Vo Im.er
Low & Slow 17
Volmer Jensen, ·a living legend, ou·r oldest hang glider· pilot; a superb. .
'
craftsman, an enthusiastic experim.entalist.• He flys with ease, comfort, clas.s, style, protection, company, carriers. ·
His training: 1925:
His partner:
Cut and try
Irv Cul,,"er, aerodynamicist cJ first rate. Irv Culvm- is not to be forgotten, not as a designer nor as a pilot, .2.00 lbs, he self-soars regularly,~ champion in his own right,
His most recent ond very su.ccessful wing: THE SWINGWING .... a 100 pound fully cantilevered monoplall'e pilot-launch hang-glider with a glide angle and controllability
slJJ)erior tq all other
reported systems. WE CONGRATULATE VOLMER AND IRV FOR THEIR SUCCESS.
at
62.
My hands have made models. 2 daughters have I; bland hair from my air love; thin and tall gives me up way; my blue eyes reveal where I have gazed most frequently. They tell me I am the happy sort; I speak to the interested self-soarer daily. Phone Volmer: 242-2217 Barn Sept., 1909 : first gaze: hang gliders made from the plan shown in L&S.
COVER,PORTRAIT ABOVE: Free-lance photographer Doug Margan caught Volmer Swingwinging for our special pleasure.
Doug is also de-
claring himself a slide set dealer on Volmer.
UNIQUE IS WHAT I LIKE TO BE I AM A MEMBER OF THE Self-Soar Association 59 Dudley Ave. Venice, CA 90291
Playa del Rey EL SE 6-Ll rvuzy· GIT y (FLV SITE IS OFTEN MISN1!/t1EP FIS ,, PLffYII " l>EY REY
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OCE"IUI OF If/~ is a scene seen each
week at the popular site 400 yards south of Imperial Highway and the beach,CA. Volmer's RUN: He likes only two step take-offs. For a while we thought Volmer could not run, but on this July 9, 1972, the wind was variable between 8 and 9 mph. Volmer took more than his regul or run.The ship fantastically recovered from a slump near the bottom of the 33 foot, 23 degree sand dme, only to rise once again to 20_ feet above the slope and for a one and one holf minute soar. JET JENSEN The site preferred by VJ is just aside the take-off lanes of Los Angeles International Airport. DURATION Volmer \><oke his own prior duration time of l min. 35 sec. with his 2 min. 31 sec. flight which included 6 full reverses before Volmer preferred to take a rest. His seat device was left on the ground because the wind wos · soft. TARAS Kl CENIUK, pilot leader of the self-soar movement, freely admitted that he could not have come doseto duplicating what he saw Volmer achieving on such a margina_l slope as at Playa del Rey. RICHARD MILLER, the legendary mystic of living self-soaring first flight tested some modifications of his 1965 Bamboo Butterfly at this very site•
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Copyright© by Joe Faust, 1972 All rights refer back to original authors
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so that our movement may grow well.
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BELOW WE BEGIN A SERIES OF ARTICLES WRITTEN BY IRV CULVER concerning the problem of roll control for foot launch bang gliding systems. Irv Culver is the noted aerodynamicist responsible for the airfoil choice:;tress analysis, and control checks for the Swingwing. The coming issues of Low & Slow will present a mathematical discussion of the same problem. We !':'elcome this approac~. We encoura«e others to do similar items for our interested readers. We will always attempt to present ideas so that no one of any background is left unserved.
THE ROLL-YAW PROBLEM by
IRV CULVER If man is to take off on his own feet, soar with the seagulls on wings he has create-a', then land. on his own feet, he must solve the basic problem. of roll::ontrol.Breakingdownthe problem of ro II-yaw contra I: 1.
He must take off and land at less than 20 mph under the condition of dynamic pressure
2.
less than l
lb./sq.ft,
He must have good aerodynamics (low drag).
3.
He must have span of at least 28 feet for a biplane and 30 feet for a monoplane to keep the induced drag down.
4.
He must be able to turn to stay in an updraft.
Volmer has an enviable safety record, but he almost met an uneventful end to his flying. The accident cannot reflect but good things on the final design of the VJ-23. His first try at a cockpit (held right by our editor) had a back breaking section to it. See final design above. He and Taras regret competing in very gusty winds during which both of them were hurt. An open back cockpit resulted that perfectly fit Volmer's needs.
