Wills Wing
Flytec

Oz Report

Volume 3, Number 6
Saturday, February 20 1999

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"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
Mon, Jul 5 1999, 7:39:05 pm EDT

to Table of Contentsto next topic Guggenmos and JZ

Mark Grubbs

As soon as I sent out last week's Oz Report, Jim Zeiset called to see if I knew how to get a hold of Josef Guggenmos over the Internet.  JZ had previously thought about importing Guggenmos' gliders (the Bullet, for example), but now comes the opportunity to bring in his new rigid wing.  We hope to hear more from JZ about whether it worked out.

Mark Grubbs was very excited about this possibility also and imimmediately wrote to JZ to encourage him to distribute this new glider int he US. Josef builds custom gliders about on the scale of Seedwings, so it is not clear how many, if any, would be available for the US market.

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Mon, Jul 5 1999, 7:39:06 pm EDT

to Table of Contentsto next topic Pilot ranking

PG|USHGA

I've updated the Excel spread sheet for US pilot ranking for the 2000 US World Team.  You can download it from my web site.  The updated spread sheet is based on a spread sheet developed by Paul Klemond for ranking the US paraglider pilots.

I will be keeping the current pilot rankings up to date (hopefully), so that pilots will know their current standing as the competition season progresses.

I also have a current version of the 1999 US World Team ranking.  The USHGA site has an earlier version that was taken from my earlier work.  I've asked them to please update their site, and perhaps they have.

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Mon, Jul 5 1999, 7:39:07 pm EDT

to Table of Contentsto next topic Chris Muller wins the Mexico Competition

Chris Muller|Valle de Bravo|Wallaby Ranch

Chris Muller|John "Ole" Olson|Valle de Bravo|Wallaby Ranch

(?-i)John "Ole" Olson|Chris Muller|Valle de Bravo|Wallaby Ranch

Chris Muller|John "Ole" Olson|Valle de Bravo|Wallaby Ranch

Just heard that Chris Muller won the recent hang glider competition at Valle de Bravo.  Corls, a Brazilian tug pilot from Wallaby Ranch, just got back from 5 days at Valle.  Apparently Ole (John Olsen) was getting on the plane to go back to Hawaii as Carlos landed at the airport in Mexico City.  Ole is flying trikes for Jerry Charlebois on Kauai.

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Mon, Jul 5 1999, 7:39:08 pm EDT

to Table of Contentsto next topic More Exxtacies at the Ranch

PG

After our hundred milers on Monday, Tom Nejame, flew a 129 miles on Tuesday to the northeast of Gainsville.  He landed at 5:24 PM just like the day before, but this time he ran out of the end of a cloud street.  This was Tom's second 100 mile flight ever.  Landed next to the home of a sky driver who was quite excited to see him.  Beautiful rye grass field.

Wednesday was pretty good too.  Even with a thick layer of high clouds, there were cues underneath.  I was able to get 62 miles to the north after skirting some rain showers and basically climbing over dark ground, to a little private runway (Leeward Air Ranch) two miles northeast of Belleview.  This was fortuitous because now we are thinking of using this air ranch as a goal for the Wallaby Open (GW could use it for the Nats also).

On this flight I got to fly a bit with John Hamlin, who, like two other northeastern Exxtacy pilots, flies supine, i.e. he is seated under the base tube.  It was great flying with him and checking out what he looked like in the air.  He looked completely comfortable in his lime green flight suit, as though he was sitting at the dinner table.

John modifed the Exxtacy for supine flight.  He pulled the base tube back twenty inches.  16 inches is the normal different between your arm position and hand location while prone, and your hand location while supine, but John had heard that the Exxtacy control bar still seemed a bit too for out in this location, so he brought it back another 4 inches.  He found that he could just get the Exxtacy to stall by leaning forward and pushing all the way out.

Once he positioned the control bar back 20 inches, he cut and reschwedged the rear wires to set it's position.  He then added to the front wires to lengthen them enough to fit the front tang back at the glider's nose.

He also added about 8 inch sections to the side wires, one with a turnbuckle so he could adjust in flight to get the right amount of "slop." The big issue was changing the angle on the main pulleys on the side wires that activate the spoilerons.  The main pulley had to be cocked to the back to the new angle for the side wires.  This took a compound angle cut on the block that mounts the pulley.

