Bug HLG

Hi, With a cruciform tail, I haven't felt a need for presets during launch. When I was learning to launch, I sometimes preset the (mechanical) trim lever on my transmitter and then readjusted it after the launch. Here's an article about how to add a preset switch to your transmitter: http://www.polecataero.com/ Look in the articles section for "Hitec Focus Launch Pre-set" hope this helps, Bob Chiang (with the lace wing bug)

Thanks for your time and the great insights and tips.....i'm forwarding that one to the archives. I'm giving Bug 1 to my father in law for Christmas to get him started on R/C, and building another 1. I have the kitchen scale on hand at all times, and I'm building nice and light so far, so I'll let you know how it goes. I'm giving him my 3 channel radio with the bug and thinking about getting one that supports model memory for pre-sets, although I like your approach of just right stick until just after launch. Thanks again. Regards - T --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, "gldrgidr" <gldrgidr@m...> wrote: > trizzle777, > I realized that I didn't answer all your questions. > I do SAL my bug and although it originally had a wing-tip peg, it no > longer does. My peg had a wire wrapped around it and the ends of the > wire were epoxied into the tube spar. After many launches the wire > suffered from fatigue and broke (the wire ends are still epoxied into > the spar). I now grasp the tip with my thumb beneath the wing and my > other fingers on top (index finger on top of spar). The launches are > a little higher and easier with the peg, but it also means that that > the wing isn't balanced - the peg tip weighs more than the other. > My bug photos are in the Gallagher folder in the Photos section. > > A preset is needed for my SAL technique (I'll post on this later). > Throwing right handed, I push the transmitter control stick to the > right (about half rudder) with my left thumb during launch. I > release the stick just after I release the glider. > My club's field is flat (acually more like the potata chip called > Ruffles). It's surrounded almost completely by trees. The wind was > too light for sloping the trees. With no leaves there isn't much of > a slope effect anyway. > 'Secrets of Thermals' is an excellant primer on thermals. I highly > recommend it. > > John > > > --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, "trizzle777" <trizzle777@y...> wrote: > > > Were you side arm launching, using any pre-sets for the launch, > and > > does your bug have a wing-tip peg? (If you download Al Wright's > > Gambler manual from his site, he gives what seems to be some nice > > tips on SAL'ing). I've never actually launched side-arm, at least > > not yet. Are pictures of your bug posted? > > > > What's the terrain where you were flying. Could you have picked > up > > any slope lift? > > > > BTW, I find RadioCarbonArt videos to be excellent. There's one > > called "Secrets of Thermals" which I may pick up as a result of > your > > message, in order to learn more. > > > > Thanks again. > > > > > > > > --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, "gldrgidr" <gldrgidr@m...> wrote: > > > Two weeks ago, here in New Jersey, we had a good flying weekend. > I > > > got my longest thermal flight with the Bug. It was 6 minutes and > > 50 > > > seconds. Has anyone had longer thermal flights? Maybe we should > > > have a running contest for longest Bug thermal flight. > > > What do you think? > > > Of course this is the wrong time of year to expect long flights. > > As > > > soon as I'm finished with this post, I have to go shovel the snow > > out > > > of my driveway so I can get to work tomarrow. > > > > > > John

trizzle777, I realized that I didn't answer all your questions. I do SAL my bug and although it originally had a wing-tip peg, it no longer does. My peg had a wire wrapped around it and the ends of the wire were epoxied into the tube spar. After many launches the wire suffered from fatigue and broke (the wire ends are still epoxied into the spar). I now grasp the tip with my thumb beneath the wing and my other fingers on top (index finger on top of spar). The launches are a little higher and easier with the peg, but it also means that that the wing isn't balanced - the peg tip weighs more than the other. My bug photos are in the Gallagher folder in the Photos section. A preset is needed for my SAL technique (I'll post on this later). Throwing right handed, I push the transmitter control stick to the right (about half rudder) with my left thumb during launch. I release the stick just after I release the glider. My club's field is flat (acually more like the potata chip called Ruffles). It's surrounded almost completely by trees. The wind was too light for sloping the trees. With no leaves there isn't much of a slope effect anyway. 