Photo
bottom right by W.A.Allen
cont'd
•••• Irv Culver:
BIRDS!model airplanes, light airplanes and modern sailplanes are all affected to somedegree by this prob )em. However, the problem in these is minor when compared to the hang g I ider (and the hang glider has es sentia l!y no problem when compared to the man powered airplane). THE CONCLUSION reached is that hang gliders of high performance must have very high roll control power with consideration given to the associated problem of yaw, This can be accomplished
PHOTOS Top l.eft: temporarily clomped protractor
by: 1,
Lorge {33%) chord, large
2.
.. span
ailerons with. brge
d ifferentia I motion:
large sweep and dihedral with powerful yaw control, Spoilers might be us.;,d for
the yaw control. PHOTOS OF FAR LEFT ,LEFT PAGE Top:Looking aft. 16" thick {20%) at root to about 8" thick at tip rib, $35 wire spoked white rubber'wheels for return carry. Bracket holding airspeed meter. Joy stick ,right hand held. Rubber patch cover toil boom jutting beyond the leading edge, Plywood 'D' tube. Mid: Laminate parallel bars with full open back for potential belly landings, Note slotted clip for attaching the web of a swing seat for swinging in the Swingwing. Be sure to contrast with the old cockpit. Lower: Note armpit foam pads, These are polyethelene in contrast to polyurothane. Vo-lmer salvaged these from trash packing.
enabled Irv and Volmer to study the amount up or down on ailerons. Above: 4" thin wall Al tube ,tail boom, Note steel bracket coming up from rear of cockpit.Looking toward nose. See rudder cable horns, We see the 7" gap between the two wing halves, Below: Looking forward from just behind vertical rudder we see rudder cables coming in and coordinating cables going back to be connected with differentia I operation of t.h• ailerons,
IT MUST BE REMEMBERED THAT GOOD DIREC'i:IONAL STABILITY ls requiredcas werl as some considerable yaw
control
along
rudder or
with the aileron.
AIieron control should be highly differentia I, say 10 degree max down
and
50 degree ~p.That'is, when the ailerons are fully deflected there may be 5 degree down and 50 degree up, whereas at part la I deflection the down aileron may go to 10 degree down. THERE ARE MANY OTHER WAYS TO produce roll control bes ides ailerons, but none seem to be as good or as simple,
Photo by Douglas Morgan Editorial belly landing with wheels down, Testimonial of bock clearance. Non-rocky slopes are recommended for such kinds of landings, One need never to land in this mode, The wing carries its own weight ct about 8 mph,
Some
of ·these are:
Large
spoilers (the penalty here is high drag), Large dihedro I (combine with sweep bock and powerful yow control. is a possible answer.
This
The yaw control
could come from spoilers.) THE PILOT MUST REMEMBER that while tuming, it is necessary to apply considerable opposite roll con• trol to keep the machine from rolling
L!lientha! demonstrated the. dlfflcu!ty of maintaining lateral equilibrium even with a short span and in straight flight. The following ano lys Is is mode to show how serious the roll problem is at low .speed, and with hi~ span (spiral instability). SPIRAL INST ABILITY <results from turning flight ,beca~se of reduced lift on
into a staap bank, and he must have considerable r'es'erve power to recover from a bank, THE PROBLEM.0:F !,HE HANGGLIDER becomes criti.ci:i.l v;:li'en one tries to turn like a seog~il -a{·6~1y slightly more speed and ten times the span of the seagull. (see future Low & Slow)
the lowered wing and increased lift on the upper wing due to velocit)difference across the span of the wing. The main point is that the wing on the inboard aide of the turn is lifting less than the wing on the outboard side of the turn because of the difference in velocity. SINCE LIFT VARIES as the square of'
100 pounds?
The pilot in a Swingwing
at take-off into o l O mph wind does not notice any burden.
Volmer at 62 yrs.
is blessed with health, but he still does
the velocity, the rolling moment gener•
prefer to. have helpers for treks back up
ated can roll the wing into a steep bank
the hills when he does not soar back~ One does not ·.,wear" the VJ-23 I ike
from
which
no
recovery
is
possible :
(except a steep dive) unless adequate/ roll and yow control is available.
