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IS A GENIE RIGHT FOR YOU?

In providing packages and supplemental text my intent is to accommodate those who can scratch-build, who want something truly elegant & are willing to put in the time to get it. The satisfaction comes from receiving pics of builders with their GENIES and comments that they are happy campers. 

If, after reading this file, you think you want to build a GENIE, you'll need JOUSTER 2 (J2) plans from Model Airplane News. They have much in common. With those plans, J2 instructions and Supplemental GENIE Instructions you can download from the J2 website, a latest version GENIE can be built.

For around $200 of materials going into the airframe if you do your own cores, you will have something beautiful you can take real pride in having built. It will likely perform better and handle more easily than about any other higher performance, thermal type ship you may have flown. In referring to $200, I mean the value of what is actually put in, not your up front costs, S & H, etc. If you buy a gallon of epoxy for $60, count $10 of it, etc. You'll have some leftovers of hardware, cloth & adhesives for another project. 

GENIE involves numerous considerations, techniques & features that may provide a liberal education for many builders. You need the time, skills and motivation to follow through. I don't consider building a GENIE a good first scratch-building project as some reasonably well-developed skills are needed. If you don't have some experience in vacuum-bagging, it'd be better to first build a J2 with a bagged wing.

As to tools, a small bandsaw is particularly handy. I have an older Sears benchtop I constantly use. I have the whole array of the steel Permagrit sanding tools. A bench sander, drill press & the Dremel tool with router attachment are used only a little & perhaps a friend has them if you don't.

Although text & plans are very thorough & while there is nothing difficult if you have suitable tools and will follow instructions, you should know something about what is involved. Here is a brief description: 

The slim, curvy fuselage, with fin, is assembled from ply, balsa & CF, then glassed over. As you build it you are controlling the aesthetic level. It takes me 2 days to cut parts, assemble them and sculpture one ready for glassing. Glassing takes a day or two, mostly due to being done in stages with cure times between & smoothing it to a glass-like finish for painting. No composite fuselage of similar weight can compare to it for strength, durability & repairability, if needed. With a good lacquer in a rattle can, overall painting is a matter of 10 minutes or so, done in several light coats. Basic white with a black canopy looks real classy but some trim colors add to the looks if you want to take the time to do the masking. 

To do your own cores you need an airfoil plot program, such as Compufoil, from which to modify the airfoils & make core-cutting template plots. 

With cores in hand, I find it takes about a weeks' full time work to do a wing. A superior wing just patiently requires good work. Pre-bagging steps involve assembly of the spar system, getting 90 degree angles at all butting points relative to the TE line, beveling for dihedral where tip & center section pieces butt, preparation & attach of endcaps there, preparation & installation of the blades & blade receptacles that support the tip sections, attach of LE's & extreme wood tips & some steps related to installing the Rotary Driver System. You will need to cut cloth & size, wax & paint the mylar carriers. All these steps are detailed in the J2 text, the supplement or the RDS website.

You need access to vacuum-bagging equipment. Bagging itself is no big deal, taking 30-45 minutes or so per section to smear epoxy & get in a bag. Post-bagging primarily involves cleaning up butting ends for mating, touching up LE's, cutting away/trimming of ailerons & flaps, installation of servos, the RDS and hinging. 

No junk is to hang out of a GENIE wing, so the RDS is used. In the thinner wing now recommended, wing servos not over 1/2" thick are best-suited. The Volz Micro-Maxx servos are ideal. Delicate micro servos are not suitable. J2 plans and the RDS website detail "hat bracket" mounting of servos between rails on a ply base.

Flap-Elevator mixing is needed. I find electronically coupled aileron-rudder very useful for coordinated turns. With those & properly built according to text & plans, GENIE is an easy-handling, very competitive bird with no bad habits. TE camber, reflex, crow and mixing flaps with ailerons for turn, etc. will help extra capabilities, but performance is excellent without them. 

If you think you can handle building the ship, I'm happy to provide a package & help out by answering questions by e-mail. You'll have the equivalent of a $700-$1,000 ship when you are finished that will hold its own in any traditional thermal competition, stand out from all the plug-in wing, look-a-likes & get a lot of attention. The bagged wing, using the CF and glass cloth, plus the wrapped CF spar system makes a very strong wing, but anything can be over-stressed and break as is seen in the expensive molded F3B and F3J ships.