I thought I would see what the Americans had to offer! But why would they use a Volkswagen conversion. Perhaps Jabiru should do some quick marketing. colinc ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: 21 September 2002 7:30 Subject: RE: [HomeSail] Quick Build Kit Construction.
> Colin, this is my first response-so we're even! I've been flying since 1964 > in fixed and rotary wing powered aircraft. 8 years ago I started flying > gliders and working on the development of a 1 and 2 place motorglider > design. I used Alex Strojnik's S2A design as a basis due to the ease of > construction, and wide availability of materials (very little exotic). We > built a 1 place, 15M wing prototype which I've put over 200 successful hours > on. It looks, flies, and maneuvers just like an S2 with glide qualities much > like the Schweizer 1-34 (my favorite metal pure glider). For a plans-built > a/c it went pretty quickly, about 1200 hrs. > > We used a Kawasaki 440, 38hp engine with mixed result-50hp would have been > better and I really prefer 4 stroke engines. We also built a 2 pl prototype > and (statically) displayed it at Oshkosh in 1997, with good but somewhat > mixed reviews. The 1000 responders to our questionnaire really wanted a > side-by-side (not tandem), tractor driven (not pusher) and metal (not > composite). Except for those 3 minor engineering details, we were right on > the mark! (I think I ran into a bunch of RV lovers). > > Anyway, I can recommend the S2A (for 1 pl) as a good design and easy to > build too. It'll give you 34:1 L/D with folding prop and decent > take-off/climb performance. We are planning to sell our prototypes next year > if you're interested. > > If you can wait 2 more years we'll have our 3rd iteration flying: A 12M > (side-by-side metal, tractor) 2 pl flying wing design using "C" wing > technology developed by Stanford Univ./Boeing. The effective wingspan with > this design is over 17 meters (!) and uses a cambered airfoil w/ negative > flaperon, not reflexed for very high efficiency (est. 40:1 at best L/D at > 42K and 0.8 M/sec min. sink at 36K) over a 6:1 flight envelope. This design > is relatively simple to build as it is basically a metal, blended wing > design, with integrated fuselage and tail feathers that are at the wing > tips-just extensions of the wing itself. A constant chord wing design where > the only taper in the wing is in the extensions. I'm using a 60 hp > conversion Type III VW for a power plant (1834 cc-no stroker needed)=cheap > power and planning a 1.4m dia. Hoffmann 3 position propeller=expensive to > move it along at an estimated 100K on 3 gph. The high velocity ratio is > possible using negative flaperon controls to minimize center of lift shift > at high velocities. In the S2A, our negative flaperons reduced the tail down > force by 100# at 75K! Pretty effective. That's over 4 L/D points at 75K and > increased cruise (on 27hp) to 85K. > > Strojnik plans are no longer available but there are always someone that > will part with theirs for a sum. When I sell the prototypes, I'll sell the > wingskin mold and other tooling with them, as well as our set of plans and > building instructions. Alex's widow nor his son are interested in providing > them anymore but they still sell his 3 books-excellent reference > texts-through direct advertising and through Aircraft Spruce and Supply Co. > > Good luck in your endeavors and happy flying. > > Joe Riley Sr Applications Sales Engineer > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Colin C Campbell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 7:30 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [HomeSail] Quick Build Kit Construction. > > > Hello > > This is my first posting to the group. > I am a glider pilot of 30 years experience, 1250 hours, instructor rated and > fly at a winch launching club in central Victoria, Australia. > I own VH GBX, a Standard Libelle, that I have flown for 150 hours over the > last 3 years. > My interest is in developing a self launching, 2-seat training glider, using > quick build kit construction, similar to that promoted by the U/L movement. > A bonus would be if the glider also had aerotow capacity. > Does anybody know of such a kit, or can make suggestions upon materials and > methods which would make such a project feasible? > For example rib and spar construction using foam core, rovings and mat. > Information on suh techniques in U/L kits could provide a useful lead. > The goal is to develop an aircraft that could be assembled by a group from a > typical gliding club. My club is fortunate, with individual members having > constructed a Woodstock ,Duster and Moneri. However this is probably not > typical of most Australian clubs, where the skills would be gained from > annual maintenance, minor repairs, refurbishing older gliders or model > building. > A construction time of less than 500 hours is essential. > Any suggestions? > > colinc > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> > Sell a Home for Top $ > http://us.click.yahoo.com/RrPZMC/jTmEAA/MVfIAA/cMDrlB/TM > ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Your use of Yahoo! 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