[Rick Masters]

John Demenjoz of Bridgeport, Connecticut
August 1929 Modern Mechanix magazine

[Bob Kuczewski]

It's amazing to look at all the ideas that have "flown" through people's minds.

They say if man were meant to fly ... he'd have been given wings.

Guess what ... we were given wings, but they were given to us in our minds and souls rather than our backs and shoulders.

Great topic Rick!!! I look forward to more!!!

[SamKellner]

Check out the battens in the main sail

[Bob Kuczewski]

Check out the battens in the main sail

Is this what you were thinking Sam?

xlg_sail_glider_1w.png (122.86 KiB) Viewed 7422 times

[BigBird]

What happens if the wind stops????

[Bill Cummings]

What happens if the wind stops????

You speck out like the coyote on the Road Runner Show then puff a dust ring.

[Rick Masters]

This was supposed to make parachutes obsolete.




Tests began at Ringway of the Mk.III in June 1942, with towed flights of around four minutes ending in controlled
landings. A totally free landing followed. The Rotachute was then towed behind a Tiger Moth until it, but not the tow aircraft, achieved takeoff. Further flights led eventually to towed air launches, the Rotakite reaching altitudes of up to 3,900 ft., and reaching 93 mph and flight duration of up to 40 minutes.
http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/Air ... -Jeep.html

That's a sink rate of less than 100 fpm!

[SamKellner]

Is this what you were thinking Sam?

Yes

Being part of the NO BATTENS generation

My '74 Seagull 3 had none.

How long before any US glider manufacturer added batten pockets?

[Rick Masters]

"Gee, I hope nobody shoots at me!"


The 40- foot wing had no internal bracing, relying instead on air pressure to maintain a stiff aerodynamic form. Test pilots reported that the little plane was actually easy to fly and handled well. It needed no more controls than those on the handlebars of a motorcycle. After a flight, the wing could be deflated, rolled up into a bag, packed into the small fuselage and towed away behind a vehicle.
Sold to Cusinart
...In June 1959, an Army pilot making the final 35 minutes of a required flight put the Inflatoplane through violent maneuvers that were not called for in the program. In consequence, the overstressed wing bent up into the propeller, tearing a hole and releasing the air pressure. Since the inflated fuselage supported the engine mounts, the engine collapsed forward just as the pilot stood up to bail out. He never even managed to open his parachute.
http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/Air ... plane.html

This may also be the only aircraft whose service ceiling is determined, not by performance, but by the altitude where it explodes.

[Rick Masters]

Army tests anti-paraglider weapon.
"We'll show those pesky paragliders!"