The Ripmax Gambler 40
The pictures above show the Gambler 40 just minutes after opening the box. As you can see it is an a.r.t.f. kit that will go together in a very short time indeed. The kit contains all the necessary accessories to complete right down to the little bits of silicone keepers for the quick links. The quality of the kit contents is excellent and priced at just under £90.00rrp it looks good value for money. I purchased my kit from Marionville Models of Edinburgh one of the best model shops in Scotland.
Construction.
To construct this model you will require a small selection of tools and adhesives. The construction is straight forward and the instructions are easy to follow with step by step pictures. The building starts with the joining of the wings, which are glued together with epoxy. There is a wing brace and a locating dowel to ensure that you get them lined up correctly. The hinges for the ailerons and the rest of the control surfaces are the c.a. type with the slots pre-cut. The aileron servo is installed and connected using the supplied control rods and clevises. The undercarriage legs are fitted to the wing with the supplied saddle clamps and the wheels installed and retained with collets.
The fuselage has the slots for the tail and fin pre-cut under the covering, which is cut away using a sharp knife. The push rods supplied for the elevator and rudder consist of a pre-installed pvc tubing with a piano wire control rod. These were totally unsuitable, as the rods were far to stiff for a standard servo to move and return to centre. I opted to install Sullivan snake push rods, which were fitted without any problems. I removed one of the pvc tubes from the model and the other I used to run my receiver aerial up.
The tail and fin are epoxied in place once the necessary covering has been removed. The steerable tail wheel is next to be fitted and screwed in place. The elevator wire joiner is glued in place then the elevators are installed followed by the rudder. The next job to do is to install the control horns and connect the push rods.
The engine mount supplied I found to be a bit awkward and decided not to use it. The mount supplied consists of two "T" sections, which can be a bit fiddely to get aligned correctly. I chose to use a standard engine mount, which was installed using the captive nuts and bolts supplied in the kit. The Irvine 46 was next to be fitted and the glassfibre cowl was cut to clear the engine with my trusty Dremil Multi. The throttle push rod was then installed followed by the fuel tank with the receiver battery under it. At this stage I decided to screw the servos into the pre-installed servo tray and connect up the push rods. The canopy is trimmed using a sharp pair of scissors and screwed in place. The switch and receiver fitted and that’s just about it.
I spent a few hours on Thursday and Friday night and the model was ready to be flown on the Saturday, I told you that it would be quick to finish it.
Test Flight.
On the Saturday afternoon I arrived at our field, there was no wind and the sun was out, PERFECT! With the usual pre-flight checks carried out the model was fuelled and the engine run up. The model was placed on our tarmac runway and after a check of the control surfaces again I opened the throttle and the Gambler 40 started on its short take off run. The model climbed out steadily and after a couple of click or bleeps of trim on the elevator and ailerons was flying straight and level. The ailerons are very precise, as is the elevator. The Gambler was put up to a safe height to test the stall. The throttle was put to idle and as the model slowed up elevator applied. The Gambler just gave a gentle nod and that was it, perfect no tip stall. Loops, rolls, rolling loops, knife-edge and spins were carried out during the rest of the flight before landing back on the strip.
This model is very steady and would be great for someone wanting to get into aerobatics. It lands at walking pace makes your flying look good. I have passed the controls to a number of my fellow club members who were also impressed with the Gambler 40 handling.
Notes
I have been flying the Gambler 40 quite a lot and have put nearly a gallon of fuel through the engine during its four outings. On its last landing on its third outing I landed the model on the short cut grass strip instead of our tarmac runway and one of the blocks for holding the undercarriage leg on the wing failed. I cut into the wing and found that the block had split in half and had not been glued in all that well. New blocks of beech were epoxied in place on both sides of the wing and the undercarriage legs refitted.
Although I have encountered problems with the push rods and undercarriage-mounting blocks I am very impressed with this model. The quality is good, the instructions are clear, and most importantly it flys great. So if you are looking for a first low wing model or for a new sport model go and buy yourself a Gambler 40 you won’t be disapointed.