'Secrets of Thermals' is an excellant primer on thermals. I highly recommend it. John --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, "trizzle777" <trizzle777@y...> wrote: > > Were you side arm launching, using any pre-sets for the launch, and > does your bug have a wing-tip peg? (If you download Al Wright's > Gambler manual from his site, he gives what seems to be some nice > tips on SAL'ing). I've never actually launched side-arm, at least > not yet. Are pictures of your bug posted? > > What's the terrain where you were flying. Could you have picked up > any slope lift? > > BTW, I find RadioCarbonArt videos to be excellent. There's one > called "Secrets of Thermals" which I may pick up as a result of your > message, in order to learn more. > > Thanks again. > > > > --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, "gldrgidr" <gldrgidr@m...> wrote: > > Two weeks ago, here in New Jersey, we had a good flying weekend. I > > got my longest thermal flight with the Bug. It was 6 minutes and > 50 > > seconds. Has anyone had longer thermal flights? Maybe we should > > have a running contest for longest Bug thermal flight. > > What do you think? > > Of course this is the wrong time of year to expect long flights. > As > > soon as I'm finished with this post, I have to go shovel the snow > out > > of my driveway so I can get to work tomarrow. > > > > John

First off. The week before my flight, the high temperatures were in the low 50's and upper 40's which lowered the ground surface temperatures. On the day of my long flight, the temperature was in the lower 60's. It was an unusually warm day. The wind was light and variable. Perfect conditions for long thermal flights. In the fall, the best flights sometimes occur when a colder than normal night is followed by a hot calm day. The differential heating (different surface areas absorbing the sun's heat at different rates) is increased when the temperature differential is largest between night and day or between the ground temperature and the air temperature. The flight occurred on the last day of fall (at least here) no matter what the calendar said. Thermals do occur during the winter. It's been my experience that most thermal days during the winter, are also windy days. But there are exceptions, especially if the winter is dry. I'm planning to spend the winter building a superlight bug for next spring like jason's (Zhack?). I'm aiming for 3.25 ounces for a 34.5" wingspan bug. Current Bug is 3.8 ounces and 34.5" wingspan. John John --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, "Michael Kelley" <mkelley@m...> wrote: > Just a note, thermals work on temperature differential - so any time you > have major temperature differences within an air mass you get major lift > - the winter months offer some really great thermal opportunities. > Remember you are working with a micro climate and a snow covered field > next to a warming asphalt parking lot is a super thermal generator. > Look for calm days especially for the Bug. > > HTH, > > Mike > > Michael Kelley > Leesville Road High School > Career & Technical Education > Aerospace Technology > 919/870-4250 > http://www.leesvilleaerospace.org <http://www.leesvilleaerospace.org/> > > -----Original Message----- > From: trizzle777 [mailto:trizzle777@y...] > Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 1:10 AM > To: BugHLG@yahoogroups.com > Subject: [BugHLG] Re: Longest flights with the Bug > > > That's unreal, and congratulations. I haven't finished my bug yet, > but I do have other (poor) HLG experience flying a Candy HLG (ARF) in > cold weather. At least recently on an overcast day, I was getting > very short flights with lots of sink crushing down on my glider. I > limped home and packed it in for the season, on the premise that cold > air tends to fall and flying something that depended on rising > columns of warm air was an exercize in futility. I'm new to this, > and your experience has sparked hope that I won't need to wait for an > August scorcher to go out and at least get some good trimming and > balancing flights in. > > So needless to say, I'm going to fire questions at you like a 4 year > old. ;-> > > I don't know much about thermals, but had always assumed (perhaps > wrongly) that I needed a certain minimum air temperature to get any > significant lift, and have hence written off flying before it warmed > up a little more. What was the air