Carbon Dragon
bne...@netlink.co.nz
I would like to build a Carbon Dragon. It seems almost too good
to be true - 25:1 glide and foot launchable. Is there anyone out
there who is building or flying one? How many have been built?
Any information would be appreciated.
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Raul Blacksten
Contact:
Gary Osoba at: go...@fn.net
He owns the prototype AND wins sailplane contests with it.
Dan Armstrong at: darm...@aol.com
He was the test pilot and downed the prototype for a while
before selling it to Osoba
--
***************************************************************
RAUL BLACKSTEN Wishing you green air!
Vintage Sailplane Association Archivist
ra...@earthlink.net
<http://www.earthlink.net/~raulb>
"It may not be smart or correct, but it's one of the things
which make us what we are" --Red Green, The New Red Green Show
Benno
bne...@netlink.co.nz wrote:
This is the address for the ultralight soaring mailing list.
Majo...@ftp1.primenet.com
Just e-mail the address and put "subscribe ultralight soaring" in the
body window. The guys who subscribe might be able to answer some of
your questions.
Regards.
>>Ben Roberts.
John G Wright
In article <8641811...@dejanews.com>, bne...@netlink.co.nz wrote:
>I would like to build a Carbon Dragon. It seems almost too good
>to be true - 25:1 glide and foot launchable.
Is there anyone out there who has _measured_ the glide angle? At what speed is
best L/D?
John G Wright 742
Peerboom
in 96 were Gary Osaba flew the first one build by jim maupe, its looks very light
and that is what counts, there is one note as gary mentioned it was meant as a
proof of concept (hopefully many more microlights will be designed) for the weight
of the designer, consequently he does not recommend for any one over 160 lbs to
build and fly one, yes in the brochure it says that 200 lbs people flew it.
now with this said gary made also an excellent presentation about microlift, he
can soar at altitudes of the hanggliders and out climb (he showed this in elmira)
there are several under construction, the best info for it is through the SHA
The Sha is a division of the SSA, and they have an home page
good luck
Peter Peerboom
Gary Osoba
John G Wright wrote:
>
> In article <8641811...@dejanews.com>, bne...@netlink.co.nz wrote:
> >I would like to build a Carbon Dragon. It seems almost too good
> >to be true - 25:1 glide and foot launchable.
>
> Is there anyone out there who has _measured_ the glide angle? At what speed is
> best L/D?
>
> John G Wright 742
> > Is there anyone out
> >there who is building or flying one? How many have been built?
> >Any information would be appreciated.
After performing minor modifications to the prototype Carbon Dragon
and cleaning it up some, I measured a maximum L/D of 26.7:1 at 32
knots. In it's current state, it is probably flying at slightly under
25:1. However, evaluating this design by examining it's glide ratio
would be a mistake for good and bad reasons alike.
The bad first. It is a very light (but ingenious) structure comprised
of below minimum spec materials. It should not be flown in a full
range of conditions by pilots weighing more than about 150 lbs. unless
they are very experienced in all pertinent ways (including very
lightly loaded craft to be thoroughly familiar with the gust loads
experienced). The structure is not durable, or waterproof. It is not
practical for most pilots on a day to day basis.
The good. The Carbon Dragon very successfully answers the question
"What happens it we design for maximum soarability, rather than glide
and speed?" Competently flown, and taking advantage of some new flight
techniques which are not germaine to normal sailplanes, this glider
will stay up in nearly anything. It does so in manners similar to the
flight of hawks in the near-earth environment. I have written somewhat
extensively about these matters over the past several years and
reprints of some of those articles are available throught the
Sailplane Homebuilders Association. Anyone interested in light glider
evolution should belong to this organization.
The most important performance attribute on the Carbon Dragon is its
minimum sink value of 100fpm occurring at at low 23 knots. This allows
the glider to circle very slowly and tightly. It is arguably the best
climbing glider in the world. Minimum circling radii of less than 40
feet are possible...however, lightly loaded high CL planforms
experience very large q values for dynamic pressure differential
across the span in turns of this sort and so you are flying right at
the edge. Spin entries are over the top, but recoveries are nearly
instantaneous and only use about 60 vertical feet.
As a point of interest, safe, medium bank climb-outs from as low as 65
feet AGL have been accomplished with this glider.
