Newsletter 56 - Scottish Airsports Club

Forthcoming Events
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Singe Seat Deregulation Machines
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Forthcoming Events
Broomhall Castle Parachute Repack - Saturday 14th June
The annual parachute repack is at Broomhall Castle, Menstrie on Saturday the 17th of May from 11am.
http://www.broomhallcastle.com/
Kippen Fly-Past - Saturday 14th June
We’ll be aiming to fly past over the Kippen Fair at 13:00 hours. Be at the airfield in plenty of time so that we can discuss
formations etc!
Summer Solstice Microlight Fly-in at Strathaven Airfield - 7th and 8th June.
From Sue: “I've just received notice of an invitation from the Scottish Flying Club to everyone to fly-in to their
'Summer Solstice Microlight Fly-in' at Strathaven Airfield on the 7th and 8th June. There will be no landing fees, a
BBQ and bar, camping, fuel run to local garage, fly-out to Bute, and spot landing competition. Please use Safetycom
135.47, and watch for non-radio traffic and paramotors. For more information, tel. Colin MacKinnon on 07979
971301.”
Perth Airport Open Day and Fly-in - 20th - 22nd June.
No details at present.
Scottish Airsports Club
Latest News
Issue 56, May 2008
Contents
Triple X Free Flying Festival - 20th - 22nd June
Website: http://www.leavesleyaviation.com/
Info on the venue: http://www.walcothall.com/
Where: Walcott Hall, Lydbury North, close to the Long Mynd
Quest to Wallaby Out and Return
Page 5
Hang Dog the Movie
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Single Seat Deregulation Machines
Now that Single Seat Deregulation (SSDR) is finally with us, a whole new breed of single seat microlights are coming
onto the market.
Under the new legislation, a microlight falls into the SSDR rules if it meets the following criteria:
1) Single seat
2) Empty weight wing loading of 10kg/m2 or less
3) Empty weight of 115kg or less
So what advantages does SSDR bring? The first thing to note is that the licence requirements have not changed, so
unlike an FLPA you still need a proper microlight (NPPL) licence. However, the two big benefits that SSDR brings are:
1) The aircraft does not have to go through the very expensive process of Mode-S certification.
2) The aircraft does not need an Permit to Fly.
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This also means that if there's something you want to change, e.g. fitting a different engine, propeller, fuel tank etc.
you can. There's no need to fill in any forms, get it test flown, signed off or anything like that. There's no passenger
seat, so the only person you're going to kill is yourself!
Here are just some of the new aircraft appearing on the market.
Cyclone, Laser and Sprit
P&M Aviation are supposed to be importing Cyclone, Laser and Sprit trikes from Ace Aviation, but there's nothing on
their website yet. You can get details from the Ace Aviation website however:
http://www.aceaviation.co.uk/magic.shtml
BB Trya
The BB Trya trike is made in Hungary, and comes with a V-twin 4-stroke engine for around £9000, or £4500 and you
fit your own engine. More info at http://www.soloflightltd.com
DIY
Some people are just building their own. For example Colin Watney seems to be the only person in the UK so far who
has taken a rigid wing (the Exxtacy) and fitted it to a small French trike with a Solo 210 engine. You can find out
more details at http://www.g-cfdz.com/index.html
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Issue 56, May 2008
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Northwing/ATF trike
This is a fairly standard-looking SSDR trike for £8250. Not a great deal of information on the UK dealer website:
www.turfhouse.com, but a bit more on the Northwing website: http://www.northwing.com/products_trike_atf.shtml
Swift Lite PAS
This has been around for a while and indeed we had one in the hangar at Thornhill a few years ago that was flown on
a foreign certificate. The current version uses the Bailey 4-stroke engine and has a very impressive glide performance
with a claimed 24:1 glide angle and 140 fpm sink rate. Yours for around £25,000. More info at
http://www.johnnycarr.com/swiftlite_PAS.html
Flylight have really taken the SSDR concept to heart and have a range of three new machines.
Dragonfly
This is probably the best known of the new designs. The features that set it apart from the competition are:
3 engine options, including the Bailey 175cc 4-stroke engine.
Retractable rear wheels
Optional aerodynamic fairings.
Trike folds up into a size that will go into the car boot.
By using a reasonably high performance hang glider wing (a slightly modified Aeros Discus) together with retractable
rear wheels and fairings, Flylight are claiming an engine-off glide angle of nearly 12:1 and sink rate of 200 feet per
minute. The top-of-the-range model costs £10252. More info at http://www.flylight.co.uk/flexwing/dragonfly.htm
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ZJ-Viera
This is a very intriguing 3-axis design with an open cockpit where the pilot almost seems to sit on the wing and ride it.
