[JoeF]

Some shared rough notes in the play cloud of my part in the broader movement:

1. Wing5 has been a mantra. But in current notes: "Wing4" is showing up. The "4" regards affinity to pack max length of parts: 4 feet, not 5 ft. The "4" aims to more convenience and safety within a city bus. The "4" seems to allow a looking at more standard off-the-shelf items to use in prototypes.

2. Though continued interest holds inflatable parts, the having to carry an air pump is a downer for me, though workaround space may have fertile members.

3. Exploring fiberglass window screen material ...

4. Early expenditures hold errors, but lessons are hard to evaluate. "Don't do that again ..." etc.

5. Tug-of-war over single straight spar in cantilever or near cantilever verses left and right wing in rigged formats ...

6. Against Frank's insistence on "shape" first, I practice over structure for busability over shape; I let shape be looked at after seeing some kind of structure that aims to fit the busability ease.

7. There are so many technologies that seem to scratch at the project ... Some worker in each technology might be fun.

8. Nothing of my side of the project will arrive for show at the 2022 Otto Dockweiler Day.

9. Weight of parts is ever a pressing spur.

10. Glide ratio is staying as a secondary concern. If a structure gets me to the bottom of the slope reliably safely and is a happy tote on the bus and back up slope, then a win will be felt. Then go from such. Assembly and packing time are secondary to busability and tote satisfaction. Once confidence on busability and safety is met, then fine tuning the system will occur and material cost will be secondary. Yet low-cost-off-the-shelf materials are a pleasant thought === thus the "3." above note. Indeed, a bottom-only-getter may be a key to break Bob Kuczewski's "flights-in-a-day" (201 or 202} record.

11. Two bladders of TPU finally arrived for experiments. The bladders may support spar case diameters from 16" or less. Each bladder weighs nearly exactly 2 lb. The 4-mil TPU is beefier than would be needed for a lower-weight HG; but the present bladders will be entering many different spar cases for experiments; the bladders will taking a beating. I will be using one bladder until it cannot serve; then the other will begin service. But down the time line, I might explore using both bladders in one ship (communicating the air pressure via an umbilical hose from one left wing to right wing).

12. A too-heavy spar case of inflatable-jumper-house material is 11 lb and that is far heavier than spar cases of aim.

13. Sticks? I am staying with wood, aluminum, plastic, steel, fiberglass, or bamboo before spending on carbon fiber. Sticks serve up ribs, control frames, inflated-beam compression members, struts, sprogs, kingposts.

14. Double surface is most present in my exploration. And "sock" or two "socks" seem to be grabbing frequent attention in the play. Socks with holes in them! Holes for protruding knots when rigging is intended. Still soft-rigging when rigging... Methods for adjusting for line creep are in the play.

15. A general result to date: I am more confident than ever that a branch of modern hang gliding will be "easy-going low-stress bus-toted safe Dockweiler-only hang gliders" in the coming era. And that there will be a variety of wing formats to serve the same genre.

[Bill Cummings]

How difficult would it be to make a hand air pump out of tubing that would double also as a structural part of the glider’s airframe?
Something like a two foot length of keel (tail) tubing that fits into a two foot length of wing tip tubing. The two pieces of tubing would make up the plunger inside of the cylinder. Valves and plugs would need some R & D but could be as simple as a finger covering an air inlet/outlet hole. Then use the hose from an old hand tire pump.

[JoeF]

Hi, Bill,
Bill's parts-as-pump is now, because you published it, is part of the workaround mix!



??: Take apart the pump I bought: Titan. And use the parts in the airframe ....
That was my first positive thought on your offer.

Then I visioned I am in the flight series and I need some pressure added: maybe the parts could move while still assembled in place; that is, no need to take the parts out and reassemble to the "pump" mode; just push and pull on that specialized keel-pump deal. Or all perhaps in downtubes of control frame: release a shear pin and pump away! But in first blush: keel seems best best.

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A different workaround note that I have: hide a pump at Dockweiler in some way. One way: pseudo fence post. Another: faux part of the extant HG office structure that is at the site. Another: bury a pump out of the way of any other works. Or hide a pump along the path from bus to the beach.

