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Vertical Takeoff

Dave takes off with the Boomer

The Boomers and Wild Wings we’re using for combat sessions have plenty of power, enough that it’s easy to climb straight up with a flick of the throttle.

So Dave North likes to show that they can take off from the grass: all you’ve got to do is point them up.

The usual Baylands breeze is a bit of a challenge to keep a less-than-7-ounce plane propped upright on the grass, but Monday the winds were gentle, so it was a snap for Dave to prove his point. Multiple times.

We’ve got the photos and a movie to prove it.

I intend to do this trick with my Wild Wing, but its fins are slanted to I’ll need to build a launch pad to keep it pointed straight up.

Don Dvorak took these photos. You’ll find a 30-second multiple-VTOL video which I took on the Movies page.

Dave enjoyed multiple VTOLs on the light-wind morning. Dave enjoyed multiple VTOLs on the light-wind morning.
It’s in the air! It’s in the air!

Dave boosts speed to maintain control. Dave boosts speed to maintain control.
A tick of up-throttle and the Boomer rise in the air. A tick of up-throttle and the Boomer rise in the air.

The wind is light so the Boomer remains upright. The wind is light so the Boomer remains upright.
Dave North rests the Boomer on its fins. Dave North rests the Boomer on its fins.


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This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 7:21 pm and is filed under Baylands. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Vertical Takeoff”

  1. Dave Says:
    July 12th, 2008 at 10:58 pm

    I think you can figure out from looking at the photos that the plane doesn’t always go _straight_ up. There’s a little excitement right at liftoff…

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