Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Lake Elmo 21D Hangar

My Icarus V was scratch built in early 1970's. It was day and night working on the project for probably a year.  I flew hanglider once off a long sloping hill in McKnight Park across the I 94 freeway from 3M Corporation.  I added en engine and took off from the Lake Elmo airport crashed it.   I rebuilt and recovered it with a new paint scheme you see here hanging on wall.  I have a broad based interest in aviation.  As you can see in the photo there are R/C airplanes hanging up.  My first R/C,  a 1930s Trixter Beam and smaller balsa model I built from a kit.  My Tin Mistress, a 1946 Ercoupe has the 65HP Continental engine off for painting and also allowing me to polish the firewall.  That's tedious work but worth it making it an award winner Ercoupe at Oshkosh and other National Airshows.


The two Icarus V wings are hanging up on back wall (looks like art) with a second new paint design after recovering from the last crash.   Lot's of painting; lot's of newspaper and tape and personal touch.  A new gold hang cage can be seen lower left behind the propane heater awaiting assembly for future weekend powered hanglider flight.  With all you see in this picture - where is the time to fly?   It's too cold to fly and it looks like there is snow on the ground.  My Dad will be back soon from flying one of his Beechcraft Bananzas.  I'll open the frig. have a beer and think about where to focus my interest in this hobby.  I am too old and fat to foot launch the Icarus V so my 2020 project is to make the IcarusV into a Drone Ultralight with the capability to lift vertically, hover and fly.
Flying R/C models since early 1960's, Hangliding started in 1972 and bought Ercoupe in 1974

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Icarus V VTOL Drone Drawing #1

Using R/C Technology at first for proof of concept.  First test flights will be at local AMA sanctioned model airplane field using RC propulsion system from a EFlite XVert VTOL electronics.

Electric motors with two large propellors wil be fixed on a one inch aluminum tube with wires going back to ESC, Reciever and LIPO bat(s) for propulsion.  It is very easy integrate and experiment.  The is no need for moving the motors to control Ultralight.  VTOLs ob youtube will rotate the motors from take off to flying for high speeds.  This aircraft only flys at 20MPH-25MPH and motors will only be used when I'm in it to gain altitude.  Then I will glide down to land and use Motors to slow to land vertically so I won't have to run 18 MPH to land.  I will land like a Helicopter or Quadcopter/Drone.


 I visited John Moody in Milwakee and copied ideas from his Powered Icarus II and created a motor mount for a MAC 101 GoCart engine with a straight drive 24" propeller making my Icarus V a foot launched hang glider or Foot Launched Ultralight,predacessor the the Vintage Ultralights and Modern Day Microlights.  Note: I started flying R/C models in 1964. 

Icarus V Foot Launched Hang Glider

HANG GLIDERS - 1974

First saw Icarus V hang glider in Popular Science 1974
Icarus II Designed by Taurus Kiceniuk

Icarus II migrated into the EasyRiser by Larry Mauro and John Moody made it famous at Oshkosh.


Below is a picture of my Icarus V in the early 1970s.  I pulled my 1946 Ercoupe out of the hangar to build the Icarus V by scratch from plans I bought from Tarus Kiceniuk.  I was interested in very low and slow flight to re-live some of the feelings I read about from the Wright Brothers.  I read and re-read an article in 1974 Popular Science Magazine on fixed wing hang gliders and decided to build Icarus V hang glider which at the time was state of the art.  It resembles its predecessor the Icarus II, what most people know as the Easy Riser.  Pilot controls pitch by shifting body weight on parallel bars. Lateral control is actuated by twist grips. 
Photo 1 Construction of airframe. Photo 2 is completed aircraft with original paint scheme at 1st Powered Hanglider Meet in Marilla, MI.. These powered hangliders were not yet called ultralights because anybody could fly them without a licence.  If you look very close I did have an FAA N number (N93675) on the wing tips and for the hell of it I put the word EXPERIMENTAL since I've been an EAA member since 1974.



Photo of my MAC 101 GoCart engine and 24" wooden propellor.  Notice  propulsion was full speed or no speed using a kill switch in my mouth.This photo was taken in the 1970s when very few of us had a motorized hangliders.  I remember Boris Popov who sold me my standard 18' rogallo hanglider had a hangar for ultralights with seats for comfort and and wheels for take off and landings, mostly Quick Silvres.a few miles from my airport in Lake Elmo which led to the dawn of the modern day Ultralight.