SCHGA Ground Skimmer July 1972

. ground skimmer ,_,,n~-:.........J july

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COVER: lton Klemmedson

photo W.A.Allen

Note: Control of Ron Klemmedson's Bi Plane"A S Wooppee" is done thru a direct wing warping. Excelent flights were made at Otto meet in 1001b. craft. I'm sure theres more to come from this new entr~ •

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Bob Lovejoy s HIGHTAILEB W. A.Allen Volmer densen s VJ·23 W.A.Allen

W. A . Allen

Taras Kiceniuk Jr s ICABUS II

Scott Strang s SA· 3

GROUND SKH'fMER NEWSLETTER OF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HANG GLIDER ASSOCIATION, INC.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------EDITORS: Dick Eipper and Lloyd Licher No. l July, 1972

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Dea<:Iltn~ . fo,;:;material · to ;go in the August .issue is August l.st. Send to e±the,:i:' ·'.6f tne,, editors (address,3s ·given below): Ma,terial prin.ted in the .GROUND SKIMMER may be reproduced in other publications (unless it is noted as·. copyrighted) provided credit is given to GROUND, SKIMMER and the author/ phbtpgrapher, if noted. :

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MEMBERSHIP MEETING NOTICE D:.,_y/bate/Time:

Monday, July 10, 1972, 7:30 P.M.

Southern Calif. Gas Co. basement auditorium, 810 s. Flower ~t.

Exit ·Harbor Freeway at 9th St., go east a few blocks to Flower Street and park at no charge in the .lot on the NW corner of• 9'bh and FJowPr. Locatipn:

Lc,~3 Angeles.

Pr:ogr;::..rn~ Sho.rt b.usiness meeting of announcements to be followed by halfhc,~;,r break for refreshments and build/fly talk.

Program afte:r:r,ibreak will consist of an extensive slide show by top ultralight photographer Bill Allen.

This shew will encompass shots of the ships and people at.the Lilienthal Meet c'G:d ,::reneral activity over the last few months at the Playa Del Rey beach site, including several monoplanes.

Specially featured will, be Bob Lc,vejoy 1 s . ''Hightailer" monoplane and Taras Kiceniuk' s 48-minute flight at Terrey Pines in the Icarus II. Membership cards may be ready for distributio:-'i ·then, too. ·,

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SCHGA OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

Dick Eipper, Box 246, Lomita 90717, Ph. (213) 320-9313 (1733 s. Bo.rder Ave., Torrance 90501) Lloyd Licher, 12536 Woodbine St., Los Angeles 90-066, Ph. (213) Vice~P;res.: 397-4848 Secretary Chris Talbot-,Jones, 1963 Rose Villa St., Pasadena 91107, · Ph. '( 2 l 3 ) 7 9 2- 5 5 9 4 Treasurer Rick Finley, 2608-C Graham Ave., Redondo Beach 90278, Ph. (213) 371-4202 Flight Director: Gary Naeve, 8824 Aviation Blvd., Inglewood 90301, Ph. (213) 641-5166 PCHGA CONM·ITTEE_..,C!-IAIRMEN·· ..· President·:

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Neil Larson, 5455

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118th PL, Inglewood 90304, Ph.

(213) 676-8544

Lynn Bale, 250 S. Kenmore, #209, Lbs Angeles 90005

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MEETING. REPORTS MEMBERSHIP MEETING, June 12, 1972. Meeting called td order at 7:35 P.M. by President: E·d.:pper~ Attendance was just over 200.

It was reported that Secretary Chris Jones was out of the hospital and recovering.. :f:.rom hi's illness.

Eipper r.ead the report of the May 8th ni.~etd.ng from the J~ne GROUND SKIMMER • . Treasurer Finley reported that tl}~ •rreasury had a. total income of $ 322. 00 \through June 11th~ ana·a~~iriditures of $62.12, leaving a balance of $259.88.

Historian Larson told of his activities in collecting ,cop,ie~ of1 articles on hang gliders, and called a,ttention Jrq11 the poster ·cf photo·~: ,ne :i.ap made Up,.

He also ;lJpged people visitini;J. tqe, Pl.a.ya del. Rey site to park ,on tµe east side 0£ t;h.e .11_ighway, to avoid tickets and hassle. Eipper gave· a,. brief report on the' May 21,st Lilienthal Meet, indicating that it·was covered in some det:a11. in t.he, June GROUND SKIMMER. The art work for the official club emblem wa·s( 'then displayec!, after which a number of other announcements were made, including the need for typists for GROUNO,S~!MMER, a Librarian (Lynn Bale volunteered) , and addresses:.i.fc,r certain· members and enthusiasts~·· In.formation on how to join was given, after which the meeting recess·e'd for refreshments, including a large birthday cake for Robert Amrarn. About 30. m.i,nµtes later the meeting was resumed with an announcement o:f a rbtorcraft<convention to be held qt; Rial to ',on June 23rdl..:2Sth, at whiqh a display of hang gliders would b~ wip:J.come .-, The program fo+ thEr evening' was then begun, some two hours _,of pi9:vies t&ken at' the Lilienthal Meet by Robert Amrarn and his associates·~ · Narration was by Joe Faust and Dick Eipper. Trie rnov:i,~s were very· well received, allowing those who had attended,the Meet 'to·relive many moments of flying activity, and showing all thoSEl·!:Who cotlldn' t attend what it was l:i,ke. Adjournment followed at about 10:.30P.J:1.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETING, JUNE 2·8, 19 72.

This meeting was held at Dick Eipper's shop in ,Tbrrahce and was attended by Eipper, Licher and Talbot-Jon~~- Treasurer Finley lt~d left a rep9rt indicating tl)at 27 members had joined at the last meeting, paying $53.00 in dues, brin'ging. the total membership to 145, and sales of GROUND SKIMMER' s yielded $6.25, giving a balance of $319.13 in the ~~easury~- There were another 7 memberships with $14.00 dues in th€~ mail to <.::urn in to the. Tr,~asurer . . · ! ,.·

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Next membership meeting. Reservation for use of the Gas Co. au¢iitorium on Monday, July 10th, had,been confirmed. Eipper said he would call to ask that cihairs be. increa~ed from 90 to 150 and coffee be served at 8:00P.M. He had .arranged for Bill Allen to give a comprehensive slide show as the main' program. · :_ '. '. i ,"1

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Liche:i;:- reviewed ·an offer by 'Joe Faust to include copies of the June,GROUND SKIMMER and an SCHGA membership application form with his mailing of LOW & SLOW .,{~15 on .ab6ut' July 3rd. It had been decided to provide these i terns for the.mailing and the Board voted to pq.y for them out· of the Treasury. Possible impact of this mailing was discussed, as was the likely need to raise the dues for 1973 to cover more of the costs o,f. publis'hing and mailing larger GROUND ·SKIMMER' s. 'Sale'~ of advertising, publiqations, tee, shirts, etc., will be expanded to try and co.ver a.s much .cf these c'osts possible so dues can be kept at 'a_'. ilifni111um.

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July GROUND SKIMMER content and makeup was outlined. Eipper & Bill Allen volunteered, to .. pay -for having the cover printed so i t could include some photos and, hopefully, set a precedent of having other:members oxr advertis.ers do likewise. 'forrance Air Show" A possible static display by members of the Association was1 discussed for this Sept. 23-24th eventu As. a. result it was. voted to offer to have such a display.

rides was Ride session with SCSA Fliqht Group., ,An of.fer o.f such/~pproved for a Saturday in July when the Fl,ight Group will. give 10~ to 2()-mi11ute auto-towed flights to SCHGA m,embers ,:, cost not tG exceed $4 .. 00 each, . us~ng the Group's Schweizer 2-33 sail.plane on El Mirage Dry Lakes. After ca:mp~ng,,qvernight there wil1 be a hang. glider flying session at some sit~. in the Lane.aster or Tehachapi area. Priority, for the 2-33 rides w:i.:11 go ,to members who express interest at the July 10th meeting and have their n,arues drawn. if more than 12 are interested. · ' ·· Montgomery Meet.

Rededicatio~ of' the 1-Tohn J. Montgomery Monument .south of Sap Diego is scheduled .. for Sunday l\ugust 27th 1 , so. it was voted ;to sponsor a Hontgom~ry Uang Glider r1eet for the weekend of August 2,6-21th, site near San Diem:, to. be determined and announc:ed li:",1.te.r ., Montgomery is reported to hay~ macl.e his firs;t flig);1t in .a hp.n,g gli¢ier. on .A,µgust: 28, 1883, at the site qf:rt:he :monui;nent. , (: 1, . " · l

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Copyright of.GROUND SKIMMErR. Such.action was considered but decided against in order to stimulate the f;i:;-ee. flqw of information., Lilienthal Me.et finances·.

Proceeds from the Me~t, if any p had yet to be distributed to the cosponsoring groupsw; One of ~wo hoped-for contributors of funds for awards had .J1ot ,been able t;,o gplige :and, ,the other had yet to be. contacted. The c,ertif ica;tes . for all participants had been ordered and might;. be availab:le. for. distribut;ion the ju~y .10th wembership meeting.

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Next Board :ineeting. was scheduled f:or Wednesday, J~ly, ~9th, a;t ~loyd, Licher '~. home, 12536 Woodqine St., Los Ange1es 90066 (~ wi+~· south of Santa Monica · · Airport). Adjournm1:;nt .followed a.t.aboµt ll:OOP.T1J,.,. 1 · BIBLIOGRAPHY Los Angeles Times, June 18th.

The Centinela-South Ba:ysection M carried a half-pag€ article including 3 photos, telling of the flying activity at the Playa del Rey site.

NEW SHIPS AND SHIPS UNDER CONSTRUCTION (If you know of any hang gliders, ultralight gliders or MPA's that hc;1ve been completed or are under construction bu,t h9-ve not been mentioned in this column, please submit information -011 them. for publication in future issues)

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STEVE ELLIOTT of Altadena, Calif., has resumed work on his Icarus after watching Taras Kiceniuk, Jr., soar his at Torrey Pines. :···f'

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LLOYD and .MAX LICHER have· an Icarus II under construction. have been glued Up and sheet metal procured.

Some of the ribs

NUMBERS OF PLANS DISTRIBUTED Numerous people have. entered·· the plans-distribution ri1arket., with re.m~~kable resi..+lts. · The possibility, of being able to build. a' man-c'c;1rrying flying : machine for less than $100.00 or not much more than that seems to have had a widespread appeal. Plans for hang gliders selling for $3.00 on up to $JO have· helped make this possibility a reality for·, many who might otherwise · · never have been able to· acquire the knowledge necessary for them to build and fly a hang glider/, The numbers of vcirious types 6£ plans distributed gives .an idea of the scGpe of this intere~t, which' appears to be nationwide: although, reports of flying activity have':been centered in southern Calif.

The first plans offered have had wider circLilation, \as might be e~pected, even tihough,;higher' performance machines. {.jith' mote'! cont'.rol hav~ CQ~~. al.ong since. The "Hang Loose, a Chanute-type biplane described and advertised in SOARING magazine a year and a half ago, was one of the first,· and the designer, ,J·ack Lambie reports that abou·t 3 r 500 plans have pe,en distributed.

