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--
> >
> >
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