/
one can do with a 50 pound or less wing.
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LET'S BUILD A SWINGWING Get a pion from Volmer for $50; it is worth it if you ore reol ly serious about building and coring for
this type of aircraft.
Laminate high guolity plys of thin ply-
wood for the web of two identical main spars. ner heading and foot.
Far the "C" type spar
bond a run·
Off this will come bulkheads for helping to form the plywood
leading edge "D" tube covered with the he Ip of three friends.
Butt the truss type
ribs (one every 30" spanwise) in.to the spar. Cover the aft of main spar area with a light dacron; top,to trailing edge, bottom only, to where the under camber inflects, then stop there -the last foot is not covered on the bottom. Dope to make non-porous so that aerodynamic pressures wi II not egual ize before they are supposed to. Reinforce the leading edge so that an anti-drag root construction is Volmer's, rubber cover over a projecting
available; see
center boom. The 4" tube comes out so
for in order to grab this anti-drag and anti-torsion structure. Main spar root connection circumvents the main fuselage or tail boclm tube. Leave room for control cables when attaching the cockpit. We were wondering how a simple triangular control bar would work along with a free swinging swing seat. But the parallel wood laminate bars that fit the armpits work well. Volmer further uses a little seat that sta~ in front of him. He con lift his kne,es
in flight and place them
over a suspended disc.
This arranget11ent permits him to fully
his legs for landing.
The seat idea was donated to Volmer by a young Low & Slow
and guickly release
reader:
dips cou. IJ
be wra.pped over,~ Plo..ce
Knees on. e.(ther side.
of -t-he. SIN~ le. line.
A CLASSIC soaring posture with long pants flagging In the breeze, legs lighted, se If-de lighted, torso in re,;idiness for gustiness, armpit pain momentarily forgotten, mind racing to find the sense of the now blurry flight plan ••• -such is the way of those facing the unseen facets of se If-soaring c h a I I e n g ~ s.
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vol mer JENSEN· speaks to us .in his own words on this page. Volmer Aircraft recently put out the following news release which was copied by scores of magazines and newspapers throughout the nation. For the record we here reprint:
Fran Volmer Aircraft, 104 East Providencia, Burbank, Calif., 91502 Fhone 213--842-8753 For iITinediate release. Color transparencies on regµest.
Plans Available For NewM::moplane Hang Glider A new space age design for hang gliders has been perfected by Volmer Aircraft of Burbank, California. The latest entrant in the blossoming hang glider fad is the Jensen/Culver 'Swingwing VJ-23,
'the first full cantilever, fully-controllable monoplane hangglider.
The Swingwing is capable of self-soo.ring flights in winds from 10 t.o 20 mph:,,
The design was
developed and improved over a period of 12 months with more than 100 successful flights recorded. The new cmtilevered design flies like an airplane, using a conventional control stick ond o twocontrol system similar to the Ercoupe. We con take off in o 15-mph breeze, gain altitude immediately and climb above our take-off point. Using a hill only 35-feet high, with a 23 degree slope, we climb, make a series 'S's and land with not more than two steps. This has never been done before in the history of hong gliding. The VJ-23 hos a wing span of 32 feet 7 inches, is 16 feet long and weighs 100 pound~ without pilot.
Building cost should be about $400 and anyone familiar with woodworking tools should
complete the Swingwing in about three months of spare-time work.
The leading edge of the cantilever wing is constructed with 1/32-inche poplar plywood . and the remainder of the wing is covered with light•weight aircraft fa.bric, doped sufficiently to assure that it will not be porous. The wing is built in two sections and assembled with three bolts. The tail boom, 4-inch-x-.035 aluminum tubing, is 15 feet long. Wheels have been added to aid in pushing the hang glider back to its launching place. These wheels could be removed for flight since the glider is landed on foot-power. There is no structure directly aft of the pilot so bock injuries should not be expected in a mis-judged landing. The new Swingw:ng design is a joint effort of Jensen and Irv Culver, former Lockheed advanced aerodynamicist.
Culver did the stress analysis on a 100-paund biplane glider,'So-Lo' in 1941.
So-Lo,complete with controls, enabled the two men to fly when conventional aircraft were prohibited from operating in the coastal areas during WW II. all new VJ-23 has a 9-to- l.