temperature approximately, and > what kind of wind were you flying in? > > Were you side arm launching, using any pre-sets for the launch, and > does your bug have a wing-tip peg? (If you download Al Wright's > Gambler manual from his site, he gives what seems to be some nice > tips on SAL'ing). I've never actually launched side-arm, at least > not yet. Are pictures of your bug posted? > > What's the terrain where you were flying. Could you have picked up > any slope lift? > > BTW, I find RadioCarbonArt videos to be excellent. There's one > called "Secrets of Thermals" which I may pick up as a result of your > message, in order to learn more. > > Thanks again. > > > > --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, "gldrgidr" <gldrgidr@m...> wrote: > > Two weeks ago, here in New Jersey, we had a good flying weekend. I > > got my longest thermal flight with the Bug. It was 6 minutes and > 50 > > seconds. Has anyone had longer thermal flights? Maybe we should > > have a running contest for longest Bug thermal flight. > > What do you think? > > Of course this is the wrong time of year to expect long flights. > As > > soon as I'm finished with this post, I have to go shovel the snow > out > > of my driveway so I can get to work tomarrow. > > > > John > > > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > <http://rd.yahoo.com/SIG=12c5svogr/M=259395.3614674.4902533.1261774/D= eg > roupweb/S=1705370808:HM/EXP=1071036615/A=1524963/R=0/*http://hits.411w eb > .com/cgi-bin/autoredir? camp=556&lineid=3614674&prop=egroupweb&pos=HM> > > <http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l? M=259395.3614674.4902533.1261774/D=egrou > pmail/S=:HM/A=1524963/rand=937908190> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > BugHLG-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > Home Page - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BugHLG/ > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BugHLG/> > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service > <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Just a note, thermals work on temperature differential - so any time you have major temperature differences within an air mass you get major lift - the winter months offer some really great thermal opportunities. Remember you are working with a micro climate and a snow covered field next to a warming asphalt parking lot is a super thermal generator. Look for calm days especially for the Bug. HTH, Mike Michael Kelley Leesville Road High School Career & Technical Education Aerospace Technology 919/870-4250 http://www.leesvilleaerospace.org <http://www.leesvilleaerospace.org/> -----Original Message----- From: trizzle777 [mailto:trizzle777@...] Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 1:10 AM To: BugHLG@yahoogroups.com Subject: [BugHLG] Re: Longest flights with the Bug That's unreal, and congratulations. I haven't finished my bug yet, but I do have other (poor) HLG experience flying a Candy HLG (ARF) in cold weather. At least recently on an overcast day, I was getting very short flights with lots of sink crushing down on my glider. I limped home and packed it in for the season, on the premise that cold air tends to fall and flying something that depended on rising columns of warm air was an exercize in futility. I'm new to this, and your experience has sparked hope that I won't need to wait for an August scorcher to go out and at least get some good trimming and balancing flights in. So needless to say, I'm going to fire questions at you like a 4 year old. ;-> I don't know much about thermals, but had always assumed (perhaps wrongly) that I needed a certain minimum air temperature to get any significant lift, and have hence written off flying before it warmed up a little more. What was the air temperature approximately, and what kind of wind were you flying in? Were you side arm launching, using any pre-sets for the launch, and does your bug have a wing-tip peg? (If you download Al Wright's Gambler manual from his site, he gives what seems to be some nice tips on SAL'ing). I've never actually launched side-arm, at least not yet. Are pictures of your bug posted? What's the terrain where you were flying. Could you have picked up any slope lift? BTW, I find RadioCarbonArt videos to be excellent. There's one called "Secrets of Thermals" which I may pick up as a result of your message, in order to learn more. Thanks again. --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, "gldrgidr" <gldrgidr@m...