Gary Osoba <<penetrx>>
writes:

Everything clicked yesterday and I really hit a home run with my
first flight this year in New Mexico. It's the first time I've brought the
Woodstock here. The design is too light to do much good with pitch based dynamic
maneuvering, but I have modified it to be very quick in lateral maneuvers. There
were some very sharp shear lines working yesterday, and I was able to harvest a
lot of energy by using dynamic maneuvering in and out of the shear lines. By
doing so, I could cruise faster and more efficiently than by following the
relatively constant lift lines inside the shear lines. Although I have about
half the effective glide ratio of the other ships in the area, I managed the
lowest percentage of time circling. And a very high effective glide ratio.

Here's how the flight compared to other flights flown here yesterday in the
same conditions: http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/flightsOfAirfield.html?aa=MORIA1&st=olcp&rt=olc&c=C0&sc=&sp=2011

Here's how the flight scored worldwide: http://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-2.0/gliding/daily.html?st=olc&rt=olc&df=2011-08-23&sp=2011&c=C0&sc=

Top scorer in the world again. I first started experimenting successfully with
lateral dynamics in the Carbon Dragon. Although it will be difficult for Hang
Gliders to benefit much from pitch based dynamic due to low inertia, I am
convinced that the Hang Glider of the future- designed differently than today's
models will be able to benefit from lateral dynamic energy harvesting. We had a
discussion about such future designs at the party following Big Spring. What is
needed to build a proof of concept is some donated funds, volunteer manpower,
and a modestly equipped fabrication facility for volunteers to gather and work.
I have designed and redesigned this one in my head for a very long time. I
tested the stability and control as well as salient unique design point in a 1/3
scale UAV a few years back.