After trying a red and white colour scheme that did'nt work, I sanded it off and tried the white/blue contrast colour scheme – more visible in the air, and yes, it attracts seagulls… by the dozens…
I maidened it on 24 Aug 09 in a fair wind. It wiggled a bit after launch, got speed and flew straight and steady, only a little down trim required. It is fast, does loops and rolls nicely. It is fast but I'm sure it can be tweaked in to go even faster - any advice will be welcomed here. (more weight?)
The 1st landing was short of the catch net – came in too slow and the attraction of the protea bushes just got too much…..luckily no damage.
The 1st landing was short of the catch net – came in too slow and the attraction of the protea bushes just got too much…..luckily no damage.
The next landing was faster, flying it straight into the net. I promised earlier to show the catch net, see attached pic and video clip. The net is 3m high and 4 m wide, the holes are 35mm x 35 mm. It is mounted between 2 upright telescopic tubes (aka paint roller twist & grip extention handles). The poles are anchored by 2 ropes a side with metal tent anchoring hooks. The net has a lot of “give” – slow stretch, thus you can fly into it at speed and it slows the plane gently down. The net is put up so that the plane flies into the wind into the net. It can also be put up sideways so the plane can drift into it with a cross wind. As the net is angled (lower side facing the plane), the plane stays in the net - almost like a pouch. When not in use, the net can collapse diagonally into a "net rope" that can be rolled up in a small bundle and lives in an old laptop bag.
(Click on pic's to enlarge it a bit)
Catch net rolled up
Catch net rolled up
Next up is towing the JART with a tug plane – for those days when the wind is just contineously wrong for the slope.
I’ve installed a tow rope release mechanism in the nose of the JART. We will try this out around last week in Sept when I’m back.
Tow release servo installed
Tow rope hooked in.
All in all, a very nice plane and a lot of fun - and I enjoyed the build.
Next will be towing it with a tug plane, will keep you posted.
Cheers
Johann
