Homebuilt UK to USA Non-Stop

[tregonissy]

Hi all,

Just wondering if any homebuilt aircraft have crossed the Atlantic
non-stop - who was it and which aircraft.

--
We wish you A Prosperous New Year
Meilleurs Voeux - Frohe Festtage - Felices Fiestas - Tanti Auguri - Beste
Wensen

Best Regards - Trevor Ball

[Larry Smith]

"tregonissy" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> Just wondering if any homebuilt aircraft have crossed the Atlantic
> non-stop - who was it and which aircraft.
>
> --
> We wish you A Prosperous New Year
> Meilleurs Voeux - Frohe Festtage - Felices Fiestas - Tanti Auguri - Beste
> Wensen
>
> Best Regards - Trevor Ball

Peter Huff crossed the Atlantic in a White Lightning in the 90's. The rear
passenger compartment of the cockpit was converted into space for fiberglas
fuel tanks. There was an article on the voyage in _Sport Aviation._

[Don Pearsall]

Michel Gordillo crossed the Atlantic non-stop in his MCR-01 in 2001. In fact
he went around the entire world. See the details at
http://www.sportflight.com/sunrise/

Don Pearsall
Seattle

[Steve Beaver]

Looks like he stopped in Greenland and Iceland to me.

"Don Pearsall" > wrote in message
news:46hKb.757407$Fm2.703539@attbi_s04...
> Michel Gordillo crossed the Atlantic non-stop in his MCR-01 in 2001. In
fact
> he went around the entire world. See the details at
> http://www.sportflight.com/sunrise/
>
> Don Pearsall
> Seattle
>
>

[Don Pearsall]

That is correct, Michel did stop in Greenland and Iceland. The question did
not say from which point to which point the Atlantic crossing parameters
were.
Don

[Bob Olds]

"tregonissy" > wrote in message >...
> Hi all,
>
> Just wondering if any homebuilt aircraft have crossed the Atlantic
> non-stop - who was it and which aircraft.



************************************************** ******************************


I believe Jon Johansen,from Australia, has circled the globe
Eastwardly and then Westwardly to get to Oshkosh in different years.
He has also crossed the North pole and last Dec. flew over the South
pole.
He flew his RV-4 for all these.
EAA Sport Aviation magazine should have the stories over the years.

Bob Olds RV-4 , N1191X
Charleston,Arkansas



************************************************** *****************************

[Bob Kuykendall]

Earlier, "Don Pearsall" > wrote:

> That is correct, Michel did stop in Greenland and Iceland.

Well, heck, Peter Garrison did that in the 1980s. Or was it the '70s?

Anyhow, he flew his Melmoth N2MU across the Atlantic to points
European, and also across the literally untracked jungles of South
America. He also flew it across the Pacific to Hawaii and later to
Japan.

Bob K.

[Richard Riley]

On Mon, 5 Jan 2004 13:59:58 +0000 (UTC), "tregonissy"
> wrote:

:Hi all,
:
:Just wondering if any homebuilt aircraft have crossed the Atlantic
:non-stop - who was it and which aircraft.

Dick Rutan and Mike Mellville did it a couple of years ago in Long
EZ's - the south atlantic. Dick, of course, had done it earlier in
Voyager.

Guy Delage flew the south atlantic in a microlight (a trike) in 93.
And there's this guy, http://www.brian-milton.com/index.html

[Pete]

Seems to have been done in a large number of kits (maybe not non-stop
though).

The Europa did it (with a rotax even ;-) in Y2K

http://www.thomas.scherer.com/

Cheers,
Pete
Europa builder A239 short and long wings


"Richard Riley" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 5 Jan 2004 13:59:58 +0000 (UTC), "tregonissy"
> > wrote:
>
> :Hi all,
> :
> :Just wondering if any homebuilt aircraft have crossed the Atlantic
> :non-stop - who was it and which aircraft.
>
> Dick Rutan and Mike Mellville did it a couple of years ago in Long
> EZ's - the south atlantic. Dick, of course, had done it earlier in
> Voyager.
>
> Guy Delage flew the south atlantic in a microlight (a trike) in 93.
> And there's this guy, http://www.brian-milton.com/index.html

[Rich S.]

