Hi
Here are a few photos of a pilot from South Africa Mike Mays, who I have been in contact with over the last month. Mike has designed a PSS 'SU 35' which I am glad to said has made her maiden flight over the weekend.
I will let Mike in his own words tell you all how the first flight went:
Hi John,
Firstly thanks for your interest and assistance when I was really grasping for confirmation from outside that this beast looked like it would fly.
Not only did she fly but extremely well. The PSS fest I entered was held on a mountain just outside a sleepy little town called Volksrust, fairly near the escarpment , which means the winds generally blow in this area.
On saterday we had a nice blow of about 35kmh with gusts up to 40km/h as big thermals passed by.
After flying one of my smaller 3mtr scale ships to check out the air I decided to give it a go.I rechecked the balance and because of the strong wind decided to move the battery slightly more forward. Just before launch my helper and I decided to go full rates, rather than 50 percent incase I needed control authority in a hurry.
On giving the nod my mate Norbert threw it and after a small wobble left and the right she started climbing, I put in 2 x clicks of down initially , but once on the step I took these back out, so it flew perfect trim free. I kept reminding myself to keep the speed up but I even went into a passing thermal and slowing her down she climbed up well in the lift, the flight was about 30 minutes long and she is fairly quick , but incredibly smooth to fly, I was actually astounded by how well this thing grooves in the turns, no sign of any tip stall tendancies.
After gaining some height I circled around in the calm air at the back of the slope and just let the Su-35 mush down , it lands a bit like a brick but thankfully at least no damage.
I think I could get hooked on jets they just look awesome in the air.
Thanks Mike for sharing the joy of a first flight and a great model from all the pilots on Gliderireland
johnP