Glide angle for the So-La was 7-to-l while the
The VJ-23 has a 30 minute assembly time and break-down time.
Wings, tail boom, rudder, elevators·and stabilizer will fit any normal trailer. The wing has a 16-inch thick airfoil at the root, eliminating the need for external wires or braces. 'Some of the so-called hang gliders are controlled only by shifting the weight of the pilot,' explain-· ed Culver. 'It's a law of physics that one ·just can't move his weight for enouglflgnter ta lift a wing ' of adequate span for soaring once it has gone down to any appreciable degree. Thus, you should not fly a kite or no-control glider any higher than you'd care to fall to the ground. By incorporating a carefully-designed two•cantrol system, the VJ-23 can be flown safely at relatively law altitudes and in steep turns without spiral instability once the pi lot has maste..-ed the use of the conventional
controls.
Since the speed range is from 16 to 25 mph, most power plane pilots have some difficulty on their first self-soar flights because they are not accustomed to remaining airborne at such low and slow conditions for flights of any distance. The V J-23 has broken all records for altitude, duration and di stance at the sand dunes of El Segundo Beach , a quarter mile south of the junction of the beach and lmperi al Highway. A light sling-type seat is provided for long flights so the pilot need not support his weight under his·arms. Plans for the So-Lo biplane are $30.00. Plans for the VJ-23 are $50.00. The popular Jensen "Sportsman", a 100 horsepower home-bui It has been in the air during 12 years over a distance equivalent to five times around the world.
Photo by Douglas MoTgan •
WHAT IS THE MISCELLANY OF THIS VOLMER AFFAIR? An interview with Volmer revealed some points worth telling •••••• Sharp face. Moves quickly. More quickly he pulls out some hong glider picture to share an enthusiastic moment with you. Shake his hand and you know you are meeting with a craftsman. His life work is making the first object of a commercial product for manufacturers. He made the Startrek ship pictured in this issue • Before long you realize this man's aim has been to be first and unique •••• and if too many of the aviation world fly the .Swingwing, we'll find Volmer doing something else.
MAN OF FIRSTS: l, First to build a full 3-axis control biplane hang glider in the U.S.A. 2. First in U.S.A. to build a sailplane of a wing loading over 3 pounds per square foot. 3. First in U.S.A. to build a side-by-side two-place high performance fully can ti levered soi Iplane.
4. First to build a practical amphibious sport aircraft. 5. First to build a practical fully·cantilevered monoplane self-soar or pi lot-launching hong-glider,
LET'S ENCOURAGE VOLMER TO BUILD THE FOLLOWING FIRSTS IN HIS COMING RETIREMENT(?}. 1. First flatland self•launch (pilot-lauching} self-soar sailplane. 2. First off-water self-soar soi Iplane. 3, First pi:octical two-place pilot-crew launch self-soar sailplane,· 4, First pro ctical man-power energy storage take-off-of-flat-land system for self-soaring,
JOIN THE NEW SPORT IN A VOLMER VJ-11 coiled "So-Lo.' LEARN TO FLY BIPLANE
•
FIRST FULLY CONTROLLED
0
STANDARD AIRCRAFT CONTROLS
•
FULLY ENGINEERED
•
BUILD FOR ABOUT $\00
Send $2 for "So-Lou literature, specifications, 3-view- drawing; and photographs. VOLMER AIRCRAFT Dept LS 104 East Providencia Ave. Burbank, CA 91502 Above ls an ad. Below, with the per· mission C>f Volmer, we present•
a three-view of VJ.11 , WQH(!O ~OF'nac,-n,ctlCI.Mn
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DYNAMICALLY SOARED On an editorial excursion this yeor at Newhall ,CA, atop the buried! water line called the .. Feather River Project", we witnessed Volmer Jensen
'1
fly off the top of a 10 foot mound of di~t for a distance of 271 feet. Wind speed was 15 to 25 mph a,:id gusty. Four times Volmer had his feet within 6 inches of the dirt. For 230 feet1_the ground was _sloping about 30 to 1. By working his controls during disturbances, he rose cind dropped, progressing along the gro,urd at only a few miles per hapr. He was flying directly into the prevailing , . d I Win .. I In the same session, Volmer had the pleasure of 9 take-offs, 9 landing s, 1
and 9 flights.
