Flite Fest 2017: Bugatti 100P
- Thread starter willsonman
- Start date
I tried to line it up but ALL of my good shots are entirely "dumb luck." I'm horrible with a camera.
HilldaFlyer
Well-known member
Man oh man. What a great record collection with a plane in the way,
LOL
LOL
Hate to burst your bubbles but nearly ALL of those LPs are classical music. Most of it is stuff you cannot even get in digital format now.
HilldaFlyer
Well-known member
I can spot classical anywhere... my mom and dad had quite a collection. They may still have some but I don't think they own a turntable anymore.
Great point of view. Whoever was flying the quad gets the brownie button.
Now that's a wallpaper!
Yeah, Bob invited me to Oshkosh. Wish I could be there.
I didn't keep his card, is Bob the guy I got you in touch with?
No, you got me in touch with Leon, who got me in touch with Bob.
Ah, that's right. Leon was a super nice guy, and it looked like he really enjoys talking to people about the planes. Everything I knew about the Bugatti when I visited the EAA was due to following this thread, and he was surprised I knew much about it.
Back from Flite Fest and took yesterday to relax and sleep. It was a wild ride. I am so glad so many of you took time to reach out and express your kind words to me about this project. It has been very fun and some great new friendships have been formed. I'll cover the flight later but wanted to include a few photos.
Packed for the trip. I covered her up with a light covering to avoid the sun beating on her.
I ended up not taking any planes out until Saturday close to mid-day as the rain had really made a horrible mess of everything. This was her first light picture at the event.
I ended up having two Q&A sessions on the Bugatti and got a few pictures with Ben and his baby. What a wonderful shot of two builders playing off each other for motivation to build something.
Packed for the trip. I covered her up with a light covering to avoid the sun beating on her.
I ended up not taking any planes out until Saturday close to mid-day as the rain had really made a horrible mess of everything. This was her first light picture at the event.
I ended up having two Q&A sessions on the Bugatti and got a few pictures with Ben and his baby. What a wonderful shot of two builders playing off each other for motivation to build something.
The flight took place Saturday afternoon. Friday I was 99% sure I would not fly her due to the field conditions. The likelihood of a nose-over from the nose digging into the ground was so high that I just did not want to risk it. Saturday morning I walked the entire runway looking for the best spot and found that the east end was the best place. I knew that the sun would be out to dry things up a bit more and the overlap on the fabric was in the correct way for the prevailing winds for the day.
In the morning, Ben and I shot a great FT episode on the Baby that I really look forward to seeing. I had fully committed to flying mine later in the day by that point as I had brought the airplane to share with everyone. Any damage I knew I could fix and I really wanted this "people's airplane" to be seen in its true element, going fast with the air over its wings.
I was shocked that Stephan shut down the flight line for me. After a brief intro, I lined up the airplane to fly on the runway. The bumps on the tarp caused the nose to go over two times. Then Josh Bixler walked right over and held the tail while I throttled up and he gave a nice push to send her off. She pulled up perfectly with no pucker factor when she left terra firma. Gear up and pour on the coals. She flew so much better than before with the CG forward. I made a few fast passes with a couple that were great for getting some photos. TJ was on the sticks with a race quad and he shortly gave up trying to keep up as she was very very fast. The SOUND! I could not have asked for it to be better. It was exactly what I was after and she performed great.
It was getting time to try and bring her down and I tried to get the gear down. I had the right side stick. I thought this may be a problem. The high humidity with all the rain had caused the balsa to swell enough to cause this issue in the pitts. After about half a dozen cycles of the gear I got them both down with cheers from the crowd. It was time to line up the landing.
I knew that the prevailing wind was at a 45-degree angle relative to the runway so my last leg was going to need me to be on the sticks. The wing stalls all at once so the probability was high for a stall on that turn as I would be in a tail-wind attitude. Two hairy stalls later I put on the throttle and made another go-around. Lots of "OOOOHHHHH" from the crowd. The next line up was good and I put her in very close to the runway. Big cheers from the crowd and I was off to get her safely unplugged.
