Go fly a ... car?

[Larry Dighera]

Here's a photo of the latest flying car in flight:


http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=82751&ran=95111
MAPLE, N.C. — An adoring crowd whooped and hollered as Jesse
James, host of the hit television show “Monster Garage,” flew
Friday – just about as far as the Wright brothers did – in a
sports car with wings at the Currituck Regional Airport.

[Blueskies]

"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message ...
>
> Here's a photo of the latest flying car in flight:
>
>
> http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=82751&ran=95111
> MAPLE, N.C. - An adoring crowd whooped and hollered as Jesse
> James, host of the hit television show "Monster Garage," flew
> Friday - just about as far as the Wright brothers did - in a
> sports car with wings at the Currituck Regional Airport.
>
>


Does he have a license? Was the "plane" signed off by the feds?

[Larry Dighera]

On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 14:06:08 GMT, "Blueskies"
> wrote in
>::

>
>Does he have a license?

The "pilot" is said to have had one-hour of flight instruction.

>Was the "plane" signed off by the feds?

Doubtful.

But the design was created by an engineer, and the "flight" does
demonstrate something, surely. :-)

[Blueskies]

"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message ...
> On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 14:06:08 GMT, "Blueskies"
> > wrote in
> >::
>
>>
>>Does he have a license?
>
> The "pilot" is said to have had one-hour of flight instruction.
>
>>Was the "plane" signed off by the feds?
>
> Doubtful.
>
> But the design was created by an engineer, and the "flight" does
> demonstrate something, surely. :-)


I guess this will boil down to what is flying. If he was flying, did Jesse James need a license, a student pilot cert
w/endorsement?

[jsmith]

Top Secret Project Takes Flight, Sort of
Jesse James, star of the Discovery Channel’s hit show “Monster
Garage”–and distant relative of the Wild West outlaw–successfully “flew”
his latest project on Friday. Though it’s meant to be secret until
episodes run in June, AIN has learned that James and his crew modified a
lightweight Penoz Esperante sports car with wings, tailboom and
pusher-mounted aircraft engine. Roger Jarrell of the Kitty Hawk Free
Press told AIN that James’s “flight” consisted of a 100-foot crow hop
reaching an altitude of about five feet. James, who informed onlookers
he had taken at least one flying lesson, chose Currituck County Airport,
N.C., after he was denied permission to use First Flight Airport, where
the Wright Brothers flew their own project 120 feet. The Esperante’s
Vref was announced as “at least 88 miles per hour”–about 75 knots. The
flying-car episode of Monster Garage will be aired in two parts as the
season finale in June. (Photo courtesy of Kitty Hawk Free Press, and
used with permission.)

[mindenpilot]

"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 14:06:08 GMT, "Blueskies"
> > wrote in
> >::
>
>>
>>Does he have a license?
>
> The "pilot" is said to have had one-hour of flight instruction.
>
>>Was the "plane" signed off by the feds?
>
> Doubtful.
>
> But the design was created by an engineer, and the "flight" does
> demonstrate something, surely. :-)

Yep. Is shows what a few garage monkeys with a little Yankee ingenuity can
do in five days.
Just imagine what could be done in a more serious attempt ;-)

Adam
N7966L
Beech Super III

[George Patterson]

Larry Dighera wrote:
>
> On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 14:06:08 GMT, "Blueskies"
> > wrote in
> >::
>
> >
> >Does he have a license?
>
> The "pilot" is said to have had one-hour of flight instruction.
>
> >Was the "plane" signed off by the feds?
>
> Doubtful.

Well, since he doesn't have a certificate, they can't take it away. I expect the
fines will be considered a trivial part of the cost of the show.

George Patterson
I prefer Heaven for climate but Hell for company.

[ET]

"Blueskies" > wrote in
:

>
> "Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> Here's a photo of the latest flying car in flight:
>>
>>
>> http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=82751&ran=95111
>> MAPLE, N.C. - An adoring crowd whooped and hollered as Jesse
>> James, host of the hit television show "Monster Garage," flew
>> Friday - just about as far as the Wright brothers did - in a
>> sports car with wings at the Currituck Regional Airport.
>>
>>
>
>
> Does he have a license? Was the "plane" signed off by the feds?
>
>

you don't need a lic for a ground effect vehicle, and it never got out
of ground effect.




