Mini-Rogallos

[Augusto/Brazil]

:) Does anyone enjoy slow fly? Really slow? A flight that one can do on it's home street, by night, tranquil, without boring anyone, relaxing from the daily labor, using a only 2 channel airmodel? (instead of a pause for a cigarette, you can do a pause for a flight, maybe it helps stop smoking too...)
Well, I've reached this kind of flight with the mini-Rogallo type of airmodel. Some considers it is more a kite than an airmodel, but to me it's a very nice and pleasant to fly little airmodel, that weights 75 grams,very safe, sturdy, has an "sailspan" of 70cm and can be made with the GWS stuff, using two lypo just connected togheter (not soldered - for individual charges after 5-6 together connected charges - for a regular balance of the cells). Uses the motor-vectoring mode for it's direction control and is really fast-responding when one gets the ability to not downfalls it with wrong controls inputs.
Well, as I've said: it's for SLOW flights, not acrobatic ones.
The yellow one on the photos I've named it Araminho or Wiry. For those who likes a bigger slow-fly airmodel, I present the Aramão or Wiry II, the red one on the photos, that uses a rewinded CD-rom motor and it's appropiate electronic stuff.
The Wiry II is a park flyer, the Wiry an "almost-indoor" airmodel.
Both of them uses music wire on their structures and for this they're named "wirys".
The sail longerons are made of bamboo for a better rigidity. One can do the longerons of fiberglass or carbon fiber too.
For those one interested in building these "first R/C steps" slow-fly airmodels, send me a reply
One thing more: excuse mine english errors. My natural language is Portoghese, not English. Thanks.

[Don Sims]

It looks like a lot of fun to fly. One of my buddies brought one that is similar and tried to fly it on a windy day. The thing flew off because it kept gaining altitude flying into the wind. Luckily we found it an hour after losing sight of it about 1/2 mile away from where he was flying.

[Augusto/Brazil]

Hi Don!
Thank you very much for your reply!
Yes, it is really a lot o fun to fly, specially in "medium limits" spaces where you must challenge your abillities to not let it to beat on those limits, trying to make a continuous flight. Too much tihgt spaces are sometimes irritating because of those beats and falls, and too much large ones becomes boring after a certain time of flight.
About those out-of-sight flights I can tell you that I've never had anyone with this kind of mini-Rogallo, because of it's mode of control using the vectoring of the motor . Because of this, whenever I've faced a more windy day that makes it to climb away I just try to fall it by forcing the motor to pull it down till a safer altitutde and bringing it back to me. That's also challenging...and a relief when you get it back!
To me, one of the type of flight I like most with it is to make it pass very slowly and a few feets over mine and other people heads, almost giving someone the impulse to catch it on the air, and this is also possible too because it is very docile and no hurting if it beats on you.
Keep in touch!
Augusto/Brazil