John Bilsky <<udaleaf>>
writes:

It's a Bamboo FALCON.

Since the summer of last year I have been testing the flight characteristics of
my new-ish glider all over the U.S. During this time more than a few dozen
pilots have seen it and made it a point to ask me questions, express their
concerns, wish me luck and in general show their curiosity. This outpouring of
communication has taken place in five flying sites outside the general area I
normally fly. These out of state sites include: Yosemite, Fort Funston, King
Mountain, Villa Grove and finally Quest Air. Normally I fly PA & NY foot launch
sites including the Elmira sites, Ellenville and my favourite, the Hyner Club
launches.

So, to all who have taken some time to talk with me, and especially those who
have seen my glider but only gawked, I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions.

For starters, local Elmira pilots Ed J. & Ron K., Hyner pilots Shawn, Bob, TR,
Jesse, Jim and everyone else who has referred to my wing as a "Bamboo Bomber"...
it's NOT. It's a Bamboo Falcon, Okay? A FALCON. It has a Falcon 3 sail and
standard WW Falcon 195 aluminum battens. To replicate the proper curves of the
battens with bamboo would have been highly problematic and not worth the effort.
However, all the visible bamboo features on the glider are as close to standard
Wills Wing dimensions, especially the lengths, as possible. The glider is, for
all practical intents and purposes, a Wills Wing Falcon... a Bamboo Falcon.

Now, a few questions and comments from pilots need to be addressed.

The first and most common question I've been getting is "Is that REAL?" Yes of
course it's real. It's certainly not imaginary and it took a lot of time and
effort to produce it. Do you have any inkling how to grow straight bamboo? You
can't. But if you ask any old timer how to produce a perfectly straight bamboo
cane fishing pole, he will tell you that one must take the bamboo and hang it
from the tip and let gravity do the rest while the bamboo "cures". I reasoned
that a weight attached to the distal end would enhance the process nicely. A
very high climate controlled rafter is essential. Judicious sandpaper usage
completes the process.

"But what about the faired king post? That's gotta be fake."

Really now?

Bamboo, being a grass and one of the fastest growing plants on earth, will
easily conform it's shape to any constriction. Have you ever seen a walking
stick that spirals around from bottom to top? That wood grew into that shape
because a vine wrapped itself around the young tree and constricted the growth.
What do you think would happen if the "constriction" was a man-made clamshell
shaped form? Imagination works wonders.

"Is that thing safe to fly?" Is another query I've heard. LMAO. The strength of
bamboo is legendary. Who hasn't seen pictures of tall scaffolding constructed
out of bamboo? It is excellent in both compression as well as tension and shear.
I won't bore the reader with engineering stats. However, it will split at the
ends if not reinforced. On my glider, all the wire and tubing attachment points
utilize aluminum inserts and standard fittings. The key word here is "fittings".
In order to make it work either the fitting has to be made to fit the opening,
or the opening has to be made to fit the fitting. Pretty simple once you think
about it.

"How come you don't have a bamboo control bar?" Again like the battens, it was
too problematic. I wanted to substitute laminated wood but was concerned about
the strength and I wasn't about to substitute a straight bamboo control bar. Too
uncomfortable. In the end I chose to have it painted to resemble laminated wood.
I felt like if I had it air brushed to simply look like bamboo, it might not
match well enough. I probably should have left it alone.

So how well does this thing fly? Well, my impression is highly favourable. The
sail has been slightly modified with a special treatment but I won't get into
that. It tows like it's on rails if conditions are smooth. It seems to have a
better glide and is slightly more snappy in response than the original glider it
was spawned from. It seems to have a little slower stall speed and both foot
launching and landing are a breeze. So far it has not attracted any Pandas.

Many people have helped me with the building of this wing and I would like to
thank them all by name. That's not gonna happen here. However I will make two
exceptions. My Dad, John Sr. Who left the planet in 2007, taught me the art of
woodworking. He was one of the best. And my beautiful friend Jane Lenard of
http://flyingcolorspaint.com. She talked me into being safe with the control
bar. Jane was a continuous inspiration and her imaginative encouragement turned
what started as a whimsical and shoddy experiment with one downtube into what
some might consider a true work of art.