Bob,

That is flippin' cool! It's even double surface!

Also, sorry you've not heard from me in such a while, I have been VERY BUSY house hunting, I had one offer I put in on a house where the seller decided her house was suddenly worth more, so, that went sideways, I have two offers in at the same time and I am looking at another house today. home buying is such a PITA.

Oh well, I'll be in touch.

Bob, Looks great, better now than when it was in your living room floor

I really think You might be on to something new!

But, until you get the wires on LittleHawk, you are really messing up Joe's definition of "string control" vs "frame control".

Glad you had a good flight today

Sam,
SW Texas Hang Gliders

Very cool Bob !! I've been watching what you are doing with this glider as you already know that I am interested in any ideas when I start visiting the local Boy Scout troops here in Hawaii as an Aviation Merit Badge counselor but mainly to take a hang gliding wing to let them hang in one. Looking forward to setting it up on blocks so they can feel what it is like to control a glider. But ideally, if I a humble H2 am capcable - I want to do things the right way - have been investigating how Boy Scouts can at least feel what it is like to have lift from the wing if even to run on flat surface on a calm wind or perhaps 5mph wind might be more ideal. Etc. Also as you might remember looking at the various flight simulators (IR head track and FSX or X-Plane or Vehicle Simulator) and how that can be used to. Here in Hawaii I won't really get a chance to fly so for me the next best thing is to share the enthusiasm and plant the seeds for the next generation of hang gliding pilots!

Thanks!! It's been a lot of fun.


Here's the simulator that I posted to the hanggliding.org wiki (before I was banned ):


The rear support is optional because you can just hold the keel to give them fore and aft motion (be sure to have spotters for safety!). But the "roll rocker" is what's really needed to give them a sense of what it's like to steer the glider. I haven't done that with my glider yet, but it's on my list. I think if you could figure out some way to build a "cradle" for your base tube it would really enhance the experience.


I do remember!! I couldn't tell you who it was I was discussing it with, but I remember talking about the X-Plane's UDP packet interface and how easy it was to run the simulator via a program over that interface. Thanks for reminding me. Maybe I can add it to my Little Hawk in the future.


To be honest, I often get more enjoyment watching people learn to do something than from doing it myself. Maybe I'm just getting old (actually, there's no "maybe" about it), but there's something about sharing knowledge that's good for the soul.


That's clever Sam!!

I'll bet Joe will appreciate that you're reading what he's writing.

P.S. That reminds me that when I was originally thinking about this project, I got some help from "red" on hanggliding.org. He has a site (http://www.xmission.com/~red/) where he gives a bunch of good advice for pilots. About 1/6 down the page he lists a link to his own simulator sketch which might be helpful for your Boy Scouts. Here's the link to the sketch http://www.xmission.com/~red/FLTsimulator.JPG. I hope it helps.

And it's pretty light weight as well. I haven't weighed it yet, but it sure feels fun to play with. The wind was too light to fly at Torrey later in the day, so I just spent some time running around with it having fun. It's especially cool because there's no worry about it "getting away" from me in a moderate breeze.


Well stop by the forum here and keep us posted. You can always start a "House Hunting Nightmares" topic in the free speech zone.

Also, I think you owe us a nomination speech in the "Write in Dennis Duvall for Region 3 Director" topic. The ballots have to be in the office by December 15th, so you'd better get campaigning!!

SPEECH! SPEECH!

Hey SkyPilot

Wouldn't it be neat to have BobK fly out to Hawaii with the LIttle Hawk? I think those Boy Scouts would love the opportunity to feel what it's like to actually hold a real hang glider! And, to be able to run with it? Just think of all those young boys falling in love with the sport...

Now, it would be kinda tough for them to handle a full size hang glider - but the Little Hawk? It would be a piece of cake for them - not to mention a lot safer.

Just my two cents worth...

Hmmm, I'm liking the sound of this...

Send the Boy Scouts to flying camp and send Bob Kuczewski to Hawaii.

Does anyone think we can get the Foundation for Free Flight to cover the expenses?

Of course, I'm only joking, but on a serious note, maybe you could contact some pilots in Hawaii to see if any of them have any old not-flight-worthy hang gliders available to donate to a similar project. Take my word (and I think majiemae can verify this), you'll learn a lot about hang gliders in the process of chopping one in half!!

The fund now has a half million dollars that David Glover wanted to break out.
Never heard any more about that proposal or the intent.

USHPA corporation was broke before Jayne Depanfilis cleaned up the operation.
Now they have lot's of money that just disappeared earlier under the tutelage of Mark Forbes and Jim Zeisit.
Zeisit is gone now and Davis says that his memory isn't so good these days. Very convenient when questions arise about financial issues of the past. Mark Forbes, still has his fingers in the pie, and he won't talk either.

I'll bet there were a lot of trips paid for out of these earlier funds that never came to light.
I think it would be just fine to send you to Hawaii with the Little Hawk.

I often considered investigating the books as Regional Director, but I was in enough hot water just asking to attend EC meetings and asking for open voting by the Board (neither of which were ever granted). They were very desperate to get rid of me, and in the middle of the recall election, they passed a rule barring me from being a Director for 2 years - essentially changing the rules in the middle of the game. I don't know what they're hiding, but their behavior supports all manner of conjecture.

Having said that, let's please keep this topic focussed on Little Hawk. If you want to open a new topic on USHPA's money management, then I'll be happy to join that discussion. Thanks Free, and thanks for so many great posts on this site.

Little Hawk / Lite Hawk in the hands of pilots and friends at Torrey:


The glider is coming along great, and it "flys" pretty well. John and I (mostly John) finished up all the top wires along with the lower front and rear wires. We've still got to do the side wires and then do a final positioning of the control bar. Thanks for all the help John!!



I also got a suggestion that "Little Hawk" might not sound adventurous enough, so I'm considering "Lite Hawk" as well. It saves one syllable, two letters, and is more in keeping with its heritage as a Moyes Xtra Lite - although it's also got some parts from a Falcon ... and possibly even a Predator!!