Self launch ultra-light sailplane

Ok, I said I'd do this for a friend who is building his own
ultralight. He wants to design and build( me helping) a sailpalne that
fits the ultralight rules and is able to launch/sustain with a power
unit, he'd prefer electric. Any ideas or comments? Is ther anything
already out there being tried? Just remember I'm the messenger!

larry ( what am I doing) johnson

Tell him to look up the Sparrowhawk and its powered
unit, the Aeros AL-12, the Apis, the Alisport Silent,
and the Pipestrel Virus. Personally, I wouldn't volunteer
to help.

At 02:00 27 September 2007, wrote:
Ok, I said I'd do this for a friend who is building
his own
ultralight. He wants to design and build( me helping)
a sailpalne that
fits the ultralight rules and is able to launch/sustain
with a power
unit, he'd prefer electric. Any ideas or comments?
Is ther anything
already out there being tried? Just remember I'm the
messenger!

larry ( what am I doing) johnson

wrote in message
ups.com...
Ok, I said I'd do this for a friend who is building his own
ultralight. He wants to design and build( me helping) a sailpalne that
fits the ultralight rules and is able to launch/sustain with a power
unit, he'd prefer electric. Any ideas or comments? Is ther anything
already out there being tried? Just remember I'm the messenger!

larry ( what am I doing) johnson


What kind of performance does he require? You might try taking a look at
Mike Sandlin's Basic Ultralight Glider page.
He uses bolt-together and rivet-together aluminum tube and cable
construction with some foam and a conventional fabric covering. His are all
out-in-the open flying, but a more conventional fuselage could probably be
built.
It's hang glider performance, but it can stay up all day, and it's cheap.
He doesn't offer plans, but he does document what he's done with very
detailed drawings, which are on his website.
http://home.att.net/~m--sandlin/bug.htm

Tim Ward

Also have a look at this new high tech bird: http://www.ruppert-composite.ch/english/index.html
It.s categorized as a Class 2 hanglider but at 28:1 and a min sink of
87 fpm and a Vne of 81mph it'll outperform a Ka-6 on weak to regular
days and fly when nothing else stays up. They are thinking about
fitting an engine as well but you got other self launch options like
running off a hill, bungee self launch etc. thanks to an ingenious
design and a weight of only 100 lbs. Very interesting concept.

Markus Graeber

On Sep 26, 8:55 pm, wrote:
Ok, I said I'd do this for a friend who is building his own
ultralight. He wants to design and build( me helping) a sailpalne that
fits the ultralight rules and is able to launch/sustain with a power
unit, he'd prefer electric. Any ideas or comments? Is ther anything
already out there being tried? Just remember I'm the messenger!

larry ( what am I doing) johnson


Could this be your friend, by chance?
V.1.0
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=645386

V.2.0
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=661615

Bright kid but would not listen to anyone no matter how qualified,
took it all personally, and never got past the spar design.

/Adam

Markus Graeber wrote:
Also have a look at this new high tech bird: http://www.ruppert-composite.ch/english/index.html
It.s categorized as a Class 2 hanglider but at 28:1 and a min sink of
87 fpm and a Vne of 81mph it'll outperform a Ka-6 on weak to regular
days and fly when nothing else stays up. They are thinking about
fitting an engine as well but you got other self launch options like
running off a hill, bungee self launch etc. thanks to an ingenious
design and a weight of only 100 lbs. Very interesting concept.

Roger is a clever guy and an excellent craftsman with balsa and
composites. I knew him when he was flying the F1A and F1B free flight
model classes and was always impressed with his models.

But back to ultralights. Take a look at the ULF-1 he http://www.eel.de/

One or two of my fanatical woodworking friends would like to make and
fly one. No engine, though.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

Check out the powered swift http://www.aeriane.com/
This is the most popular motorized ultralight sailplane/hang glider
and exists for many years.

Ramy

On Sep 27, 6:57 am, Martin Gregorie
wrote:
Markus Graeber wrote:
Also have a look at this new high tech bird:http://www.ruppert-composite.ch/english/index.html
It.s categorized as a Class 2 hanglider but at 28:1 and a min sink of
87 fpm and a Vne of 81mph it'll outperform a Ka-6 on weak to regular
days and fly when nothing else stays up. They are thinking about
fitting an engine as well but you got other self launch options like
running off a hill, bungee self launch etc. thanks to an ingenious
design and a weight of only 100 lbs. Very interesting concept.

Roger is a clever guy and an excellent craftsman with balsa and
composites. I knew him when he was flying the F1A and F1B free flight
model classes and was always impressed with his models.

But back to ultralights. Take a look at the ULF-1 hehttp://www.eel.de/

One or two of my fanatical woodworking friends would like to make and
fly one. No engine, though.

--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |