Neat toy!
 

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Cool toys for big boys!

Cool idea, but it's the landings that I'd be worried about!

Looks ultralight weight, maybe no heavier than a big Rogallo wing and touchdown on the video looks no different than with a hang glider.

expensive toy! $82,847.49 for the basic model.....http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1334959587.jpg

It doubles as a coffin.

The pilot seemed to have about all he could handle in dead weight. The leg landing would have busted my groin. The wheels looked sufficient.

all kinds of fun ways to die.

Very cool. Probably not very heavy, but the size probably makes it very awkward, and even worse, if you're standing on a hill that's got a good breeze going, any variation in the strength or direction of the breeze is going to make it even harder to control on the ground. Have you ever tried carrying a 4x8 sheet of plywood when it's windy?

Still, very, very cool. I assume a hang glider is much cheaper. Shoot, I bet an ultralight is quite a bit cheaper.

^^ God you guys what a bummer. I love it. Looks to have a fantastic glide rate. beautiful design. Quite a price tho. Gulp. Those three step take offs were sweet!

Thanks for posting
Cheers Richard
This is much easier to transport.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1334982861.jpg

OK, first site I found on the net for hang gliders showed prices at $4k-5k for fairly entry level models.

Ultralights seem to run anywhere from $10k up to $30k

For nearly $100k, that thing should be REALLY nice. I mean REALLY, REALLY nice. It should have some sort of magical power system that allows it to fly under any circumstances.

and I bet MUCH cheaper.

I thought the same thing, three steps and you're airborne. I'm guessing there was probably a decent breeze going too.

I wonder if you can get one of these for $100k?

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Or you could buy a C182...

Looks like too much work for me. Hell, at 225 lbs. I'm probably too heavy for it anyway.

A nice ultralight, say a RANS kit, with motor, would run you about half of what that thing costs.

Then again, there are some jokers out there who will pay $5k for a carbon fiber bicycle with fancy doo-dads made by a fishing reel company, when for the same amount of money you can pick up a 600-1000cc sportbike with under 5k miles on it. :D

To me the absolute tranquility that would offer would be way better than a damned buzzy ultralight...

And totally different from a Cessna....

A heck of a lot cheaper to fly too. :)

As you do with a hang glider, with this glider you run or step off a cliff (depending on the strength of the updraft at a given time) like Torrey Pines, or off a high hill (with similar updraft) as in the video.

Hang gliders, ultralights, all fun; but to my mind, they are not in the same class as gliders. What is significant is, here is a plane you don't need a tow plane to launch and once you're airborne...well, you're flying an airplane not a hang glider or ultralight.

This glider appears to have all the control surfaces and airfoils as a full size glider and I'd imagine is as safe to fly (gliders are very safe to fly). Kites, of course, produce no lift and must be kept generally into the wind, not able to soar and glide (per se)- no control surfaces, pilot is pendulum, hanging from and manipulating the kite from below, watching a streamer off the nose.

Looks heavy to land. Wonder if a strongback/keel were incorporated if it couldn't be landed on the keel with the legs held out straight. First hang glider I flew had a swing seat and the first few flights I kept my legs out straight and skidded to a stop on my ass. No big deal. Until after a few flights I didn't want to stall too high and break ankles/legs (common in early days).

Be a kick to fly (the cheap version) .

Yes; there's the poetry of harnessing just the power of the wind with sailboats, gliders, ice boats, land sailers...

No Thanks, to any of that stuff

Another set of videos shows landings. There is a keel under the front and a wheel behind the pilot's butt. Lands like a regular sailplane.

Very cool toy.

Best
Les

Just curious; fear of flying in general or just small aircraft?

Gliders, if I'm correct, are a whole lot safer than aircraft with power which can be lost resulting in an emergency landing (if you're lucky) whereas in a glider...

you have exactly one chance to get it right.

Still, the impact speeds are reduced. :D

Best
Les:D

obseravations:

The one had in-line wheels. ...even if landing w/o wheels the wing is getting lift at very low speed (one wouldn't need to run with the full weight)

The wing is obviously MUCH more efficient than that of a hang-glider.

It's slow. (compared to a typical glider)

looks like fun.

Look closely. The leg lander had wheels too. They're tucked up there pretty good. I wonder if they can be brought down a bit with a mechanism?

I'd like to think that is the case, but from the (unscientific) research I did, it looked like soaring was more dangerous than powered flight. I sort of wonder though if the soaring competitions people participate in skew the statistics. I think the percentage of glider pilots participating in competitions are orders of magnitude higher than powered-flight pilots.

If anyone can point me to more optimistic quantitative data on soaring, I'd like to see it!

That thing looks super cool. I too was amazed by the three-step launch.

Looking at the price list, it also looks like you can winch-launch it!

Didn't see the wheels first viewing. I believe the pilot landed on foot to show it can be done. Probably less chance of breaking something on the glider or on the pilot when landing on the wheels rather than possibly tripping on landing and crashing it.

Full size gliders have no retractable landing gear; for what purpose would you want to lower the landing gear on this little glider - seems fine where it is, no?

Debatable issue I suppose. Just one pilot's take from a flying forum:

"I'm much more concerned flying a Cessna or any other type of motorized non-glider. It's only really lucky when you can land a plane on a real engine out and not bend it into little pieces.

Gliders are purpose built to land-out.

Even big gliders can be landed in less than 400 feet (to a full stop).

