3600 ft. MSL with my R/C glider today!

[slodave]

Great flight! I had shelved my glider a while back and recently brought it back out. I have GPS telemetry and the ultimate goal is to have video as well and fly "under a blanket". This has been a 4 year project (not consecutive) and I am trying once again to get both GPS and video working together.

Anyway, I have been having problems with the recorder unit that sits in the glider for the last few weeks and was finally able to get things sorted out Friday.

I'm happy with the results today, although I broke two wires at the field this morning, but fortunately, one of the guys had a butane soldering iron. The artificial horizon is still problematic, but at least I can feel good about getting the video working again...









BTW, at the altitude I was flying today, I fly with the the big guys (private and corporate).

I noticed one of my horizontal stabs was funny on take off today, but still flew for 37 minutes. Upon landing, I noticed that the right stab was cracked.

[svandamme]

did you manage to shoot any of the others down?

was Skyler at the controls?

[slodave]

I wonder what would happen if I put in a little laser pointer??

Sadly, Skyler will never have the experience to fly at 3600 ft (At least not if I can help it!). He lives vicariously through me.

[mikester]

I hope you had some folks watching for full sized people carrying airplanes...It would be a dark stain for RC in LA if an aircraft hit yours not to mention the danger of the situation.

I'm not trying to be a party pooper.

[slodave]

Originally Posted by mikester

I hope you had some folks watching for full sized people carrying airplanes...It would be a dark stain for RC in LA if an aircraft hit yours not to mention the danger of the situation.

At the moment, I do the watching and I have the sore neck to prove it. We have been flying, as a formal club at Pierce since the early 70's and never had an accident with full sized aircraft.

When the video system is finally functioning and I go under the blanket, there will be other eyes following my glider, for the reason you mention and so that the glider will actually make it back to me at the end of the flight.

If a full sized plane does cross overhead, east/west for example, we will immediately turn and fly north or south, if either planes can be a factor.

[mikester]

I was at the basin this morning and I don't know what it is about the hot days but it brings out the most crowds...

It was stupid hot today...

[slodave]

Heh, most of the guys in my club are in their 70's and 80's. There were only 6 of us this morning and one of the guys commented on how great the day was for flying and wondered why most of our members decided not to show up.

BTW, I looked for any FAA restrictions regarding R/C aircraft and altitude and found nothing (a few years ago). I know that Apollo, in the basin has a 400 ft. restriction, but I also see that being violated on a daily basis, mostly by the R/C jets. Those guys will end up causing a nasty accident one of these days.

P.S. Our club is for gliders and electrics only.

[jmshepard]

At your launch and recovery point, what does the 3600' MSL translate into as above ground level? Does the barometric altimeter adjust for pressure altitude? Although looking at the telemetry panel, it looks like there is a GPS function. Is the altitude truly MSL (barometric) or is it AGL based on a GPS calculation?
This is fascinating stuff.
Jim S.

[slodave]

Originally Posted by jmshepard

At your launch and recovery point, what does the 3600' MSL translate into as above ground level? Does the barometric altimeter adjust for pressure altitude? Although looking at the telemetry panel, it looks like there is a GPS function. Is the altitude truly MSL (barometric) or is it AGL based on a GPS calculation?
This is fascinating stuff.
Jim S.

I basically have GPS instruments showing on the dashboard. Artificial horizon is supposed to read input from the joysticks and I was told a couple of other readings, but it's not functioning right. The distance and signal are not part of the GPS. I do have 2 pitot tubes as well, but those were not being recorded/monitored. I was at about 880ft MSL, so the glider was about 2720 AGL. Technically, the GPS is giving me virtual MSL, based off of the WGS84 Datum.

Read here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGS84

[slodave]

The setup. Three servos - rudder/elevator/spoilers, in the back is the receiver for the radio. It's uncovered, as I was going to mount it in another location. Up front, lead, a bag of pennies and foam to take up space. right behind that is a 4 cell (AA) NiMh batteries. The two blue tubes are for static pressure and airspeed. The red square on the side is the GPS unit.


The recorder that receives all the input -GPS, servos, etc... You can see the two pitot tubes feeding into it as well. The silver preforated box, is the Tx for my telemetry.


From a couple of years ago...

[slodave]

My normal beat up canopy sitting in place. On the right is the video system. The camera is a bit big, but will work for initial test flights. When everything is working in sync, I'll get a smaller camera.


The prototype. I made this from an X10 wireless unit.

[cgarr]

So how do you launch it?

[slodave]

Originally Posted by cgarr

So how do you launch it?

We'll use Lowell as an example (one of the old guys ). His right foot is working an old sewing machine pedal. It's plugged into the winch - covered by the car battery. The winch is a starter motor off of a Ford and is bolted to a welded frame that is secured to the ground via tent stakes. It's actually very portable, but heavy. The motor has a spool of high strength nylon cord that runs down a couple to few hundred feet and passes through a 'turn around' - basically a pulley attached to a large stake and is allowed to swivel. The cord comes back to the glider and is attached to a hook at CG on the bottom of the fuselage.

The pedal allows you to pulse the glider into the air or if your glider is strong enough, you can stand on it. When you get to the desired release point, take your foot off of the pedal, tip the nose down and the steel ring attached to the cord, slips off the hook. There is a small parachute that is attached to the ring as well, this prevents the steel ring from giving an unsuspecting bystander a headache.

[berettafan]

geez dave i can't imagine being that high up!

I get nervous w/ my telemaster above a few hundred feet.

[slodave]

Originally Posted by berettafan

geez dave i can't imagine being that high up!

I get nervous w/ my telemaster above a few hundred feet.

I was nervous the first few times, which was about 3 years ago. I have a feeling, that 4000ft vMSL (3000 AGL) is my visual limit. The glider is a tiny spec at 2700 ft AGL. I have lost the plane once, but someone else was able to visually find it and point it out. I can't really take my eyes off of it, especially if I am turning circles. There are a couple of times that the glider becomes a thin silhouette and for a brief second, disappears from my sight.

My radio (aka transmitter) is good for about a mile and the telemetry is good for about 1.5 miles. I would need a 4 or 5 meter glider to go above 4000 ft vMSL and longer range transmitters.

Your Telemaster would disappear very quickly. It's all or nothing for me. One major crash and I say goodbye to $1000.00 worth of glider and equipment. I've made peace with that. But I don't understand why I have such expensive hobbies. Maybe I should focus on paper airplanes...

[berettafan]

almost lit up a large soybean field when i crashed a sport plane powered by lipos. i'll never forget turning away in disgust and then hearing my wife shout 'it's smoking!'.

gave that stuff up and now sticking with NiMh's and slower stuff. it really does take a LOT of coordination to fly RC planes.

expensive hobbies is right! if there were a magazine called 'expensive hobby qtly' i'd be pictured in the 'get help' ads in the back.

[svandamme]

can you guide a Hellfire to it's target with a laser pointer??
seriously , if not, it's just no use then is it?

[slodave]

Originally Posted by svandamme

can you guide a Hellfire to it's target with a laser pointer??
seriously , if not, it's just no use then is it?

It would have to be a mini hellfire missile. I think the glider may not glide so well if I attached a real one. I'll see what I can do.

[svandamme]

i want daily progress reports.

[slodave]

Stijn, I know you wanted daily updates, but I have been busy. Here you go...


I was hoping to use a paper towel tube, but I'm not finished with the roll yet. I still need to find the nose cone and then work on the laser tracking system...