Why call it out this way? Many hang-glider test sessions end I
vith no take-offs, a few unintentional flights, and plenty of landings....
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SIGN ON SWINGWING Hang Glider .:JI:- 4 Weight 100 lbs. This vehicle is Smog Free
Horsepower Engine
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Volmer has been held as the missing link....
between the soaring youth tbday a.nd those who foot-launched in the early days of this century, He is the link between the experimen·1a(ist and the theaist. He is, with Irv Culver, sparking credibility among the sophisticated aviation world. Established soilplo11e manufacturers are now looking for "ins" to the movement. J
HELMET FOR VOLMER? . I He says, •• No ••• one would prevent me from hearing the wind for I airspeed indication."
.
VJ-23 STATIC TESTED Volmer Jensen tested the VJ-23 wing by placing it between two saw: horses end bouncing on the wing center. Horses were ot the tips. ,
FLIGHT NEAR H~E ? Yes. He hos mapped out and flown at some six spots within
i
I.
20 miles.
I NAVE YOU THERMALLED YET IN YOUR SWINGWING? NO. The max airspeed on this wing limits the kinds of situations that should be tempted. Full story on this aspect of the wing will comi when Irv Culver gives us some comment. AWARDED •••• Volmer has been awarded the Mechanics Illustrated ••workbench Award" for his work on the amphibian design.
Have you ever b.ot_ber~ other aircraft while hang gliding? Only R-C models.
ADVERTISEMENT
HISTORY OF THE "SWINGWING" HANG GLIDER I
Constru~tlon was started July,_ 1972. It was test flown the week-end following the 3 Y:, month construction period. This -is an odginal design by Volmer Jensen and lrvc ulver. Volmer Jensen hai c;tesigned built and flown over a dozen gliders and and higH performance sailplanes, including 2 alrplar\es. The last airplane he designed was an amphlblan,whlch he has flown a distance of 5 tlmes around the wcr Id! It Is stll i flying after 12 years of service 1
I
INSURED COCKPIT SAFETY THE HANGER STRUCTUREwascompletely re des lgned and-ebullt to Insure safety to the
to the pilot In case of a-belly landing. WHEELS were added to roll it back up the hill without carrying the gilder. It can be taken off the trailer and assembled in thirty minutes.
•
VO\-MER built 2 hang.gliders 40 yrs. ago and one 30 years ago that was folly controllable. Irv Culver did the aerodynamic, design and stress analysis of the "Swing-ylng" and Volmer Jensen built It.
NEW CONTROL CONCEPT A complete new concept of flight had to be rriaintained in the design of this slowfli/ghtaircraft. Even in the old days flight <;=ontrol was not good and become better only because aircraft started / flying foster. In the recent motion. picture, The Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines, they had control/ problems which they thought were c~used by an aeroelastic condi-tion ofithe wings, cab les,etc. Through 9 montns of flight testing the Swingwing we finJlly solved the problem. Now tight tJrns can be made at low altitudes without causing spirai ins ta bi lity, thereby all6wing a poslti""-e' return t.; level flight.
TRY IT ...
Fantastic as it may seem ... , a takeoff can be made by taking only two steps off the top of a small hill into a 15 mile per hour wind, gaining altitude immediately and flying above the takeoff poinc. There is no need to run down rhe hill to gain speed. Some landings can be made without having to take any steps at all, just bending the knees, like a bird.
EXHILARATING AS SOON AS ONE'S FEET leave the ground by 12 inches, one feels like he is 1000 feet in the air.
This is the most advanced design of any hang glider to date and is the world's first high performance·, fully controllable, monoplane cantilevered hang glider. Cost bf materials is approximately $400.00. !
1
TECHNICAL FACTS
LID 9 to I
Length 17' s;• Heighf 6" • Span , 32' 7"
Area 179 sq. ft. I 00 lbs. empty 100 lbs. payload
Volmer Aircraft . 104 East Prov-ideocia Ave. · Burqank, CA 91502
300 lbs. gross wt. 0-uise; 20 mph. Stall: I 5 mph.
Controls: Ailerons Elevators Rudder
Send $·2.90 for literature on the Sw;ngwin.9 including a 3-view blueprint, color photo, and agreement.