It's a real eye-catcher and I can imagine that flying one of these things would be much more fun than a typical 3-axis
microlight with fully enclosed cockpit. The current version has just a single main wheel and a tailwheel (so one wing
will rest on the ground when stationary or taxiing), but a heavier tri-wheel version is in the pipeline. Yours for around
£12,250. More info at http://www.flylight.co.uk/fixedwing/viera.htm
Alatus-M
As some of you may know, this is my favourite. It is similar in spirit to the Swift Lite PAS, but it is a fully-fledged selflaunching
sailplane with an engine that completely retracts into the fuselage, and allows for 90 minutes of powered
flight. It has amazing engine-off performance with a glide-angle of 27:1 and a sink rate of 140 feet per minute. Compared
to the Swift Lite PAS it is cheaper, has a slightly better glide performance, has better visibility and looks a lot
nicer. Unfortunately the best things in life are expensive: £20500. More info at
http://www.flylight.co.uk/gliding/index.htm
So which one is the best? Time to apply some science! The best possible flying experience would be to be able to
just outstretch your arms and fly like a bird. Since that's not possible, we must aim to get as close to that ideal as
possible. Clearly the more additional equipment and weight you add, the further we are moving away from this.
That's why small, light aircraft are more fun to fly than large, heavy aircraft. Similarly, birds fly without the intrusive
noise of an engine and glide whenever they can. Therefore the longer and further you can fly with the engine
switched off, the more fun and rewarding a flight you will have. Price is also an issue - the less you paid, the more
pleasure you'll get. This leads us to the following formula:
FF = GA*FoFC/(SR*W*PR), where:
FF = Fun Factor
GA = Glide Angle
FoFC = Fun of Flying Constant = 100,000,000 (yes, flying any sort of aircraft is a lot of fun!)
PR = Price
SR = Sink Rate
W = Weight
We can now apply the above formula to find out which is best:
Dragonfly: FF = 12*100000000/(200*95*10252) = 6
ZJ-Viera: FF = 9.68*100000000/(500*78*12250) = 2
Swift Lite PAS: FF = 24*100000000/(140*95*25000) = 7
Alatus-M: FF = 27*100000000/(140*110*20500) = 8.5
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So now there’s no need for any sort of discussion or argument. We have scientifically proven that the Alatus-M is has
the biggest Fun Factor of all the new machines, and I want one. Let me know if you are interested in a half-share
with me.
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Scottish Airsports Club
Quest to Wallaby Out and Return by Steve Blackler
I've been out to Quest a few times now, having bought myself an old Stealth for $1000, which is still in good condition,
one of the last built before the Combat. Saturday 3rd February I mozied on out to Quest in my van after a
morning shift with Thompson Aviation, an Orlando Balloon company. I drive retrieve for them every other weekend,
which pays for my fuel out to Quest. They are only based 30mins from the airpark. Not feeling in any rush I wandered
over to my fully rigged glider, which I left out from the day before. Having had a 6-week lay off, I’d had a late afternoon
flight just to make sure I was still able to fly. Not having to rig a glider is actually a very nice feeling. I had my
lunch and talked to one of the hang glider pilots who was a gunner in ‘Nam, quite a few interesting stories about going
in and rescuing downed helicopters, quite the hero but I think he was very lucky to get out alive!
I programmed my GPS for an out and return to Wallaby, 35 km to the SSE. The clouds, which had decayed from what
looked like a promising morning, now seemed to be taking a healthy second breath. I took this as a good sign and
opted to launch first. My tow-pilot was none other than Bob Bailey, designer of the Dragonfly. I pinged off in some
lifty air at around 2000 feet and I was surprised how relaxed I was. I took the gentle ride all the way to cloud base,
which was around 3,500ft. I then made my first good decision: I was gliding to a cloud but realised that it was decaying.
I back-tracked quite a long way and consolidated my height with another good climb to base, this one was just
short of 4000ft.
I was way north of the airfield now but it allowed me to go on a long 8km glide into a 10mph head wind. I worked
some light lift at 2500ft, not willing to push on; good decision number 2. I back-tracked again to where I saw another
hang glider climbing and joined him in the solid climb back to cloud base. I was positioned SE of the airfield with
some very nice clouds in the general direction of Wallaby so I decided the flight I had put in my GPS was on.
The next 8km was pretty straight forward, a good energy line kept me way over 3000ft. I topped up at the end of the
street and noticed 2 hang gliders coming the other way. There was a substantial gap between the end of this street
and the next decent cloud. I pointed my toes and crossed the gap to consolidate my height under a decaying cloud.
There wasn't any consistent lift but it was a great view. The lakeland scenery and the ballooning area was pleasant to
the eye and a flock of birds in the classic V formation were flying north with the southerly wind. Seemed a little early
for migration? I hung around for a good 15minutes as there was really nowhere else to go and I was in no rush. A
sail plane was mooching around in the same area and wasn't having any luck either. Then suddenly we both went up
as the cloud came to life again and started to reform.
