Launching a Versa Wing

[sprzout]

I built and successfully maidened a Versa Wing about 2 weeks ago, the Fri. following Thanksgiving. In it, I had my dad help me to get it up in the air, doing a throw while I gave it full throttle and controlled it up into the air.

Saturday, I tried to do the same thing, only this time, I opted to try and launch the sucker myself. Failure on both launches.

I was gripping the wing like one might hold a Frisbee, and threw it up into the air, only to have it drop to the right and end up on the runway before I could pull up and level out for flight. On the second toss, the servo on the left side broke loose from the inside, requiring me to do some "surgery", cutting open a small hole in the wing to re-glue/attach it to the wing.

Something tells me it's my launch technique...I'm not sure how else I can throw it; I've watched the two Joshes do their video of launching pusher Versa Wings, but I'm not able to get a good toss up with that - the wing wants to whip around in a spin or nosedive off to the right as it stalls.

Anyone else have any suggestions? I'd really like to get to where I don't have to depend on someone else to get my wing up in the air AND avoid slicing my hand up from a rear facing prop.

 

[ElectriSean]

I don't have a ton of wing experience, but for hand launching I find it's much easier to use my left hand to throw, after setting the throttle. This lets you keep your right hand on the stick for immediate control.

 

[makattack]

I'm a big fan of flying wings and have launched all my wings, small and large (including multiple variants of the FT Versa) using what I call a one arm overhead launch where I grip the wing close to the center of the nose, and launch it overhead.

StoneBlueAirlines/Jeremiah does a great tutorial here:

It's his second launch style, at about the :55 second point, which he says he typically does when he's flying alone.

I've never had a stall from the launch, nor been close to being nicked by the prop. Heck, I even use the same technique when I'm launching other peoples wings for them, because I'm so used to it. Heh, I did have one case where it launched the wing well for someone else, making them think it was flight worthy, but when they hit the controls, the rates were too high, and it ended up rolling and pitching into a crazy uncontrollable mess of over corrections leading to a hard landing.

I will second ElectriSean's recommendation for launching with a left arm, with the right hand on the mode 2 right stick for aileron-roll/elevator-pitch control. I just set the throttle with my mouth. I guess if you fly a different mode, you can adjust accordingly. I think that's the biggest difference between my style and the SBA video.

 

[Bricks]

I guess I might be a little different first off the most times I have had problems is not opening the throttle all the way. I grab the wing with my right hand closer to the wing tip and sort of twist my body keeping my arm straight. Using my body and arm to help get the wing to flying speed right out of my hand. As I do this I can feel the wing starting to gain lift right out of my hand by the time it leaves my hand the wings are parallel to the ground and off we go..

 

[JimCR120]

I have a wing and have launched it pretty much every way there is with one hand. Wings tend to have plenty of power to weight or at least mine does So I can stick it in the snow (when we have it, not there yet but soon I know) and it will take off vertically. No snow? I can do the same thing one-handed by throttling up just enough that it wants to climb vertically and my hand doesn't really throw it but just guides it upward. The same method can be done outward too.

If yours is twitchy you could set it up on dual rates to soften the throws. Mine are very softened anyway. Is yours a pusher or tractor? Mine's a pusher though I've had both and launch them the same way.

 

[sprzout]

I have a wing and have launched it pretty much every way there is with one hand. Wings tend to have plenty of power to weight or at least mine does So I can stick it in the snow (when we have it, not there yet but soon I know) and it will take off vertically. No snow? I can do the same thing one-handed by throttling up just enough that it wants to climb vertically and my hand doesn't really throw it but just guides it upward. The same method can be done outward too.

If yours is twitchy you could set it up on dual rates to soften the throws. Mine are very softened anyway. Is yours a pusher or tractor? Mine's a pusher though I've had both and launch them the same way.

It's a pusher - that's part of why I'm having such difficulty. I'm worried about getting the prop cuts along my arm, leg, side of my body, etc. If it were a tractor, I could just grab the power pod and throw it overhand like I would a glider...

And I've got flight modes set to run softened modes; right now I'm running at 30% expo, which is comfortable for me.

Maybe I'm not giving it enough throttle or throwing it fast enough to get enough air moving across the wing to give it lift; I'm going to have to just practice, I guess...I'm wanting to make a Versa Wing without a motor for slope soaring, so maybe I'll do that and practice tossing that at the high school football field or baseball fields, and pancaking it into the grass.

@Mak:

I'm definitely going to take a look at that video later today...Looks like it'll give me a few ideas of how to get my bird in the air.

