Gary,
I don't know how the EZBD stacks up against the AVA, but I have heard good
reports from happy owners. It seems that Denny has put together a very nice
kit. From what I understand the EZBD builds to about 43 ounces. Light for a
3M plane but about 12 ounces heavier than Mark Drela's Bubble Dancer. I
understand the AVA comes in around 39 ounces.
I am about to find out how a plans built BD flies. Five members of the Long
Island Silent Flyers are going to build Bubble Dancers this winter. One of our
accomplished builders, Phil Abatelli, is going to take the rest of us through
the build. Phil and Rob Sabatini, another LISF member, have made up the
materials list and placed the order. When the materials arrive, Phils is going
to show the rest of it how it is done.
Frankly I am not much of a builder so I hope I have not taken on too much. If
not for Phil's guidance, I would never dream of doing this, But I love the
Bubble Dancer and always wanted one.
Before I had my first sailplane, while I was still learning to fly my Aerobird,
I timed for Mark Drela in an Eastern Soaring League contest. I had no idea who
he was, but he had this really cool looking plane called the Bubble Dancer.
Everyone else was flying full house bagged wing and molded planes. Mark's was
this build-up beauty. As I watched him fly this beautiful plane I was
convinced that the plane defied gravity. I fell in love with it on the spot.
Over the years I have watched Mark hand throw his BD into lift and sky it out
during warm-ups before Eastern Soaring League contests.
There has not been a lot of RES flying at our club lately. The new guys
typically start on Easy Gliders these days. A few of us have Spirits and
occasionally an older RES plane comes out, but RES has really fall by the
wayside.
However with 5 new Bubble Dancers being built this winter, people are talking
about RES again in a big way. A couple of people are talking about getting 3M
RES ARFs. This could turn into a monthly club RES class contest. That would
be fun.
Hopefully this spring I will be reporting on the maiden flight of a gravity
defying Bubble Dancer. I have no dream that it will finish as light as Mark's,
but if it comes in under under 38 ounces, I will be very pleased.
Ed Anderson
LISF
> > Gary Rexroad wrote:
Mike or Jon or anyone
How due you think Dr. Mark Drela's Bubble Dancer stacks up
with the Ava?
I fly in SE Michigan, mostly TD. Polecat Aero kits the EZ
Bubble Dancer.
>From what I have read it should be vary close in performance.
