ESM Petrel Review by Mark Jensen

Review R/C Model ESM’s 2.6m Petrel electric glider.

Mark Jensen

Having been hit by the electric glider phenomenon, I was looking for an ARF electric glider that was slightly larger than the standard 2-metre class. This was not as easy a task as I first envisaged. I was on the Modelflight site and noticed the Petrel, a 2.6-metre ARF electric glider. I purchased one on line and eagerly awaited its arrival.

It finally arrived and the best part about modelling is opening the box to have a look at the bits. Once opened, I was not disappointed with everything packaged in plastic bags for safe transport.

The fuselage is gel-coated fibreglass with a great finish and very light. The wings are foam core with balsa sheeting and come pre covered in pro-film with the ailerons already hinged using the pro-film.

I must say that anyone with modelling experience will put this baby together very easily. Even with little experience, if the directions are followed in the instructions, you can’t go wrong. I always like to have a read of the instruction booklet to get a feel of how the model is going to go together.

As the booklet suggests, I started with the wings. I used some mini JR servo’s that fitted neatly into the already prepared servo wells. You will need to use a 600mm aileron ext lead that slides through a pre cut channel in the wing and into the fuselage. All that is left to do is to fit the supplied control horn and the push rods that are made to size and the 2 wing half’s are finished. (How easy is that)

The fuselage is no much harder. The tail is easily attaché by two screws into blind nuts pre installed in the top of the fin. The rudder is glued using the supplied hinges.

Two servos were installed in the fuselage up the front. (Yes – servo trays are pre installed!) The kit is supplied with cabling with the instructions showing to epoxy the quick link to the cable. I did not like this idea so I used light wire and soldered the quick link to the wire.

The motor is pre installed with a folding propeller. I used an 8.4v 2400 NiMH pack, which slides neatly between the servos and a 30 amp ESC. C of G was easy to achieve as the battery can be moved forward and back. Although a very snug fit, I packed in some hard foam to enure the battery could not move.

The last thing to do now was to set all the movements on the control surfaces to the ones given in the instruction booklet. I always use the suggested movements and adjust them to my liking after the initial first flights. The battery was charged that night and ready to fly the next day.


As usual the weather was less than perfect with the wind quite gusty. However once at the field I had to see how she flew. I added some red trim to the wing tips and the finished model looked great and received some good interest. After again testing the movements and doing a range check, I got a club member to hand launch the model. I was surprised at the performance of the supplied motor (normally no good) as the Petrel climbed at a reasonable rate. Once at the desired hight I turned the motor off and held my breath. I need not of worried. The Petrel need a small amount of elevator trim and flew hands off. Because of the weather flight times were not great and after a few climbs I decided to land. The Petrel is very controllable and looked fantastic as it fly past and banked around for final. It came in as if it were on rails to land easily. Make sure you give yourself some extra room as it just keeps on flying from about 300mm of the ground.

I have since put a brushless motor in the Petrel and can now gain my hight at a faster climb. I recommend this, as it is such a great model to fly.

Overall this kit from ESM is great money for value. You could never build a 2.5m electric glider for this price. To have it ready in just over a week is a bonus as well.

	View ESM Petrel Review     ESM Petrel 2.6M ARF electric glider, fibreglass fuselage, foam/balsa wings. Aileron, rudder, elevator control. Speed 600 type motor and 8 x 4.5" folding prop included.

Thermal Soaring DVDs

			[RCASOARMC] Radio Carbon Art - Soaring Master Class DVD. Get tutored by Mike Smith (winner of numerous US national championships) in basic and advanced soaring skills.

			[RCASOARMC2] Radio Carbon Art - Soaring Master Class 2 DVD expands on the content of the first DVD with detailed tutorials of advanced soaring techniques with an introduction to competition thermal flying.

	[RCACFS] Radio Carbon Art - Scale Soaring DVD. You will be impressed with the beauty and grace of these scale gliders. This will be very enjoyable for any gliding enthusiast.

			[RCAHPTHERMAL] Radio Carbon Art - High Performance Thermal Soaring DVD. Take your thermal soaring skilss to the next level.

	[RCACFS] Radio Carbon Art - Radio Clinic for Gliders DVD. Learn to program your radio for smoother and more efficient gliding

	F3 Building Clinic - a detailed visual guide for assembling and preparing today’s modern composite sailplane kits

	Radio Carbon Art Secrets of Thermal Soaring DVD - "I can say without abandon that this is the best film I have ever watched. If you want to learn about thermals and thermal soaring, this is a must buy product" - Wil Byers - Quiet Flyer Magazine

	Read the review from www.silentflight.net     Performance Tuning for Gliders - Pro techniques for getting the most from your glider

	Radio Carbon Art Pro Aero Tow - "Paul Naton's new video, "Pro Aero Tow", can be summed up in one word: AWESOME! The professional photography, editing, interviews and choreographed sound track are beautifully done." - John Thayer