About the same time plans for a derivation 0'£ th·e ''Bamboo Butterfly0 were offered and another similar one came out, both using the word, bat to describe them. , They are Rogal lo-type craft calling· for :betmboo structure and plastic ; sails,, togethe:t:1 a few more than 4','000 plahs have 'b~en distributed Jrp. ther i , : than the "over 12,000" reported by POPULAR SCIENCE). Plans for another Chanute-type biplane were then offered, this one wi;th a full control, system and engineer;ed 'to ,aircraft standards, but no, rigureEI ·a.:re ~vailpble on how many have been distributed. Last fall a well-designed flying-wing biplane was quite successful and since then over 400 descriptions of its development have been' distributed 1• Plans for newer Rogal lo$ have since l;)een · offl=!red, featuring cable-braced aluminum-tube structure bt1;1d. Pacron sails,, and their distribution has been greatly stimulated by the· PO:P.DLAR S<;::IENCE article, as have all of the other ·:plans listed :there. ·1':1us. it)vould. appear that. over 1 o, ooo sets of · hang g-lider plans hav~· be.en distributed: · How many of these have resulted in completed machines. is subject to conjecture, l;mt a realistic estimate might be' between 5 and,:10%, or socf to l,OOq,. At any rate it will 'Undoubtedly increase as inore and more pJan's, ,in the hal):QS of enthusi.,asts result in an increasing number of Craft flying, which will stimulate even more interest. .JL 11

HANQ_GLIDl.NG PROGRAM FOR L .1~. R, C. PILO'.£' S.,CLUB

"Update!On Hang Gliding" was the title of th~program for,the June 1Jt,h meeting of the Lockheed Employees Recreation Club Pilot's.Club\ Featured w~r~ Dick Eipper and Volmer Jensen showing movies and telling of the latest 1~1ormation about this fast-g;cowing s12ort .. Di?k ~~reened the "Chr?nolo?" m~vie showing a Flexi-Flyer Rog~llo flight-of his 1n super slow motion w~t~ Neve~ My Love" for background musip, told of SCHGA, recent meets andt?,ctivity, ana explained once more why he wa.s leaning on crutches. _Volmer sh,owed some excellent movies of his fully controj_lable VJ-:-l,1 "So-Lofl flying so.me JO years ago, and his current VcT-23 "Swingwing" on its initial flights and la~er soaring at the Norco site. Lloyd Licher was also prese0t_and showed a_f1lm of the Icarus II and told of the Soaring Society's position on ul~ral1ght~.

The 70 pilots and friends who attended found the program most interesting.

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RESPONSES

In the June GROUND; SKIMMER two ads.for hang gliders· that had appeared in.the June· POPULAR, SCIENCE were reproduced, Both .of the ads· were answe:J'."ed t,0. see what was being ?ffered, with the following results: .i •·· :: For $3~00 Phillips in Florida sent a 10-page booklet and t~o 5" ~ 8 11 photos des~ribing his m6noplarte traft.

It has a span of 32 feet, a 6ori~f~pt chord of 4~ .feet· and thick airfoil ( about 10 11 ) c9ve.red on . top and bottom py plastic sheetJng. ,l''xJ" .spars and rib bars are nQtched ~-"'."way through, ;h~n6e wing tips droqp, 1t:.q :th:e g,:r.ouritl when the hang bars 4 feet below the wing are on 'the · ground.

"Good" t·dre from the hang bars to the wing tips support the wing in a horizontal position in flight~ Fixed vertical and horizontal tails of triangular shape complete the ·rig .... r-Iaterials cost was $27. 30. The booklet concludes with "The author assumes no responsibility for damages that! might result_.fro~ ,using the information in this booklet. That's kind of pessimistic, but good luck, good flying." ..,,:' . .:•,r,, .•! .. ::) \·: L .

$5.00 :t;:9 l3airdAsso·ciates in .Schenectady, N.Y. ···b:rough.t,a flyeron the\'Steven 11 GL]:TIJ;': 1 .r,a.nq: Fl.. letter. saying the plans· wouldn I t .be ava1.labl~ f.rom. the:,prirlter fp+, 1a,_fe'v{we~ks.' The'flyer indicated that th~ 'tc~~T~" .is a·bamboo/plastic Rocjal].o-type glider, with strength being its b~st f(f\iiture. ,.i _; ' · ,' ·.:·P.

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Jim. ;'Fo,i;:eroan ,of Amarillo', Texas (P. b,. Box 711!?-:G, Zip 79l09) has .written. in response to an inquiry about how be became involved in distributing BatGlider plans and how it has developed. Some of h,is coiwnen:ts,shou;].d 'be of general interest: knowing of Jim's involvement ih. ~viation pub1Jsh:ing., "Richard Miller suggested that I take the heat off ,him ·and pub.jl;:ish a, set of plans for his Bamboo Butterfly."' It took a few years for .J;i.m to find out that 11 • • • the mc:1jor, · buyers of UL plans are the 13-to 16-year-old boys.

I can st.ill .. remember that ,,far back when I would h ave, done anything to ,get my feet 9.f~r'th~; ground,:andinto the a'ir and ·even ·in the dust-bowl days. of Texas $5. 00 · woul,d,.have been a bargain to me..

I even built.· and flew a primary when I was 14~" He is now into his third printing of the Bat-Glider plans since 1967.

"As to the number built, I have no idea but,a good.estimate is about· 10% ( 4,00) • .:What the av:erage boy, ·arid man· too, is ..• buying is a dream.

Most. S)c'.f ,tl;l.~rn:··would like to· build a. hang glfder but Jew ever make the• first move, rthe $,ci1Ue is true with homebuilt· airplane pla:qs. Pete Bowers has sold: ~§rtnt<;:th.+llg l~_ke 2,000 sets <;>f ·plans for.· th~ Fiy~aby but in over 10 years only .$Om~t;h.13rµg like) 150 are registered and flyipg.

I have found that tpe · drea~f'..rs'·qu"tnumber the ;doers- by about 10 tO 1· 'i:ri any;thing ,, I am sure that the same is true in the SSA membership.II Fdr: those interested in ordering a set of Bat-Glider plans for their histoiic significance, to dream over, or maybe even to build from, the price is $5.00, postpaid, address above.

CORRECTIONS On pages ;,1 O and .11 of the J·une GS, the happy-bf'i!-'thd.ay cake for the Lilienthal Meet brought by Bob Chase was baked by !Vlarie Hetherman.

On pages 4 and 12 of the June GS, the Ki te/Sailwing constructed for the l)ial soap commercials should be credited to Mike Koman; Joe Faust only flew it.

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NEWS FROM VISTA

Eichard, Mi.ller wrote in April that "We have a core ot :activity here now.

Two gliders built so far one remaining - and it flies. .The enthusiast is Mark Smith who promises to make quite a name for himself in the sport."

(SCIJGA' s 117th member, Paul Block v lives in Vista, also, which is near .

Oceanside.) On June 14th Richard wrote that "Bruce (Carmichael) visited last week and mentioned that he was g·oing to fetch Doug and the j i:b-sail Rogal lo back· from Cal Poly this week, so we: 11 have a chance to get ·6-ur feet off the ground again and possibly give some of the local lads s:dine sample flights. Tve also have plans for me to build a monoplane d!~sigl\ for Dr. P~itchard. ·•"• f

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BRUCE:CARMICHAEL WRITES l !

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June.27, ·1912.

Dear Lloyd:

I will have to answer yuur good letter for both Doug and myself sipce Do\,lg left a few days:ago for a very low and' somewhat slow t.rip,to Alaska on his motorcyc'le~ . At ther'close of the schobl term at Cal Pol~/ (San' Luis Obispo) he brou~ht 1 th~'Jib-Saiied R6ga11o home that Richard .Mill~t ~ad:given· to him.

We took it down to Vista to•leave with Richard for the summer. While there we took it out to a local hill and Richard got.b?ck in the air for the first time in a long time. He was gusted Up about 2 0 ··feet in the air at take-off, swung those nimble old legs forward and made a beautif~l flight down the hill ending i.tl' a zoom' to clear a.bush at the bottom arid landing lightly on the far side~ The ·old master has not ·lost' his''touch.

My ultralight monoplane sailplane project stalled out about the 'time of the first Lilienthal Meet. I have the compl~ted.fuselage, 12 wi11g ribs, the leading-edge skins, all the aluminum stock reqqirsd to finish including 1000 pop rivets, and some ·extra aluminum sheet of0.01, 0.016, and 0.025 thickness which I would like to sell for $100.00 td someone who would like .to finish and·fly it. ! do'not have a detailed set of drawings so.it should be someone wlio is familiar with construction details. It should be a ,good •. soarable·~achine~ · Douglas got an A for his first-quarter effort '8n his senior project ~t,Cal Poly. Needless·' to say it was a hang glider.. It J,s a h±gh--wing monoplane.· with a close-coupled horizontal tail and yaw'ercms 'af the wi;ng t;ps. · Span: 28 feet. All-welded al'uminum structure. 'rhe fai1 wit,h its, 3 booms comes off as do the ·outer wing panels. The whole thing can be. neatly carried on the· top of a Vf:J bug. He has dc:me the stres's anaiysis. and chosen tube sizes for ail components It will Weigh 60 pounds empty~ He' hop~s to bµild it in the 2 quarte·ts remaining;·:be~ore graduation. ·. ' ·· -·,('

Bruce Carmichael (Bruce enclosed a bit of basic aerodynami.cs in the form of a flying-speed chart which is reproduced·elsewhere in this issue of GROUND SK!MMER.}

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BEAN'S BIRD Art Bean of Pasadena, Calif., brought his latest bird tb the I.ilienthal Mee~ completed construction of it there and made a number of flight attempts.

The pilot position was too far off to permit good flying but he has since modified it so hopes to have many good flights in the future.

From some drawings and sketches he submitted it can be described in words as follows.

It is a large·-angJe (128, degrees between leading-edge spars)" Rogallo-type flying wing with 20-foot leading edgPs and a 13-foot 8-inch keel. The sail is .006" plastic.

Leading edges 1 keeJ and cross bar are of l~" alum""'.' inum tube, thici).ness not given.

Struts of JI' aluminum tubing support the cross ):)ar via a. carry·-;through strl1ctun~ on a vertical rectangular ;sµpport for the hang bars which ar pu:ct of a horizont.al rectangle, the front. of which is held up by two st nits coming drnm from the apex of the l.eading edge.

A control for banking has br~en built in to this arrangement but it is· not clear from sketche~ just how it works. ; ;-,

Art has an idea for regular i?ogallos which he thinks would be an improvement for slow flying.

Carrying the i-dea of the apex•cover shown on the cover of LOW & SLOW 114 a bit farther, he proposes adding plastic sheets fl~pm the leading edges below the sails, connected to aluminum tubes running from the apex back about 10 degrees in from the leading edges, the ends of which would-have control lines runnin~ to the. pilot~ This might be tried on a large model to determine its effect before incorporating it in a man··carry-:ing kite. · THE CRONK KITES

By David Cronk

June 27, 1972

I am currently building the Cronk IZite 5 which is a variation and improvement on the Cronk 3. The Cronk 4 was a cable-tensioned-trailing-edge 180deqree Rogal lo with a horizontal tail. This was tested for the first time at the last Otto Meet, some,·1hat unsuccessfully.

Basic problem was a toofar-forward C.G. In addition, the plastic sail stretched out of shape after ~everal flights (?) and resulted in about 16'' of camber.

So this design has been shelved until future time allows.

The Cronk 3 has been my most successful design to date (a 150· , egree Rogallo) and has given me many 2- to LJ-minute soaring flights.

It had an airspeed of around 17 mph 1 wingloading of Oo8lb"/sq.ft. and glide ratio of around 4or 5/1.

This was improved to 6 or 7/1 with a cambered leading edge, giving a sink rate of approximately 4 1 /sec. or so; however, the cambered leading edge resulted in negative dihedral at the tips which was disastrous to the tip-dragging system '.)f lateral control.

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The new Cronk Kite 5 will be done within about 10 days and ,-,ill have a red Dacron sail made by Dick Eipper.

It is very similar to the C-3 but has several refinements:

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Trapeze and swing harness system.

Larger tip draggers (7 sq. ft.), airfoil sh.=i.ped and mounted 8" above leading edge.

Controls are manipulated by a crank which is activated by the lateral swing of the pilot.

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'!I. ·. rOa,cron sail .. with battens will allpw much grea;ter . ..1;::ightness,.