The thing about flying too slow in the pattern is the biggest no-no. Usually the airbrakes on modern gliders are so efficient that you can point the nose up a little to reduce speed on final, open the airbrakes fully and point the nose straight back down.... within limits of course. The big 25m+ wingspan gliders are a little more difficult to land and are nearly non-recoverable in a spin on pattern altitude....

Other than that, gliders tend to be much safer than planes because engine outs should never be a problem..."

The three-step launch under those same conditions would likely have worked just as easily with a Rogallo wing. Take that glider (or a hang glider) to the Torrey Pines cliffs overlooking the Pacific and take just one step...not even a running step, off a freakin' cliff!!! and you're instantly airborne. Amazing to watch someone for the first time. More amazing to DO for the first time! :eek:

fwiw, there are some suspect deaths in gliders where older pilots seem to set out for one last flight. Keep in mind that, at least around here, gliders are climbing to 30k ft, can trim off and ride the jet-stream, enjoy the view, listen to their music, and stay there until their O2 runs out. . .and they quietly drift away.

I know of one pilot whose wife forced him to stop, just for fear of that scenario.

btw, flying (in) a glider is by far the closest feeling of actual flight I've ever experienced. --so peaceful. so fluid.

What?

Of course gliders have retractable landing gear.

. . . Why do so many here speak about things that they know nothing about?

Dude. It's the internet.

Yeah, Blue... I suppose that what I'm really wondering is why so many let so much misinformation slide. ...they don't want to be 'the bad guy' apparently.

All part of the 'everyone gets a plastic participation trophy' mentality/culture. :-/

For ass holes who want to split hairs, why don't you two bend over, pluck a few and mail them to each other. :rolleyes:

"To minimize drag, modern gliders most usually have a single wheel, RETRACTABLE OR FIXED, centered under the fuselage, which is referred to as monowheel gear or monowheel landing gear. Monowheel gear is also used on some powered aircraft, where drag reduction is a priority, such as the Europa XS. Some gliders from prior to the Second World War used a take-off dolly that was jettisoned on take-off and then landed on a fixed skid."

THERE it is...

If any wonder why knowledgeable people fade away from sites like this, it's because they grow tired of suffering the few vocal fools.

Shine a light on the fool/foolish post, and (after the typical ad homenim) he cuts & paste some almost relevant internet piece in an effort to support . . something.

You dumb-ass, Dari, you stated "Full size gliders have no retractable landing gear;.." -- not"some do, some don't"

The adult thing to do would be say "sorry about that" and move on.

I mean, do you really think that you are fooling anyone with that cover-up post?

The two sail planes that i have flown in, I think they were Switzers. Had a single wheel mounted in the fuselage in a fixed position just behind the cockpit and skids on the wing tips.
I do think that is the most common configuration.
Why jump all over another pelican over a minute detail like this. A slight lapse in total accuracy is much more acceptable in our fun forum than pouncing all over a poster for not splitting hairs to your liking.

To my mind it is the belligerent nit pickers that spoil the fun and drive away the people that keep the spirit of PP BBS what most want it to be.

Cheers Richard

You mean Schweizer, right?

Love,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Belligerent Nit-picker

Since you consider yourself all knowing, please fade away..... PLEASE....

My girlfriends boss is big into soaring. He stuck one in the trees two years ago, real lucky to be alive, broke both his legs, and hung upside down , passed out in the foliage for a few hours before they found, and rescued him. He thinks that he "blacked out" while in flight, does not remember a thing.
Within weeks of getting his casts off, he purchased another glider. These all are towed into flight though.

"A slight lapse in total accuracy"

HA! :D is that what you kids are calling it now days...
Dari was simply wrong. --Why is that concept so unpalatable for you, and others, like sid?

Of course that misinfo was just one, small, inconsequential issue, on it's own. But, at what point does the totality become 'death by a thousand cuts'? ....And then there's the protection, spin and excuses people come up with to coddle the little cutters ... amazing.

See, To my mind it is the continued droning of idiocy, of some, that spoil the content and drive away the people who would otherwise keep the spirit of PP BBS as most want it to be. :cool:

This is fascinating to me, btw, that guys like you will bypass the wrong info and the "ass hole" comment from Dari and move directly to tag the person who pointed to the misinformation a 'belligerent nit picker.'

Pointing to bad info really pisses-off some people. --sorry about that.

Thanks Blue sky I knew that spelling didn't look right. Guess I could have looked it up, just lazy on my part.
I've had the pleasure of flying in a sail plane, Two up in a hang glider ( off a mountain in Queen's town N.Z.), and para glider ( in the alps in Switzerland). All were experiences to savor for a lifetime, Can't recommend it too highly.

Oh, as far as landing goes in a slow speed aircraft. When flying in the hang glider we stayed in our prone harnesses for the landing. With small wheels on the corners of the control bar. So came in face first about a foot and a half off the ground. Slow but thrilling

Cheers Richard

Woah. That is pretty heavy. They intentionally do that? Was the wife of the pilot you know threatening to store them away at some retirement home?

Did these 2 gliders not have a nose wheel as well as a main wheel behind the pilot's seat? AFA why should they come down some for a landing it would allow for a bit more clearance at the wing tips. Perhaps that was the real reason for the leg landing. The aircraft was a good 3' higher off the ground.

Whatever. You guys can get worked up pulling each other's ass fuzz over so little.