Vulcan: L1 cert glider

[iter]

That's Walt's GoPro Hero. Now we know the difference between a $10 Chinese key chain and a $400 GoPro.

Ari.

 

[Minimum_Wage]

Great videos! Nice long glide flight, too. I like the part around 4:20 when you fly "though" the flock of birds!

Mike Mc.

 

[iter]

Thank you Mike!

Ari.

 

[iter]

I49 flight today at Snow Ranch. Nice flight, embarrassing landing--I catch a wingtip and Vulcan flips over. No damage, except my reputation.

This brings the number of flights to 15. It's notable that the first 10 flights take 4 months to accumulate (6 if you count the build), but the next 5 happen in the span of 6 weeks.

Ari.

 

[TheTellurian]

I didn't realize you had 4 servos on the Vulcan. Love the on board vids and the slow mo.:wink:


Richard

 

[iter]

Thank you Richard.

Servo configuration is a lesson from a near-accident experience on a earlier model. SkyFun has two servos. One of the linkages fails on a particularly energetic boost last summer. Surprisingly, I manage to land it right side up with one controllable elevon, but now I like to build redundancy into my control surfaces.

Ari.

 

[Minimum_Wage]

Ari,

At one time I think you mentioned putting some avionics into Vulcan. Any updates on that project? I would be curious to see the acceleration, airspeed, altitude, etc. over the course of a flight. (Not for any practical reason, but just because the data is interesting to see!)

Mike Mc.

 

[iter]

I'm curious, too, but Vulcan is complete as it is. There's little room in its fuselage and I prefer to keep it flying as it is to risking reliability issues if I cram more stuff into it. "The difference between a professional and an amateur in this game, as in other games, is that the professional knows when to quit." -- Eric Berne.

I'm developing a larger glider. This design has room for onboard video and telemetry from the get go.

Ari.

 

[Minimum_Wage]

Lol! Understood. It will be neat to see that data from the larger glider!

Mike Mc.

 

[patelldp]

Very, very nice. It's cool to see someone fly a model like that successfully so many times. The documentation of each flight is very nice, as well.

Have you considered possibly flying it on a Loki I110? That should get you plenty of altitude, not sure what your limits are in terms of velocity, but that motor may reach them.

 

[iter]

That's an interesting motor--thank you for bringing it to my attention. I have no experience with Loki motors and no Loki hardware. A motor that is in a similar class for hardware I do have is the I59WN boost-sustain, and that is what I have sitting in Vulcan's motor tube waiting for the next launch! It gives a longer, gentler burn past the initial spike. I expect Vulcan to top 1,500', maybe 1,600' with I59. Without telemetry, this is as high as I'm comfortable going if I have to bring it back visually.

Ari.

https://www.rocketreviews.com/compare-aerotech-i59wn-p-to-loki-i110.html

 

[RaNGe]

i congratulate you for your great project,
i wonder that;
sweep angle ?

Centre of gravity
wing area
spinner diameter
length of model (fuselage length)

if you dont mind, Could you give these data.

thanks...

 

[iter]

Thank you for your encouragement and welcome to the forum. The data you seek are available in the thread.

Ari.

 

[iter]

16th flight this morning at TCC Dairy Aire. Everyone was waiting for someone else to have the first flight of the day on account of wind. I figured that since I have control, I might be in better position to deal with wind than others. Steve J. was taking photos of the flight; his are always excellent. I'm waiting for them to show up.

Ari.

 

[majordude]

Iter, that is incredible!

Do you control it on the way up or is it stable on it's own? Are you using gyros in any way?

Are you using micro servos or regular ones?

 

[iter]

Thank you for your encouragement. Servos are HS-82MG.

I mostly try to stay out of its way on the way up, unless it goes in way off vertical. The main limitation is my piloting skill--I cannot deal with a 300mph model; the controls get very effective and response rates faster than I can handle. Occasionally, I do need to intervene. This morning, the wind pushed it backwards as it left the pad--by the time it was 20 feet in the air, it was 10 feet downwind from the pad. Still pointing up, but sort of backing up downwind. So I pushed the nose over ever so slightly to keep groundspeed to 0.

Ari.

 

[majordude]

Thank you for your encouragement.

I was in Allentown, PA for ECRM or something in the mid-80s. I can't remember the guys name but I can see his face. He had an RC boost glider and an F7. Second funniest thing ever.

It went up to about 30' and he tried to straighten it out. But instead it went level. It flew over the range at 30' and he turned it around and it came back over the launch pads and then he turned it around and it went back over everyone's heads. This continued for an amazing 9 seconds. He finally pranged it unto the ground when the booster came off. Pretty damn funny.

But the funniest thing ever, believe it or not, was a rocket from the same guy! It was an F Super Rock and he used an F7. It went up about 30' again and bent. Into a circle. And the rocket proceeded to make two perfect circles in the air right above all of us. But I can't explain it in words. It would make a loop (counter-clockwise), loose momentum and fall back on itself (clockwise), build up steam and chug forward for another loop (counter-clockwise)... AMAZING memory.

