[Bob Kuczewski]

In the topic titled "Torrey Petition", Joe Faust made an excellent suggestion:

Why not walk throughout San Diego with a Little hawk and give a small flyer to all citizens of the City asking them to urge their City to HALT THE PRIVATIZATION OF TORREY PINES recreational hang gliding. Let's write the flyer. It would be excellent exercise for me to walk throughout San Diego.

I think that's a great idea Joe. But the current Little Hawk is still a bit too big for casually walking around San Diego. I think it's time to start thinking of a glider somewhere between Little Hawk and Tiny Hawk. I suggest that we call it "Mini Hawk" and that it be just a little bit smaller than the glider that Joe Greblo loaned me for the San Diego "Kick Gas" festival back in 2009:

Jay_with_Joe_Greblo_Glider_at_Kick_Gas.jpg (65.97 KiB) Viewed 797 times

It would be something between that version and what I've called "Tiny Hawk":

PC110076_Tiny_Hawk.JPG (20.57 KiB) Viewed 797 times

We probably want something with a 6 to 10 foot wing span that quickly (almost instantly) folds down to 5 feet or less. Let's exchange some ideas and maybe some plans and materials in this topic on how to build these. People could do that everywhere from coast to coast. It's another brilliant idea from the mind of Joe Faust!!

[Chris McKeon]

Please help Me to understand how You are proposing to build a Glider with what an extremely short Span, and what an extremely fat Chord? I do not understand? What are You trying to accomplish.

[JoeF]

Per brainstorming suggestion:

Maybe a foam board silhouette of a hang glider or side-view drawing, but with a real TCF with soft lines staying the nearly 2-D image rising above the keel. Onlookers from the side would see a real-life TCF pilot and an image of a hang glider. The PIC would walk, jog, run San Diego with ready handouts for anyone showing any quizzical look. "Please ask your City government to HALT the privatization of our public treasure Torrey Pines park." The handout would have some key information for contacting the right people. "Stop the Steal!" "Fly Free Federal Airspace!"

[JoeF]

Will San Diego respond to a little bird walking their streets asking city leaders to give the citizens their gliding park back?

Will Waldo Waterman's spirit affect the scene?

https://www.sandiego.gov/digital-archiv ... -biography
At age 15 Waldo hang glided. https://goo.gl/maps/SHZZRZTjmTB9jHfp6

https://www.earlyaviators.com/ewaterma.htm

https://ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1089

Recall: Waterman-Seagull biplane replica project in the Waterman building on 5th street, Santa Monica, CA, in a space rented to Seagull Aircraft and Self-Soar Association. Waterman in 1971 gave Low & Slow a $100 check donation to further the publishing effort on hang gliding. Many of us flew the Waterman-Seagull biplane replica.

======================

[Bob Kuczewski]

Please help Me to understand how You are proposing to build a Glider with what an extremely short Span, and what an extremely fat Chord? I do not understand? What are You trying to accomplish.

I think this quote from Joe (posted above) explains at least one use case:

Why not walk throughout San Diego with a Little hawk and give a small flyer to all citizens of the City asking them to urge their City to HALT THE PRIVATIZATION OF TORREY PINES recreational hang gliding. Let's write the flyer. It would be excellent exercise for me to walk throughout San Diego.

[Bob Kuczewski]

One of the goals for Mini Hawk will be a set of easy recipes for people to duplicate the glider without having to re-invent the wheel. So I am thinking that the parts list for at least one recipe should be readily available at popular stores like Home Depot or Walmart. Of course creativity and alternate sourcing is welcome, but if we really want people to do it, we should have one recipe that's as easy as possible to make.

Now there might be several recipes (easiest disregarding cost, least costly, most use of recycling, most realistic, etc). So please feel free to provide a recipe for whatever kind of Mini-Hawk that suits your own needs and goals.

[JoeF]

One span option: Match the width of the base bar of the TCF. Whatever sidewalk width is used for the TCF, the wing would be of same width.

[Bob Kuczewski]

One span option: Match the width of the base bar of the TCF. Whatever sidewalk width is used for the TCF, the wing would be of same width.

That's a very good consideration for city streets. I was thinking of more suburban settings, but you are right that city sidewalks don't have much room.

I have been looking at using these shelving poles as one possibility:

Each section is about 20 inches with 3 of those inches dedicated to coupling with other tubes. So they can be combined to make pole lengths (in inches) of:

       (n x 17) + 3

Of course they can be cut to any size. They are light weight and surprisingly stiff even when several segments are joined together (much better than PVC). If we can come up with good methods of making the joints (nose plate, cross-bar junctions, TCF), these could be the basis of multiple sizes (Mini Hawk, Micro Hawk, Nano Hawk ...). Each size would just add or remove a few sections. The sails and wires (strings) could be swapped out or adjusted for each size.

The down side is that they come with the shelving units and are relatively expensive for that reason.

[Craig Muhonen]

A recipe
"Minie" Hawk could also be this digitized character in a
crack up video, who flies around the world with her friends,
in their very colorful US Hawks Electric Hang Gliders, and does "on-scene" reporting and human interest stories, while passing out fliers, ha, and especially stories about the crazy things that are happening in the "ParamedicGlider & Motor Company
that has over crowded the skies and put a serious load on local "rescue" crews.

Rick Masters substack.
Oct 13
Author
They pay to play; we pay to raise their kids when they don't come home.

But if YOU want to pay, go here":

https://search.brave.com/search?q=gofundme+paraglider

https://www.google.com/search?q=gofundme+paraglider


Guys, isn't a digitized video built and edited, like a program is built?
Then it's launched by the "Team", and stands on it's own.
Seems like the script for this one should get written and would be easy, and it all could be done on private messaging.


.

[Bob Kuczewski]

"Minie" Hawk could also be this digitized character in a
crack up video, who flies around the world with her friends,
in their very colorful US Hawks Electric Hang Gliders, ...

I don't know. We might get some bad press if Minnie Hawk runs into Minnie Mouse and makes a meal of her.

Minnie_Mouse.png (29.43 KiB) Viewed 728 times

I did, however quote your post in the Ozone Warbler topic regarding all the GoFundMe requests for lost and injured PG pilots. That would be an appropriate topic for that discussion. Let's keep this topic focussed on the nuts and bolts of making plans for a mini version of Little Hawk.

And on that topic, your experience as a plumber might be very helpful. We will want a design with parts that are readily available to everyone. The frame will likely be made from some form of tubing and may need fittings in various places. That seems to be up your alley, so please help with ideas any time.