Bug HLG

What amazed me the most was one time I flew the Bug off a slope in 20- 25 MPH winds and it penetrated amazingly well. It required nearly 3/4 down elevator to maintain forward flight, but what is amazing that a 3.5 oz airplane could be flown in that much wind at all. That was with the original balsa fuse, and no gyro. After seeing the articles about using a gyro for discus launch recovery, I had to try it. So I purchased a small Century gyro. Really amazing!!! You can throw it hard and it takes off like a rocket. All you have to do is to level off at the top. Good launch nearly every time. The way I extended the spar throught the wing tip could better be done by extending the actual spar to the tip, which would be stronger. I added the wire after the wing was built and you can see in the pictures how the wing tip is getting beat-up from any twisting that occurs on the launch peg. My lightest version was 3.5 oz. The latest version with CF fuselage and gyro is 3.8 oz. Most of my flights are under one minute: 30-50 seconds are very common. Occasionally, I will get a small thermal and can increase flight times to a couple minutes. At 3.8 oz it is a bit heavy. I've been wanting to add about 6 inches to the center section, thereby increasing the span. I really like the gyro assisted launches and think it difficult to build much lighter while still maintaining durability. The original balsa fuse is lighter, but it can take very little abuse and after repeated repairs, it's not so light anymore. I've very new at HLG, so my short flight times could also be improved with experience and savy reading thermal conditions. I can tell when I'm trying to fly "correctly" verses being overly active at the controls. The only thing that is a bit peculiar about the design is that with this airfoil, it hold its pitch heading and does not correct itself from a moderate dive. That's great for penetration and flying in a strong breeze, but for still air thermal work, I think a flatter bottom or slight undercambered airfoil would be better. But... remember what I said... I'm not very experienced with gliders! Regardless of my experience level and inablility to sustain longer flights, this little airplane is one of my favorites and I take the opportunity to fly it often. I'd really like to hear what performance others have been getting. Rgds, --Colin-- --- In BugHLG@y..., John Gallagher <gldrgidr@b...> wrote: > Thanks Colin for the photos. You've built an extreme Bug. > What's the flying weight and your longest flight? > > John > > colinb_us wrote: > > > I uploaded several pictures of my Bug in the files area. I call > > it "Carbon D-Bug" because of the carbon fiber fuselage and discus > > launch capability. Hope you Bug lovers enjoy my creation and can use > > it to create your own. It is a very fun airplane. The original is a > > bit fragile, which prompted me to redesign it with a full length > > carbon shaft to survive ground strikes. > > > > The original posting on Ezone is available at: > > http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php? > > s=&threadid=9385&highlight=DBug. > > > > --Colin-- > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > ADVERTISEMENT > > > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > BugHLG-unsubscribe@y... > > Home Page - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BugHLG/ > > > > > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]