He flew for Wheaton, MD (some NAR club back in the day).

 

[ckreef]

Can't wait to see the pics.

He flew for Wheaton, MD (some NAR club back in the day).

I use to live about 20 min drive from Wheaton MD. Back then I use to fly rockets but only small stuff in the local Elementary school field. Of course this was way back in the 70's.

 

[Minimum_Wage]

Congrats on another successful Vulcan flight Ari! As it turned out, life got in the way and I wasn't able to make it up to DairyAire. Hope it was a good weekend despite the wind!

Mike Mc.

 

[iter]

Big thanks to Gerald Meux (gtm3323) for posting his excellent photos from Dairy Aire at https://picasaweb.google.com/100407756744853308407/TripoliCentralCaliforniaDairyAireMay2013#. Among other flights, he captures Vulcan's takeoff, including the vertical downwind drift I try to describe in my previous post. Click on images for Gerald's full-size files.

Motor ignites... Wind direction is from the front left--Vulcan's belly is facing into the wind.
Rod points about 10 degrees into the wind.


...Vulcan travels up the launch rod which bends under the wind loading...


...Vulcan leaves the rod and drifts downwind, all the while going up; rod whiplashes...


...I apply subtle correction pushing the nose over with elevator...


...into the wind and away from the flight line.



Again, many thanks to Gerald. His gallery has many more photos, including my favorite--in glide, in a shallow bank turn:

Ari.

 

[patelldp]

You should add rail buttons somehow. Are you prevented from adding buttons to the bottom of the glider? From what I can tell, that would only be an issue on landing.

 

[iter]

Thank you for your recommendation Dan.

I'm unclear on (a) how to add buttons to an airfoil that is 5.5" thick in the middle, 1/4" thick at the trailing edge and has soft skin; and (b) what benefit I might derive from it.

You may wish to review construction photos earlier in this thread to see how integral the launch lug is to Vulcan. Vulcan is complete the way it is. Upcoming gliders may use different designs.

Ari.

 

[TheTellurian]

Using a rail would not change the glider being blown back by the wind. Extra length might as it would have greater speed leaving the rod. Outboard rods to hold the wings steady would also contribute to reducing rod whip but all in all that was a very good launch!


Richard

 

[iter]

Outboard rods to hold the wings steady would also contribute to reducing rod whip but all in all that was a very good launch!


Richard

Thank you Richard.

I use a gizmo to hold the glider from rolling while on the rod: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?41888-Vulcan-L1-cert-glider&p=409879#post409879

Ari.

 

[CarVac]

Thank you for your recommendation Dan.

I'm unclear on (a) how to add buttons to an airfoil that is 5.5" thick in the middle, 1/4" thick at the trailing edge and has soft skin; and (b) what benefit I might derive from it.

You may wish to review construction photos earlier in this thread to see how integral the launch lug is to Vulcan. Vulcan is complete the way it is. Upcoming gliders may use different designs.

Ari.

You could use ACME rail lugs, with the curved sides bent straight. These you just epoxy to the surface of the rocket (or glider), though they probably would come right off on landing if mounted on the belly.

 

[ckreef]

Great pics. Love to see the Vulcan in action photos.

 

[iter]

I flew Vulcan today after a year break. SCCMAS is inviting me to fly in their annual airshow again. I few two H112s today as a practice run for the airshow next week. The last time Vulcan flew was in last year's airshow. I flied an FAA waiver so I could fly larger motors. The process is arcane, but the specialist who worked with me was friendly and courteous and got me though it. In the end, it's a lot less intimidation than I expected to get a "private" waiver.

The two flights today were great. The glider is still fine after a year in storage, and I can still fly it safely.

Amy came out with me and made my day at the field that much more enjoyable.

Ari.

[video=youtube_share;8Owa_4T7e68]https://youtu.be/8Owa_4T7e68[/video]

 

[iter]

Vulcan crashed today on its 22nd flight, this one on I49. It got away from me on a very shallow trajectory, and by the time I turned it around it was too low to clear a tree line on the far end of the field. Left wing is all tore up and right wing is squished enough that the covering delaminated on both top and bottom surfaces.

It was a remarkable journey. Design, construction, L1 cert and 20 launches since that, both on G and L1 motors, at informal launches and under FAA waivers.

Vulcan had a happy and--by RCRG standards--long life. It was a favorite everywhere it went, and I think there are people who now associate me with it more than with my face :=)

I'm closing a chapter in my hobby career today, and making room for a new one.

Ari.

 

[qquake2k]

That's a sad sight, Ari. But Vulcan definitely had an illustrious career.

 

[TheTellurian]

I think there are people who now associate me with it more than with my face :=)

I have the same problem with my pickup truck. It has a unique cedar/fiberglass cap that people identified with me. "oh I didn't know you were here I didn't see your thruck" was a typical responce when it was left off for a few months.:blush:

I'm closing a chapter in my hobby career today, and making room for a new one.

Ari.

OH No!! :y: Does that mean no more HP/RCRG??

You have been an inspiration, in fact I was out this weekend flying my delta RCRG first time this year.


Richard