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th~s requirin.9 less . camber on the, leading ~dge' to'' q.9pievr an approxiinc1te ,single, plane on wing.

Kingp.os1r and 8" re:fle'i' on keel ooom.

A 1/5-scale model has shown gl,id~ rat~~si of p.round 10 to 12/1.

am also considering mounting my_ Dwy~~ -i-Tind meter and a variomete1r . .i.ri ;the ship. to he:t-p me~sure glide ratios and show immediately any improvemetjtp.Jh des:ign,, a~ they .~;r:e made.. · ·· · .. ·· ·,::: I

I will p~blish . plans for the Crqn]c Kite 5 in about 4 weeks and seJ;l the~ .;£'q;r $ 5. 0 0 a set" All pa.rts will be interchangeable· with those used 'ori oi'ck: · · 1 Eipper's Flexi-Flier. Kits are not in prospect at the m.oment but somethirig may be worked out with Eipper-Formance Flight Systems.

My add.rJ:!iSS i:s.,2443.f Ward S'.t,., Tqrrance, Calif.

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The. SA-3 rrtonopiane sailwing hang glider was started in August of 19 71 and has since gone through many evolutionary changes which now make it the SA-3B. (The photo shown on the insidefrontcover is of the earlier SA-3.

The ailerons were later removed.)

The configuration is a strut-braced high wing of constant chord, with an allflying differential "V" tail on a boom and a set of "V" bars (similar to parallel bars) for the pilot. The wing is a semi-double-membrane sailwing.

It ·-h'aS'' a tensioned-cable trailing edge with bridle wires. attached: to; ;it from the ,'a'.ft l'l-oom,··to 'prieverttimidspan·:washout. There,--,ts a[tso a movaible,.;t;ip;ri;q, for wing warping for some· degree· of' lateral contr.ol. r.rhe :tail . sµrface ;:,; are both double-membrane and are similar· to the wing in constructi•on.· . ,JJon:t;.r-oL is accomplished by one overhead control column which is mounted to the wing immediately to the pilot's right. The control column is also an intijgral part of the motion mixer for the "V" tail.

SPECIFICATIONS: Span, J6': Length, ~1', including drag post extension on fro.:tJt ..of boQ!J1; Wing ArE?.a, 153 sq. ft. ; ·Weight, 55 lb. ; Wing Loading, 1. 44 lb./s,q~·-;-f~. w\th)65-lb; pilot; As:r;iect Ratio, _8,5; ··1/D (Glide Ra>t·i6J, About 8-:-:..to 1 O: i' ( e stJma°t;ed); Con~tr;uqtion, A11'71ilumihum tubing afrfra!m'e wi.th white .fWlyethele.he' c'.overing. ' .t · · In the several test.· "ru·ns" and te si;); flights: which have. been made to d,a.te . the ship has proven itself quite dura'ble, stable and practicq,.l, 'rhe wing· tips have served well as pivots for many ground loops and are still at the ends of·· the wings with no damage.

It :seems to have good lateral. and longidunal stability, with no adverse· , characteristics. The sta:l:L at high angles o:( . attack is rather gentle, due to some midspan washout that occurs at high· angles. When the flight speeds are up (25 mph estimated), the aileron and elevator responses are quick. Directional 9ontrol has been o~ly marginal; howeve;r.> ,' ,corrective changes have been made·, an.d w.iJl .b~ te st.ed ,·Eioon, Practical means I can carry the entire aircraftpn tqp oJ a. yw, legally . .11

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.

.

'

.. .

.

Al though the longest flights m~de to date are all le-ss than 100· feet long, they were made off a fairly shallow hill (slope about 5 to 1) into a 10-15mph wind. To me this represents a fairly nice glide angle, considering that the speed for best glide should be about 20-25 mph. The performance potential seems to be very good. Now I need a higher hill for longer flights to see what it flies like at faster speeds.

- 8 -

THE STORY BEHIND THE "HIGHTAILER"

By Bob Lovejoy

m1.en I discovered the hang-glider movement one year ago in the L.A. Times I was nearly overwhelmed with excitement. I've. been interested in aircraft all my life and had dreamed of·building a hang glider for years. \fuen I joined the group, however, I found that not much had been done in the wa:y of hang~glider design• I drew up a check list of harig-glider design requirements and found all of the existing designs in need of.improvem~nt~ I built a couple of low;..cost gliders which didn '.t fly very well but provided more 1rifonnation. · Then came the spectacular Icarus and VJ-2J· These ships flew gr~~t but still suffered from construction complexity, high construction cost and long deployment times.

Then I built two more wooden birds. One, a canard monoplane, had good perfonnance potential _but lacked structural integrity. The other, a canard biplane modification, was strong but °lacked perfonnance. I decided to give up my low-cost wood construction. methods.temporarily and build with aluminum. My new designs changed so fast (or.I worked so slow) that one·could not be completed before.it was. torn apart to start another design. 1r,hen I designed the 11 Hightailerfl, I was sure this was it. Easy to buiid, fairly inexpen:isive (for aluminum), and models demonstrated, good performance and stability. My main concern was the almost two-pounds.:.per-square-foot wing loading. I worried some about high-speed take-offs, flights, landings, and crashes! As I've discovered, these worries were unfounded• The ship was finally completed after some unexpected delays and taken out for testing. The first timid flights demonstrated good stability and abundant lift. lfow! I was excited. Longer flights were rr.ade and I discovered that the weight-shift control system worked fine in pitch but not in directional control.

The excellent stability, however, gave me enough conf:i,dence to make nearly twenty flights of about .25.0 ft. distance and 30 ft. altitude without any directional control~- Then while' ·experimenting with wing-warping controls, the ship was damaged in a crash. The damage was not serious, however, and I expect to be in the air soon with good directional control. · There is still a lot to be done in designing a low-cost, easy-to-build hang-glider with good per-formarice, and a good safety margin. Riglit now, though, I'm convinced that the 11 Hightailer 11 offers •the best alternative• Bob Lovejoy, June JO, 1972 15325 s. Freeman, Lawndale, Calif. 90260 (See photo of the 11 Hightailer 11 on inside front cover-Ed.) REPORT F'R.OM PAT PAGE

have, peen working, now more steadily, on my hang glider. I expect to finish the i'o1ir;.. tenths-scale radio-controlled model of it in a month. One reason for the slow progress in the model is that I have used it to develop the same ·fabrication techniques · that the full-size unit will use- The use of a large-size model will allow a better evaluation of th,e selected airfoil, operating at a more realistic Reynolds Numbe·r.

I

The main purpose of the flight testing of a model is. to. evaluate the major featu.res of flight maneuvers that are too dangerous to attempt with a man-carrying machine. Spins, deep stalls;,.· control failure,· slips., etc. ,· are some of the maneuvers that the model can help investigate• 'Ihe fine toucl-\es and fast reflexes that the human·piiot can use to obtain the proper :maneuvers of normal flight are too difficult to attain with the slowreacti11g mechanism of the radio-control servos. If the RC model can do·what a human can,' it will be grand.

(Continued) - 9 -

Once I get into the man-flying.stagest if the beast.ever works, we will keep you posted on what goes on around here• If you know of a hang~glider club in the San Francisco area, please let me know; I·at Page, June 27, 1972 393 Cronin Dr., Santa Clara, Calif. 95051 (Pat: The (rJings of Rogallo ~oaring Club in your area has over 20 members. · Contact Gerry Ross, President, 11J7 Jamestown Dr•, Sunnyvale·, Calif. 94087, phone. (408) 2450146, or Dave Kilbourne, 879 Miller Ave•, San Jose,· Calif. 95129, phone (408) 2551848--Ed.)

THE ffHANG LOOSE" REPORT

By Jack Lambie In the summer of 1970 the first "Hang Loose" flbated down the slopes in graceful a.rid apparently safe flight much to the amazement ·of the many bystanders and myself. .I had built it in my summer-school class as a project in our study of flight, for about $25·.

It flew on.the level playgrourtd using wing and tail :tunners to enable all students to get a·ride, but I really didn't think it would carry me. The ·one I had built 17 years before had to be towed at J2 mph to get it to fly• My brother Mark had built a Miller· Rogallo a month before and we had tried to,f:ly it many many times with consiStent failure.

Aided by such hang gliding pioneers as Richard Miller and Bruce Carmichael as tip runners my flights were exhilrating fuh• · · The ship was in the' air after only '.a, few ·steps and · landed equally slowly. The following· weekend r.:new 'the Rogallo with the jib sail built

by Bruce and Richard• The perfonn'ance seemed just good enough ito·get it to fly down a very steep-hill• I was more tha:n ever :convinced that the biplane configuarion was ideal for hang gliding. In summer school we had built rnodeis of many k'inds of possible designs, tandem wing, canard, monoplane and flying wing, and decided the lightest, strongest and most stable ship would be a wire-braced biplane. This would give the large wing ·area needed and immense strength with very small and light individual pieces of wood.

I wrote ari article for'SOARING magazine, illustrated by pictures Don Dwiggins had taken, and Don subsequently made up a cover stroy for Sport Planes magazine, Spring,· 1971, issue.

Meanwhile my brother Mark and I had been working on the plans which many had requested.

I had·thought of silkscreening about 40 "poster 11 -type plans suitable for wall mounting by aviation buffs, not really thinking·very many people would actually be interested in building from them, I had all the drawings done for the posters but the expense was too great to print up such a limited number. In.keeping with the casual and joyous nature of r1_ang gliding, we decided to use the whimsical, lightnearted approach to our drawings and text •. How much to charge for plans? Most people will spend :SJ· 00 to .go to a piovie so why not $J~007 . The time and effort that went into the simple plans seemed very high for th1:;1 low price of $J at i:.;hat.. time• I have never spent a penny to .advertise, When I came back from the 11 0rville and li/ilbur 11 filming the couple· downstairs who had collected. my mail presented me with two full shopping bags full of orders fo;r "Hang Loose!'

I couldn I t believe it r Apparently the romantic idE'la) of flying with your own wings and leaving the ground from self-launch has a trernen9,ous appeal. Often the lette~s ordering plans were many pages long, recounting the writ'er I s flying c·areer and deep and sincere desire to hang glide• Kids; airline captains, .other .teachers, service pilots and potential organizers of hang gliding clubs wrote. I would guess about 3500 sets of plans have now been sent out. letters, often with pi.ctures and clippings from. the local newspapers, attest to many good flights and I have never received a complaint or heard of any injuries.

(Continued) - 10 -

i•iuch experience has been gained in the last couple of years about flying the ship and improvements to be gained.

Very candidly, this hang glider is an inexpensively made craft that will fly its builder in gentle conditions and give a g~eat deal of fun, both in building and flying, but in the light of the rapid advance of the sport, and the performances to be expectednowdays it is to be considered strictly a beginner's machine in its present form, "Hang Loose" is a great looking machine with its many wires and struts. It is the essence of the old-time type "flying machine", but it takes at least two hours for assembly, The kind of hills· used by Rogallo-winged gliders, in fact necessary for them, are far too dangerous.for the "Hang Loose" in its stock condition. The machine is very strong in the air ht~t .in crashes the individual tail booms and spars tend to break easily.

To increase the performance and controJ. I suggest the following (from she.ets that accompany plans that I· send out now) : 1. HELPERS ••• Have the wing hoJ.ders let go at the same instant. Many ground loops have resulted from one tip man letting go er pushj_ng the wing differently from the other.

Practice so the wing men have exactly the same degree of enthusiasm, It.has been found that the tail man is most critical, If he pushes the tail up at launch the plane will dive into the ground. If he shoves down too hard the plane will stall. I would extimate 90% of the.stalls on takeoff are due directly to the tail man neglectingto let go in a gentle and ~evel position.