Self-Soar Associcrtion Follows The Swingwing Project During 15 outings and talks with Volmer we have had a chance to sense the all and awe of the growing Volmer story. Our service to you would not be complete without sharing some of the condid comparisons and ideas that ore satellite to the happening called Volmer.
How does the Swingwing compare in overall sotlsfoction with some of the other successful wing types ? Aosvogel comments that it looks like a toy airplane and that it does not really represent much of a breakthrough for the movement. Along this line of criticism are remarks concerning theSW's weight. Summarily, "It looks too much like on airplane and it weighs up like and airplane. It jjlst doesn't look like a hc,ng glider ." .. And one hos to have that troi ler." "And it sti II tokes two men ta put it together in 30 minutes, and yciu s ti 11 need a team carry the thing." .
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LET US DEAL WITH THESE IDEAS that can only serve to sharpen the vision of worth of the Swingwing. We hove no doubt that assembly time on the present system can be worWed out to be much shorter. Proper handling of the control cables is important. A care· ful study of steps without wasted motion w~uld reveal large savings in time. Volmer is not going t~ car top; . But the wing is not too big for doing so. A box similar to the tCARUS II could be worked out. Collapsible VJ-23 mods will take IJlUCh .less space. The SW looks so much like on airplane because it is one. It controls like one, flys like one, hangars like one, and so is suspected of being one. But not being <1ble to wear the wing back up the hi 11 removes images of self-soaring for many who see hong-gliding as such. So.even though SW is on airplane of sorts some will .not hesitate to obtain the ship In order to do what airplanes often do:F LY
i
Photo by W. A. iAllen Irv Culver running alongside Volmeri Jensen on a warm-up slope prior to going pver to the 33 foot slopo (one span height) ·to do away with the standing site duration record.
WHY SO MUCH WOOD?. Main spar is laminated of three plys of .011 or something close to that t<1 bui Id up to still a very thii:\ main spar. T~e web is topped and bottonf'in a. C section. The ribs are wood truss affairs. The bulkheads that help fowm the D tube leading edge are . wood. The 1/32" plywood forfing the tube is wood. The framing for the horizontal stabilizer is wood. The rudder and ailerons are wood framed. All these model-airplane type frames have formed strong frames for holding a taut dacron covering. WOOD IS MORE UNIVERSALLY AVAILABLE ..AND· DOES A GOOD JOB , Volmer tells us •
Have yoi;J had a chance to fly under the same conditions with other pilot-launch fuel-les~ flying systems? . Yes~ and revealing it was. Our 9-1 comes to life ,especially when flying with other hang gliders on the field. At aur l~al Montgomery meet on a slope that dropped off at 7-1, we had some gdod comparisons. While the tail-less biplanes could just hug the ground along the slope, we swungwinged a path that left the angle of the slope. We, Irv iind I, walked away with top control and distance plaudits mainly because our wing let us fly away from such a mild slope. The ,flexwings could not self-launch. The monoplane tail-less that was there left the slope but not as well as the Swingwing.
WE HAVE NOTED THAT YOUR GLIDE ANGLE IS LETTING YOU SOAR IN MILD CONDITIONS ON VERY SMALL SLOPE~. Yes, and thus we can fly soaringly almost every day. We do not have to hunt hundreds of miles ~o jTh'.s is the biggest savings ,n this entire system. Our slow airspeed l~ts us turn within the mar-
fl:.
ginal lirt region = a l l s_lopes.
Below!: W.A.Allen photo of arriving Valme~ and troiler Swingwing. One could lcriss-cross tapered wings and .$.fgck.lor car topping. 30.1.bs. for each half s'pan section.
Seif-Soar Assn. seems to approve of your design for duplication, yet the published purpose of Self-Soar Assn. is to encourage people to study prior art and create some wing system all their own and then shore the ideas with others. Well, I think that their are many people who wont to share ideas with other members, yet they want to fly and don't wont to wait for their brainchild to hatch and furhher do not want to test fly their own design just yet. Self-Soar may not parade for the idea of dup Ii cation, but our Swingwing is certainly worthy of duplication by members who want to fly we II before their own ideas progress to final design. Here are a few of my miscellaneous short ideas that I have shared with ·our edi.tor: 1. In each locality; create a central phone number. Call in and tell where you are flying and when. Others will coll in and the helper will inform others. This way more gatherings con be effected. 2. Self-soar research is not any more impractical than going to the moon. The movement wi II contribute toward practical man-powered flight both for earth and Dome Moon City. 3. Use mount.ain fire trails for take-offs and landings. Just think of all the fire-trails in the world.
