http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All- ... e-airplane

Holy Cow! Can you imagine doing this. Would be really crazy. Taking off like a glider behind a plane....yeah that really is risky. But once in the sky....that would be pretty fun. As far as landing is concerned.....parachute down. Could be a hard sell to the FAA. Would they ever approve that????....... and my wife, NO way she would ever let me do that.
Probability no riskier than wingsuit flying.

SkylaneSam wrote:http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2014/November/03/Sky-surfing-behind-your-favorite-airplane

Holy Cow! Can you imagine doing this. Would be really crazy. Taking off like a glider behind a plane....yeah that really is risky. But once in the sky....that would be pretty fun. As far as landing is concerned.....parachute down. Could be a hard sell to the FAA. Would they ever approve that????....... and my wife, NO way she would ever let me do that.
Probability no riskier than wingsuit flying.

Yeah, this guy is going to live at least as long as these guys... (List at end of video)

To me it looks like there will be no stabilizing forces that can react the pitching moments created by the wing. Tails are pretty nice things to have on fixed wing flying machines.

He should try dragging one of these behind a plane. Looks pretty stable in pitch, though not in roll

i was thinking the same thing about pitch stability... looks awefully shortcoupled compared to wakeboards and surfboards and such.

Jake, is the pitching moment "cancelled" or counteracted by the tension of the tow line? The model looks to fly okay.

Cool Idea for sure.

highroad wrote:Jake, is the pitching moment "cancelled" or counteracted by the tension of the tow line? The model looks to fly okay.

Cool Idea for sure.

Pitching moment would be countered by the rider's body. Using the tension of the tow line.

CamTom12 wrote:

highroad wrote:Jake, is the pitching moment "cancelled" or counteracted by the tension of the tow line? The model looks to fly okay.

Cool Idea for sure.

Pitching moment would be countered by the rider's body. Using the tension of the tow line.

I guess that the airfoil could align itself to the most streamlined attitude and all changes in pitch would be reacted in the riders ankles.

Essentially what you end up with is weight shift control, which is certainly not new, but is stable because the mass is suspended below the aerodynamic center on something like a hang glider or a trike ultralight. In the case of the wing surfer, the center of mass is above the aerodynamic center, which would be a totally sketchy balancing act. Try pulling negative gs with a hang glider That's what this is like.

Models that weigh ounces and full scale manned flying machines are generally very different critters. A foam cub RC plane for instance has less than a pound per sq foot wing loading and a similar thrust loading. To get a similar wing loading on the wing surfer a wing the size of that of a Supercub would be necessary to support a 150 lb person.

It doesn't look like a viable concept to me.

Bad dad on the manta tube vid. Lucky the son wasn't injured more seriously. I like how everyone denies hearing the "slow down" even though it is plainly heard on the audio. Every mom's nightmare. At least the son had the brains to not try it again, despite encouragement from his dad.

And the wingsuit guys, jeez. Finally something with a higher fatality rate than flying airshows. http://www.blincmagazine.com/forum/wiki/Fatality_Statistics. If it is sponsored by Red Bull, you'll have more. 2014 rate will be higher than 2013.

It looks prety stable as a model, it should work full scale. Besides there is s parachute !

Dan

Someone's been watching old Tailspin videos

Man I loved that cartoon! Been trying to find it on the web so my kids can watch it.

whee wrote:Man I loved that cartoon! Been trying to find it on the web so my kids can watch it.

Me too!

Let me know if you find it. No kids now but someday we'll have some to share it with.

CamTom12 wrote:

whee wrote:Man I loved that cartoon! Been trying to find it on the web so my kids can watch it.

Me too!

Let me know if you find it. No kids now but someday we'll have some to share it with.

A quick google search and you'll find it on YouTube. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mhsRFibWlrM

The designer / builder is based at my home airport and is our EAA Chapter president...great guy and has a passion for all things aviation. Aaron has a masters in Aeronautical Engineering and has done his homework with the wingboard. It gets its stability through a basic gyroscopic autopilot assist and the test models are impressive. Theoretically the design characteristics should translate into the full scale model, but I don't plan to volunteer to be the test dummy...he already has wingsuit junkies standing in line to test it for him.

And yes, he was a fan of Tailspin and Kid Cloudkicker when he was a little boy...it gave him the idea to make it a reality.

http://www.wypaviation.com/what-is-it-.html