It's too bad we don't have more people using this method of aviation.  Of course, this is the kind of modifications that you have to go through to be able to do it. You also have to get someone to build you a harness.  John has a stirrup in front which looked just like a speed bar on a paraglider.

I couldn't believe how comfortable John looked, as he just moved the control bar around in front of him.  Of course, the fact that the Exxtacy has control surfaces made this quite easy.  He has to be restricted in how much over VNE he could get by pulling in though.  With the extra glide performance of the Exxtacy, he had plenty of performance, and seemed to be really scooting over the ground as I flew with him.

It was windy out of the west on Thursday and Friday, but great cumulus development.  If I had wanted to work my way up wind, which you can do on an Exxtacy, there would have been some good flying.  Today, Saturday, its out of the north at 10 -15 mph, with no development and only 70 degrees on the ground (it's quite cold up high).

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Mon, Jul 5 1999, 7:39:09 pm EDT

to Table of Contentsto next topic Glider bags

Marty Beckenbach

Marty Beckenbach, another Exxtacy pilot who came down with Tom, Peter, and John, had the nicest Exxtacy bags I've seen (not to diss anyone else). Turns out Marty owns a custom auto interiors business that installs original materials in classic cars.

Marty had a padded bag with the foam covered and sewn in. He also had a water proof bag of cordura with a special poly coating (not K coating). Finally, he covered his glider with a jacket made of heavy duty reflective material.

He's up to making bags and/or covers for Exxtacy and ATOS pilots.  He'll only make runs of 5 or more so you'll have to be a dealer or get together with your buds.  He's not on-line, but his buddy Tom Nejame is (although I don't have his e-mail address). Marty can be reached at 315-331-8432.

I also heard that Mike Eberle is importing water proof bags for the Exxtacy from Europe at about $200 each.  Check it out at http://www.fun2fly.com.

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Mon, Jul 5 1999, 7:39:10 pm EDT

to Table of Contentsto next topic Composites

Jim Derck came down to the Ranch a few weeks ago to give himself a 60th birthday present of learning how to fly a hang glider.  Turns out that he works for West System, a maker of exposy resins.  If you are in need of information on what resins to use, you can contact him at «tech-support».

A major supplier of resins and carbonfiber and kevlar fabric for the sail plane industry is Composite Structures Technologies in Techachapi, CA. They have a web site.

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to Table of Contentsto next topic New (or is it used) Rigid Wing Pilots

Fri, Feb 19 1999, 11:00:06 pm GMT

Exxtacy|ATOS|Paul Gallagher|Dan Uchityl|Gerry Uchityl|Rick Edris

Now that Exxtacies have been out for a while, there is beginning to be a market for pre-owned rigid wing gliders.  Those pilots who weren't willing or able to jump on the hot ship last year are now getting a chance to pick up Exxtacies as many pilots order (and hope for delivery of), ATOSs, and other promised rigid wing gliders.

Two of the newest are Paul Gallagher (Chelan, WA), and Dan Uchityl (Seattle, WA). Dan joins his brother Gerry as an Exxtacy owner and gets his glider from Rick Edris, the first US pilot to own an Exxtacy.  If these two guys are going rigid, it means the vast middle of the market is there.  Dan's got to put two kids through school and his wife harrasses him mercilessly about flying.  Paul is the kind of guy who is always looking for that perfect deal.

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Mon, Jul 5 1999, 7:39:12 pm EDT

to Table of Contentsto next topic Mike Barber - the perfect driver

Mike Barber

Mike Barber, the current number one ranked pilot in WTSS points for the 2000 US World Team, has been a great driver for us here at the Ranch.  He's bunged up his shoulder and hasn't been able to lead the World Team Academy for a month or so. We hope that he gets back in action soon.  When he isn't driving for us, he's out welding sail boats or glider racks.

