Enrico Lucarelli <<enrico.lucarelli>>
writes:

I finally had the opportunity to perform the maiden flight of
something I have been working on for little more than a year. As I used to joke
about, “I don't know if it's ever going to flight, but just the fun of inventing
it is already more than worth it”. Well, now it´s even flying, and the thrill of
the first test flight can hardly be described. You can see the maiden flight
(very first and second take-off/landing) here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZHODwzBrRw  (or just search in YouTube
for “toruk lucarelli”).

Basically the “thing” is a modification on the ATOS VR, similar in concept to
Felix Ruhle´s Cage. I made it with a stable and steerable landing gear, and
added a motor. It's a 160 cc rotary (wankel) motor, 25 hp, which allows for a
very nice push. The wings remain unmodified, so I can go back to fly my original
hang glider any time.

The position is very comfortable and allows for a spectacular view. Handling is
very nice, although I must admit, with only the two flights performed (those
that can be seen in the mentioned YouTube link), my immediate priority right now
is to learn to fly it, and until then I won't be able to give many more details
about things like handling quality and so.

There is still a lot that can be improved in this preliminary version. Now that
it has proven to fly, I can start working on a making the landing gear
retractable, the propeller foldable, improving the fairing, etc.