At base I was ready to position myself to the next decent looking cloud directly south. It was over a quarry and next
to the road I had driven down earlier that day and was the sign that I was over half way. I get a good kick out of
flying my invisibly powered hang glider over the ground I have covered in my gas-guzzling car. It was a nice feeling
and I was confident that there was some good lift in the area. I was searching for the lift on the sunny side of the
cloud and not connecting with it. Just when I was about to talk myself into going somewhere else I noticed 2 Bald
eagles in front and 500ft below, so I punched forward upwind of the cloud and there it was a solid 4/5 up and my lift
to cloud base. Again a sail plane was up with me but he disappeared into cloud. I took one too many circles and had
to pull over 50mph to keep from disappearing in there myself! In the whispies, bar to the knees, trying to stay out of
the cloud and still going up got the old heart pumping and took me above the 5000ft mark.
Out of the cloud and continuing my journey towards Wallaby I could see Highway 27 then Disney off to the East. I
could just make out Wallaby and felt that it was definitely now within gliding range but I wanted to arrive as high as
possible to try and get back. I was very conscious of the time, which was after 3pm and knew I had to start pushing
it if I wanted to get back. I was pretty sure I was going to have to be lucky not to land at Wallaby. I picked a good
line that helped me progress another 8km, still staying above 3000ft. I couldn't help but feel chuffed with myself with
the fact that I hadn't dropped below 2500ft all flight, a height I had given myself at the start of the flight. The head
wind made it feel very slow, but I was ecstatic to see Wallaby.
I stopped again for another 1000ft and charged on to Wallaby under another good line. I left the final part of the
buoyant air a little bit early with the plan that I could come back to it. The height gave me a good glide in to wind all
the way to Wallaby. It was great to see the place from the air, there was a lot of activity and I counted 20 hang gliders
out.
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I turned round at 2900ft. Oops!!! First mistake: it felt low and a long way from any clouds with a big forest below
with only one large field as a bomb out. I coasted with the wind and headed for what looked like a very weak cloud
but it was the only one in range, at 1200ft I was desperate and cursed that earlier thought about not going lower than
2500ft. I connected with a 0 and desperately hung on to it squeezing anything I could out of it. I must have been
there for about 10 minutes. I knew that the gliders above me were thinking that I was a nutter for getting so low
over a forest. I still had my bomb out field but thankfully I was going up more than down and I finally reached my
first hurdle of 1500ft, a beautiful milestone. I saw some gliders climbing about 2km down wind and 1000ft above.
This would take me further from my bomb out field but I decided to take the gamble as the day was getting late. It
paid off and I got into an orgasmic 2 up which really felt like the stairway to heaven. A lovely smooth thermal took
me above 4000ft and I knew my chances were looking so much better now.
All the clouds were now decaying but I calculated all I need was one more climb. Two of the gliders headed back for
Wallaby but I noticed another making a bee line for Quest. I was relieved because having company would make
things a little bit easier. I was within gliding range of my climb I had with the Bald eagles and there was still a small
cloud in the vicinity so I went back to it. The air felt lifty and there were a few vultures in the area so I continued to
explore. The other hang glider had travelled more North and was also feeling the air. I stayed where I was and
started to gain height, the vultures moved a few hundred metres off to the East and as the other glider joined them I
watched but was sure I was in better air. I decided to take 3 turns and see what the results were. By my third turn
the vultures had decided I was in better air and they joined me and the other glider followed suit. The bastard then
proceeded to climb through me, which wasn't part of the deal! Just short of base and now with the tail wind we were
probably just within gliding distance of Quest, but it would have been tight. He took a direct north line but I opted to
follow the last cloud. I didn't want to rush it and soaked up the view. I knew as soon as I landed I would want to be
in the air again! There was nothing substantial under the cloud but I hung around for a little while drifting with the
wind and watching the airfield get bigger. Arriving with over 1500ft I cruised down wind towards where I’d taken my
second climb, maximising the out and return.
I planned my landing with as much detail as possible not wanting to screw it up: there wasn't much wind so it was a
fast approach and a few dodgy turns and in the end the approach was all wrong! I should have used the whole field
but I got away with it, just going over on the nose a little.
I returned to the rigging area after a 4 1/2 hour absence and lay flat on my back. What a flight and well worth the
$20! Each breath was a sigh of contentment and I knew that my passion for hang gliding was still there, an amazing
flight! I was a little worried the helicopters might spoil my passion for hang gliding but quite the contrary. Helicopters
have made me appreciate both the simplicity of the hang glider as an aircraft and the complexities involved with staying
in the air. I drove home in peace, soaking it all up - definitely a close second to the wave flight I had in Aberdeen
with Ross and Big Ian.
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Hang Dog the Movie
Some guy in America wants to make a Hang Gliding movie. If, like me, you think this is a good idea, then read more
at: http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11705, watch the teaser trailer at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dVQKtgsMng, and leave a comment. Make it happen!
Scottish Airsports Club, Easter Poldar Farm, Thornhill, Stirling, FK8 3QT
www.scottishairsports.co.uk
Issue 56, May 2008
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