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Mon, Jul 5 1999, 7:39:13 pm EDT

to Table of Contentsto next topic Speaking of flex wing pilots

Florida

Florida|Ryan Glover

Florida|Ryan Glover

As Tom was flying 129 miles on Tuesday, Ryan Glover, a top US flex wing pilot, got to fly Mike's La Mouette Topless 94 miles to Micanopy.  Florida pilots will recognize this as the last bit of dry ground before Paynes Prairie south of Gainsville.

We found Ryan at the Risque cafe (We Bare All), which most Florida I75 drivers will remember from all the billboards along the highway.  Ryan had landed right across the freeway from it.

Ryan said that he really enjoyed flying Mike's glider.  Mike hasn't had a chance to fly it yet, but plenty of others have.

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Mon, Jul 5 1999, 7:39:14 pm EDT

to Table of Contentsto next topic One final bit of gossip

A while back we heard from a reliable source that Felix Ruhle was going to put a cage on the ATOS next year and get three more points of glide.  This makes it competitive with the Swift.  It seems that pilots who want to fly seated on a rigid wing glider will have the option of supine, or with a stick (in the future).

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to Table of Contentsto next topic GPS use for turnpoint verification

Fri, Feb 19 1999, 6:00:10 pm EST

photo

What follows is an article by Michael Champlin on how to use a GPS to tell you when you actually make a virtual turnpoint.  A few points in advance.  First, while Michael goes through a thorough explanation of how to determine the photo sector from the bearings of turnpoint, I've created a very simple Excel spread sheet that does all the work for you.  As long as you write down the bearings of the edges of the photos sectors on a scrap of paper or map that you can easily see while in the air, you should have not problem knowing when you are in the proper sector.

You'll want to place your GPS in a place where you can easily read the distance and bearing to the next turnpoint.  Most of the Garmin screens will display distance and bearing to the next turnpoint.

You may think that you can just get away with using the Route function to tell you when you've made the turnpoint.  The only problem is that the Route function switches to the next turnpoint if you cross the bisector of the turnpoint bearings inside the turnpoint as well as outside it. Unless you are sure that you are outside the turnpoint you won't know if you went through the photo sector.

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Mon, Jul 5 1999, 7:39:16 pm EDT

to Table of Contentsto next topic Using The Garmin GPS Screen To Verify Photo Sectors

-By Michael "Hollywood" Champlin

In this article I will detail two methods of verifying a valid photo sector by reference to the GPS screen itself, rather than relying on visual methods.  The first method is one that I currently use myself.  The second is a yet-untested method that I believe will work and be easier for the novice GPS user to use.  Both methods, however, will require some ground preparation before the flight - the second method requiring more than the first.  In the case of a competition, hopefully this ground preparation can be handled by the contest organizers and the information given to the competitors as a group.  This will allow the method to be used even by pilots who do not understand how the calculations are made.

Before I describe the methods, it's important that we understand what a valid FAI photo sector looks like.  The current edition of the FAI Sporting Code Section 7 defines a photo sector as follows:

6.6.8 "…The photo sector is a quadrant (90 degree sector) on the ground with its apex at the turn point and oriented symmetrically to and remote from the two legs of the course which meet at the turn point."

Although I can find no mention in the current Section 7 as to the length of the sector limit from the quadrant apex, I will assume that what was stated in the previous version of Section 7 is still valid.  It states:

5.6.2 "The sector limit is 1 km from the quadrant apex unless otherwise stated in the local regulations."

Figure 1 shows a course around a single turnpoint.  Point A is our start point and line AB is our inbound course leg.  Point B is our turnpoint.  Line BC is our outbound course leg and point C is our finish point (or possibly our next turnpoint).



Figure 1.


Figure 2.

Figure 2 shows a line XY which bisects the angle between lines AB and BC (our inbound and outbound legs). If we draw an additional line at 45 degrees either side of line XY (lines B1 and B2) we have created the sides of our FAI photo sector.  By limiting the lengths of lines B1, BX and B2 to 1 kilometer, we have completed our FAI sector for turnpoint B. Note that the photo sector is the same regardless of which direction the course is flown.