2. SPEED AND STALLING ••. Movie analysis of flights shows the difference between good and bad flights to be good speed on take-off, If the flyer ·is too eager and gets into the air before attaining proper flying spe~d the ship has a tendency to stall and drop one wing or the other. It does not seem possible to bring up a stalled wing by weight shifting. Get up good speed before take-off and move your legs forward to maintain the glide, J. TOWING ••• It appears that many outstanding flights.have been made from leveJ. ground by towing with two helpers running lines attached to the wing tips. Well done it looks pretty spectacular but I still say don't fly higher than you're willing to fall.

4. CONSTRUCTION NOTES ••• Use strong wire. Heavy baling wire is fine, Piano wire or 1/16" cable is·gbod, Be s~re everything is square before flight. It seems like an obvious thing but some ships f•·ve seen are so twisty from weak ·wire and out-of-line rigging that good flights are tmpossible. · The center sect'ion sl1ould be covered, except for the pilot position, as leaks in this area greatly reduces the lift and increases drag, Extra wires to support the hang bars and spar· doublers should be used for pilots over 150 lbs. Thicker tail booms of 1" by 2" wood can be used to greatly.increase strength without making the ship too heavy. Shortening.the tail booms to 8 feet is successful, also, ..

5. COVERING MATERIALS .. ,Ordinary polyethelyne sheeting about 4 mils thick is about $5,00.

Covering both sides seems to give a better glide angle for those who have tried i·t. You could use Mylar for covering at about $50 extra cost, or even Dacron and. airplanecdope for about the same cost but a lot of extra work. Both Dacron and Mylar add strength to the wings •• Glue ori ·nacron and shrink tightly by passing a medium hot iron over it,, 6. RIBS ..• If bamboo is difficult to find ribs can be made of aluminum tubing bent to shape or cut from thin 1/8" plywood, Sheet foam about 3/8" or 1/2" thick can be ,cut into ribs, a strip of aluminum or stiff poster board or thin wood strips are then placed along the top and bottom and taped in place with masking tape. This makes a very light and strong rib, One very successful "Hang Loose" was made of 1f"-,060 aluminum tubing.

7, CONTROLS~ •. Ailerons, rudder and elevator were added to the frototype "Hang Loose" to improve controllability; The ailerons were 4' x 1t•, built of 2 " xi" wood, and connected to the outboard trailing edges of the upper wing with 3 hinges.· Each had a control horn (1" xi" x 12" braced by 1/8" plywood gusf:lets) located at the center hinge, the top end of which was connected to the leading edge of the wing with a f" rubber shock cord tiedown.

The bottom end had a 1/16" cable going to a large (at least 1") pulley at the leading edge (Continued)

- 11 -

then inboard to another pulley near the centerline, then ba~k to the ;.;~dder horn on that side of the ship. The rudder was also 4' x 1f' but trapezoidal in shape to allow clearance for the elevator above and ground below. It was connected to the trailing edge of the fin with J hinges, and the control horn had cables going to a horizontal turn-control bar pivoted on the left hang bar forward of the leading edge. Pushing on the left of the turncontrol bar gave left rudder, up left aileron and down right aileron for a left turn, or to pick up a low right wing. An elevator of similar construction was-hinged to the rear of the horizontal stabilizer with its horn connected by cables to a vertical elevatorcontrol bar pivoted on the right hang bar forward of the leading edge, such that pushing forward on the top of the control bar gave down elevator to help keep up speed and prevent stalling.

8. FLYING ••• Try to find a smooth slope with a 10% grade for your flying attempts. If the machine seems to stop in the air after climbing a bit, you are stalling ••• Move your legs forward to angle down and pick up speed. In the normal 10-to 12-mph wind, groupd speed is about 5 mph or so. Full stall landings aren't necessary, but, if you want, 111ove the legs back just before touchdown and the glider will flare up and stop dead. Turning is attempted by swinging the legs :i,nto the direction desired, This is not too effective as Chanute and Lilienthal discovered.

Good Luck, remember, ALL Hang glider pilots are mortal ••• I think a strengthe·ned, controllable "Hang Loose'' with a shorter tail should easily out-

perfbrm everything but the Jensen "Swingwing", I have the aluminum booms and steel-tube center section from the "California Condor" available to anyone who would like to cooperate in another super "Hang Loose".

Jack Lambie, June JO, 1972 9460-C Artesia, Bellflower, Calif, 90706 REPORT FROM JOHN MCMASTERS (Excerpts from recent letters,) I desperately wanted to come up to Livermore for the big event (Otto's birthday celebration) but no way could I manage the 1000 miles, particularly right at final exam time here at ASU (Arizona State Univ., Tempe, Ariz,), Better luck next year. Your splendid account (in the June GROUND SKIMMER) was the second best thing to being there.

If I·. can find gainful employment here in Phoenix this fall, the Greater Phoenix Hang Glider Askrarn should be getting up to speed.in October, There is a lot of interest locally; but so far no one to guide it, I'm badly overextended at present (with writing commitments), .. (and) tied up just now trying to finally, once and for all, tack a Ph,D. behind my name ••• A really clear statement of where things are at and what needs to be done would be extremely valuable to me, and I'd guess to a lot of other folks, too. Perhaps, •• (someone),. could put this together in a forthcoming GS. I don't have to agree with ••• (~t) •• ,to profit from this sort of thing, •• I wish there was some way to organize a nc1,t,ional-ultralight conference where all interested people could get together for a full-scale.rap Oll' where we're all at, Could be interesting. Maybe some day,·.

I've mentioned m·y interest in an Ultralight Akaflieg, to Torn Page who to;J.o. .me George ..I3ennett at Mississippi State University is working along·,such lines •••• Does this. ·sort of technical activity fit into the overall scheme of things,· and if so, where? I've beeri1 .concentrating on attempting to define the boundaries of· the ultralight balloon,. as per the following eco-flight diagram and my MPF rap in LOW & SLOW #8.

(Continued)' - 12 -

THE ECO-FLIGHT SPECTRUM

Dreams, Flights of Fancy

(Fuel-less Recreational Flying) /

\.._ TelekOnesis

Fuel-less Self-Launch Sailplane

/I

[ S~ilplane

~

I

~

I

Ultralight Sailplane

Solar-Energized Hot-Air Dirigible - MP

'

~

MPF

~ Spa.rt MPA vs

MP-Augumented Hang Gliding

Kites

/

.?/

· Hang Gliding ..

Kremer Prize Ornithopters

/

Pole Vault, Diving, High Jump I gave a talk on this to the Arizona Soaring Assn, in March, Most of the 50 or so people there couldn't really get into it for one reason or another. My freshman class in design always digs.it though--which sort of tells me where it's at. Richard Miller told me once that the future of 11ltralights lies with the kids (hopefully guided by a ·few experienced folk ••• ) and I think he's right, · One of my projects for this fall/winter is to put together an "MPF Handbook," rt:would be in roughly two sections, First a reprint collection of a dozen or so of the classic papers on MPF (e,g, Lippisch, Shenstone, Haessler, Bossi, etc,) and then a technical directory (photo, data, brief history and 3;..view) of existing MPA 1·s, plus whatever else related which catches my fancy,.,; ,Sherwin's book on ~iPii, leaves a lot unsaid (or better said by other people, e,g.,Shenstone) and there is lots of room for a supplement, John McMasters, June 12, 20, 27, 1972 3730 S, Mill Ave,, N-103, 'rempe, Ariz, 85282 SOl'lE REASONS FOR THE STUDY OF

fIAN-POHERED AIRCRAFT AND ULTRALIGHT GLIDERS

By John f'lcf.Jasters, June 27, 1972 It seeks to fulfill one of man's oldest dreams~to fly in a pure form in emulation of the birds-unaided and unencumbered by any sort of internal combustion engine, Thus there is a very strong aesthetic component in the problem,

1.

2. The design problem is extremely challenging and difficult if done properly and yet .the hardware involved is accessible to almost any competent individual or small grovp. There "ain't" many of these left in aviation, alas,

J, At present there is no "standard" solution to the design problem and ingenuity is at least as important as experience, Thus it makes an excellent student or amateur design project.

(Continued) - 13 -

4. Anything mo:r:e than a superficial examination of the technical problems indicates- large gaps in our knowledge of very-low-speed aerodynamics and fabrication techniques for ultralow-density aircraft structures. Research in these areas could prove of great value in other branches of aerospace technology but funds for such research are presently quite limited. It is to be hoped that the imagination-capturing potential of the MPA may, in part, substitute for money as an incentive for the required research.

5. Man-powered flight has the potential, in one form or another, of developing into a viable sport along much the same lines that soaring has during the last 50 years. Certainly a strong analogy exists between the present state of MPA performance and sailplane development in the early 1920's, 6.

Ultralights are a hell of a lot of fun, BOSTON SKY CLUB REPORT

By Michael A. Markowski

I am delighted at your interest in New England area activities. We have 24 members. We meet quite often, We have built several versions of Rogallos, More Rogallos, a couple of Icaroids, and monoplane flying wings are under:design/construction, My presentation (on ultralights) was very well received by ROSA! (Region One Soaring Assn,) They all liked the concepts involved in :foot-launched· gliding.

Nothing at present at MIT on MPA's, :But I'm instigating! I submitted an abstract entitled "Foot-Launched Gliding" to the M.I.T. Soaring Association for their October Seminar on Soaring Flight. The meeting should prove to be very interesting, It's national in scope!

We had an "Otto Meet" on May 2)rd (which, by the way, is also my birthday). There were three gliders present. A huge·, high-aspect-ratio Rogallo by Dave Hunter, my Kiddiehawk", arid Bat Wing I. These designs:. all belong to Man-Flight Systems Bngineering. Weil: had some very thrilling flights and an excellent beginning. There were no injuries, just fun·!· Soaring with the seagulls is outta-site! I flew 25 sec, (one for each of my years). It was the most fantastic birthday of my life, Now I know·howOt.to.must have felt!

Enclosed is our SKYSURFER NEWSLETTER for June·.

Hangin~-in-there, Michael A. Markowski, June 28, 1972 Box 375, Marlboro, Mass. 01752· (Editor's Note: The Boston Sfyy Club's SKYSURFER NEWSLETTER for ,Tune, 1972, was numbered Vol. 1, No. 1. Editor is Michael Markowski, assisted by everyone, It was one page, for a start, stating its purpose for communications and reporting, soliciting help (club phone is 1-485-5740) and volunteers to serve as officers, and assistance in locating flying sites.

The club has permission to use Franklin Park.:fOr'skysurfing meets, which has lavatories and food on the premises. They expect to have another-Otto Meet there after a few more gliders are completed.)

SCHGA MEMBERSHI·P-.APPLICATIOI.V FORM

is

Included with this issue of GROUND SKIMMER a ·form for persons to use in applying to join SCHGA. If you are already_ a member,· please pass it on to a friend whb might be . interested~ If you are not a member, it is fol'.' youo Membership in SCHGA has fo be th~best bargain around!

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48-MINUTE FLIGHT A'r TORREY PINES

By Taras Kiceniuk, Jr, My two recent long flights at Torrey Pines (48 minutes and 20 minutes on June 17th) went something like this, The wind was a quite steady 5-12 mph out of the southw~st (according to Phil Lamson who had one of my Dwyer wind meters at the top of the J50-foot-high west~facing cliff during the flight), When I arrived the sky was somewhat overcast but by about 1:00 P,M, it was blue, Both flights were made from near the end of the ,',slider runway right next to where the R, C, modelers fly, The first take-off was made around 1:00, I stood at the top of the cliff about 75 feet from the edge holding Icarus while Phil stood at the edge calling off the wind speed, It picked up to 12 m1)h for a mim1tc~ or so and I ran hard down the shallow slope towards the edge, The craft was just about off the ground when I reached the edge and with the extra wind off the cliff face I was flying and climbing :i.mmedia tely, I was rather surprised at the climb because of the poor lift I had found 3 weeks earlier in a 14-mph north win~ at this site; (The north-wind flight had lasted only 3 or 4 minutes,) In any case by the time I reached my turn point (just south of the Coast Guard antennas) I had gained about 50 feet, In the first turn I lost maybe 20 feet of altitude but gained it back very quickly. Later I' learned that most of the sink in the turns was caused by diving and that if I slid back while j_n the turn I would lose very little, if any, al titude, It is important to note that I was cruising at about 25 mph (6-7 mph above the stall) and that had I been flying slower I would not have been able to slide back j_n turns without stalling, or at least mushing badly.

