In radio-controlled aircraft, a hotliner is a fast sailplane with an electric motor. The range of what is often described as a hotliner varies from a sailplane with ailerons to 7000 watt competition F5b planes. General characteristics of a hotliner are:
- Sailplane with at least aileron and elevator control
- Electric motor
- Ability to climb at an angle of 70 degrees or more, usually vertical climbs.
Hotliners have been around since the early 1990s and became popular almost a decade later.
History
[edit]The first hotliner was Hans-Dieter Levin's Aeronaut Sinus, described in a German magazine.[citation needed] Originally, hotliners were electric sailplanes with remotely controlled ailerons, capable of flying faster than the models of the period that only had rudder and elevator controls. Levin tested his Sinus with a Speed 600 motor and an 8x4.5?(diameter(inches)/pitch(incher per revolution)) prop and a 7 cell NiCad battery pack. In this configuration a climb at more than 70° was not possible. However, the term, hotliner, has since evolved to mean models with a fast climb rate. Aileron-equipped electric models which are not so fast are called warmliners.
Typically hotliners are launched at full throttle and reach a high altitude. From here the pilot cuts the motor and starts a series of maneuvers.