--
-- ET >:-)

"A common mistake people make when trying to design something
completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete
fools."---- Douglas Adams

[Robert M. Gary]

I don't think he "flew". He never left ground effect.

[Larry Dighera]

On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 17:36:06 GMT, George Patterson
> wrote in >::

>
>Well, since he doesn't have a certificate, they can't take it away. I expect the
>fines will be considered a trivial part of the cost of the show.

The "aircraft" surely doesn't qualify under Part 103 weight
restrictions, but isn't/wasn't there an exemption for 2-place
aircraft?

[Blueskies]

"Robert M. Gary" > wrote in message oups.com...
>I don't think he "flew". He never left ground effect.
>

So by that definition, the Wright brothers didn't 'fly' until 1905...

[houstondan]

no, it's ok. when they flew, ground effect hadn't been invented yet.

dan

[Jose]

> no, it's ok. when they flew, ground effect hadn't been invented yet.

You mean Dan Quale wasn't around?

<g,d> Jose
--
Math is a game. The object of the game is to figure out the rules.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Frank....]

Blueskies wrote:

>
> "Robert M. Gary" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>>I don't think he "flew". He never left ground effect.
>>
>
> So by that definition, the Wright brothers didn't 'fly' until 1905...

I've also heard someone say he flew farther then the Wrights as some sort of
justification for this "flight". All of these comparisons are lame.

I don't see anything that looks like ailerons on the wings, was he even
prepared for flight? Elevators?

Part of the "Wright stuff" (what a great pun) was the understanding the role
of control and providing for it in their designs. Without it there is no
airplane, just a toy.

Nowadays there are plenty of ways to calculate ahead of time whether or not
the machine is capable of flight. Eyeball, by gosh and by golly engineering
also went out with the Wrights. My guess is they knew it was just capable
of a hop and figured that was the safest way out. Otherwise they could have
put more wing on it and got a real flight.
--
Frank....H

[George Patterson]

"Frank...." wrote:
>
> I don't see anything that looks like ailerons on the wings, was he even
> prepared for flight? Elevators?

I see a control horn and aileron hinge line on the right wing. There are also
signs of hinges and a visible control wire for a rudder on the right vertical
stabilizer. The horizontal stabilizer isn't visible in the photo I see.

George Patterson
I prefer Heaven for climate but Hell for company.

[Montblack]

("Jose" wrote)
>> no, it's ok. when they flew, ground effect hadn't been invented yet.

> You mean Dan Quale wasn't around?


AlGore

....waiting for AlGore to reinvent himself.


Montblack

[Gary]

Who cares!!! jesse james is my hero!!! (well......sorta)

Actually the producer Hugh King is my hero as he makes getting your hads
dirty a cool thing!! The lack of skilled tradepersons in the steel trades
here in canada is a very real problem and we all feel it!


Putting wings on a car and making it fly a few feet may look impresive but I
am hoping that some impressionable young lad or lass sees this and decides
that being a Doctor or Lawyer is not for them and will try out the trades
and build something really incredible!

I have watched Monster Garage since it was first aired on Discovery Channel
and I love it!

[Frank]

George Patterson wrote:

>
>
> "Frank...." wrote:
>>
>> I don't see anything that looks like ailerons on the wings, was he even
>> prepared for flight? Elevators?
>
> I see a control horn and aileron hinge line on the right wing. There are
> also signs of hinges and a visible control wire for a rudder on the right
> vertical stabilizer. The horizontal stabilizer isn't visible in the photo
> I see.
>
> George Patterson
> I prefer Heaven for climate but Hell for company.

I stand corrected, it does have ailerons. However according to a blurb in
the AOPA e-newsletter it "...had no rudders, so crosswinds were a concern".

I'm sure it's entertaining and all, my gripe is with the comparisons to the
Wrights and the notion that this is some sort of serious attempt to fly.

--
Frank....H

[Darrel Toepfer]

Larry Dighera wrote:

> Here's a photo of the latest flying car in flight:
> http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=82751&ran=95111
> MAPLE, N.C. — An adoring crowd whooped and hollered as Jesse
> James, host of the hit television show “Monster Garage,” flew
> Friday – just about as far as the Wright brothers did – in a
> sports car with wings at the Currituck Regional Airport.

I wonder which "Cessna engine" they used?
"For this project, James chose engineers from Cessna and from the makers
of the Panoz"