Getting back to the flight, the next 47 minutes consisted mostly of going back and forth along a J/L~-mile stretch of cliff, After about one minute I put my feet up in front of me on .the front spar, to reduce drag, and after about two minutes I reached down and fiddled with the seat so it would be more under me in my "gear up" position, With the seat adjusted the rest of the flight was fajrly comfortable, about like sitting on a park bench for 48 minutes, As is mandatory for low-altitude ridge soaring (for safety reasons) I very carefully made all my turns into the wind, away from the ridge, sort of long figure S's, After about 30 minutes I did get rather cold even with my "windbreaker", mostly because wind was blowing back up my pant legs, I was able to remedy this by tucking my pants into my socks while in flight, The highest point on the flight was reached at the northern end of my circuit where the cliff is very sheer and seemed to he shedding thermals of some type (I could feel the turbulence and warmth of the air as I passed), The highest point was about 150 feet above the take-off, I ::ceached this altitude by making short passes back and forth in what seemed to be a thermal area, After 48 minutes (according to Phil Lamson and Max Licher) there was a lull in the wind for about two minutes, I felt the lift die and sank down below the top of the cliff, \'!hen the wind picked up again I was just barely too low to recover and climb up again, I made a turn and set up my final glide to try and get close to the road up, finally diving, flaring and landing on the beach about below my takeoff spot and about 200 feet from Bill Allen who had been taking pictures of the flight from the bottom of the cliff, So ended th,~ almost-longest flight in hang glider history and began the long trek up to the top, Luckily I was able to enlist the help of some people on the beach and we carried the craft about a half mile to where the private, chained-off road started up, Phil, Steve Elliott and I then carried Icarus to the top, From the top of the beach road it is about 3/4 mile back to the glider port, To avoid going a mile out of the way it was (Continued)

- 15 -

necessary to carry the craft over a barbed-wire.fence.near the Salk Institute. Phil, Steve and Bill were of great assistance and probably deserve some sort of medals for their labors. The second flight was similar to the first except that I tucked my c,lothing in before the flight and took off in a weaker (10-rnph) wind, Again a wind lull forced a landing, this time after only 20 minutes. (Phil said that during the seco'nd flight the wind often dropped to 5 mph,) At no time during either flight did I feel I could easily land on top of the cliff. There seemed to be sink and turbulence when one got too far inland.. Had the wind been stronger, however, say 15 mph, it probably would have been possible to get high enough to go through the turbulence, make a standard pattern and land into the wind on top of the cliff.

It is important to note that these.flights (which were somewhere between classes J and 4) were made by a licensed glider pilot in a licensed ship, People with unlicensed rigs would probably do well to stay away from Torrey Pines because of po~sible problems with sailplanes and insurance.

Taras Kiceniuk, Jr., June 27, 1972 2816 Highview Ave,, Altadena, 'Calif, 91001 NEW DURATION RECORD OF 71 r'iINUTES! Shortly after writing the foregoing account about extended flights in his Icarus II ultralight glider, Taras Kiceniuk, Jr. , visited 'l'orrey Pines a.gain on July 2nd and made a flight of 71 minutes, The wind that day was 10 mph out of the west, perpendicular to the cliff, enabling an easy time of it until another lull occurred, resulting in a landing on the · beach, Take-off was at about 1:15 P.M. Instrumentation on this flight was an hirspeed indicator (Dwyer Wind Meter), hiker's sensitive altimeter and a rate-of-climb indicator, Flying speeds were 22 mph with the "gear" down (sitting upright) and 25 mph gear up (supine). Flight duration was measured with a stopwatch.· This flight exceeded. the previous "record" for hang gliders of 64 minutes set by Dave Kilbourne while ridge soaring his Rogallo iri a 30-mph wind on the Mission Peak ridge near Fremont, Calif., .on Sept. 6,'71.

FLYING SITE PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS The JO-foot sand ridge a'c the Playa del · Hey site is gradually being ea ten away by men in bulldozers and trucks •. It seems that they made. the ridge when they excavated a huge hole next to the steam plant across the road, for burying a large tank, Now the tank is in and the filling in has begun. SCHGA officers plan to meet with the persons responsible for the operation and earth in question to try and get them to leave the ridge there, perhaps obtaining their fill from elsewhere in the nearby neighborhood, Lack of time has prevented a systematic search for additional flying sites by SCHGA officers. Yet this remains our next-to-most-important concern (after proper administration and communication). Members are again u:pged to spend some time in the search for sites. and. obtaining the basic facis concernj,.ng each o.n~ that looks promising so SCHGA can make. formal inquiries about them, Solutions to the problem are likely tobe achieved faster with the active involvement of numerous members, otherwise the day will be delayed when we can have. a si.te to call our own, or a selection of, sites to choose from, CABLE AND NICOPRESS REFERENCE· The June issue of EAA' s magazine, SPORT· AVIATION, has a comprehensive, illustrated article on making up control cables for home-built aircraft. Included is much valuable information on cables, thimbles and Nicopress .fittings and tools. Anyone contemplating the use of cables in an ultralight glider , either for·contro1s or for bracing, would do well to obtair1 a, copy of this article and study it. A copy will be procured for the SCHGA Library.

- 16 -

LO!v & SLOH //15

Issue II 15 of Joe Faust's booklet serj_es, LOl-J & SLOW, was expected to be ready for mailing during the week :of July 10-14th, . In a sweeping gesture of cooperation and rnagnaniini ty he announced his intention to include with L .±__.Q. /115 all sorts ·of other li t'era ture, including copies of the following: June issue of GROUND SKIMMER, :3CHGA membership application form, a Soaring Society of Am_erica (S'.3A., not to be confused with the Sel~'-.Soar Assn., or 3:-SA, which Joe has begun) membership application form, SSA's Item //8-U on sources of information about ultralight gliders (:plans, kits, gliders, orgariizatj_ons, publications, slides and films), an order form for "'I'he Joy of Soaring" book, De\ ta Kite F1yer News No. 2, a flyerr on Volmer Jensen's VJ-11 ":3o-.Lo", a flyer on Taras Kiceniuk's Icarus II and Batsc~ a flyer on Di.ck Eipper ':s Flexi-Flyer I a flye:c on Dave Cronk' n Gronki te 5, and a copy of the current and I)a;'St mailing list for _LOlL.§:.....:..§J..Oi.-1 (~ome JOOQ_ nan1<:ls and addresses), With the current circrlation of LOW & S;LOH near the 2000 mark this represents a tremendous undertaking an;d.

Joe is to be commended for mak:Lng it possible for all of this :literature to be.deliverec;l to so many followers. of the ultralight gl:Lder movement, It "should give the pot a ,jolly good stir",, .to quote one enthusiast, and ·b_e of mutual benefit to all concerned, SELSEY BIRDMAN RALLY -

1972

By David Nicholls (EdJ.tor's Note: As mentioned in the June GS, details on this Rally in England were requested and have come in the form of the following letter and rules for the event.)

There is great interest in ultralight g1iders here among the gliding fraternity.· I have contacted the British Gliding Assn. who are sending me a list of known enthusiasts in England, I think the B.G.A. are somewhat worried in case any unattached, inexperienced. people have accidents with hang gliders· and: would like to see some form of vo1untary responsible control, similar to that which governs regular gliding in this country.

My own interit5.on is to ·build:· ahd fly' a,n ultralight glider together with s:e_y~:r.-_c;Ll q:[ my :fellow instructors at No. 623 Air Cadet Gliding School, I' 11 kee·p you in touch with bur progress, (He bought a set of plans for an Eipper Flexi-Flyer-Ed..).

You asked me about the "Selsey Birdman Ra1ly!" This started in 197.1 as a publicity .stunt with the sole object of attracting as large a crowd as possible to the seashore in order to co'll.ect money for the RAF. Association's charitable work. · ( The RAF Associa titm, perhaps I should explain, is what I believe you in America call a "v-eteran'• s association",) We are pledged to raise money for the ass:Lstance of the l_ess fortunate ex-members of the Royal Air Force and you would be surprisF!d to l_earn of some of the things we do to achieve this, ' The first "Birdman Rally" was wildly successful as a publicity stunt, The l·ocal branch of RAFA offered 1000 Br:i.tish pounds (about $2600) to anyone who could fly a distance of :50 yards from about ,40 feet above the sea. There were two types of entran:b: the jokers who will do anything for a laugh--and the se:'Cicus contestants. The jokers certctinly got their laughs including one well-kncJwn television announcer who dressed up as a bird, complete with feathers and a plastic beak. After the clowns came the real a ttemp.ts to glide. Most of these used water skiing k-ites and home-Quilt sail wings. As none of them .had,experienced free_ flight before it was hardly surprising that the_ 50-yard . marker buoy was_ not reached. '])he succ.es:S. of· the Birdman Rally caused the organizing co:mmi ttee to resolve to ma,ke this an annual event, As the time to reform the committee ..for -1972 approached I did som(') re:search into th~ early flights of Otto Lilienthal, Oc~ave Chanute, Percy Pilcher and into a t969 hang glider project in this country, I formed the opinion that the distanpe could°, be successfully flown but that it would require a practiced pilot and a modern hang gl~4e~.

About this time Ann Welch's article on "Low and Slow" was published in Sailplane & Gliding.

(Continued)

- 17 -

I was astonished to learn that you in Amerlca had been flying and even slope-soaring with ultralight gliders! This article in S & G did more to stimulate interest in this kind of gliding than any other factor-at least over here, I am certain that a lot of glider pilots who have applied for entry forms for this year's Birdman Rally and who intend to use a hang glider were influenced by Ann Welch's article.

The actual flight attempts at the Birdman Rally are to be made into (we hope) a 15-20 mile-" an-hour S,W, wind from a platform fixed to the Lifeboat jetty, A rescue boat will be standing by to pick up the aviators, I enclose a copy of the official rules (reproduced below),. That, I think, is about all I can tell you about the Selsey Birdman Rally, We would we1c·ome an entry from America! I understand we have one from France, I'll certainly send you a full report of the Rally with phr,tographs, David Nicholls, June 16, 1972 3, East Way, Selsey, Sussex, Engl~nd

1.

RULES F'OR SELSEY INTERNATIONAL BIRDMAN RALLY - 1972 The prize of 1,000 British pounds (about '.,S2400 now that the pound is floating) will be awarded to the first competitor in this event to fly a distance of 50 · yards.

Contestants may use wings not exceeding JO feet span which may be used for either flapping or gliding flight, (b) Contestants may use a flying machine of fixed-wing, rotary-wing or ornithopter design of not more than JO feet wing span, The machine may be propelled by an airscrew and driven by any system of gears, pulleys or chains, BUT it must be powered by the sole efforts of the contestant.

2, ; (a)

3,

NOT PERMITTED: Auxiliary lifting devices: kites, balloons, etc. other sources: cars, boats, rockets, catapults, etc,

Assistance from

4, ..Only one pilot permitted for each attempt.

5,

Only two attempts allowed per competitor,

6,

If wings are attached to the body, a quick-release device must be fitted and demonstrated to the scrutineers,

7,

Competitors must be able to swim.

8,

A life jacket must be worn (to be supplied by the competitor).

9,

All competitors niust satisfy the scrutineers that their attempts are in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Rules,

10,

Compet:ttors under H3 years of age must have their parents' written consent to their participating,

t1.

The judgestdecisions shall be final.

