In message <000101bf3fa5$f7afa3a0$17810ccf@sarah-s-machine>, Scobie Puchtler or Sarah Felstiner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes Is there any plan, kit available for the Uplift? I would love to give it a try, and do some of my own comparisons. Call me please. >A few days back, I wrote Dick Barker (the infamous self proclaimed old fart >glider flyer!)an email asking if there might be a time that he'd be willing >to show me his wingtip-discus launch HLG, the Uplink. He got back to me >almost immediately with a proposed date and location, and just this >Saturday, the morning found the two of us out at Seattle's beautiful >Magnuson Park, swinging his composite creations into the air with Mount >Ranier hovering in the distant background. > >When I arrived at the park, Dick was already at it. He took a break and >showed me the various structural details of his design, many of which have >been engineered specifically to handle the rather extreme side loads >inherent to the discus style wingtip launch. Despite these special strength >requirements, Dick has managed to pare his design down to a very competitive >finished weight. And then there's the launch. > > >As far as I can tell, a decent technique with this glider will very simply >get you a higher launch by a SIGNIFICANT margin than you can expect with any >other competitive HLG anywhere. And this launch is achievable with little >body stress when compared to javelin/overhand technique. > >I watched Dick do several launches and get incredible air time in almost >zero-lift conditions. We were flying from a parking lot to avoid the >pudding-like ground that most Seattle parks have to offer this time of year, >and Dick showed a well-seasoned thumb coming home a few inches over the >asphalt,often in a bank, then pulling up into a perfectly stalled handcatch >every time and never a scrape. > >I took out my lightweight Red Herring to warm up my arm and thumb, also >figuring that if Dick saw me make a few halfway competent throws and >catches, he might be more likely to offer me some stick time with the Uplink >over this fuse-eating asphalt field. > >The offer did come, and I accepted nervously, having very little time with >anthing like a fully horizontal discus type launch. My first few attempts >were quite pitiful and far too vertical, with my Red Herring instincts >winning over Dick's careful instructions and me nervously groping around to >turn off the launch preset on an unfamiliar TX. But by the sixth or seventh >try, things began to come together, and in minutes I was certainly launching >higher than I've ever thrown any full sized HLG. The neat thing was it was >SO easy on my somewhat tender right shoulder, plus I had the distinct >feeling that I wasn't yet putting anything like my full energy into the >throw and that with some more time, I could easily make significantly better >finished altitudes. > >As for the actual air time, it was also a pleasure. The Uplink has an >impressive L/D, most clearly demonstrated to me during a few runs home from >low altitude with no lift. I seemed to be able to milk out distance well >beyond my expectations. Handling was a little unusual as Dick said it would >be due to the relatively shallow polyhedral form in the wings, but I could >always get what I wanted from the glider. Speed range and energy retention >were both very impressive. > >There is little question in my mind that gliders like the Uplink, set up for >full force discus-stlye tip launch will have some distinct competitive >advantages due to pure launch height improvement and that the incredibly >long dead-air hang times could make for more satisfying competitions in >areas of the country not blessed with constantly booming lift. Furthermore, >the lack of stress on the body, or at least very different stresses when >compared with overhand/javelin throwing, seem to allow for a far wider field >of potential competitors in the sport. > >Thanks Dick for all your hard work with this design and this technique, and >for sharing it with me Saturday morning. Even though I don't currently have >any plans to compete, I wouldn't be at all surprised if a tip launch HLG >shows up somewhere in my future. There are just too many advantages for me >to ignore. > >Lift, >Scobie in Seattle > >RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and >"unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Ron Russell RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