Method One

Our next step is to apply actual degree measurements to our FAI sector we have created.  In order to do this with the Garmin unit, we have to insure that the Garmin is set up to display degrees, and the heading referenced to true north.  From the main menu screen, highlight the "Setup Menu" and press "Enter". Highlight "Navigation" and press "Enter". Under the "Heading" field, choose "True" and Degrees". IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ANYONE USING THIS METHOD HAVE THEIR GPS UNIT SET IN THIS MANNER.  Any references to bearing and distance now will be displayed in the same format as they would on a map with true north at the top of the page.  The compass rose shown in figure 3 shows the bearing of various directions in relation to true north.  For example, due east is bearing 90 degrees, south is 180 degrees, northwest is 315 degrees, etc.


igure 3.

Points A, B, and C as shown in Figures 1 and 2 should all be entered as waypoints.  From your waypoint list, choose waypoint A (whatever it may be called)and hit "Enter". Highlight the "Reference" field and hit "Enter". Toggle the keypad until you have chosen waypoint B (whatever it may be called) and hit "Enter". The bearing and distance fields directly below will display the bearing and distance from waypoint B to waypoint A. The number we are concerned with is the bearing.  Let's say for argument's sake this number is 130 degrees (towards the southeast). We now know the bearing from waypoint B to waypoint A is 130 degrees and we can orient this line on a map with true north to the top of the page as shown in Figure 4.

We do the same for waypoint C. From your waypoint list, choose waypoint C (whatever it may be called). In the reference field, enter waypoint B to find the bearing and distance from waypoint B to waypoint C. Let's say for argument's sake this number is 270 degrees (due west).


Figure 4.

The next step is to figure out the bearing of our angle bisector (line XY in Figure 2). The easiest way to do this is to subtract the difference between bearing BC and bearing BA to arrive at an angle of 140 degrees (270 minus 130). Divide this number by two to get an angle midway between lines BC and BA (which would be 70 degrees). Add 70 degrees to our bearing BA to get the bearing of our bisector line XY (which would be bearing 200 degrees). This is shown in Figure 5.


Figure 5.

By adding 45 degrees to the bearing of line XY we will obtain the bearing of one side of our photo sector (see Figure 6). This bearing will be found to be 245 degrees (200 plus 45). By subtracting 45 degrees from the bearing of line XY we will obtain the bearing of the other side of our photo sector.  This bearing will be found to be 155 degrees (200 minus 45). The reason for obtaining these bearings in the direction noted will become obvious in the next step.


Figure 6.

Figure 7 shows the photo sector for our turnpoint B with the appropriate bearing to the waypoint labeled (310 degrees). Now a pilot flying the course outlined in Figure 1 can easily identify when he has entered the photo sector by simply watching the values of the bearing and distance to the waypoint displayed on any of the navigation screens on the Garmin.

In our example, the pilot navigating from point A to point B would initially see a bearing of 310 degrees displayed on his GPS (the bearing of courseline AB). This value will vary +/- depending on which side of the courseline the pilot is flying at any given time, but will generally be a northwesterly direction.


Figure 7

For illustration purposes, let's assume our pilot exaggerates his course to the right and through the photo sector as shown in Figure 8. The pilot will begin to see the displayed value of the bearing to waypoint B begin to decrease.  As soon as the displayed bearing to waypoint B reaches a value of 245 degrees, THE PILOT KNOWS HE HAS ENTERED THE PHOTO SECTOR.  As he continues through the photo sector, the displayed value of the bearing to waypoint B will continue to decrease.  When the displayed value reaches 200 degrees, THE PILOT KNOWS HE IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PHOTO SECTOR.  As he continues further through the photo sector, the displayed value will continue to decrease.  When the displayed value approaches 155 degrees THE PILOT KNOWS HE IS ABOUT TO LEAVE THE PHOTO SECTOR.  Naturally, the pilot would also need to insure that his displayed distance to the waypoint is within 1 kilometer (.62 miles) if this is indeed the rule.


Figure 8.

Once a pilot understands how this works, he/she only needs to know the two bearing and distance values to the waypoint that define the sides of the photo sector.  WHEN THE DISPLAYED BEARING TO THE WAYPOINT IS BETWEEN THESE TWO VALUES YOU ARE IN SECTOR.  This information can easily be jotted down or (what I do) drawn on your flying map to refer to in the air.