I won't elaborate, but should briefly mention something to dispel two
common misconceptions. 1)This is not simply a return to the past.
Gliders from bygone eras with L/D's in the mid 20's were not capable
of the extreme soarability of the Carbon Dragon. 2) The design
possesses much better penetration than most pilots would
expect...however, it does so by partially utilizing some of the new
flight techniques previously mentioned.
There are some new light glider designs that should qualify for FAR
Part 103 in the works which will offer improvements in structure,
durability and performance. These include a very well thought out and
thoroughly engineered kit and a very agressive research project
utilizing state of the art design methods and materials surpassing
even the Akaflieg's.
Best Regards,
Gary Osoba
S. Steve Adkins
In <8641811...@dejanews.com> bne...@netlink.co.nz writes:
>
>I would like to build a Carbon Dragon. It seems almost too good
>to be true - 25:1 glide and foot launchable. Is there anyone out
>Any information would be appreciated.
>
====-----------------------
Not too good to be true. But the real feature of the Carbon Dragon is
a low sink rate of 100 fpm combined with a very slow thermalling speed
of 25 mph. The diameter of your thermalling circle is proporational to
the square of your speed. So a very slow speed allows the pilot to
exploit extremely week thermals by flying directly in the center of
lift. A K-8 does this nicely also but at higher speeds and sink rates.
Also, Gary Osoba writes articles on exploiting micro-lift and threads
of lift wherein he avoids full 360 degree turns.
Answers:
1. Gary Osoba reports the glide ratio as 26:1 at 31 to 32 mph.
2. There are a few builders ... most are leaving out the foot-doors to
reduce the weight of the sailplane.
3. You should weigh no more than 180 pounds, some say 150.
I autotowed the Carbon Dragon owned by Gary Osoba at the Eastern
Sailplane Homebuilders workshop last year. On an overcast day with no
ridgelift nor thermals, I saw Osoba make four 360-degree turns in still
air while returning to the other end of the 1000' runway and complete a
normal pattern and landing ... all after being auto-launched to only
200 feet!
On a thermaling day, I shared a thermal with Osoba. I was in a 2-33
about half way up in the thermal. Gary joined me at the bottom. In
short order, he was at my altitude. Not long after, he was at the top
and leaving. By the time I reached the near-top of the thermal, Gary
was already leaving the next up-wind thermal and continuing his travel.
Contact for Janice Maupin, source of the plans:
maupin @ mtxinu.COM
A Carbon Dragon builder in Minnesota using Fred Blanton's plywood kit:
Mcrist @ cmgate.com
I have names of other interested parties and a very long boilerplate on
the Carbon Dragon, a wood kit, builders, designers of stronger spars,
etc. You can ask for:
Boilerplate
Long article of CD flying at Elmira NY at the Eastern Workshop
I will build a Carbon Dragon (or similar sailplane) once some stronger
designs are accomplished with similar performance or I lose substantial
weight.
By the way, Jim Marske is recommending carbon rods in place of carbon
tows. His Monarch looks like a nice ultralight sailplane
Contact me at:
S. Steve Adkins
Editor: Minnesota Soaring Club
use email s.s.a...@cdev.com
F.L. Whiteley
S. Steve Adkins <s.ad...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in article
<5m79mn$m...@dfw-ixnews11.ix.netcom.com>...
> In <8641811...@dejanews.com> bne...@netlink.co.nz writes:
> >
> >I would like to build a Carbon Dragon. It seems almost too good
> >to be true - 25:1 glide and foot launchable. Is there anyone out
> >there who is building or flying one? How many have been built?
> >Any information would be appreciated.
> >
> >-------------------==== Posted via Deja News
> By the way, Jim Marske is recommending carbon rods in place of carbon
> tows. His Monarch looks like a nice ultralight sailplane
>
The reason being that this new product is less prone to compression
failure. I'd also venture that layup is somewhat more straight forward if
Jim has developed a layup method that eliminates the resin voids. The rod
structure was explained by Jim at the SSA convention and is to appear in
the Genesis II. His demo spar deformed at a load point at 21g's. A
similar version would seem to increase the Carbon Dragon loading bearing.
Frank Whiteley
Gary Osoba
Hi Raul:
Dan Armstrong never owned the Carbon Dragon. He did log some time in
it, and did excellent test flying.
Best Regards,
Gary Osoba