THE ORGANISERS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO ALTER OR CANCEL THE EVENT WITHOUT NOTICE, (Editor's Note: A windshield sticker for the Rally specified August 13, 1972, 1:30 P.M. Unclear is how it is.decided who goes first, second, etc., or if the prize will ·be split if two or more exceed 50 yards, or if the prize will go to the one who went farthest, Questions on th_ese points will be posed to Mr. Nicholls, the answers to which may affect whether or not any Americans decide to journey to Selsey to compete. The answers will be published in the August GS and made available to anyone who writes or calls Lloyd Licher after July 23rd,) -

- 18 -

MORE TOWING ACCIDEN'IS Another fatality to report, this time an American making a boat tow in the Mediterrean Sea near Montpellier, France, on May 29th,· A newspaper article identified him as George Paul :Jolovski, 26, a Clearwater, .fl'la,, stuntman who was giving a demonstration for the opening of a hotel, the start of a series of European exhibitions. He was described. as the U. S, Champion in water ski-kite flying, He had reached an altitude of JOO feet on.tow behind a speedboat when the cable broke and he was unable to regain control before striking a parking port on the waterfront, The type of kite was not specified or described.

At press time word was received through a number of intermediate persons that Bill Moyes had experienced a near-fatal rope-break accident in Canada .. It is not known yet what type of tow was used or whether or not he was flying one of his conventional Rogallos4 As mentioned in the June GS, these accidents reinforce SCHGA' s advocacy of sel:t-launching or using human assistance only for take-off.

THE NADER PRINCIPLE IN HANG GLIDING

By Victor M. Saudek

a:,.r

(Reprinted from the "Letters to the Editor" cQJ.umn of the August, 1971, issu/.'of' SOARING magazine; .for. the gems of wisdom it contains, ) Otto 1ilitintha1 made more than a thousand flights, hanging from his cal1oused armpits. He used a number of winged contraptions, the ribs of which might better have afforded many shady hours of fishing to a number of people-simultaneously, In effect, he lived eons. :bef.o:te CAB Accident Boards (though people who saw him alive are living still), Now,·as Jack-Lambie so riic~ly p\l;t, it (Soaring, July, 1971), "Everything has been done in gliding •• " But i~s exc;iting to· "start again", and walking on air with curly beards and locks flowing in the breeze is the most "in" sport since 1891, Nostalgia lives and breathes,,, I quote from the good Otto (from memory, of course): "I was saved from further hurt by the structure forward of my body," This was caught by the Wrights, so they located the elevators ahead of them. To further emphasize the 20th century's start, they coordinated their wing warping and aft rudders, And with that, deliberate aerodynamic controls were proved to be the critical advance on heavier-than-air flight, This need was made.obvious

by Lilienthal's death from a gust-induced stall and fall which cannot be countered. by any a.mount of frantic leg waving, Three lessons of 75 years ago are clear: 1, Crunchy energy absorbers ahead of one's vital organs, carefully designed to prevent stress upon the ribcage and to deflect puncture-pr.one pieces of structure, are .essential safety featur~s in design, 2. An; escape route.to the rear, so that the pilot can avoid whiplash and other impacts from abaft, 3, A bow to the control system of Orville and Wilbur, who provided at least some mastery of unpredictable gusts.

The price of sensible design features is no small thing, Probably Otto would gladly have given up his wild and inept gyrations for somethinglike stability and.control, if only to have avoided the broken back that killed him, He lacked knowledge, for:he was an explorer of unknowns, We do not have that handy excuse, cc,:m~~quently, we expose· ourselves needlessly "to experience how it was in Victorian flying circles~,'' . .

..

.

The law of survival of the fittest is still enforced by the i~placabl~ order of natural events, The men who crossed the poles and walked on the moon did so only by using every advantage available, Thus, if one must take a long, running, gliding jump down a grassy slope 1 ... let it be in something thoughtfully coaidered, so that survival is less than accidental. .

·,,

Many varying concepts will no dbubt emerge, but - for a starter - here is one that attempts to embody at least the.athree above 75-year-old lessons, and some of Ralph Nader's philosophies: a) Swept lower wing: to put; loaded c ,g, in proper location; to 'put spar, ribs and deep ·i .... ~ ;"

(Continued)

- 19 -

b)

c) d)

. coaming ahead of pilot; to keep wingtips from digging in; and to permit the ship to be stable resting on the ground, Spaced, inverted vee-tail: to reduce number of surfaces; to remove structure from behind the pilot entirely; to provide (by using a control stick in each hand) pitch, roll, and yaw control (with help by pilot shifting his weight); to provide pitch and yaw stabilizers, Reasonably cambered airfoil with two- to three-degree washout on both sets, and some lower-wing dihedral, Reasonably simple, low-drag structure, taking lnto account low Reynolds Number and ease of construction. Hings must be made unusually rigid in torsion, and extremely light,

It is not recommended that o~e fly above ground-effect altitude (i. e, ,. not above si.x feet) for reasons of reduced aspect ratio effectiveness and kinetic energy, The twosurface tails will provide three-axes control, but are not sized to do away entirely with the need for the pilot to squeak fore-and-aft for better pitch control and thus permit more body English for roll and yaw, A steady breeze of 10 mph will make a. deligh~ful challenge for youngsters (15 ~ph if above 40 years old), Windier days may encourage the pilot to add landing skids. or wheels which could allow the operator to retract his running gear during flight, The skids/ wheels should be far forward, alas, which may result in some torn trousers and $kinned knees but reduce glider damage, On landing, if i t becomes necessary for the pilot to make a hurried rear exit, he must be aware that the machine will perform a half loop on ·its own, A football uniform might be appropriate dress, In conclusion, we do not have a toy here, Certainly Otto wasn't toying around; we know that he was deadly serious, It should be noted the Wrights (who knew disaster) both died in bed, Those who run and leap into Aeolus' arms need luck more than most, If one flies higher than he can jump, then it should be in a classical, modern design, which, all things considered, is by no means foolproof, but still more so than hanging from a shoulder-mounted curtain stretcher.

Vic Saudek 7916 McConnell Ave., Los Angeles, Calif, 90045 (Editor's Note: A 3-view dral-{ing of Saudek's proposed "Hang It" accompanied this letter in SOARING magazine which we are unable to reproduce here,) FAA AND LICENSING SCHGA, as a responsible organfaation concerned with all aspects af self-launched ultralight activity, is interested in clarif'ying the relationship between this activity and the Federal Aviadion Administration (FAA). Toward this end we reproduce here copies ·of Pat Page ,·s "getting nowheres" corn;,espondence with F'AA. Pat posed some interesting points which,the FAA representatives avoided responding to, This might be interpreted to indioate tha't a multiple standard exists and one cannot count on objective treatment by known standards when dealing with FAA in this field, At any rate, here are the letters.

(To.Mr, Jo;hn Baker, FAA Deputy Administrator for General Aviation Re:

-

April 1, 1971)

AIRCRAFT DEFINITION FOR LICENSING PURPOSES

Dear Mr. Baker: In view of a current patent application and its subsequent business possibilititSs, I would like to obtain from your office a formal answer giving me the criteria that your

- 20 -

(Continued) ..

i

office uses to decide when a man-made machine occupying airspace, at any level above the ground, is required to be registered as an aircraft ("N" number assigned), needing a Certificate of Airworthiness, and its operator a pilot certificate.

The obvious question that first comes to mind is this one: Why a parachute jumper does not need a pilot certificate or his chute an "N" number even if both use airspace? 'rhe. chutes now available have glide angles of about 3 to J and their operators can effect positive control of their glide path by means of turns, changes of their forward speed, rate of sink, etc., and under the proper soaring conditions can be made to gain altitude, To clarify my point I _would like to list some of the points that I think your office has used as cri teri9- to determine· when a flying machine:• is not an airc;:raft subject to· · regi.stration as such':'

A) The conventional aircraft (fixed and rotary.wings, balloons, etc,) whil/at rest

on the ground remains in flyable condition, as opposed to parachutes whose lifting surfaces loose their normal flying configuration when reaching the ground.

B)

In a parachutist's landing no mechanical devices serve as landing gear but instead the operator' legs and feet serve this purpose. ·

C)

The para~hute, 'to be able to be airborne, needs to reefed, This means that · .the.main iifting· surfaces c1,re not ready to lift the pilot·and can only be made C)perational by special techntques, like tying the parachute to·a .towline qr by jumping from a flying aircraft and opening the chute ·in mid-air. Reef;i.ng of a high-L/D and fully controllable paraohute on a· steep hill slope could gt:;?t it flying taking off from the slope while'a fair breeze is blowing and remain. · aloft using the strong ridge lift •... Is thi~ a parachute or an aircraft? Still, if this flying machine reached horizontal terrain it would land via the pilot's '· legs or some other part of his body, and its main lifting surfaces would lose · ' their normal flying configuration, ··

be

·Summing up, it is my belief that the human landing gear and loss of normal flight con· ·'.figuration while resting on the i;,urface, are the criteria used by your office.

Some of the factors that may have not counted when FAA defiqed an aircraft are listed bel0w: ·

1)

Airspace usage could nbt apply because sport parachutists, before and.aftl3r opening of their chutes, certainly use .airspace in a very exclusive manner indeed (drop zones), and so do man-carrying kites, tethered conventional fixed-wing gliders arid gyrogliders,

· .2), Weight, size or rigidity cannot be a:· criteria,· either. ·Ground-effect machines rule this out, We realize that close proximity to the terrain is a must for ,the ground effect to take place.

3) I

..

f" ,;, ;~;. ;

Gliders, gyrogliders, parachutes and man-carrying kites, when att,ache.d to .lines reaching the ground (with some altitude limitations in the order of 706.ft. ':A9·t} are also exempted from "N" number or pilot certificate requirements. So altitude· is not a criteria. ·

4) ·Duration.of flight or capability· to soar, that can be achieved by ·any of the-above . examples, may not be a criteria,· either., So, summi'ng up, airspace, ·weight and size, flight duration or soarability may not be the criteria used by FAA to determine what is an aircraft and thus·subject :t9 regis~:r;~t~on as such. I would greatly appreciate your clarification of this matter.. ,· ; 'u, I have taken the liberty to send copies of this letter to other organizations whose members use airspace for sporting purposes and that have sNown a keen interest in obtain(Continued)

- 21 -

ing means of flying for the man with a restricted-size pocketbook, Sincerely,

cc:

Patrick E, Page 393 Cronin Dr,, Santa Clara, Calif, 95051 EAA, SSA, USPA, Balloon Club of America, LOH & f3LOH

(F;r:om FM. to Patrick 1~. Page, April 13, 19?1) Dear Mr. Page: Mr, Baker has asked me to acknowledge your letter of April 1st, Because the questions you ask cross several areas which require legal definitions, your inquiry is being referred to our General Counsel's Office, You can expect to hear direct from them, Sincerely,

R.R.

Lovering, Special Assistant for Industry 012erations

(From FAA to Patrick E. Page, July 23, 1971) Dear Mr. Page: As .M::t:,~ L9vering. a;dvi_sed yo:u in his letter of 13 April 1971, your letter of 1 April 1971 to Mr., John Ba:Irnr, Ass_istant Administrator for General Aviat,ion Affairs, has been referred to this office for reply. Your letter inquires about the agency,' s criteria for determining what constitutes an "aircraft" for purposes of registration and certification under the Federal Avi~tion Act of 1958, as amended, You suggest s.everal factors that may be relevant in making such a determination, '-· As you may know, the word "aircraft ·is defined in section 101(5) of the Federal Aviation Act as "any contrivance now known or hereafter invented, used, or designed for navigation of or flight in the air," and in 14 CFR 1.1 as "a device that is used or intended to be usea.i':f'or' :flight in the air," In view of :t_he generality of the statutory definition and the legal and policy considerations which enter into a determination that a particular device is or is not an "aircraft," we cannot furnish you with an abstract elabo:r;;1.tf9h of the definition, If you would. describe to us in sufficient detail the device you havtf ih mind, we would furnish you with a ruling whether or not it is, for FAA purpo.ses, an "aircraft, " · · Sincerely, Oscar Shienbrood, Associate General Counsel General Legal Services Division 11

CERTICICA';I'ION AND OPERATION OF AMA'rEUR-BUILT AIRCRAFT

FAA has recently published a new edition of its Advisory Circular (AC) No. 20~27B, with the ,~;hove title, It is six pctges long and copies may be obtained at no charge from FAA, Attn,: -'l'AD-484.J, l'lashington, D.C. 20590, or possibly from local FAA offices, A summary of the content of AC No. 20-27B follows, FAR 21.191 provides for issuance of experimental certificates for amateur-built aircraft.