Post-flight showed another broken prop, which was expected. This time it was one blade on the rear prop. Also, the landing gear spar had buckled a bit from the terrible field conditions. Really not a big deal. I'll repair with some gorilla glue in the small crack and re-glass the surface. Shockingly surprized at the minimal damage.
It was only at the time that I went out to get the airplane that the entire length of the field was lined with onlookers. I hope the quick flight was enough of a reward for the community in your support of this project. Thank you all, so very much!
In the morning, Ben and I shot a great FT episode on the Baby that I really look forward to seeing. I had fully committed to flying mine later in the day by that point as I had brought the airplane to share with everyone. Any damage I knew I could fix and I really wanted this "people's airplane" to be seen in its true element, going fast with the air over its wings.
I was shocked that Stephan shut down the flight line for me. After a brief intro, I lined up the airplane to fly on the runway. The bumps on the tarp caused the nose to go over two times. Then Josh Bixler walked right over and held the tail while I throttled up and he gave a nice push to send her off. She pulled up perfectly with no pucker factor when she left terra firma. Gear up and pour on the coals. She flew so much better than before with the CG forward. I made a few fast passes with a couple that were great for getting some photos. TJ was on the sticks with a race quad and he shortly gave up trying to keep up as she was very very fast. The SOUND! I could not have asked for it to be better. It was exactly what I was after and she performed great.
It was getting time to try and bring her down and I tried to get the gear down. I had the right side stick. I thought this may be a problem. The high humidity with all the rain had caused the balsa to swell enough to cause this issue in the pitts. After about half a dozen cycles of the gear I got them both down with cheers from the crowd. It was time to line up the landing.
I knew that the prevailing wind was at a 45-degree angle relative to the runway so my last leg was going to need me to be on the sticks. The wing stalls all at once so the probability was high for a stall on that turn as I would be in a tail-wind attitude. Two hairy stalls later I put on the throttle and made another go-around. Lots of "OOOOHHHHH" from the crowd. The next line up was good and I put her in very close to the runway. Big cheers from the crowd and I was off to get her safely unplugged.
Post-flight showed another broken prop, which was expected. This time it was one blade on the rear prop. Also, the landing gear spar had buckled a bit from the terrible field conditions. Really not a big deal. I'll repair with some gorilla glue in the small crack and re-glass the surface. Shockingly surprized at the minimal damage.
It was only at the time that I went out to get the airplane that the entire length of the field was lined with onlookers. I hope the quick flight was enough of a reward for the community in your support of this project. Thank you all, so very much!
I've not done any looking at it since then. She made it home safe and I plan to look at the telemetry log. From there, with the props unloaded in the air I can roughly estimate my speed. I'll also have a look at the battery and see where my time was with this prop setup. I still had another minute or so left on my 4-minute timer but I did not want to chance it too bad since this was only the second flight I had ever made.
In the end, I had a great time sharing this project. I flew everything I brought and I brought it all home. I also picked up a 35" 'Cuda from Laine's Planes that I really look forward to as a quick distraction before building season sets in. Carl (Wilmracer) and I will be doing a joint-build over the winter that I think a lot of folks will enjoy. I believe the followers here will be becoming more familiar with the balsa section of our humble forum.
In the end, I had a great time sharing this project. I flew everything I brought and I brought it all home. I also picked up a 35" 'Cuda from Laine's Planes that I really look forward to as a quick distraction before building season sets in. Carl (Wilmracer) and I will be doing a joint-build over the winter that I think a lot of folks will enjoy. I believe the followers here will be becoming more familiar with the balsa section of our humble forum.
Erospace
Member
Great job at FF! I was there on the flight line when you flew. She was beautiful to finally see in the air. That prop sound was amazing too. My heart skipped a beat when she tip stalled on one of your landing approach turns but you managed to get a smooth landing. Congratulations.
Hey, Thank you! While I would not classify the stall as a tip stall, it was eventful for sure. The way it just dropped right out of the air indicated that the aerodynamics were as theoretically thought. The entire wing stalls all at once. This is as intended for a forward-swept design. Still, it was a good demonstration of how well she DOES fly and how in the right hands she can be a beautiful airplane to see fly.
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