Weight shift gliders

[Mark James Boyd]

I had a chance to fly a 737 sim with the folks from
microsoft flight simulator dev group.

I asked them why the sim has roll stability (if the
plane is left in a bank, it magically rolls straight
and level over time).

They mentioned it made it easier for those playing the GAME
(emphasizing the purposeful difference from realism)
to fly the various planes.

So we got to talking about the idea of weight shift
controlled aircraft.

Has anyone heard of weight controlled fixed wing gliders?
It seems interesting since drag is caused by ailerons
(or elevator for that matter). The least drag
is conceivable if there are no external moving parts.
And no rudder? Hmm..wouldn't that be nice.

This might have some downsides. Recovery from a 90 degree
bank could be interesting or difficult. Control responsiveness
could be a bit tough too.

Anyone remember the old puzzle where you guided a ball
through a wooden maze?

C'mon you bored post season guys, this oughta give you
something to consider.

[Mark James Boyd]

>Has anyone heard of weight controlled fixed wing gliders?

And yes I'm familiar with them on hang gliders,
but I'm more interested in aircraft with a
very high glide ratio (where adverse yaw is
quite a factor)...

[F.L. Whiteley]

"Mark James Boyd" > wrote in message
news:3f9837b1$1@darkstar...
> I had a chance to fly a 737 sim with the folks from
> microsoft flight simulator dev group.
>
> I asked them why the sim has roll stability (if the
> plane is left in a bank, it magically rolls straight
> and level over time).
>
> They mentioned it made it easier for those playing the GAME
> (emphasizing the purposeful difference from realism)
> to fly the various planes.
>
> So we got to talking about the idea of weight shift
> controlled aircraft.
>
> Has anyone heard of weight controlled fixed wing gliders?
> It seems interesting since drag is caused by ailerons
> (or elevator for that matter). The least drag
> is conceivable if there are no external moving parts.
> And no rudder? Hmm..wouldn't that be nice.
>
> This might have some downsides. Recovery from a 90 degree
> bank could be interesting or difficult. Control responsiveness
> could be a bit tough too.
>
> Anyone remember the old puzzle where you guided a ball
> through a wooden maze?
>
> C'mon you bored post season guys, this oughta give you
> something to consider.

though an interesting exercise, twisting or precession might be easier to
implement and more reliable, in that order

OBTW, soaring season never ends here, in a manner of speaking, however, you
have to show up to know this

[Slingsby]

(Mark James Boyd) wrote in message news:<3f9837b1$1@darkstar>...
> I had a chance to fly a 737 sim with the folks from
> microsoft flight simulator dev group.
>
> I asked them why the sim has roll stability (if the
> plane is left in a bank, it magically rolls straight
> and level over time).
>
> They mentioned it made it easier for those playing the GAME
> (emphasizing the purposeful difference from realism)
> to fly the various planes.
>
> So we got to talking about the idea of weight shift
> controlled aircraft.
>
> Has anyone heard of weight controlled fixed wing gliders?
> It seems interesting since drag is caused by ailerons
> (or elevator for that matter). The least drag
> is conceivable if there are no external moving parts.
> And no rudder? Hmm..wouldn't that be nice.
>
> This might have some downsides. Recovery from a 90 degree
> bank could be interesting or difficult. Control responsiveness
> could be a bit tough too.
>
> Anyone remember the old puzzle where you guided a ball
> through a wooden maze?
>
> C'mon you bored post season guys, this oughta give you
> something to consider.
************************************************** *****************************

I believe the B-2 shifts fuel among several tanks to do just that.
Weight shift for pitch control works much better on flying wing
designs such as the Marske gliders and it also works well on the
Genesis 2. A few Genesis owners have experimented with shifting the
cg although I don't think anything very elaborate has been developed.
There have been discussions of locating a tank in the tail and the
nose and shifting water between them. I would think that a two or
three tank system could be developed for the Genesis which would use
gravity. Push forward on the stick and water runs from the center
tank to the fore tank, pull back and water runs from the fore tank
back to the center and from the center tank to the aft tank. Water
could be kept in the center tank for takeoff and landing.
Instead of weight shift for roll control how about a variable boundry
layer control system? The F-4 has a bleed air system which taps hot
air from the jet engines and blows it over the top of the wings. I
believe this allows the pilots to actually see the runway they are
landing on. This is especially important for the Navy versions as the
carrier deck is supposed to be visible during a landing. The nagging
fear was that it would go out in one wing and cause a roll just before
touchdown. Boundry layer suction is discussed on the DG web site as a
possibility for future 100/1 LD gliders. Vary the suction on one wing
and it could go into a bank, or roll over.