[seabird]

This little flight story is for those guys wondering if a mosquito is a useful launch system. I've just got home from a relatively short but quite spectacular flight with my mosquito and atos vq. Thermal forecast was good but the threat of OD was big, so I rigged quickly at an airfield 45 min from home. A good powered launch in 25m and I was searching for my first climb. The mosquito is not powerful enough to just power up to altitude so I usually get my first climb low but soon after takeoff. Today I really had to search and fiddle to establish a decent climb. Once I could feel I was in the guts of a solid thermal I powered down and braked the prop so it folds back. A few more turns and I cut the engine with the choke. On this flight I didn't have to turn back on again for just over 2 hrs of flying. My thermal turned into a real stonker with a peak climb of 6.6m/s recorded. I topped out at over 2000m agl and headed off for the next good looking cum. I hadn't even got down to below 1000m after a 10km glide before picking up my next climb. My max height in the end was 2500m agl and I did about a 50+km triangle. I only went back to land after 2 hrs because the sky was looking nasty. As it turned out it was raining by the time I was driving home. I used <1l of fuel for my flight and drove 2.5hrs less than if I had gone to the closest decent mountain launch site.

[Windlord]

That sounds sweet. If you get the chance on your next flight, gets some pics or video. Would like to see the area.

[fkovacs]

Thank you for your report. I'm interested in this kind of flying because it's possible that in a few years this will be my only flying option. Sites are closing and aero tow pilots are getting rare.

I fly XC, mostly closed circuits (at least that's my intention), I have no interest to boat around with power, just need it till the first thermal. This is why the topic got my attention.

I know many pilots who tried the power option but all of them dropped the idea. The reason is that they could not thermal really well and the power units required quite much maintenance. However none of them were using a rigid wing.

I just want to know if the rigid wing could make a real difference here. They have lower min sink then flexies so the extra drag would not ruin the performance. They say they are also easier to steer which could mean that the handling might be better even with the added weight. These are just assumptions. I never flew a rigid and don't have experience with power flight. What do you think about difference rigid/flex regarding powered units ?

Seabird, could you please send a tracklog ? I'd like to see what kind of glides and climbs you get. An AtosVQ+mosquito costs a hell of a lot of money (price of a used sailplane) but the independence could worth the price.

[mrcc]

The electric (battery operated) version sound like a interesting option.
Low noise, little maintenance required & simple to operate.
But I don't know price wise & flight endurance how it compares with the petrol version ? Maybe someone has more details on the comparison.

[Guncrazy]

[seabird]

If battery technology would allow a lower weight and equivalent flight duration then electric would be fantastic. The noise issue is not as big as you might think though. Firstly the motor and prop are nearly 2m behind you so the noise seems to drift away from you. Secondly my intention is to fly power off(dead silent), so although the petrol engine is noisier while on, I am always trying to turn it off and for the sake of a powered save to keep me in the sky I will happily endure the racket until I find a climb. I will only go for a powered flight if I am desparate for time in the sky. Like all hg pilots I try to choose my flying days based on flying conditions. If I get it wrong and find no thermals my flights are never more than an hour.
fkovacs was asking about flex vs rigid for flphg. I used to fly a sport 2 before my atos and I had no problems. The rigid is certainly easier in the sky however. A powered harness has a lot of weight at the foot of the harness which can be little clumsy to control in a rowdy sky. There were times where I would have my turn direction in a thermal changed and it would be easier to go with it than to muscle it back. With a rigid you just keep your weight centred and move the frame; real power steering. On the ground the sport was far easier; light weight, flying wires to hold the wing and no tail.

[Bondy]

Sounds like you had a great flight Seabird.
I've been flying an Explorer for the last 3 years with the goal to thermal powered off but some days there is no lift so there's always the cruise option. In the process now of upgrading to the NRG, took it for it's first spin yesterday and have a few bugs to work out but should be worth it.

[Clumbers]

Beautiful

[RogerM]

[seabird]

AIR supply a short tail tube made by mosquito Germany that just slots in as the normal tail would. It took a while to work out exactly how one should fit and manage it, meaning I managed to break a tail plane in the learning process. The mossie compatible tail is shorter than the usual tail so it is apparently less pitch stable but I haven't noticed any problems myself. The VQ is a very airworthy flying machine!
Since this original post I have had my most spectacular flight, taking off from my local field and completing a 90km triangle using just 1 l of petrol. I had to turn on twice during my flight to stay up until my next climb. Peak climb of 7m/s and 1500m agl, flight time of 3h35m. If you want to see the rig search youtube for joshdigi and find the atos + mosquito clips. I have absolutely no idea how to post a link.
Bruce[/youtube]