An electric pump? Plug into wind energy? Plug into kite energy? Plug into wave energy? Have HG sail be of perovskite solar cell and drive a little electric pump with that energy to top off inflation. The small electric pump might be, following Bill, part of the compression member of the stiffened spar case complex or again part of the keel.
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An incomplete thought is occurring to me right this moment and I'll write about right now: pull with a line a plug in a tube keel; the plug compresses air sent to the bladder; flap valve closes; pull the plug the opposite direction and a flap valve permits another push of air. Or such in control-frame base tube. Or such in a segment of the spar's compression members. Or modify my shoe to be a pump; and just step, step, step: inflating tube plugged into the bladder as needed: shoe as pump.
Then searching: Reebok Pump

[Chris McKeon]

You know; This thread has Me thinking? Well it has Me thinking about something that has always been a Potential Problem for Me. Heck it is always a Potential problem that all of us have had to face. For as You guys all know, heck we have all been there; You are Flying XC. You find yourself sinking out, you are miles way from a road. So when there You are say 5, 10, 15, 20, or maybe more Miles from a road, You are fully into being so low that You have to consider doing that filthy four letter cuss word describes; You will need to "LAND"! I do not know how, except for the fact that I Fly a Predator. The Predator is Hands down the finest, Strongest Climbing Double surface Glider that there is. I mean I always believed that no matter what I would not sink out. I mean a Predator can Climb using lift that Is so Weak as to cause a "Super-Ship" Topless Glider to end up having to have that Four letter Word to be used to describe what their Supper-Ships would be Forced to do, "LAND:" A Predator's ability to climb is great. A Topless Glider attempting be able to use the same Scrap of lift derived from a weak thermal. For as anyone knows, once You are on the Ground Your Day of Flying is over. In fact even though The Predator does not out Glide Topless Gliders. It would be able to out performed by topless gliders. On the way up to Launch in which ever Vehicle that We would be using to get our Gliders and ourselves up to launch . Riding up to launch, I would have to listen to these Comments, the the factually Baseless suggestions from other Pilots that I should consider getting Myself a Topless Glider. I would always just say Why? I would invariably get the Same response to my saying "Why I should Consider getting Myself a Top-Less Glider from a given Top-Less Pilot: Because of the better Performance that a Topless Glider has to offer. I look back to those times. I chuckle when I think of the factual Baseless comments that My friends who flew their Topless Super-Ships Topless Gliders would make to Me. It really does seem strange that I never had to listen to how their Top-Less gliders offered Superior Performance than My lowly King-Posted Glider. How well their Top-Less Supper-Ships after a day of us all us all Flying X-C. No the thought of how much of an advantage that their Laminar M-R 700, or is it 750? Or their Wills Wing Talon, or, or, OR? This concept of the superior Performance capability never was mentioned to me at dinner after a Day of Flying XC. I asked John one day on the Phone about two years ago: John Will I still be able to Fly Further than the Topless Gliders when I regain My Flying Stature? John replied: " You have not Flown in 10 Years, You will be quite Rusty, and "You Must remember that They have had twenty Years to work on it". I am not a gifted, Hero X-C Pilot. I am merely a little better than Most Pilots. If I self evaluate myself: I that I am better than Most. But I am a far less capable Pilot relative to some Pilots". The simple truth is: I Fly a Predator. Thank You John for designing this incredible Glider!

One More thing : When I flew My 158 Predator. I flew when I only was short of weighing Three Hundred Pounds by Two or three Pounds. As the Saying says: "You can't argue with success " I, heck all of us can only imagine how awesome it would be if John designed a New Predator. For when John designed the Predator. He raised the Bar, He raised the Bar so High regarding a King-Posted Glider!

[JoeF]

Maybe, Chris, a 5-ft-packed-Predator-mod HG?

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Burst at hoop of fiberglass window-screen spar case will be explored carefully. What psi will samples hold as bladder pressures increase? Ways of case forming of the window screen so that unraveling does not occur are being explored. At burst, air pressure is quickly reduced and Icarus falls out of the sky. The dandy Dockweiler-only busable HG of the inflated spar case type may have such failure experiences; boom, down one comes; down-going will have been the trend anyway. Safety factor and good inspections will be in place. UV and wear will affect things.

