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What am I getting myself into now!?
14 years ago
Well, currently awaiting the arrival of the new printer, and still have yet to find a safe place to put it when it arrives. Its show time (again), so everything is getting heated at work- I'll probably be pulling a couple late nights in the next couple weeks- maybe tomorrow, even.
Meanwhile, a big storm came through here on Thursday, and though it didn't quite reach us here, it certainly made a mess of the Sun and Fun Fly In up in Lakeland. They lost about 50 planes or so, many of which were hand built by their pilots. The news was all over the destruction, of course. So while I'm watching all of these guys picking up their shattered creations, for whatever reason I begin to think to myself: "That looks like FUN!!!" I mean, I've always wanted to fly a plane… Why not build one of my own!?
So… After the kayak is finished, it looks as if I'll be gathering the bits to build… Well, an airplane. More specifically, a Sailplane. I've already ordered a set of plans for one, only to find out before even receiving them that my fat otter ass literally wont fit inside the "design target weight" for the plane. That's always a bit of an insult… Something with a 44 foot wingspan won't actually FLY with me inside it. So, I either have to find a way to drop 50(!) pounds, or give up on building the Carbon Dragon. I certainly wouldn't be the first to have done so. At least the plans only cost me 10 bucks. I'll probably just build an R/C model off of them…
So, it looks like I will probably be building a Marske "Pioneer 2" Which is an awesome looking little flying wing (of course "little" meaning its rather short in length, it still has a 15 METER wingspan!) Its a neat plane, but its a pure sailplane- I'll have to see whether or not it will be possible to put an electric self launch system on it. Otherwise, they have to be towed behind a car, plane, or literally be winched into the sky on the end of a very long rope. After that, you are free to try and find whatever lift you can to stay aloft. I already build and fly the R/C sailplanes- I guess this is the next logical step…
So, my new workshop is going to be sized accordingly- it needs to be able to house all the bits necessary to build those huge wings! The funny thing is, the projected build time is only about twice what it took to build my kayak, so if I have managed THAT, I think I just may be able to do THIS… I can hardly wait. Now, I just need a 60 foot long shop…
Meanwhile, a big storm came through here on Thursday, and though it didn't quite reach us here, it certainly made a mess of the Sun and Fun Fly In up in Lakeland. They lost about 50 planes or so, many of which were hand built by their pilots. The news was all over the destruction, of course. So while I'm watching all of these guys picking up their shattered creations, for whatever reason I begin to think to myself: "That looks like FUN!!!" I mean, I've always wanted to fly a plane… Why not build one of my own!?
So… After the kayak is finished, it looks as if I'll be gathering the bits to build… Well, an airplane. More specifically, a Sailplane. I've already ordered a set of plans for one, only to find out before even receiving them that my fat otter ass literally wont fit inside the "design target weight" for the plane. That's always a bit of an insult… Something with a 44 foot wingspan won't actually FLY with me inside it. So, I either have to find a way to drop 50(!) pounds, or give up on building the Carbon Dragon. I certainly wouldn't be the first to have done so. At least the plans only cost me 10 bucks. I'll probably just build an R/C model off of them…
So, it looks like I will probably be building a Marske "Pioneer 2" Which is an awesome looking little flying wing (of course "little" meaning its rather short in length, it still has a 15 METER wingspan!) Its a neat plane, but its a pure sailplane- I'll have to see whether or not it will be possible to put an electric self launch system on it. Otherwise, they have to be towed behind a car, plane, or literally be winched into the sky on the end of a very long rope. After that, you are free to try and find whatever lift you can to stay aloft. I already build and fly the R/C sailplanes- I guess this is the next logical step…
So, my new workshop is going to be sized accordingly- it needs to be able to house all the bits necessary to build those huge wings! The funny thing is, the projected build time is only about twice what it took to build my kayak, so if I have managed THAT, I think I just may be able to do THIS… I can hardly wait. Now, I just need a 60 foot long shop…
...you built a kayak? Pics please (uber curious and kinda want to make one too...it's the Norse in me).
Microlight gliders weigh less than the average adult, and are generally designed to be launched by foot (running off the cliff) and are capable of flying in extremely "light" conditions, where the larger sailplanes would have trouble finding any kind of lift. They are large, lightweight, and actually have to be able to withstand much higher "G" loads than a typical aircraft, because the pilot often represents more weight than the plane itself! So, they are actually quite advanced in their construction, and rigorous attention to detail is a must to avoid making something so delicate as to be unable to withstand a small wind gust.
One of the reasons I'm looking at running a self launching (powered) glider, is that the weight limits are significantly higher for the plane, and it gives the designer a LOT more freedom.
The kayak took a LONG time. I'll be posting some pics soon, I'm almost done with the trim work, and it looks like Hell without the trim installed.
Sailplanes are a real hoot. IRL, I find them relaxing to fly, and watching something fly thousands of feet into the air on solar power alone is really incredible. My main sailplane is just a "foamy", and has a prop to get it to a good enough altitude to thermal. I crashed it maybe a dozen times, most of those in the fIrst few days I had it. I seriously considered giving up on the whole damn thing, until I found a group of guys flying out in the middle of nowhere, in the sod fields. It was then I realized my problem was the lack of open spaces around me that was the hindrance all along.
