Hello From South England

[Ketchiken]

Myself and a friend began a project a few months ago as a challenge to build an amateur vehicle of any kind that would cross the English Channel (Dover to Calais)

We ruled out any water-borne vehicle as a result of it being the most busiest shipping lane in the world so we went with a plane design. The immediate issue was getting it high enough to cross the 21 miles (33.7 Kilometres) as the original glider+booster design didn't get it high enough. Our attempt ended up it sinking at an estimated 1/3rd of the way across, So we went back to the drawing board in Late May and the idea sprung to mind, rocket power.

So we are here to see if we can find a way to boost a vehicle from England to France. Lets see how it does.

 

[TheTank]

Welcome. Free flight or RC? RC and powered shouldn’t be a hard task at all to fly that distance in a straight line - avoid the boost and go power. That said, while Im not sure of the laws in the UK and France regarding RC/Drones/Rockets… you’re research needs to start there as not only is that a big shipping lane, i imagine that is very bust controlled airspace as well.

 

[Hobie1dog]

We need pictures of it too.

 

[PhilC]

I think the technology makes it possible but the regulatory hurdles are not trivial.
In theory, rocket boosting a glider to a high enough altitude would make it possible. Dropping the rocket into the channel would save weight and increase glider range, but try not to hit anything and be sure to recover it!
The CAA are likely to treat anything that has control surfaces as an unmanned aircraft, even if its rocket powered, so it will come under drone rules. As it gets heavier the rules get tighter. If it's autonomous rather than radio controlled they're likely to want to have a pilot in the loop to take control in an emergency, which means long range radio links (and probably a licence from OFCOM to operate at the required power levels).
I have no idea what the French regulatory position will be.
Good luck and please keep us all posted.

 

[Tim51]

I think the technology makes it possible but the regulatory hurdles are not trivial.
In theory, rocket boosting a glider to a high enough altitude would make it possible. Dropping the rocket into the channel would save weight and increase glider range, but try not to hit anything and be sure to recover it!
The CAA are likely to treat anything that has control surfaces as an unmanned aircraft, even if its rocket powered, so it will come under drone rules. As it gets heavier the rules get tighter. If it's autonomous rather than radio controlled they're likely to want to have a pilot in the loop to take control in an emergency, which means long range radio links (and probably a licence from OFCOM to operate at the required power levels).
I have no idea what the French regulatory position will be.
Good luck and please keep us all posted.

This.
Definitely need to contact the CAA to liaise over altitudes and launch windows. If you approach them first I imagine they'll be as helpful as possible. Good luck - it's an ambitious project. Cross winds over open water will also be considerable. Maybe aim for test shots over narrower stretches of water first to refine the technique (eg doing the length of Windermere or Coniston?)