[Neil Larson]

"If you wish to fly but are afraid then you do well to sit on a fence &
watch the birds...But ...if you really want to fly then you must
mount the ship & become acquainted with her moves..."
Quote by Wilbur Wright during a presentation to the Smithsonian...

-------------(every sport contains a certain portion of risk)-------------
The failures of a pilot during landing abruptly can be minimized by experience
most observed crash landings with a "SPLAT" abrupt halt in a hard landing may result in injury.
These Splats occur more often with inexperienced novice pilots becoming nervous & overwhelmed after an extended or stressful long flight. It is then when the ground effect & turbulence of the wing & earth surface interact in unexpected fashions. Keep danger to a minimum , but no amount of prevention or precaution can eliminate ALL SPLAT accidents. Landing harness bungees & bodysuits may solve some accidents while they automatically create further risk in other related indirect manners.

[Neil Larson]

[Bob Kuczewski]

WOW!!!    A very young Joe Faust ... at Dockweiler?!?

[JoeF]

wheels[2].jpg (25.79 KiB) Viewed 14639 times

Thanks Neil and BobK. Fun.
==========================================
There is a distinct niche activity FLG (flatland long gliding) that might be characterized as a wing-assisted long jump. In FLG there is an invitation to do about 20 to 50 "safe splats" in a play-fly-workout-fitness session on a flat field; first one way; then when field room runs out, just turn around and go the other way. Nil wind is target. Run like mad but with strong trained coordination and control of angle of attack (AoA). At the right moment leave the ground with fine-tuned control of AoA and be nearly immediately ready for safe splatting. Repeat with joy over and over again. Get healthy. Tune wing designs and athleticism to a high degree; gliding as far as possible. Train these efforts; get nerves fine tuned. Such is a form of man-powered and gravity-powered hybrid flight. Such is one of the several niche flight realms where deliberate safe-splat structures and strategies will be wanted.

Another close cousin to FLG is FLWAHJ or that is, Flatland Wing-Assisted High Jumping. Goal is successes in nil wind on true flats. Goal success is different from FLG. Here in FLWAHJ, the target is to fly over a barrier and safe splat in a glide. Raise the barrier as skills and designs advance. Train well. Design well. And make every splat safe by design and strategy.

Another cousin to the above is a niche activity of downhill urban-street gliding. Intend to land hundreds of times a week on asphalt without a scratch. Stumbles will still result in no-scratch safe splats. No injuries allowed! Design the wing and choose the inclined street. Apply the principles of FLG, but know that the incline downhill landing is going to give new opportunities for distance; and opportunities for terminating the flights without injury. Aim for nil wind in one niche activity here. Staying in superman prone position and having Safe-Splat devices and strategy combined with niche-purposed wing designs opens a niche activity.

[JoeF]

Glider or power in "Flying Tent" (click for full patent)
1910
... with some structure toward safe splatting

Gerber

Gerber in 1910

FlyngTent1910Gerber.jpg (76.32 KiB) Viewed 14620 times

[JoeF]

Archaeopteryx



Video:

[Bob Kuczewski]

That resembles some of the early models from Taras!!

Archaeopteryx.jpg (27.79 KiB) Viewed 14611 times

I went to the site and found the page that mentions "Transport" at: http://ruppert-composite.ch/flugzeug/portrait.html.

"Gelagert wird das superleichte Flugzeug schonend im speziellen Halterungssystem. Für den Transport und als Hangar empfiehlt sich der Leichtbau-Spezialanhänger „Clevertrailer“. Der Archaeopteryx ist für häufiges, sehr rasches und einfaches Auf- und Abbauen ausgelegt."

Does anyone read enough German to tell how easily it breaks down?

[JoeF]

The Flying Launch Cart
http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27097

[Neil Larson]

"Gelagert wird das superleichte Flugzeug schonend im speziellen Halterungssystem. Für den Transport und als Hangar empfiehlt sich der Leichtbau-Spezialanhänger „Clevertrailer“. Der Archaeopteryx ist für häufiges, sehr rasches und einfaches Auf- und Abbauen ausgelegt."
-
"Bearings is recommended that ultralight plane gently in a special bracket system. For transport and as a hangar, the lightweight special trailer" Clever trailer. "Archaeopteryx is for frequent, very quick and easy assembly and disassembly designed."
-
Basically I gather it says the assembly is easy , but a specific mobile hangar or trailer is used to carry the parts and also store parts, , Volmer Jensen had a similar trailer "open" not covered- and he could put the Swing Wing together easy as pie- perhaps a bit more time than your Moyes or Wills Wing, but what the heck,... a pilot should use that time to de-compress & prepare for flight / launch ....going thru the motions of assembly allows for meditation & centering your focus on flight-...

[JoeF]

Concept:
The "conveyor-belt ski wheel" ...
Looks like ski, but the face loops about as a endless loop conveyor belt, thus a huge-contact-face rotating wheel that is not circular.
==================
Time clip from glossary at EnergyKiteSystems.net :

wheels versus skis for hang gliders
contact area
dig or gouge or plow or brake
braking
conveyor-belt ski wheels
tests
experience
examples
comparisons
wheels when wanted WWW
skis-when-wanted SWW
land versus water landings
texture of land and foliage
wear
cushioning
http://ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=912 ...which is this topic thread presently.