Degree of fabrication and assembly by the builder to qualify for such dertificates is explained. Recommendations for design and construction are given, Rules for applying for e:J:tpE;i~imental certificates are listed, Inspection procedures (by FAA agents) are described, as are operating limitations and rules for ·the operation of amateur-bt,i.ilt aircraft, Finally, a number of safety precautions are listed and sources/costs of related FAA publications are.given,

- 22 -

CLASSE::3 OF' ULTRALIGHT FLIGHT

By Taras Kiceniµk, Sr, (Editpr's Note: Early in 1971 Taras, i3r,, suggested the foilowing classifications for thE;3i:i;-.usefulness in delineating the guidelines of flight, which could be retained as long as they remain useful,) Class 0

Tethered flight.

Class 1

Minimum ground-effect free flight within a few feet of the ground,·requiring no control, or at most requiring instiilct;ive boq.y m.o:vemer).t, to control the direction of flight only, Craft should be inherently stable with ..gentle ·stall. ,, · ···

Class 2

IUights within· .several wing spans off the grourid, where possible airframe failure or pilot error will not be disastrous, but where con~~ider9<ble.. pilot skill may be involved, and where the craft is capable of adequate control, whether by weight shifting or by aerodynamic control, '

Class. :3

Controlled soaring flight~ Flier must complete eo~trol and flight duration is not limited by pilot.discomfort or by possible structural deterioration, Ridge soaring or dynamic soaring at altitudes less than 200 feet fall under this ·category,

Class 4

Unlimited soaring flight in places and at times conventional sailplanes usually fly,,· excepting that flight launch is nonmechanical and probably from smaller, fields, This class definitely requires the use of aircraft inspected and licensed by the FAA, and FAA pilot certification.

have

Taras Kiceniuk, Sr., Jan. 4, 1971 92060 ( present address) c/o Palomar Observatory, Palomar···•·· Mtn._,: ..

Ca .• / . . .....

KICENIUKS MOVE TO: PALOMAR MOUNTAlN

Taras Kiceniuk~ ,Sr,, h,;3.:s accepted a new job, Director of the Palomar Ob~ervatory, wh:lch has the world's largest (200") reflector telescope. He moved there in June and his family will follow after disposing of their house in Altadena. The new address is c/o , Paloll).ar O~s.ervatory, Palomar Mtn., Calif. 92060, phone (714) 742-3476 •. The m.ountain ·is 6000 feet high .(located a l:lttle northeast of Escondido) and may ha.ve .some launching sites n.ear. :the summit .for flights by Taras, Jr. , in the. Icarus II. Perhaps it could be the starting point for the first ultralight cross-country flights, using the good thermals of the Elsinore/Perris/Hemet area. Time will tell. At any rate, we wish Taras, Sr., . well in his new posi t:i.on and hope to continue to see him and his family at . .:futJJre . ,gath,e¥.:... ings of ult~alight enthusiasts. · .SOME THOUGHTS ON HANG GLIDER DESIGN AND FLIGHT

By Taras Kiceniuk, Jr, I've watched a fair number of hang glider flights (and attempts). Most of the flops seem to be caused mainly by the following pro bl ems (at least as· I see it)'.. ·· CRAFT PROBLEMS:

I.

STRUCTURAL WEAKNESS. A craft designed for any type of high flight should really be stressed for around 3 g's, Remember to test hardware store wire and turnbuckles (they're not very strong!).

n. AERODYNAMIC PROBLEMS.

A. LONGITUDINAL (PITCH) INSTABILITY. There are many ways to solve this problem (reflex airfoils, negative-incidence tails, sweep, washout, etc,). It helps to experiment with 1/6-scale models.

(Continued)

- 23 -

B,

LATERAL INSTABILITY.

Dihedral and sweep help solv·e this.

Try models.

c.

LACK OF DIRECTIONAL CONTROL. Controls (especially ailerons) must be unbelievably large and.rigid. Some provision must be made for keeping the wings level or banking the plane (yaw control with dihedral is simple and works well).

III, WEIGHT AND BALANCE PROBLEMS. A,. _PILOT CAN'T GET FAR. ENOUGH FORWARD/BACK. Try building "G.I. Joe" sized models to determine where the pilot should be located.

B. CRAFT C. G. IN .FRONT OF PILOT.. ' It is, essential in hang glider design ( if you want to keep your knees arid face heal thy} to have the cer1ter of gravity of the craft alone behi,nd_the position where the pilot normally holds the plane. With the craft C.G •. behind the pilot he has little trouble keeping the nose up during take-off and landing, because the_tail ·naturally wants to settle to the ground.

PILOT PROBLEMS I.

"PUSSYFOOTING". When one starts his take-off run.he must run hard while holding the·nose down, then slide back somewhat to get off in a rionmushing attitude, Both running and flying are not so difficult, but halfway_in between is!

II.

INEXPERIENCE. Try thinking about what to do ip flight as you lie in bed at night.

Start oil small, smooth hills.

•raras Kiceniuk, Jr., June 27, 1972 2816 Highvi~w Ave.,.Altadena, Calif. 91001 SOME THOUGHTS ON SIZE AND COMPETITION

By Richard N. Miller

STANDARD CLASS. It seems to me ~dvisable to establish a span limit for hang gliders at the earliest. practical moment, even if this is only done as a recommendation. Something of this 'nature could act as a stabilizing influence on the tendency to build long spans.

Ten .meters .· ( 32. 8 ft, ) seems a good figure. This might result in a rather ·1ow aspectra tiq wi,ng, say 4' x ,32' , but this i$ not without definite advantages. · .

1. .. ,4 strut-braced wing of these dimensions can be extremely light, yet reasonably strong.

2 •. The'Reynolds Number range, say 4' x 25 mph X 9354 = 935,400 is favorable • .

3~ Good.maneuverability on slopes and in thermals with reduced likelihood. of inexperienced pilots catching tips in ground loops or inadvertently spinning, · ·· · 4. :cood ·portability and stowability. ·.T .5. Low cost and f·ewer engineering pro bl ems.

CONTEST JUDGING. My own preference is to see this kept as qualitative as possible. J,. would tend to judge on the excellence of workmanship and flying, and on skill in items like spot landing, and discourage duration as such right from the start. A 5-min. timed flight, scored for the number of seconds off the time and number of inches off the mark would demand prec·ision and_ polish. 'rhe pilot could have numerous tries, as many as time and contestants allowed. · LILIENTHAL TROPHY. I see this as a handsome item 3 or 4 ft. tall with awire-sculpted Otto in one of his monoplane gliders on top. I expect that many people would be willing to -piedge $5 ;for such.a trophy, Richard Miller, April 14, 1972 2093 Foothil:).. Dr., Vista, Calif, 92083

- 24 -

FLYING-SPEED CHART By

o.6

0.5

40

38---

36

0.7

o.8

Bruce Carmichael 0.9

1.u

1.2

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1.4

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-·-·-

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- - v-

30

--~------

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34

34

32

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26 · - - - - - - - - - - F L y

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22

24

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18

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---- 16

p E

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mph

14

12

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0.5

o.6

0.7

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o. [~

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1.2 .

1.4

1.6

1.8

2.0

2.2

.

WING LOADING, W/S (Gross weight/Wing Area) The slan.t lines a.re values of lift "c~9efficient where even crude wings will give at least 0.8 and refined wings without flaps· ~t these' low speeds will do well to get as· high as 1.4. The vertical scale gives the flying speed in miles per hour. If you have a w;ing loading of 1.0 and a lift coefficient of 1.2 you go up vertically from 1.0 on the horizontal scale till you intersect the slant line labelled 1.2, then over to the vertical scale and find the flying speed of 18.0 mph. Subtracting the wind speed then gives you the ground speed your poor old feet have to make good for take-off. That is so for self-launched take-off but in landing the flare can be used to reduce speed rather drastically with Rogallos, probably less with conventional wings.

- 25 -

A L L O WA B L E

100()0 90UU

1 0 ADS

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A N

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Presentfid here :Ls a graph showing allowab~e loads :for AN 'Sol t's (aircraft quality, cipecially ·hea,t treated, mar~ecl_ ()n. thE:J head. with . an x Or ·l<-} I Sither if:\ pure ten~,ibn Or pure shear; ···or any · com bin4 tion of the two,! 'Ehe te,nsion loads are valid. 01Hy 1f'·regula:r. AN nuts are used (thin shea~ nuts will fail at lower ldads) •..

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The AN-n:umber of a bolt indicates its diameter in 16th of inch, AN-J is 3/16" i.rr 'diameter :and AN-4 is l,1,/16 or 1/Li,", ·· .. I ·

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. 9 SHEA'.R 'LOAD X 1000 I,B~ ... . ,

I

MFA PROJECT IN UTAH KJ,aus H~ll _of Morgan, Utah,, _and a partner have a man-powered aircraft nearing·:.c0111pletion. \·!hen the project was started last Christmas, Klaus· had in mind only the development of a high-performance foot-launched glider, This is still his ultimate goal but the..bicyclepower set-up will make it easier to feel out the controls and find out how it handles, The design is based on ,James l'iarske Is Pioneer II flying-wing sa:llplsme.. )<laus '·has converted a set of the plans to construct a ship out of metal, and shortened the. span to 29 feet for cc;mvenience and economy, He was able to use standard 12-fob·t' sheets for spars and forviard wing sktns without spl~ces, except for 1t-ft, tips (fuselage is 2 ft, wide), Expected performanc~ of the design ;is based on Marske's figures, which some people consider opti.mi.stIEi"'but Klaus has no reason to doubt them so believes t.haf {he. predicted performance il; enti~ely possible, If the project is successful, Klaus believes i t will be because of Marske's effort and willingness to share the information he has accumulated, 1

The craft should be ready for testi ng in August, probably on the Salt Flats, If performance is up to expectations, an attempt will be made for the Kremer Prize, Since all of Klaus' time is being spent:for contructing and designing he doesn't have any for writing and taking pictures so readeJ;'s are requested no.t to write him about the project, He will keep readers informed through the pages of interested publications.

1

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NEH MEM.BER;3

SCHGA welcomes the following new members: 119, 120, 121.

122.

123, 124, 125.

126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131.

132, 133, 13~·.

135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 11+1.

142, 143, 144.

145.

146, 1L~?.

148, 149~ 150, 151, 152,

Gerald Brady, 10607 Grevillea Ave,, Lennox 90304, 672-3~27 Joseph A. Brammel, 5042 Sawtelle Blvd,, Culver City, 90230 Tom Budlong, 3216 Mandeville, Los Angeles, 900LJ,9 Donald Cobb, 2.724 Jackson St,, Long Beach, 90810 .

