You think your BMW is fast? This is truly amazing stuff.

[Spool]

This is the same way Voyager 1 used Jupiter to sling shot it to the edge of the solar system?...gravity assist and momentum...


very cool, i'd hate to see what it'd feel like to have one of these planes dive into your chest at 400+ mph

[KingOfJericho]

Very strange that a something can be propelled to speeds of 400mph using no propulsion. It freaks me out. More energy output than input? Also, you'd better be good at steering those things or you could cut a bystander clear in half!

[mike the snake]

[mike the snake]

New world speed record set a few days ago, 487 mph!!!

500mph is just around the corner.

[JasonCSU]

That is pretty damn cool.

[stylinexpat]

Very very nice. One damn fast plane..

[denlin68]

it looks pretty hard to fly! its going so damn fast !

[mike the snake]

It is extremely difficult to do. Only the world's very elite pilots can even do this, and even the best crash.

I went 297 a few years ago when the record was 308, and the average lifespan of my planes was an hour or 2. After a few hours of fast DS the planes get worn out, as they are pulling constant 60-80 G's. My small (80 inch span) planes weighed around 11 pounds. The fastest planes today weigh 35-50 pounds, and at 500mph they are seeing 100G's at times.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by silvergray545

I don't understand...if they are unpowered, how to they fly?

PHYSICS!!!!


Its really complicated. But to give you the gist, all air doesnt move in a uniform motion. There are pockets of wind at different altitudes moving at different speeds.

Especially in mountains where the mountain can act as a sort of ramp for wind, changing its direction to more upwards (this is called an upblast) This is why hang gliders typically run off of cliffs.

Theres a lot more to it, but those are the basics.

[mike the snake]

Dynamic soaring was discovered by a couple model glider pilots while slope soaring. Wind hitting a cliff is deflected up, this "up" air is lift, and birds and planes can fly in this lift as if they have an engine, stay up as long as there is lift. This is slope soaring.

If the cliff is a ridge, the wind continues past the ridge, and there's a separation or boundary layer formed between the wind and the air behind the ridge, so you have 2 different "moving" bodies of air.

By flying the planes through the boundary layer, there are huge jumps in airspeed over the wings which is gained energy. By maintaining the circuits and constantly sending the plane through the boundary layer, the planes continue to gain speed with the energy gained.

The limit is around 10 times the windspeed.

I wrote a more concise explanation earlier in this thread, and more info can be found at RCspeeds.com or RCGroups in the dynamic soaring forum.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

Dynamic soaring was discovered by a couple model glider pilots while slope soaring. Wind hitting a cliff is deflected up, this "up" air is lift, and birds and planes can fly in this lift as if they have an engine, stay up as long as there is lift. This is slope soaring.

If the cliff is a ridge, the wind continues past the ridge, and there's a separation or boundary layer formed between the wind and the air behind the ridge, so you have 2 different "moving" bodies of air.

By flying the planes through the boundary layer, there are huge jumps in airspeed over the wings which is gained energy. By maintaining the circuits and constantly sending the plane through the boundary layer, the planes continue to gain speed with the energy gained.

The limit is around 10 times the windspeed.

I wrote a more concise explanation earlier in this thread, and more info can be found at RCspeeds.com or RCGroups in the dynamic soaring forum.

Well yeah you could give the real explaination. But lets be honest. How many posters here know what the boundary layer is?

[STIto335]

So it's like nascar with planes but only 1 flies at a time

Just kidding, that is insane.

[stimpy]

Can you actually do anything with these planes besides just fly them in a tight oval to reach insane speeds? Granted it's fast but seems a bit Nascar'ish to me (left, left, left).

[mike the snake]

New world record set today, 498mph!

Soon I will have a record capable plane in my hands, and I hope to be in the running for the world speed record myself again.

I'm building one of these planes for a friend right now. 130 inch wingspan, and what usually weighs 55 ounces is now 55 pounds! made of basically solid carbon fiber and kevlar.

[E90SoFlo]

pics of this carbon fibre and kevlar plane?

[leJUNd]

how do you get this thing going? Do you just throw it?

[mike the snake]

http://manormodels.com/

Here's a good vid of the D-130. I am building one of these right now for a friend. This vid gives a good idea of what's going on, slow, at 381, but the fastest vids there's nohing to really see, the planes are going so fast.

Presently, theres 3 or 4 planes that are 500-plus capable. Just waiting for the right conditions (BIG winds). Spencer set the new record of 498 at a new hill with his design called the Kinetic-130. Dynamic soaring is truly awesome.

[plymjack]

500mph with no engine sounds unreal.... must be a real buzz to see it for real..

[mike the snake]

Yes it is for sure. You have to get used to it though. It's very scary at first, just not natural for anything to be whizzing by you at those speeds.

Calculations were done, and with the bigger planes weighing in at over 50 pounds, at 500mph they have 35 times the impact force of a 50 cal. bullet (or over 460,000 pounds per square foot). You aren't even safe behind your car engine, as these planes would poke through like butter. WAY past toy planes.

[kred]

this is insane

[dtwyim]

Originally Posted by Spool

very cool, i'd hate to see what it'd feel like to have one of these planes dive into your chest at 400+ mph

+1
Have there been any landing mishaps?

[txz4]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

Yes it is for sure. You have to get used to it though. It's very scary at first, just not natural for anything to be whizzing by you at those speeds.

Calculations were done, and with the bigger planes weighing in at over 50 pounds, at 500mph they have 35 times the impact force of a 50 cal. bullet (or over 460,000 pounds per square foot). You aren't even safe behind your car engine, as these planes would poke through like butter. WAY past toy planes.

PLEASE have someone fly one into something. It would be an insane video if you ever had the opportunity.