that he is airborne.
Stress won't come up, he is following the line as he should. Even the towiing coupling is not there where the manual says (10cm from the nose on the underside), it is 2-3cm on the right side of the nose. Our towing plane, a Jodel with 2.2m and 80ccm engine, does not have any problems with the Salto and after one round the final height of around 300-400m is reached. Of course in a curve you have to steer with the rudder a little bit, but surpriseingly the V-tail is working very good.
Once off the line and in his element, the Salto just does one thing: Being a great machine! Nevertheless his low weight he accelerates very fast up to around 150-180km/h and can also get back up to around 95% of his starting height. Here the aerodynamic shape of the body and the V-tail will do the big difference to other planes. The rolling rate is also quite good for a Salto, slow rolls, four point rolls and of course loopings are not even challengeing. Typicaly for a V-tail you have to cheat a little bit on turns, but also these are done very nice. Upside down he is also very stable to fly and you don't need to push too much, but you can feel the higher V-shape of the wings along to a Fox or Swift, but he still also likes negativ loop. But I'm honest, you need to steer him quite much to make him do that. Spins are working also very good and are looking very impressive with such an plane. But take care of haveing enough height, with a plane of that size you will need it. Very spectacular are of course very fast low passes upside down and you won't have a problem to get back up to a height for a safe landing with two or three more rounds.
If you attach the additional wings you change the plane completely. Made for thermal soaring, it transforms him now nearly to an thermal soarer for grand daddys. There youf eel the low weight on a wingspan of 4,4m. on the ailerons he is getting now much slower and you can also fly him slower. However he is not showing you thermal fields like other planes are doing it, so a vario would be an advantage. For me it is the perfect compromise, an only thermal soarer would be too much boring, so you can have nine flights action and on the tenth flight you attach the wings and relax for a thermal flight.
Because of the spoilers the landing is very easy. You only need to to take care that you don't fly him too slow, because he is not showing it before he gets a stall. Then suddenly one wing is going down and you need about ten to 15 meeters to control him again. If you are direct on the final approach, this could be maybe too much. The Salto can be equipped with a wheel brake, but I have it not and I'm sure nobody else will really need it. Once he is on the ground, he needs only around ten to 15 meters until he stands still.
Even in the aerobatic configuration with "only" 3.9m the Salto is already very impressive:
Also the 20 years old WIK Salto from my father looks good beside the MHM Salto:
I found again my love for video editing, so I made one video from all Salto videos I did before, here is the result. You can still find the original videos on my Youtube channel.
Conclusion:
Target groups: Advanced and professionals
Finishing: ?
Flying characteristics: Very good
Price / performance ratio: good
Wow, now I know why everybody is saying that this is one of the best Salto's ever built. I have never seen a sailplane before that is that usefull for aerobatic and thermal soaring. of course he does not have the performance of a Fox or Swift, but who wants to cut out of the mass is perfect fine with that model! to the price / performance ratio: There everybody needs to know on his own how to rate that. Ready to fly the Salto is between 1000€ and 1200€, the flying characteristics are perfect, but it isn't cheap. It is what you pay for, you don't get anything as a gift. Thats why "only" good.
Finishing: ?
Flying characteristics: Very good
Price / performance ratio: good
Wow, now I know why everybody is saying that this is one of the best Salto's ever built. I have never seen a sailplane before that is that usefull for aerobatic and thermal soaring. of course he does not have the performance of a Fox or Swift, but who wants to cut out of the mass is perfect fine with that model! to the price / performance ratio: There everybody needs to know on his own how to rate that. Ready to fly the Salto is between 1000€ and 1200€, the flying characteristics are perfect, but it isn't cheap. It is what you pay for, you don't get anything as a gift. Thats why "only" good.