[Frank Colver]

Bob, I don't know how difficult the covering job is going to be so it's had to predict when it will be done.

I've got several simultaneous projects going on so there are gaps in my work on the basic trainer model. Plus I just took delivery on a new motorcycle. Check it out - it looks like an antique but it is brand new, made in Goshen Indiana USA.

I spent today and yesterday on the swing seat bar adapters. I'm making those so that you could walk up to any glider with a 1 1/8" round tubing control bar and slap on the adapter bars. It will no longer require that any fittings will need to be on the gliders bar prior to attaching the adapters. I could put them on your Falcon for example and you could fly it with the swing seat as many times as you want and then remove the adapters and go back to a prone harness.

I can visualize us moving the adapters from glider to glider at Dockweiler so that different pilots could try their own glider with my swing seat harness.

Frank

My Janus, Halcyon 250, 1st ride..jpg (387.35 KiB) Viewed 6999 times

[magentabluesky]

In the Hang Glider Basic Trainer picture background:

1967 Ducati Sebring 350 - Colver Collection

Frank Colver Collection - Update

[magentabluesky]

Frank,
Not to go off topic, but you brought up the subject.
Below is a picture of my Grandfather on his motorcycle sometime in the 1910’s.
Can you identify the motorcycle?
My cousin says she has the receipt for the motorcycle when he bought it.

[Frank Colver]

Have you been able to read the name on the tank?

BTW - How did you find the website with my Ducati for sale? Tim Graber has sold all but that one, since I put most of my collection up for sale a couple of years ago. The only antiques I'm keeping are: 1930 BSA, 1936 BSA V-twin, 1947 Matchless, 1954 AJS, 1971 Honda CB100. And, it's a good thing or I wouldn't have room in my shop for the HG projects I'm now working on.

Frank

[magentabluesky]

I just Googled Sebring 350 motorcycle from the picture and your life story popped up.

Frank, you are keeping alive traditions of Playa del Rey, motorcycles and flying.

Los Angeles Motordrome at Playa del Rey.

Pioneers of American Motorcycle Racing by Daniel K. Statnekov

The article tells of Don Johns at Playa del Rey and Don Johns racing Lincoln Beachey and Barney Oldfield in the famous “Fastest Man Alive Race” at Phoenix Fair Grounds in November 1914.

Need for Speed

[Frank Colver]

I finally got the model covered. I used an iron-on covering by Coverite called "21st Century Fabric". It's a prepainted thin woven cloth with a heat activated adhesive on the back. I also coated the battens with contact adhesive to help adhesion to the aluminum battens when the covering is applied with their temp controlled trim iron.

Unfortunately, this is not going to be a good test of this flex wing design because in order to get the covering smooth I had to heat shrink it. Therefore the sail is too tight and it will perform more like a rigid wing. A king post with deflexors would not help much with creating additional reflex at low angles of attack. This is disappointing and in flight tests I may have to bend some more reflex into the rear of some battens to get enough pitch stability. Time will tell. A full scale version would not have enough weight shift roll control with this tight of a sail. However, I should be able to trim turns into or out of the model by sliding the cross spar in relation to the keel. It's held to the keel tightly by two zip ties so it will stay where put.

Check out the photos.
Frank Colver

Covered model end view.JPG (147.76 KiB) Viewed 6890 times

Covered model top.JPG (175.05 KiB) Viewed 6890 times

Covered model underside.JPG (206.59 KiB) Viewed 6890 times

[Bob Kuczewski]

It's looking good Frank!

When and where do you plan to fly it?

[Frank Colver]

I think the soft sand at Dockweiler would be the best test area. Plus that is an historical venue for hang glider development.

I still need to make a weight I can attach to the keel in front of the cross spar and position fore and aft to adjust the CG for trim.

Frank

[Frank Colver]

On Tuesday (8/14) I test glided the 1/5 scale model on the beach at Dockweiler. As most first time tests of a new design it had some good messages for me and some lessons.

I'll start with the lessons:

I covered the model with a coated cloth model airplane covering material that had a heat activated adhesive on the back. Using that, plus some contact cement painted on the battens, I felt that I had pretty good adhesion between the aluminum battens and the covering. So, I decided to skip the next step I had planned. That was to tape the battens to the covering after I could turn the model upside down.

The first test glide, with a dive to the sand, showed that i didn't have enough reflex & CG (adjustable) too far forward. I expecteds this and had planned to bend reflex into the back part of the battens which I did. The covering it tight so deflexors wouldn't work on the model like they would on a full scale glider. The next glide the model climbed into the air instead of diving (see photo) and eventually stalled. But then the covering became unattached to the part of the battens I had bent up for reflex and there was no way I could put any reflex into the wing now. So. back to the shop to tape the battens to the covering, as I had originally intended to do (hence the lesson part). I'll have it back out to Dockweiler again Friday (8/17) to test with the ability to adjust CG and reflex.

Now for the good message the testing gave me:

The model showed good directional/roll stability.

So, I'll carry on with more flight testing and ultimately decide if I want to build a full scale glider from this design.

Frank Colver

First model flight tests 8-14-2018

[Frank Colver]

On august 17 with the covering firmly attached to the battens I got the model trimmed for stable gliding flight.

In the photo shown here I launched it from the top of Windsports training slope at Dockweiler. It climbed in the lift immediately to well above my head and then turned along the slope and climbed some more. It flew some distance soaring the slope all by itself (I had no controls) until it finally turned down wind and landed behind the slope.

Directional stability and pitch stability both looked good compensating for mild turbulence.

Encouraged enough by todays flight tests of the 1/5 scale model to start now on the full scale glider. First step will be to design the folding for transport capability of the airframe.

Frank Colver

Basic Trainer model soaring the Dockweiler bluff 8/17/2018

Soaring the bluff.jpg (148.93 KiB) Viewed 6548 times