Being considered for marrying the spar compression element segments to the spar case are ties that are based in the spar case and come out for shoe-tie knot over the compression-element segments. Lines from a "keel ring" are expected to be a win as such lines root at the keel ring and go to many compression-element stations; such is being estimated as better than what Delft University came up with in their experiments. Tine and experiment results will tell the story. I am excited about the multiple tie system; each tie cause a hug of the compression element to the ispar case; some of the ties will be from the lines to the keel ring bottom and thus flight loading will simply cause the compression element to hug the spar case ever more firmly. Station knobs on the compression element will keep the ties at prescribed stations and prevent slippage from station. Recall that segmented compression elements must stay aligned to counter buckling during flight loads; the segments of the compression element sit atop the spar case, but must hug the spar case station for station without slippage. Spots of hook-and-loop might be used to aid in such tie system; I hope to avoid using hook-and-loop along the full interface of the compression elements and the spar case; maybe stations of hug and tie each 6 inches will suffice; additional hugging may be added, if needed. Keel ring partly counters line challenges from deformation of the spar case to non-circular section during flight loading.

Assembly of one compression-element system: Pull out of tote bag the segments of the compression-element assembly; four couplers for five segments for a 20-ft span HG, each segment: 4 ft long; set the segments on spar case. Segments may taper with center segment beefier, etc. Tie the ties mentioned in prior paragraph. The ties position the compression element segments. The spar's keel ring may be kept in tote with the spar case through ring's center; keel ring will act a a queen post for the wrap rig lines that surface the spar case and far-root to tie up the compression elements to help marry the compression element to the spar case.

The compression element will not be at the twelve-o'clock position, but perhaps at the 2-o'clock position (leeward of nose). Compression element segments will be inside of sock sail and hopefully will be shaped to aid in airfoil shaping.

Sock tensioning: It is planned that the socks will sized so that inflation of the spar's bladder will result in a taut sock or socks.

An early experimental form will be with no media ribs in DS sock format; tip ribs and keel, no other ribs. I will note the flight results of such. Then try adding ribs to see differences in performance. Tip ribs receive a neat foundation in the way the spar case gets closed; still, a small staying strut might be used interior of the sock to press out the tip rib; the short strut will root in the bag of the inflated spar case. I will try flight with and without such small staying strut.

Part of the control may be a distorter: Tether a ring with a short line from the spar tip interior of the sock; run a control line from the pilot's pendulum body to the ring; bifurcate the line; let one part of the bifurcation go to the top of the sock; let the other bifurcated line go to the bottom of the sock. Pull on the control line distorts the sail: the upper surface dimples and the lower surfaces dimples; the distortion will change the aerodynamics of the wing. Experiments will be run; notes will be made. Position of the dimples and the amount of dimpling will vary. tags or button will hold the bifurcated strings to the dimple stations. Crossing might be needed if adverse yaw results. Such control line would be connected to the pilot's main hang tether.

The keel ring may also be the foundation for a kingpost in some versions. Some versions will be without kingpost. Some king-posted versions will hold the High-Hat technology. The keel ring will root the keel rib and root a strut staying the the keel rib; the ring and keel rib and rib strut comprise the "keel" assembly. Again, keel ring acts as a sturdy queen post rooting flight-load-spar-case-surfaced-rig lines that go also to stay compression-element positions. The keel ring also root the apex of the TCF (triangle control frame). TCF rigging: laterally to spar; then to nose of keel ring and aft of keel ring: six lines: two aft, two forward, two lateral flight lines. Keel ring design will vary; some designs will have lightening holes. Advanced keel rings surrounding the center of spar may one day be shown in carbon-fiber versions optimizing all matters rooting posts, lines, TCF apex, keel rib, keel stay strut.

[JoeF]