Method #2

Method #2 is simply an extension of method number one, but should be easier for novice GPS users to implement.

The first step is to reverse the bearing values for the sides of the photo sector calculated in Figure 7. This is easily done by adding or subtracting 180 degrees from the existing values.  Figure 9 shows these values to be bearing 65 degrees and bearing 335 degrees.


Figure 9.

We can now calculate the coordinates of points 1 and 2 that were shown in Figure 2, and are now shown again in Figure 9. By calculating the coordinates of these two additional points and entering them as waypoints in the GPS, THE MAP SCREEN WILL NOW DISPLAY THE THREE CORNERS OF THE PHOTO SECTOR.  By referring to the map screen while flying, a pilot can now visually watch his/her track line to see when it enters the imaginary triangle created by these three points.  When it does, THE PILOT IS IN THE PHOTO SECTOR.

So how do we calculate these two additional points?  From the Main Menu screen in the Garmin unit, highlight "Waypoint List" and press "Enter". Highlight any waypoint and press "Enter". Highlight the "New" field and press "Enter". Enter a new waypoint name for point 1 shown in Figure 9 and press "Enter". Highlight the "Reference" field and press "Enter". Enter the name of waypoint B in the "Reference" field and press "Enter". Highlight the bearing field and enter the bearing value from point B to point 1 (in our example this value is 335 degrees). Highlight the "Distance" field and enter the value .6 miles.  The coordinates now displayed are the coordinates of point 1 shown in Figure 9. Highlight "Done" and press "Enter".

Use the same procedure to calculate the coordinates of point 2 in Figure 9. By giving out the coordinates of these two additional points to the competitors at the time of calling the task for the day, all competitors will have a "virtual photo sector" displayed on the map screen of their Garmin units.

As I said, the second method described above is untested and I am unsure how useful it will prove to be. The first method definitely works and is very useful.  Although this may seem difficult at first, the calculations can be done in a matter of minutes with a little practice.  It may be possible to create a simple spreadsheet to handle the calculations.

Other Methods

I will briefly outline a couple of other methods I considered and subsequently rejected.  The first involves using the proximity waypoint function found on the later models of Garmin units.  If a "beer can" sector is used for the competition to extend the photo sector to include a 300 foot radius around the turnpoint, a proximity alarm could be set to go off at the required distance upon the pilot entering the "beer can". I rejected this idea because a pilot attempting to use this method alone could wind up wallowing around all over the photo sector trying to find a 600 foot circle that will make his alarm go off.  It's also questionable whether or not the pilot could even hear the alarm during flight.  Another reason is it would be quite possible to graze the edge of the 600 foot circle and immediately pass outside of it. However, clever pilots will quickly figure out how to modify method 1 described earlier to take advantage of a beer can sector…

Another method I considered and rejected was the use or the route function itself.  However, if the route function on the Garmin unit works in the same manner as the route function in the Trimble unit (which I believe it does), the GPS screen will switch to display the next turnpoint in the route after you have crossed the bisector of the angle
between the incoming and outgoing legs, regardless of whether you crossed it to the inside or the outside of the turnpoint.  Pilots that are GPS-savvy enough to determine by screen reference which side of the turnpoint they are on should be able to understand and use method one described earlier.  The added advantage to method one is that YOU DO NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO CROSS THE BISECTOR AT ALL.  You can conceivably barely enter the edge of the photo sector, know for certain you are there, hit "Mark" and then "Enter" and head for the next turnpoint.  Pilots should be aware that the screen change mentioned above will still happen with method 1 if you are navigating a route and you accidentally cross the bisector on the inside of the turnpoint (quite common to do when thermalling near the turnpoint). However, with method 1 it is quite easy to hit "Goto" and enter the waypoint again to get your bearings.


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The Oz Report, a near-daily, world wide hang gliding news ezine, with reports on competitions, pilot rankings, political issues, fly-ins, the latest technology, ultralight sailplanes, reader feedback and anything else from within the global HG community worthy of coverage. Hang gliding, paragliding, hang gliders, paragliders, aerotowing, hang glide, paraglide, platform towing, competitions, fly-ins. Hang gliding and paragliding news from around the world, by Davis Straub.

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