I have always been into Motion Hobbies.
That is; hobbies that allowed me to be in motion under my own control, and have some element of danger that's surmountable by Training & Practice.
These three photos were taken by me using a 35mm attached to the right wing strut using a remote bulb.
Photos taken over Bessemer & Birmingham Alabama.
This was a Rally III, Experimental Two Seater, Tail-dragger, pusher configuration using the Rotax 503 Bombardier power plant.
This experimental had a stall speed of Eight (8) MPH and so much parasitic drag that the max speed you could achieve under power pointing toward the ground was about 60mph. The 40 foot wing span made for an easy and graceful flying machine
And now for something completely different!
This was an Air Command AutoGyro (Gyro-Copter) with an Italian 2 stroke 4 cylinder with a 22 foot rotor diameter.
This was the Sports Bike of the Air. Very nimble at high speed and capable of near vertical landing, 10 - 20 feet roll-out is usual. I could also hover it into a 15mph wind.
With the Pre-Rotator this baby can get off the ground and over a 50ft obstacle in under 100 feet.
Pay no attention to the 1 inch Rocket Launcher pods.
Amelia Earhart In 1931, flying a Pitcairn PCA-2 autogiro, set a world altitude record of 18,415 feet (5613 meters).
Amelia Earhart In 1931, flying a Pitcairn PCA-2 autogiro, set a world altitude record of 18,415 feet (5613 meters).
This Ultralight was an 80% Scale J3 Cub and flew just as stable as the original J3's I've flown.
At 3 gallons per hour, it was also an inexpensive patch hopper.
This was my first home built Ultralight aircraft.
The fully enclosed cabin was great on cold winter days.
The Rotax 2 cylinder pusher configuration is easy to maintain and fly.
Note the Ballistic Parachute Recovery System mounted on the starboard side.
The BRS Chute was capable of safely bringing the plane and me to the ground in a controlled manor in case I screwed the pooch and caused a structural failure.
I put BRS Systems on all the planes.
I put BRS Systems on all the planes.
This was my first Tail Dragger Ultralight but my previous stick time in J3's made the transition easy.
The 35 foot wing span and clean lines made this one a quick little plane with stall at 15 mph and Max Cruise at 65mph.
These aircraft represent several years of engineering challenges as well as untold hours of blissful fun. The source of such endeavors these days are my motorcycles. The engineering is not as critical but the fun is still full bore.
So now it's Long Distance Riding and touring with my Bro James that keeps the spark alive in me.
Later
Later
No comments:
Post a Comment