Melvin L, Ford, 10965 Bluffside Dr,, Jutdio City, 9160L~, (H) 769-7215, (H) 851-2275 Bill Freeman, 817 Earlham St., Pasadena, 91101, 796-0087 Chuck Jennings, 2147 \foodlyn Dr,, Pasadena, 91104, 798'."'8156 Dwight Jividen, 28-8th Cou:ct, Hermosa Beach, 90252+ David A, Kenney, 1+120 Via Solano, Palos Verd.es Estates, 90274, 378-.5944 ,Jerry K, Mathews, 21900 Marson St, /IE-4, Carso]'.)., 90745 Tim Morgan, 401 Crestvale, Sierra Madre, 9102L~ Herman 3tiglmeier, 222 \·!. Spruce St,, Inglewoo_cl., 90301, 6?7-8683 Russell J. StJohn, 816 Earlham St,, Pasadena,· 9.1101, 792-8503 Rita Ballard, 1952 Malcolm 1)5, Los Angeles, 9002.5, 475-3362 . ,, ( , / ()Cj Margery Cosgrove, Box 41346, Los Angeles, 90041, 257-8:1.08 :,c. ,~.... '· ,., Richard IC Al~ert, 11841 Allencrest Dr,, San Jose, 95118,; (408)26.4..:}444 ~ Clara E, Fernandez, 3908 Sepulveda, /136, Culver City, 90230 ,. , John McVey, Jr,, 920 Kornblum Ave,, Torrance, 90503 Juri Kauk, 267 W. Santa Anita Ave,, Burbank, 91502, 842-8964 Robert Weyl, 7851 Yorktown Ave,, Los Angeles, 90045, 645-6211 (F) Dr, Donald R, Crawford, 22:1. Calle De Madrid, :fl_edondcrBeach, 90277, 378-6855 James R, Stuart, 202 E, Las J.i'lores Dr,, AltadE;ma, 9~001; 794-3891 Tom Dickinson, 1824 Alta Crest Dr., Altadena, 91001, 798-7~-13 John M, Schulein, 1186 Arlington Lane, San Jose, 95129 Carol A, Cummings, 1908-12th St, #1, Santa Monica, 90405 Owen Phairis, 1908-12th St, 111, Santa Monica, \90405 Samuel Wagner, :1.29 N, Mariposa Ave., //8, Los .Angeles, 90001.J.. ,J,C, Pemberton, Mgr,, Scanivalve, Inc,, Box:20005, Sart Diego, 92120 1 Dick Henderson, .2522 N, 8th St., Phoenix, Ariz, 85006 David A, Kilbourne, 879 Miller Ave,, San Jose, 95129 Al :Jones, 3249 Walnut, Hunt1ngton Park, 902.55, 587-8836 Phil Bernhardt, 17119 s. Harvard Blvd,, Gardena, 90247, 329-4.:363 Janet Seagars, 1899 E, Homewood Dr,, Altadena, 91001 Norman Smart, 6908 Woodrow Hilson Dr,, Los Angeles, 90028 1

MEMBERSHIP R0:3'I'ER CORHECTIONS

The following corrections should be made to the rosters printed in previous issues: Doug Kupper, 1+926 Rock bluff Dr,, Rolling lli1h; 90274, 378.,.. 5197 6, Richard' Burn[,, 49+-Jrd St,, /14, San Pedro, 90731, 831-0432 15, Steve P~nny, 332 Alamar, #2, Santa Barbara 93105, (805)687-3989 25, Bob Valentine, 9+46 H, 139th St,; Hawthorne 90250 39, Taras Kiceniuk, Jr,, 40, Taras Kiceniuk, Sr,; and 4J. Katherine Kiceniuk, c/o Palomar Observatory, Palomar Mtn,, 92060, (714) 742-3476

<3,

ADDRESSES NEEDED SCHGA needs the addresses of the following nonmembers in order to send them Meet certificates and/or GROUND SKIMMERS. I f any reader has in address for any of them, please give it to Lloyd Licher (397-4848 or 390-44~·9).

Mary Anna Maloney

Ron Polanski

David McDonald

·. Douglas Pri vi tt

- 27 -

G't'ip Length of bolt only AU-4

3

AN·~3 1/Hi

4

1/8

1/16

5 6 7 ,' ilO· 11 12

J\N--5

AN-6

1/16

1/16

1/4 3/16 3/16 lil6 3/8 5/16 5/16 3/16 1/2 7/16 7/16 5/16 5/8 ,9/16 · 9/16 7/16 3/4 11/16 11/16: 9/16 7/8 13/16 13/16 ,' .· 11/16 13 1 15/16 15/16 13/16 14 1-1/8 1-1/16 1-1/16 15/16 15 1-1/4 1··3/16 1·"3/16., l·-1/16 lG 1-3/8 1-5/lG 1-5/16 1~3/16 27 l·-·1/2 l~-7/16 1-7/J.6 1--5/16 20 1-5/8 1--9/16 1··9/16 . 1-7/16 21 1-3/4 1-11/16 1···11/16 1-9/16 22 1-7/8 1-13/16 1-13/16 l·· 11/16 23 2 1-15/16 J:-.15/16 1 ,J.3/lr-: 2,.1 2-1/8 2-1/16 2-1/16 1-15/lfi 25 2-1/4 2-3/16 2-3/16 2-1/16 26 2-3/8 2-5/lri 2-5/16 2-3/16 .

27 2-1/2 2···7/16 2-7/16 . 2-5/16 30 2-5/8 .. 2;..9/16 · . · 2-9/16 · 2-7/16 .

2-·3/4 2-11/16'-:· ... 2..;.11/16. 2~_9/16 31 32 2-7/8 2-13/16 2-13/16 , 2-11/16 33 3 2-15/16 2-15/16 2;..1_3/16 34 3-1/8 3-1/16 3-1/16 . Z-15/16 35 3-1/4 3-3/16 3-3/16 3...1/16 36 3-3/8 3-5/16 3-5/16 . 3-3/i6 37 3-1/2 l-7/16 3•-7/16 3~5/16 40 3··5/8 3-9/16 3-9/16 J~:7/16" 41 3-3/4 3-·11/16 3-11/16 .· 3-9/16 42 3-7/8 3-13/16 3--·13/16 3-11/16 43 4 3-15/16 3-l5/16 3r~l3/16 .

44 4-1/8 4-1/16 4-1/16 3-15/lG 45 4-1/4 4-3/16 4-3/16 4···1/16 46 4-3/8 4-5/16 4-5/16 4-3/16 47 4-1/2 4-7/16 4-7/16 4-5/16 50 4-5/8 4·~_9/16 4,-9/16 4-·7/16 4-3/4 4-11/16 4-li/16 4·~9/16 51 52 4-7/8 4·,.13/16 4-13/16 4-11/16 53 5 4-15/16 4-lS/16 4-13/16 54 5-1/8 5-1/16 5-1/16 4u•l5/16 55 5-1/4 ~3/16: 5-3/16 5-1/15 56 5-3/8 5-5/16 5-5/16 5-3/16 57 5-1/2 5-7/16 5-7/16 5··5/16 60 5·-5/8 5-9/16 5-9/16 5.. 7/16-- . .

61. 5-3/4 5-11/16 5-11/16 - 5·-9/16 : 5-13/16 . 5-11/16 62- 5-7/8 5-13/16 63 '6 5-15/16 5-15/16 5-13/16 64 6-1/8 6-1/16 6-1/16 5-15/16 65 6·-1/4 6-3/16 6-3/16 6-1/16 66 6--3/8 6-5/16 6-5/16 6-,-3/16 67 6-1/2 6-7/16 6-·7/16 6-·5/16

- 28 -

To the adjoining table you would add the letter .r,. to the end of the number to get the bolt with a drilled hole for pinning.

EY.N1PLE~ AN-4-36

= 3-5/16

AN-4~36A

= 3--5/16 drilled

SIZE CHARI' (Diameter) AM·· 3

AN·-4

AN·~5

·:i\i.'\l..-6 .

3/16"

1/4"

5/16"

3/8''

WIRE·BR.E:N<!NG STRENGI'H ·dia.

1/16 3/32 ,.

1/8 5/32 3/16

lb.

"-Bo·,:

(Stainless, 7 x 7)·'

·

920 · 1700 2400 3700,

PRESIDENT!, REPORr 'Ihis rront-.h ·I haven\: got too much to say.

'Ihe printing of this nc-MSletter has taken nost of.QU.r t:i.r.'e. I am in hopes of telling of the am::>unt of flying going on in other parts of the country. I was in the Northwest last rronth and rvm sure there will be SOire new records in the near.future.

I ho:oe this will spark the rrtembers in our assoc.to try to advance to the type of flying that's going on in ·other parts.

I hope the newsletter will brinq the meJYt-· bership to a group of safe and fun lovinq pilots.

-

. ..

BALLINGER Sheet Metal Inc. .A e 1 Hl · re

13025 So. Yormand ie Avenue Gardena , California 90249 211-121 2684

Custom Fabrications

f •

Racks &Trailers WE CAN FILL ALL THE REQUIRMENTS OF THE HOME BUILDER. BRING IN YOUR IDEA AND LET US WORK IT OUT. PRODUCTION PARTS FOR YOUR GLIDERS NO MATTER HOW SMALL . WE FABRICATED MANY OF THE PARTS FOR THE "FLEX I FLIER" JUST ASK FOR "BILL" TELL HIM THE "BIRDMAN" SENT YOU.

A MEMBER OF THE SCHGA ' INC .

'ICAHVS II' Claims Record

LEARN TO FLY OR JOIN THE NEW SPORT IN A VOLMER J-11, "SO-LO" *Build the world's first fully controllable hang glider * Standard aircraft controls *Fully engineered * Can be built in 6 weeks spare time * Material cost approx.$200.00 Send $2 . 00 for literature, specifications, and photo .

VOLMER AIRCRAFT, Dept. GS-1 104 East Providencia Avenue, Burbank, California

EIPPER·FDRMANCE FLIGHT SYSTEMS

Taras Kiceniuk Jr., makes 72 min.

"RECORD" fl ight from Torrey Pines July 2, 1972 See Photo Inside Cover

BUILDING THE "ICARUS 11" Complete Discription of Construction $10.00

'BATSO' "Bamboo Rogal lo Hang Gli der" Plans $5.00

BOB WVEJOY'S "HIGH TAILER" Dacron Wing Covering,Nylon Verticals

NEW SHOP IN TORRANCE NOW OPEN.

1733 Border Avenue, Torrance, Calif. 90501

213·320 9313

Taras Kiceniuk Jr .

Palomar Observatory Palomar Mountian, Calif.

92060

SHOP HOURS: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday thru Friday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Saturday closed Sunday

....

CALENDAR OF EVENTS July 10, Monday, 7:30 P.M., SCHGA Membership Meeting. (see pg. 1) J uly 15, Saturday, Ride Session for SCHGA Members with SCSA flight group at El Mirage.

July 19, Wednesday, 8:00 P.M. SCHGA Directors' Meeting at LLoyd Licher's home , 12536 Woodbine St., Los Angeles, Calif. 90066 (~mile So. of Santa Monica Airport) .

August 26-27, 2nd Annual John J. Montgomery Memorial Hang Glide.r Championships.

Site near San Diego to be announced.

September 23-24, Torrance Air Show, to include static display of hang gliders by SCHGA November 25-26 2nd Annual Hang Glider Turkey Fly. Site in Los Angeles area to be announced.

ground skimmer GROUND SKIMMER is the monthly newsletter of the Southern California Hang Glider Assoc., Inc . and is mailed to SCHGA members as their benefit of their membership. Applications for membership should be submitted to the SCHGA Treasurer, Rick Finley, 2608-C Graham Ave.,Redondo Beach, California 90278. Dues for 1972 are $2 . 00 Checks should be made payable to the SCHGA, Inc. Copies of the bylaws are available upon request and are furnished to each member .

ground skimmer no. 3 july, 1972 C /o SCHG4, Inc. BOX 246

Lomita,Calif, 90717 l!BST CLASS MAIL

PA-1 PM(;

313

(RoJJftJ

SAN T'lt

l>Jc

C1-A 12:A / CAL. qs-o ::;-;