Dynamic Soaring.

FASTEST RC MODEL - IS A DYNAMIC SOARING GLIDER!!??

Photo shows a 100" Kinetic DP dynamic soarer. On April 5 2010 a similar model flew at 445 MPH!  Visit the DS Kinetic web site for further information

How is it possible for a glider to fly so fast? This type of glider is only about 15 years old, but the albatross has been using the same principles for eons!  The surprising fact is that to fly DS, you have to fly on the back side of a slope. For slope flyers this is normally an area to avoid!

An ideal DS slope is a ridge with a a sharp slope on both sides. The front face has the normal rising air and the back slope has still air (no wind). At the top of the ridge is a boundary layer of fast moving air.

 The DS glider flies in an inclined loop, close to the surface of the back side slope. As the model crosses the boundary layer, into the front side rising air, it picks up energy. The glider then crosses the boundary layer again, on it's way down the slope and now gravity is imparting energy as the model dives down the  slope, in still air.

It has enough inertia, to finish the loop and repeat the process. Each time it crosses the boundary layer, energy is picked up and thus speed is increased.

This type of flying is not for the faint of heart! A trajectory as close as possible to the slope must be used and the inevitable contact with terra firma can produce some spectacular crashes!

It is not easy to see the plane in this video-but it is worth a look. This shows a glider flying at 392 MPH!

This speed has to be close to MACH 0.5!!!

Obviously the stresses  the model endures, during a flight like this are VERY HIGH! Construction is usually from fiberglass and kevlar. As you can see in the video, the piloting skills are first class.

For the less adventurous, a simpler (and much less expensive) approach to DS could be to use an all foam flying wing, such as the Steve Drake Gulp DS. See photo below-

 

This type of rc airplane is very robust and will survive the inevitable contacts with the slope! For further information on The Gulp and to visit Steve Drake. com-please click here If you contact them then kindly mention RC-Airplanes-Simplified. com

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For the latest information on speeds obtained and the slopes used, visit RCSpeeds. com.

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