With nothing to crash into, I was free to concentrate on FLYING. Which is a good thing, because my 3.2 Meter NYX sailplane cost more than my first fucking CAR. I got it from a flying friend, who had a radio outage at a contest with it, and stuffed it into the pine trees at about 90 MPH. My prize was a bag full of carbon bits and two fuselages, both damaged. She's almost ready to fly again, but the servos cost a small fortune, because they have to be small, fast, accurate, and strong. And it needs SIX of them! So, I've been buying them here and there- so far $600 worth of servos and gear for a plane that arrived to me in several large brown paper bags…
I learned fly on a simulator- highly recommended, but NO substitute for going out there and destroying a real one. I used the one at the hobby shop every time I stopped in, until I bought one of my own, but I never used it. didn't need it anymore by that time…
And well, yep, sailplanes tend to crash a lot. I heard that cross country landing was a common thing, even for " real " ones. http://www.bea.aero/docspa/2000/d-0.....es/planeur.jpg
I'm more interested in helicopters anyway :)
One of the guys in our "club" had his plane in the air for over 6 hours one day, and cross country flights are pretty cool, as well. Flying a model a distance of 15 or 20 miles without landing on nothing more than thermals is pretty awesome.
What I totally like with helicopters are low passes and some areobatic figures.
Also, yes, Sailplanes can go far o.o
At the beginning, I thought that the the plane towing the sailplane was supposed to bring you somewhere, and then you can only go down. I was wrong, it's just ... impressing that you can reach some really high places without an engine.
It really looks just like a giant Lava Lamp. We just hop into one of those rising columns of air, and ride it up into the atmosphere. Eventually, they detach from the ground and then they REALLY get moving! Its amazing to get into one of those, and watch your glider gain a thousand feet of altitude in less than a minute. Eventually you have to pull out, because it becomes difficult to see the plane once it gets up to about 3000 feet. Thats why the cross country planes are so big (4+ meters)- otherwise you would simply lose sight of them. Every once in a while, someone will look away, and lose a plane. Hasn't happened at our field in a while, but when it does, it sucks. nothing like watching $4K worth of plane and radio gear go flying off to God knows where… Thats why some of the guys have started installing FPV, trackers and home field autopilot devices that guide the planes back to the field when something goes awry! The damn things can literally land on their own within 50 feet of where they were launched!
And, for the lost plane thing... I think the trackers and all would be a must have here. There's forests and mountains everywhere, so much that there's not a single Highway in the whole region ( 5 985 km² ... ) and the relief is ... special. You could easily lose a plane here.
Well, there's some mountains without even a tree, but ... http://www.visoterra.com/images/int.....erra-18509.jpg There ALWAYS a ton of godamn fog. Almost nobody wants to fly here.
There's still this guy, tho: http://www.ilaca.info/wp-content/up.....8/vol_oies.jpg we see him flying with gooses from time to time. Gooses actually think he's part of the "team". So he simply flies with'em. Now, that's his job.
IA few years back, I went out to Arizona with my brother… I started running to get in the path of an approaching dust devil, and my brother warned me against it. The winds inside the big ones out West pick up everything from cactus spines and scorpions (!) to fairly good sized rocks and even bits of cactus called "cannonball" Cholla! They have little golf ball sized round pads that grow in long strings hanging from the parent plant. They fall off in great piles under the cactus, and roll wherever they can to take root. They are covered with the nastiest, sharpest, strongest spines I have ever seen, and they are EVERYWHERE! The thought of having one of those buried in the side of my face at 60- 70 MPH doesn't appeal to me in the least! So- no dust devil chasing in Arizona for me…
In your area, if you have lots of steep inclines, one of the most exciting forms of R/C gliding is available to you: Dynamic Soaring- or DS'ing, as they call it. The gliders are thrown off a steep hill or cliff that is facing into the wind, and they take advantage of the rising current of air created by the wind passing over the obstruction. The DS guys find the "rotors" on the front side of that updraft, where the wind shear is at its highest, and they use their planes to harness that power, flying in circles through the rising and descending air. The current record speed last I looked was just over 390 MPH!!! The DS planes are among the fastest RC models ever flown, excepting remote piloted Military equipment. And they do it all with just wind… And some REALLY quick finger movements by their earthbound pilots! A few have even been killed when they lost control for an instant, and were hit by their planes… The guys who fly really hot stand behind bullet resistant glass panels, as does their RADAR crew…
Also, I just googled Snow devil ... I'm pretty sure I never saw anything like that. I mean, not so huge. I saw one but it was like 3 feets tall. Also, never visited a desert but I think I already saw the same effect with dust on TV or something.
There's a lot of birds of prey though, so there's probably, just like you say, some thermals. But I don't see them. Mostly, we are aware of them if we see an hawk or a buzzard hovering.
Well, I just took a photo: http://uppix.net/f/b/3/72463a10efd4.....8d770e7f4a.jpg
Mostly, that's the kind of sky we have here. I don't really think these are cumulus. ( And I should really learn how to take a good photo )
Also, you might see there's a ton of aircrafts in this sky ( I've counted 7 of them after taking this photo ) but that's simply because France is a small country, and they're just passing by. Also, I'm in the middle of the country, so that's not surprising. But all we had basically in this region is a little runway and no real control tower, and we have like ... 6 planes, only one of them is a "big" one, but not like a boeing, airbus or something, it looks likes a douglas DC3. That, plus an Helicopter for the hospital, which was one of the first things that was given to our region, because, well... No proper roads.