You guys have a lot of great looking planes, I have never really been drawn to the scale side of the hobby - I have always been more attracted to the "form follows function" side so most of my planes don't really resemble actual aircraft. I guess that is one of the things about the hobby that is so cool, there are a million different facets to it - just find the niche that appeals to you and follow it...
Not sure how many of you guys are aware of "dynamic soaring". It is a flying technique that allows a glider to build up incredible speeds by flying a circuit through areas of different windspeed on a slope - think of it like when you push someone on a swing and everytime they come by you you give them a nudge and they go higher and higer on the swing. Dynamic soaring is sort of like that where you fly a circle pattern where the majority of the circle the plane is in the wind shadow of a hill so the plane is not being effected by the wind but for a very short period when the plane pops up into the wind and gets a little push so it goes faster and faster with each circle. This is a pretty basic version of it and if you google it there is a ton of information about how it works... Anyway here is a little taste of it.
A couple of my friends have been chasing the 500 mph mark for some time and recently the weather conditions came together for a run at it and they were able to go 505 mph. The plane in the video is a Kinetic 130 or K130 and was designed by a buddy of mine who also happens to be a Porsche guy, (he has a very well prepared 6 cyl 914), and manufactured in the Czech Republic. The plane is made up of composites mostly carbon fiber but it is so stiff feels like it is made of steel... The plane has a 130" wingspan and weighs over 400 ounces. The record was broken at a hill in Weldon, California which is outside of Bakersfield. All speeds were recorded using radar guns, (they are specially prepared for us by the manufacturers to work at the speeds we are regularly flying at, (in excess of 250 mph).
Keep in mind the plane in the video is a glider, the only motors on the plane are for the servos moving the flight surfaces.
I hope you guys like the video, it is way more impressive to see this stuff happen first hand as the video doesn't really capture it all - but as the speeds increase so does the sound and you can actually "feel" the plane as it passes through different layers of air on the slope. It is truly amazing.
Cheers,
Chris
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