Construction of the PIONEER II is kept as simple as
possible with minimum man-hours required being the prime
objective. The glass fuselage adds aerodynamic cleanness,
simplicity, durability, and good resale value. A 24 pound steel tube frame which is bolted into the glass shell carries all primary flight loads, towing and landing loads. The cockpit is roomy with lots of head room. A semi-reclining seat position permits maximum comfort for the pilot.

The wings are of conventional wood construction and made with woodworking tools found in most home workshops. The wing's leading edge is skinned with either 3/32" aircraft plywood or 1/8" marine plywood. The aft section of the wing is covered with fabric and doped. The completed sailplane weighs 390 pounds when aircraft plywood is used, 410 with marine ply.

To date there are over 67 PIONEER IL's being built, 16 nearing completion and l4 known flying. At last tally, 865 hours have been logged on the PIONEER IL's with at least one flight lasting over five hours. Reports by their pilots are that she climbs well and penetrates very well. Soaring techniques of a flying wing are quite different than that of a tallied sailplane. For instance. Rough thermals can be flown with full back stick and any amount of rudder and aileron movement will not produce loss of control. Since the PIONEER does not stall or spin, this makes for a standard maneuver in soaring the small thermal cotes. From experience we have found that it takes a full season of flying to accept and learn the habits of the flying wing. The second season you learn to use what you have learned in the way of new handling techniques and begin to apply them.

An additional quality the PIONEER II possesses and which has recently become an important aspect in soaring is the Low energy level required to tow the craft aloft. With the ever increasing cost and shortage of gasoline the cost of air towing is getting out of hand. Cost of towing increases with the sailplanes weight and drag. The PIONEER II has the happy combination of light gross weight and Tow drag and thereby costs less than almost all other sailplanes to air tow. In addition it's low wing loading and excellent maneuverability in thermals permits lower release altitudes. Rule of thumb: Release in first thermal encountered when towed to 1,000 ft 800 ft if its a good one. I have never required a second tow.

Also, due to the gas price increase, winch towing is increasing in popularity. Optimum altitude gained on winch tow requires low wing loading, Light weight, low drag and center of gravity tow hooks. Again the PIONEER II: wins on all counts achieving much higher rows than it's nearest contender.

As you build your PIONEER II, please keep in mind, save every ounce you can when you purchase materials and throw away every ounce you can during construction, Ounces
quickly add up into pounds, pounds into a heavy sailplane, an unhappy and unwilling ground crew plus a sluggish sailplane in flight.

A considerable portion of the Pioneer Id's wings are constructed of 3/32" aircraft plywood. Now, you may substitute with 1/8" mahogany marine plywood to Save a few dollars, but you will pay a weight penalty, perhaps as much as 35 pounds in the wings alone. Some of the so called 1/8" marine plywood is actually 5/32"(4mm) thick and made of high density and is made of mahogany.   One builder constructed his wings from this 4mm plywood and did not trim off the excess aft the main spar or at the trailing edges thinking he would have a more laminar wing. His wings finished weighed in at 138 pounds each. A wing covered with 3/32" plywood as shown in the plans weighs only 118 pounds, Also the workability of the thinner plywood makes It a pleasure to form around the wings curved upper surface, As for improving laminar flow over the wing by extending the plywood farther back over the wing, you will notice that all fabric covered surfaces are nearly flat, thereby producing very little if any sag between ribs or abrupt change in contour Aft the main spar.

To really obtain good performance from your PIONEER II, do an extra good job of sealing all possible air leaks in the
wings and fuselage. It can make a 20% difference In L/D. The most important areas are;   the upper air brakes, the wing to fuselage juncture (tape all around, canopy, all around, tow hooks (box from inside wing root.
All control surface hinge lines must not leak air.  Close off the holes in the tailpost or fin spar. You are also encouraged to clean up gaps on the underside of the sings due to hinge lines.