"Pete" > wrote in message
...
> Seems to have been done in a large number of kits (maybe not non-stop
> though).
>
> The Europa did it (with a rotax even ;-) in Y2K
>
> http://www.thomas.scherer.com/
>
> Cheers,
> Pete
> Europa builder A239 short and long wings

All such future flights must be pre-approved by Secretary Tom Ridge !!

Rich "Take your shoes off" S.

[David O]

"tregonissy" > wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>Just wondering if any homebuilt aircraft have crossed the Atlantic
>non-stop - who was it and which aircraft.

Also of note is the RC aeromodel crossing last August. Newfoundland
to Ireland, 3030 km (1883 miles) at an average speed of about 78 km/hr
(48.4 mph). Custom designed autopilot using GPS, piezo rate gyros,
and a pressure transducer. Two telemetry transmitters onboard, one
for position and status data to a satellite and one for terrestrial
data transmission during the departure and landing phases. An amazing
accomplishment. Here is a short photo tour,

http://tam.plannet21.com/Tam_photos.htm

And here is the home page, with FAQ etc.

http://tam.plannet21.com/


David O -- http://www.AirplaneZone.com

[Frank Stutzman]

David O > wrote:

> Also of note is the RC aeromodel crossing last August. Newfoundland
> to Ireland, 3030 km (1883 miles) at an average speed of about 78 km/hr
> (48.4 mph). Custom designed autopilot using GPS, piezo rate gyros,
> and a pressure transducer. Two telemetry transmitters onboard, one
> for position and status data to a satellite and one for terrestrial
> data transmission during the departure and landing phases. An amazing
> accomplishment. Here is a short photo tour,

Notable, but certainly not the first time it was done. I think that claim
goes to the Insitu Group from my home town. See
http://www.insitugroup.net/Pages/pressReleases.html.




--
Frank Stutzman
Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl"
Hood River, OR

[Corky Scott]

On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 16:58:34 +0000 (UTC), Frank Stutzman
> wrote:

>David O > wrote:
>
>> Also of note is the RC aeromodel crossing last August. Newfoundland
>> to Ireland, 3030 km (1883 miles) at an average speed of about 78 km/hr
>> (48.4 mph). Custom designed autopilot using GPS, piezo rate gyros,
>> and a pressure transducer. Two telemetry transmitters onboard, one
>> for position and status data to a satellite and one for terrestrial
>> data transmission during the departure and landing phases. An amazing
>> accomplishment. Here is a short photo tour,
>
>Notable, but certainly not the first time it was done. I think that claim
>goes to the Insitu Group from my home town. See
>http://www.insitugroup.net/Pages/pressReleases.html.
>
>
>
>
>--
>Frank Stutzman

Wait, Boeing is not claiming their UAV crossed the Atlantic are they?

Divide the distance the RC model flew by the average speed and you get
a duration of flight of 38.846 hours. The Boeing creation stayed in
air for 15.5 hours, although it doesn't say at what speed.

Also, Boeing had a lot of money and resources to throw at the project
while the Atlantic RC crossing was literally an amateur effort.

Corky Scott

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 16:58:34 +0000 (UTC), Frank Stutzman
> wrote:

>David O > wrote:
>
>> Also of note is the RC aeromodel crossing last August. Newfoundland
>> to Ireland, 3030 km (1883 miles) at an average speed of about 78 km/hr
>> (48.4 mph). Custom designed autopilot using GPS, piezo rate gyros,
>> and a pressure transducer. Two telemetry transmitters onboard, one
>> for position and status data to a satellite and one for terrestrial
>> data transmission during the departure and landing phases. An amazing
>> accomplishment. Here is a short photo tour,
>
>Notable, but certainly not the first time it was done. I think that claim
>goes to the Insitu Group from my home town. See
>http://www.insitugroup.net/Pages/pressReleases.html.

Yeah, it's kind of funny...so many people are making a big deal about this
most-recent flight, when Insitu did it five years ago. Flew the Atlantic,
Newfoundland to Scotland, on a gallon and a half of fuel. They launched
three about the same time, and one made it. No telemetry, so there's no
way to tell what happened to the others.