 

[JimCR120]

If you hold it near the end of one wing and hold it so its pointing straight up you can slowly move the throttle and feel ho much weight the motor will actually lift. I launch mine just above this level and it lifts off nicely. If the surfaces are not trimmed out it might pitch but if it rolls it doesn't matter much because it's pointed straight up.

Another option that would free up both hands is launching it off the ground. When there's snow it's easy. Without snow you could have winglets squared off on the tail end and use that as the "feet" for takeoff.

 

[jtbluefeather]

I agree with Jim and Bricks, the best way I've found when solo with my Versawing is like a powered version of a dlg launch. Takes a little practice, but you can do it!

 

[makattack]

I've launched wings via a discus like (dlg) launch technique, and it works great for the light weight wings, but I've had a versa wing with the blunt nose section weighted down with large batteries, flight controller, fpv gear, that it would cause the wing to become dented and creased just by holding it on the wing tip, which is how I've just transitioned completely to the hold by the thicker/more sturdy and balanced nose section to over-head throw it.

It also allows me to be pretty lazy with the technique and not have to be careful to launch the wing only when it's level. I find that even when I flub the launch by miscalculating the wind direction (or it changes), it ends up being a successful launch because this launch technique puts the wing at a higher altitude before you even release it, giving me more time to react.

Here's a good example of me launching my versa wing in the first 20 seconds. It has a view from the wing + a third person view so you can see what happened. On this launch, I either slipped on release or the wing caught it and it yawed on release, but you can see it quickly corrected itself.

https://youtu.be/zG4VJionfx8

 

[sprzout]

I've launched wings via a discus like (dlg) launch technique, and it works great for the light weight wings, but I've had a versa wing with the blunt nose section weighted down with large batteries, flight controller, fpv gear, that it would cause the wing to become dented and creased just by holding it on the wing tip, which is how I've just transitioned completely to the hold by the thicker/more sturdy and balanced nose section to over-head throw it.

It also allows me to be pretty lazy with the technique and not have to be careful to launch the wing only when it's level. I find that even when I flub the launch by miscalculating the wind direction (or it changes), it ends up being a successful launch because this launch technique puts the wing at a higher altitude before you even release it, giving me more time to react.

Here's a good example of me launching my versa wing in the first 20 seconds. It has a view from the wing + a third person view so you can see what happened. On this launch, I either slipped on release or the wing caught it and it yawed on release, but you can see it quickly corrected itself.

https://youtu.be/zG4VJionfx8

Thanks! Believe it or not, that actually helped A LOT in seeing how you throw it; you're not doing it in a overhead where it's going straight up over your torso and then your head, like the StoneBlue guys, it's more of an overhead and to the side. I'm DEFINITELY going to practice that one, as it looks like it gets it up in the air better than my side/Frisbee style tosses. And, I think that when I start slope soaring with another Versa Wing, it'll be a good way to toss it over the "cliff", so to speak.

 

[makattack]

Thanks! Believe it or not, that actually helped A LOT in seeing how you throw it; you're not doing it in a overhead where it's going straight up over your torso and then your head, like the StoneBlue guys, it's more of an overhead and to the side. I'm DEFINITELY going to practice that one, as it looks like it gets it up in the air better than my side/Frisbee style tosses. And, I think that when I start slope soaring with another Versa Wing, it'll be a good way to toss it over the "cliff", so to speak.

Hmm... yeah, I never really noticed that I kind of do a sideways overhead. At least with that video. I think it really just points to how that technique is quite forgiving. I launch my FT Arrow the same way. I think I've gotten to that sideways cant because I usually fly FPV with a large set of those DIY box goggles, and a completely vertical overhead launch would mean my arm might run into the goggle/antennas before I pull it down over my eyes.

At any rate, glad I could help! If you can, it'd be great to see any videos you take of your practices, launches, etc so feel free to post them if you wanted to.

On the note of practicing, when I built my first Versa wing (the pointy nose version setup as a pusher) back in 2014, I was doing what you were doing and trying to figure out a good launch technique. That was when I arrived at this technique. My first launch was a bit of a glide test. I launched it with power to the prop (about 50%) but as soon as my hand returned to the sticks, I cut the throttle and just controlled it down to a landing. It was a good way for me to practice the launch, test the CG, etc before I finally launched it for a full flight. If I were to do that again, ideally, I would have built a second Versa wing with no motor -- a slope soarer like you indicated you might build, and use that to practice. I took a bit of a risk with the large battery (3300mAh 3S) and the motor/prop with that test/practice launch. Knowing what I know now, I'd have preferred practicing and testing that stuff with a dedicated airframe that I could bang up without worries of more expensive components breaking.

 

[thenated0g]

Once i switch to this style i havent had any problems.