by JoeF » Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:16 am
Furthering iteration one of Wing5:
1. Packing will have spar case separated from mainsail. In pack: Each will folded once and then will "wrap" around a core of hard items. For flight the mainsail will be zippered or hook-and-looped to the spar case (final decision has not yet been made).
2. This morning's prediction for pack volume: under 5 cubic feet.
3. Shape of pack prediction as of now: approximately rectangular luggage-like in feet: 1x1.5x3 for 4.5 cubic feet. Teflon slider or two wheels may be added to the hike-time pack for trailering from self; during bus: no wheels, but simply carry by one hand or hug pack: can be on my lap if bus seated. But standing is preferred; and often such pack may be placed under some seats. If bus is with low ridership and one has access to two adjacent seats, then pack may rest on lap horizontally.
4. Wing system will utilize two parts to make up many key parts. E.g. Keel: two parts to make the keel tube. Batten ribs made of two parts each. Compression elements CEL and CED will be made of 3-ft segments coupled interiorly at ends of segments; nine or ten segments will make each of the CEs; so there will be a total of 18 or 19 or 20 compression-element segments.
5. Looks like first effort for compression element marriage with spar case will be: one face of the compression element will have bonded a strip of non-slip rug or shelf liner; the spar case will have a run of matching anti-slip liner sewn for facing the compression element liner; liner against liner pressed by inflation pressure of the bladder may well suffice for the aimed marriage. A few small straps will be sewn in place inside the spar case to firm position and orientation of the compression-element assemblies prior to bladder inflation; once inflation occurs, the compression-element assembly will keep its position with a flat face to the interior of the spar case.
6. The final pack will have a ground-protection sheet (PS) wrapping all the other parts. The public bumping into the pack would only experience softer fabric, approximately an inch thick... a neat padding of nearly 50 layers of various fabrics: spar case, mainsail, and ground protection sheet. Wear helmet. Wear harness. Small backpack of water, food, cell phone, note pad, first-aid, extra socks, lines, kites. There will not be a separate dedicated luggage container; the wing parts will make up the sum total of pack except perhaps one low-mass bottom plate at bottom of a pillow case; such pillow case will hold the "hard" parts forming the central core of the pack. The pillow case may be used as a sand bag for tensioning the PS; the bottom plate may be a flying disk for play. Two parts of the keel tube will be filled with other hard parts of 3-ft lengths like the rib struts, batten-rib parts, compression-element segments.
7. Ground protection sheet (PS) will have primary and secondary uses. Primary: During assembly and packing, the spar case will be unzipped and opened flat. Avoiding sand will be the aim while handling the placement of compression elements and spar bladder/valve. Sock sandbags may be used to spread the PS. Some secondary uses of the PS: target, wind tell, play sail, privacy tent, ground cover picnic, shader, kite tail, ... and more. PS will be 5 ft by 32 feet of nylon ripstop at low-ounce per yard.
8.Wing hard parts: Two wing-tip ribs made of three parts or two parts (not yet finalized). Regular batten ribs each of two parts. Two stay struts staying tip ribs. Stay strut for each regular battened rib. Keel of two parts. High hat (HH) two beams each of two parts. Two queen posts each of two parts. Control bar of two parts. HH wing. X fitting at center of spar front or back (not yet decided). Rib stand-offs, if used. Pulleys for wing-morphing. Compression element beam segments with interior limit-coupler-entry stops. Cups or special Y-fitting (four) for tip of compression element assemblies; the fitting will receive the tension straps making the splinted air beam.
9.Wing soft parts: Bladder, spar case, mainsail, rigging lines, bow lines, control lines, HH axis line, flight straps for the splinted air beam that will press on the exterior of the inflated spar case.
10. Non-wing parts: PS, pillow case, socks, flying disk, small personals backpack (water, food, first-aid, ID, cash, credit card, permit card, ...) Wear harness. Wear helmet. Goggles. Senior bus card. Kite, k-line-reel. Change of shirt/windbreaker, swim shorts. Slider or thin hand truck.
11. Exact material specifications including final part weights will surface and be reported upon completion of the first iteration of Wing5; the resultants will be whatever will be! Not faced above: air pump and air-pressure meter. Frank Colver may be making the X fitting for the project. And maybe the block couplers for the compression-element joins; there will be 16 or 17 or 18 small block couplers to fit inside adjacent compression-element segments. The compression-element segments may be carbon fiber of rectangular format with rounded edges, but a flat face for bonding the anti-slip material. The couplers may be from aluminum, perhaps; the block fits inside the ends of adjacent compression-element segments. Thanks Frank!
Last edited by
JoeF on Tue Jul 27, 2021 12:10 pm, edited 9 times in total.