One of their people brought an airplane and talked at our EAA meeting. The
airplane didn't have any batteries! The engine had a generator on it, if
the generator failed, the plane lost all power. With a reliable-enough
generator and a single engine, it made sense. IIRC, they've got one of
their airplanes hanging in the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Ron Wanttaja

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 17:29:58 GMT,
(Corky Scott) wrote:
>
>Wait, Boeing is not claiming their UAV crossed the Atlantic are they?

IIRC, Boeing bought Insitu *after* the Atlantic crossing, not before. This
was not done by a major corporation...Insitu was then a pretty small
company, almost a hobby shop.

And I'm not sure how much of the company Boeing now owns. I met one of the
Insitu guys (at a B&B, in fact) a couple of months back, and his business
card just said "Insitu." Boeing generally puts its name on any company it
has controlling interest of.

Ron Wanttaja

[Frank Stutzman]

Ron Wanttaja > wrote:
> On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 17:29:58 GMT,
> (Corky Scott) wrote:
> >
> >Wait, Boeing is not claiming their UAV crossed the Atlantic are they?

> IIRC, Boeing bought Insitu *after* the Atlantic crossing, not before. This
> was not done by a major corporation...Insitu was then a pretty small
> company, almost a hobby shop.

The crossing was certainly done before Boeing showed up on the Insitu
doorstep.

And Insitu is *still* a pretty small outfit. The infusion of cash from
Boeing was a blessing. I'm not privy to their finiancial status, but I
doubt they could have survived more than a few more years. As it is they
just recently broke ground on a largish (for this area) new building.


--
Frank Stutzman
Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl"
Hood River, OR

[Dave Hyde]

Corky Scott wrote:

> Wait, Boeing is not claiming their UAV crossed the Atlantic are they?

No, Insitu flew an Aerosonde across the Atlantic before Boeing
was working with them. As I understand it that was one of the
things that drew Boeing's interest.

> Divide the distance the RC model flew by the average speed and you get
> a duration of flight of 38.846 hours. The Boeing creation stayed in
> air for 15.5 hours, although it doesn't say at what speed.

The 15.5 hour flight was for a Scan Eagle, in Oregon. Different
airplane.
For details see: http://www.insitugroup.net/Pages/atlantic.html
Summary: 27 hours, 76 mph, less than 2 gal fuel used.

> Also, Boeing had a lot of money and resources to throw at the project
> while the Atlantic RC crossing was literally an amateur effort.

I don't think Boeing threw any money at the trans-Atlantic effort.

I don't mean to take anything away from Maynard Hill, he's done
some pretty remarkable things for model, and full-size, aviation.

Caveat: mine is a biased opinion.

Dave 'bingo' Hyde

[Dave Hyde]

Ron Wanttaja wrote:

> IIRC, Boeing bought Insitu *after* the Atlantic crossing, not before.

Boeing didn't buy Insitu, they teamed with them to develop
the Scan Eagle.

Dave 'eye in the sky' Hyde

[Morgans]

"Frank Stutzman" > wrote in message
...
> David O > wrote:
>
> > Also of note is the RC aeromodel crossing last August. Newfoundland
> > to Ireland, 3030 km (1883 miles) at an average speed of about 78 km/hr
> > (48.4 mph). Custom designed autopilot using GPS, piezo rate gyros,
> > and a pressure transducer. Two telemetry transmitters onboard, one
> > for position and status data to a satellite and one for terrestrial
> > data transmission during the departure and landing phases. An amazing
> > accomplishment. Here is a short photo tour,
>
> Notable, but certainly not the first time it was done. I think that claim
> goes to the Insitu Group from my home town. See
> http://www.insitugroup.net/Pages/pressReleases.html.
>
>
>
>
> --
> Frank Stutzman

The most recent was a FAI recognized record of a "Model" airplane, which
placed0 additional restrictions on weight and engine displacement. This
does not in any way lessen the previous accomplishment.
--
Jim in NC

[David O]

Ron Wanttaja > wrote:

>Yeah, it's kind of funny...so many people are making a big deal about this
>most-recent flight, when Insitu did it five years ago.

The TAM aeromodel crossing remains a "big deal" from my perspective
for a number of reasons. Kudos to Maynard Hill and the gang.

David O -- http://www.AirplaneZone.com

[Frank Stutzman]

David O > wrote:

> Ron Wanttaja > wrote:

> >Yeah, it's kind of funny...so many people are making a big deal about this
> >most-recent flight, when Insitu did it five years ago.