> wrote: > Two weeks ago, here in New Jersey, we had a good flying weekend. I > got my longest thermal flight with the Bug. It was 6 minutes and 50 > seconds. Has anyone had longer thermal flights? Maybe we should > have a running contest for longest Bug thermal flight. > What do you think? > Of course this is the wrong time of year to expect long flights. As > soon as I'm finished with this post, I have to go shovel the snow out > of my driveway so I can get to work tomarrow. > > John Yahoo! Groups Sponsor <http://rd.yahoo.com/SIG=12c5svogr/M=259395.3614674.4902533.1261774/D=eg roupweb/S=1705370808:HM/EXP=1071036615/A=1524963/R=0/*http://hits.411web .com/cgi-bin/autoredir?camp=556&lineid=3614674&prop=egroupweb&pos=HM> <http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=259395.3614674.4902533.1261774/D=egrou pmail/S=:HM/A=1524963/rand=937908190> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: BugHLG-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Home Page - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BugHLG/ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BugHLG/> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I've had some INCREDIBLY long flights with my ultralight BUG (>20 minutes). It is now unfortunately AWOL (I lost it in a thermal) but while I had it I would log flights of 5+ minutes regularly. I'd often speck it out so high that I would lose it visually and have to hold the stick in the corner and look for the flashing light falling out of the sky. If you build a BUG with special attenion to weight, and finish it in the 2.5 to 3 oz range, you should have a lot longer flights. --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, "gldrgidr" <gldrgidr@m...> wrote: > Two weeks ago, here in New Jersey, we had a good flying weekend. I > got my longest thermal flight with the Bug. It was 6 minutes and 50 > seconds. Has anyone had longer thermal flights? Maybe we should > have a running contest for longest Bug thermal flight. > What do you think? > Of course this is the wrong time of year to expect long flights. As > soon as I'm finished with this post, I have to go shovel the snow out > of my driveway so I can get to work tomarrow. > > John

That's unreal, and congratulations. I haven't finished my bug yet, but I do have other (poor) HLG experience flying a Candy HLG (ARF) in cold weather. At least recently on an overcast day, I was getting very short flights with lots of sink crushing down on my glider. I limped home and packed it in for the season, on the premise that cold air tends to fall and flying something that depended on rising columns of warm air was an exercize in futility. I'm new to this, and your experience has sparked hope that I won't need to wait for an August scorcher to go out and at least get some good trimming and balancing flights in. So needless to say, I'm going to fire questions at you like a 4 year old. ;-> I don't know much about thermals, but had always assumed (perhaps wrongly) that I needed a certain minimum air temperature to get any significant lift, and have hence written off flying before it warmed up a little more. What was the air temperature approximately, and what kind of wind were you flying in? Were you side arm launching, using any pre-sets for the launch, and does your bug have a wing-tip peg? (If you download Al Wright's Gambler manual from his site, he gives what seems to be some nice tips on SAL'ing). I've never actually launched side-arm, at least not yet. Are pictures of your bug posted? What's the terrain where you were flying. Could you have picked up any slope lift? BTW, I find RadioCarbonArt videos to be excellent. There's one called "Secrets of Thermals" which I may pick up as a result of your message, in order to learn more. Thanks again. --- In BugHLG@yahoogroups.com, "gldrgidr" <gldrgidr@m...> wrote: > Two weeks ago, here in New Jersey, we had a good flying weekend. I > got my longest thermal flight with the Bug. It was 6 minutes and 50 > seconds. Has anyone had longer thermal flights? Maybe we should > have a running contest for longest Bug thermal flight. > What do you think? > Of course this is the wrong time of year to expect long flights. As > soon as I'm finished with this post, I have to go shovel the snow out > of my driveway so I can get to work tomarrow. > > John

Two weeks ago, here in New Jersey, we had a good flying weekend. I got my longest thermal flight with the Bug. It was 6 minutes and 50 seconds. Has anyone had longer thermal flights? Maybe we should have a running contest for longest Bug thermal flight. What do you think? Of course this is the wrong time of year to expect long flights. As soon as I'm finished with this post, I have to go shovel the snow out of my driveway so I can get to work tomarrow. John