NonSplintHighPSIhandwingOceanRodeo

OceanRodeo.jpg (109.76 KiB) Viewed 1157 times

Ocean Rodeo in glide wing "hand wing" in "A-series", etc .[ not sure of all the trade names yet; check first].. they are exploring composite materials, psi to 12 psi, both in aramid-nylon laminates and also in some black carbon deals, details need closer research; but in summary: they are offering stiffer wings without yet getting into the splinting technology, thus avoiding sticks in airframe, but relying yet on stiffness from advanced materials and high inflation pressures. They are topped out at "7 m" which means 7 square meters; 8 m are hard to find; prices are inching to $3000 for "wing". Pack and tote are within the present project of this discussion thread; and in sufficient wind, a 7 m would glide, but the arrangements are without the yaw control wanted. The low area of 75 sq ft in the "7 m" wing makes for a fast wing; and aspect ratio is low. A mod of such a wing to get yaw control seems doable. DIY to match their finished product is not inviting. So, I am staying toward splinting technology and lower psi in such; and going for more area and higher aspect ratio afforded by going to splinting on the spar; 140 sq. ft looks better to me for use in lower winds and most probable winds at Dockweiler. Ocean Rodeo is playing with Aluula composite and also "Black" material for advanced wings. I am pressing on for DIY lower-cost materials allowable in splinting tech for the inflated spar. When design is firmed and tested well, then splinting with carbon fiber, Dyneema composite sail, may be afforded, but price may discourage. Ocean Rodeo uses word "Glide" their promotions; they are inching close to framed hang gliders for foot-launch in low winds, but are not there yet; their water market is huge $ compared to the tiny or null market of foot-launch hang gliders; liability is less for water works. And if they do get into large "h.and wing" with yaw control and better aspect ratio for framed hang gliders, then my guess at their pricing trend, a price tag would come close to $7,000 or more, my guestimate at this time.

During glide with a "hand wing" the system is a gliding kite system; the system's tether set are the ligaments in the pilot's arms; the anchor system is the mass of the pilot's body; the system's wing flies towed above using the kiting principles.

Video on Aluula Project: https://vimeo.com/352612795
And page https://oceanrodeo.com/blogs/news/aluula-vs-dacron
Not confirmed, but my guess is Kevlar in Mylar laminate; or a weave of Kevlar and nylon in Mylar laminate, not sure; verify, if one needs.....

Their 14.5 meter (about 156 sq. ft) wing carries the area matter, but is formatted for long-line bridling to get form which does not fit the rules for Dockweiler, as such would be considered a paraglider. The kitesurfing kite is used for jumps and glides, but such does not meet Dockweiler "hang glider" rules; paragliders are not allowed to be flown at the Dockweiler slope.

https://aluula.com/composites/


Some hints on the Aluula company in Canada:
https://www.jeccomposites.com/news/aluula-commercializes-a-new-class-of-lightweight-soft-composites/ Claims seem to be "fusion" for laminating advanced materials. Whether they have something over what other laminators have is a question that stays with me. Laminating advanced materials by fusion tactics is not new. So, just what proprietary matters Aluula has would take some careful research.

In comparison consider the offers at North Sails.

Splinting inflated spars using compression elements and rigging will allow a family of Dockweiler Dandy Busable hang gliders for most probable winds. Builders will arrive. Will any extant wing maker get in on the busable movement?

3Di at North Sails

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So, the movement or project? HGs fitting the project will come to be under certain price tags within the DIY arena and the commercial finished-wing arena. What satisfactory project HG will arrive from the DIY arena for $200, for $500, for $1000, for $5,000 ... plus DIY labor. Similar question for the commercial manufacturing arena, but their prices will reflect labor and transportation costs as well as profit; and that arena won't want to put out works with smudges on the HGs. Fun marching ahead ...

[JoeF]

Exploring a bit:
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kinetiX—designing auxetic-inspired deformable material structures

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Deployment of conceptual model of 20m self-deployable truss

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Novel Deployable Structure

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[Bob Kuczewski]

Exploring a bit

Very interesting structures Joe.

They remind me of protein folding videos. Protein folding is the "machinery" behind many of our biological processes, and it is really amazing.

[JoeF]

Yes: Let all known structural tactics feed into the movement to net a neat series of HG wings to meet the thread's targets! Some won't be used; some will be used. Some exciting wing results will one day be available to humans who use public buses for recreational hang gliding.



[youtube][/youtube]





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Caution: longer video, placed here for the record.

Transform a pack to a wing to be used ... folding.

[Chris McKeon]

I do not know if you are setting up a system so that You can short pack Your Glider after having landed out on an XC flight? For it would be so cool to be able to pack your Glider to a More manageable length. Like when A pilot has landed of about five or ten mikes from a road. I for one have at times been dreadfully low during an X-C flight far from a road. But I would shift into that YOu Must Get Up, Get Up or Else.