You timer is still using a visual connection to start the stopwatch just as it is with winch launching and when you land is now up to you, as it always is. Careful with that assumption Dave, the details of how a competition would work will someday have to be worked out, I suspect with 2.4 a downlink could fire the clock when the motor shut down...but yawn...that's for another day to worry about. And one more time, the idea behind the Zlog Alt Motor Switch was to find a replacement for winch launches for us TD guys, not to shut down, change or alter the guys flight electric powered sailplanes. Gordy
In a message dated 6/28/2008 10:22:17 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Altitude limiting device is a Z-log, I believe, and with that 500 ft is 500 ft. or whatever height has been selected and your time starts when the motor is shut off by the device. You timer is still using a visual connection to start the stopwatch just as it is with winch launching and when you land is now up to you, as it always is. Regards, Dave Corven. -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: Lincoln Ross <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Just read the article. To some extent, I find myself agreeing (did I > write that? pass the Risperdal!). However, just because Gordy and I > succumb to tempatation when we have an electric glider* that is getting > low, doesn't mean other people do. If you have the strength of will to > ignore that nice power switch after the first climb is over, you can > ignore what he said. But I'll admit that when there's a motor in the > glider I usually won't fight out the last 50 or maybe even 100 feet. And > I definitely will with an unpowered glider. So there go all those fun > saves. (I was told that on a 58 minute flight (or was it the 60 minute > flight??) I was down to 20 feet at 3 minutes. I thought it was 40, but > that's another story. Low enough with a 25 year old 2 meter. (hmm... is > this the Gordy bragging disease too?) > > We have a bunch of people flying electric gliders in our club. Some of > them even come home with vinyl/brass/particle board plaques sometimes. > Some of them have houses in structural overload from hanging the plaques > on the wall. However, we also have a guy who is trying to start an > electric event which involves old hlg's and vertical climbs. He very > seldom talks about the power off part of the flight. This guy has > acquired my old Chrysalis. It's very amusing to watch him launch, but it > ain't soaring. He can get lots of exciting vertical drag racing because > the flights don't last long. The model is, I think, two or three ounces > overweight, which is a lot on a Chrysalis. > > Anyway, Gordy mentions an automatic motor shutoff. I think this will > emphasize motor power even more, because now you have to be going Mach > 0.5 at motor shutoff so you can get another 1000 feet or so. Therefore > it needs to link in to activate flaps or spoilers for 5 seconds or > something. (Perhaps activate spoilers for first 30 seconds of flight > above 500 feet? Total energy probe?) Once these little details are > worked out, I don't see why Gordy shouldn't then advocate using a > similar system with a releasable towhook on winch launches. That'll make > Histarter happy too. (for those of you who don't know my last reference, > your ignorance is bliss) > > > *Sailplanes are for people with bigger egos than mine. Gliders can go up > to, including, sometimes, 40 size power trainers that happen to be dead > stick. > > >Gordy wrote: > > > >Or you could have posted me directly to discuss it such a fun topic :-) > >Its been quite a while since I wrote that article which is more a review of > >the programmable altitude priority motor cut off switch....but I play this > >game :-) > > > >The context of the article is replacing winch launches.. > > > snip > > >One more time because I know that motor heads who have found a sailplane > >will fit motors will want to go off on how what they do is good (and it IS by > >the way) but that has nothing to do with the context of the article...replacing > >winch launches with electric motor launches. > > > >So with a programmable altitude shut off switch, TD pilots could have the > >smallest and cheapest possible motor/prop/gearbox/controller/ battery, versus > >electric sailplane events where the motor package is priority. > > > > > snip > RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and > "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that > subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME > turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are > generally NOT in text format RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format **************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007)
