IT FLIES!!!
Well, i just have to say, I am extremely happy with how this wing flies! I have flown it 5 or so times now, and I am very happy with this design
. Great job, James!
For the first flight I adjusted the brakes to the length specified on the plans, and launched it. The first launch was very rough, with lots of pendulum-ing and me not being quite sure which way i was going. I was pretty sure i was going to wreck, but I ended up keeping things under control
Keep in mind, this is the first time I've ever flown something like this!
I was way over controlling it at first, and also being very heavy on the throttle. Once I calmed down my stick movements, It was pretty much smooth sailing from then on till the landing. Flying an RC paramotor is definitely much different than flying RC planes, which I've done a good deal of. In all the times I've flown this paramotor, i have never gone much over 1/2 throttle. It seems like this thing has way more power than i'll ever use! Maybe it'll come in handy once i'm more used to flying this thing.
On the third flight, I was feeling adventurous, and decided to stall the wing. I got up fairly high, cut the throttle, and started pulling back on the brakes. All of a sudden the wing folded and shot down behind the cart, and the cart started pretty much free falling
. I let off the brakes as fast as i could, and the wing halfway re-inflated. I realized though too late that I hadn't started nearly high enough, and i had also done the maneuver over a terrible location (an unharvested cornfield). Smack! I was picturing in my mind corn stalks poking up through the wing fabric
, but when i ran out to see, there was no damage whatsoever!
. The worst i had to deal with was just untangling some lines from cornstalks.
Up to the fourth flight, i had set the brakes where they were specified in the plans, and I hadn't experienced a single collapse (other than the intentional one on the third flight). This thing is rock solid! I decided to see if i could let more brake line out, to see where it would fly best. I set the brakes so I could take off with them pulled to the marks, but so that i could let the out with trim. I found that I could let them out around 1 cm. or so with no collapses, but if i let it out much more, I would start to get wingtip collapses during wind gusts.
This morning, I got up early and flew before it got gusty. I also did a lot of practicing takeoffs and flares for landing. I also tried a few spirals, but no more stalls
It is such a great feeling seeing this thing flying! I'm planning on posting a video and more pictures, but i just wanted to share the good report!