Conclusion: Swingwing is the beginning of low drag cantilever controlled hang gliders. His wing gives us a starting paint in this brach of self-soaring. The 100 pounds gives us a starting point. His_ 32'7" span gives us a starting point. His ailerons, each about b square feet of 179 sq. ft. gives a note of importance. That he has no dihedral when Irv Culver's article in this issue calls for dihedral for a solution of roll-yaw problems, tells us we have more to learn about the . why of the Swingwing. Let us all thank Irv and Volmer for these good starting poi_nts.
COVER THAT GfJ> ••• THE Swingwing has a heart gap created by the need to easily disconnect the two wing halves at the root. To the right we see Volmer putting the last eye screws through holes in an aluminum sheet gap _cover. Not covering the gap would permit the above wing low pressure air to increase in pressure by leaking high pressure air from the underside of the wings.
READ THAT WIND IF YOU FLY Volmer makes wind meters with balls, glass or plastic tubes, marking ink, and some tools. He flys with two wind meters just in case of ? Your local sailbQat shop probably i:an get up a Dwyer wind gauge that may read high or low. With one you can plot the velocity profile of a hill or for on entire site. You can plat the variations in the wind_ velocity.-Read maximums and minimums. You can take readings at various distances from the ground. Some l;Qdy ·,upw:ind yell that a big wind is coming. Th'e meter can be a help in deciding if you think it worth your time to go to the flying field. You can better study your experimental results. Your meter wi !! permit you to tell others more accurately what you do.
CARRY YOUR CARRY TOOLS ? Shown is a yolk used to clamp on the 4" tail boom of Swingwing. The arms permit two people to hold the tail boom while pulling the Swingwing back up the hill. If the hill is steep, then Volmer enlists more helpers to push at the nose - but only where a D tube bulkhead exists. If a pusher pushes between bulkheads, he will crush the thin plywoo.\l leading edge cover. Volmer doeli..,,Tusually fly with this yolk attached; a helper brings it to the landing spot.
GROUND CREW Who makes up Volmer's gro aid crew? People who want to fly help him. In crewing one gets to feel the airfoil, sense dimensi·ons, dream of doing this hang gliding, and talk over.the probleBl of flight with an expert. Do yoo want to crew for Volmer and get some first rate discussion, example, and spirit. Find out when he is going flying.
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Photo by Douglas Morgan
Photo by George Uveges
WOBLD BECOBD
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SAFETY FEATURES CO~GRATULATIONS are extended to VOLMER JENSEN for bis winning the universal safety medal for self-soaring design acbiements in the system SWINGWING. Not shown is cowinner IRV CULVER. Self-Soar Association's president Joe Faust , on behalf of striving designers throughout the world, salutes these two aeronauts extreme for their fortitude, diligence, invention. THEY HAVE GIVEN THE WORLD A STARTING POINT OF SELF-SOAR SAFETY THAT WILL BE NECESSARY TO REFERENCE AS WE PROTECT OUR INTERESTS IN THE AVIATION COMMUNITIES OF THE WORLD. LET THEIR EXAMPLE NOT DETER OUR EXPERIMENTATION, BUT ONLY GIVE US THE CONFIDENCE THAT SUCCESS IS WAITING OUR STRIVING. Their immediate system form is one among the infinite forms that will give lightness of foot, heart, and spirit. Whatever form our projects take, let wisdom guide ouT testing and development. We have a grand challenge before us in trying to do what they have done in performance ... especially when we aim to do with 10 pounds what is being done today with 100 pounds.
~®® POUNDS OF CLAY From dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return, For grown wings a self-soarer may remember that carbon wi 11 be one of the most important elements in reducing the weight of one's most personal wings, T odoy, carbon fil.dments, fibers, and threads are revolutionizing first priority mechanic:a I projects for the defense of national interests throughout the world. Self-Soar Association publicly invites Union Carbide to participate in winding o carbon VJ-23 in the name of pea~euse of advanced materia Is. I