> The TAM aeromodel crossing remains a "big deal" from my perspective
> for a number of reasons. Kudos to Maynard Hill and the gang.

Not that I disagree, but would you mind elaborating on your "number of
reasons?"


--
Frank Stutzman
Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl"
Hood River, OR

[Dave Hyde]

Frank Stutzman wrote:

> Not that I disagree, but would you mind elaborating on your "number of
> reasons?"

That such a small group and small airplane could do it, even if
they weren't the first, is remarkable.

Dave 'long legs' Hyde

[David O]

Frank Stutzman > wrote:

>Not that I disagree, but would you mind elaborating on your "number of
>reasons?"

Scaling to FAI recognized aeromodel limits (11 lb max weight and 10 cc
max engine displacement) was extremely challenging. The TAM effort
was more than four years in development by a small group of dedicated
unpaid volunteers. Team Leader Maynard Hill is 77 years young and,
over a period of almost 40 years, established 23 FAI recognized
aeromodel world records. His pioneering endurance work gave the TAM
project a jump-start. Mr. Hill has done much to further the art of
aeromodeling and this was his crowning achievement (to date). It was
a big deal for him, a big deal for his team, and a big deal for the RC
aeromodel community. The Insitu "Aerosonde" weighed about 29 lb and
was not an FAI recognized aeromodel. Its development was a commercial
effort by engineers under sponsorship from US Office of Naval
Research, L3 Communications, and Boeing.

David O -- http://www.AirplaneZone.com

[Brian]

Ron Wanttaja wrote:
> On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 17:29:58 GMT,
> (Corky Scott) wrote:
>
>>Wait, Boeing is not claiming their UAV crossed the Atlantic are they?
>
>
> IIRC, Boeing bought Insitu *after* the Atlantic crossing, not before. This
> was not done by a major corporation...Insitu was then a pretty small
> company, almost a hobby shop.
>
> And I'm not sure how much of the company Boeing now owns. I met one of the
> Insitu guys (at a B&B, in fact) a couple of months back, and his business
> card just said "Insitu." Boeing generally puts its name on any company it
> has controlling interest of.
>
> Ron Wanttaja
>
Both groups of opinions are correct except little is known of the real
development of the Aerosonde for various reasons.
The idea of a small autonomous efficient aircraft came from Tad McGeer a
very clever ex MIT aeronautical engineer. He knew what he wanted to do
but could not get sufficient funding apart from some funds from the US
Navy ONR and Washington State University. He formed Insitu up in
Washington State to beaver away on this project on a shoestring.
In stepped one Dr Greg Holland from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
who is an expert in severe weather in particular Cyclones. He is looking
for an inexpensive tool to put met sensors into Cyclones without having
to hire C130's. Tad and Greg got together at a conference and the result
of that is that most of the development of the Aerosonde was funded in
Australia as a joint venture between the Australian Bureau of
Meteorology, Insitu, and Sencon Environmental Systems (now ES&S)
Another aspect was that the FAA had no regs in place to allow commercial
UAV's to fly and did not seem too keen on getting involved. (I guess the
old litigation scene again)
The Australian Gov through CASA had no such qualms and they duly wrote
the book on flying UAV's in both uncontrolled and controlled airspace.
Mal Walker of CASA should be thanked there. He broke new ground in
allowing the Aerosonde to fly under permits in some very interesting
places. I think the ultimate of that was an autonomous demonstration
flight of the Aerosonde at Canberra airport (Capital of Australia) in
the circuit while RPT and GA operations continued normally. Flights were
also conducted at Broom, Port Headland, Darwin, Hamilton, various
Pacific islands, Arctic region and Asia.
At the end of a three year development period a company called Aerosonde
Robotic Aircraft was formed and ultimately was purchased by SAAB.
Unfortunately when you get two brilliant people like Tad and Greg
together they do not always agree and separation came about. Tad
continued in his direction at Insutu and Greg ran Aerosonde Robotic
Aircraft. See http://www.aerosonde.com/index.php
for current state of the company.

In relation to the Atlantic crossing that was certainly all Tads idea
and his Insitu team carried it out. Any one that can fly a light
autonomous aircraft those distances in that climate deserve
congratulating such as Insitu and the TAM team.

BG