Flybaby Flying

J

jesse

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Oct 2, 2005
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Jesse
Did a little flying yesterday and recorded it:
 
LDJones said:
Don't you flip the mags off before repositioning the prop for another try? "Hot" props have my utmost respect.
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No I just flip it with the expectation that it's going to start. Running back and forth turning the mags on and off each time would create additional risk imo. Granted it doesn't fire that easily given the lack of impulse couplings.

The only difference between the flip to better position and the flip to start is the amount of energy put into it. The positioning and follow-through are the same.
 
Nice flying!

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk 2
 
Great day at the airport, changed the oil and then went flying with my cousin. Great day to be up in the air just having some fun.
 
Comes right down in a slip like going down in an elevator
 
NASA could've saved a lot of money if they'd just provided astronauts with flybabies for shuttle landing training.
 
Too bad the majority of the pilot population hasn't experienced the real joy of flying a basic airplane like the Flybaby, Champ or J3. I still enjoy doing an hour of touch and goes in the 140 and I have flown that airplane for 30 years. I really miss having my friend"s 65hp J3 to fly but he might be moving back here next year. Don
 
jesse said:
Did a little flying yesterday and recorded it:
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Good thing you had a 'chute on because you exceeded 60 degrees of bank during the first 15 seconds.

wanttaja said:
Plummets like a shotgunned duck.

Here's a video shot about twenty years ago by a local TV station, of me flying the Fly Baby prototype. It ends with a good shot of a Fly Baby slip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp_t0lOJZME

(Cap'n Thorpe ought to like it...)

Ron Wanttaja
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:rofl: Someone is on to me.
 
yakdriver said:
Too bad the majority of the pilot population hasn't experienced the real joy of flying a basic airplane like the Flybaby, Champ or J3. I still enjoy doing an hour of touch and goes in the 140 and I have flown that airplane for 30 years. I really miss having my friend"s 65hp J3 to fly but he might be moving back here next year. Don
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:thumbsup:
 
Looks like fun. :) But if winds were 15020G27KT, and you were landing on RWY 17, that would make your glide angle a whole lot steeper than it would otherwise be. Was that a full slip at the end? Did you fly an angled approach because the ailerons overpower the rudder in a slip? I've always liked these airplanes. Very nostalgic if you grew up reading R/C magazines in the 80's.

jesse said:
The only difference between the flip to better position and the flip to start is the amount of energy put into it. The positioning and follow-through are the same.
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His point was that you treated the prop differently. You didn't jump backward from the prop after the repositioning pulls like you did after you were doing the "real" pulls.
 
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Uh oh!
The "no touch and go" police will be all over you before the day is out.

Looks like fun. Thanks for sharing.
 
Looks like a great day of flying....... But.... I didn't see anything close to a 60 degree bank..:dunno:
 
RoscoeT said:
Was that a full slip at the end? Did you fly an angled approach because the ailerons overpower the rudder in a slip?
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Nowhere near a full-slip. Maybe 20% rudder at the most. I'll record a full slip video next time. It's much more of an elevator ride.
 
jesse said:
Nowhere near a full-slip. Maybe 20% rudder at the most. I'll record a full slip video next time. It's much more of an elevator ride.
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:popcorn: It looked like more fun than I had that day. I'm still healing up...



A few more weeks
 
wanttaja said:
Noooo...they *glide* like a rock. They actually fly quite nicely. That accident was a loss of control after landing.

Ron Wanttaja
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I know. I was the one doing the flying. Interesting, that the metal axle broke -- a bolt pulled through it, four 1600 pound turnbuckles snapped holding the flying wires right side (but not the cables), but except for the wooden legs and prop, the wood came through without a crack, and firewall on back nothing damaged, including the pilot.

Never fly a Fly Baby like a C-150 or an Ercoupe.
 
Geico266 said:
Hey Jesse! What camera did you use?
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wanttaja said:
Even more important, what kind of mount? Looks like you got rid of almost all of the engine vibration.

Ron Wanttaja
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GoPro Hero 2 with the suction cup mount stuck to the inside of the windshield. I was worried about the vibration as you could see the camera shaking but it must handle that internally somehow.
 
jesse said:
GoPro Hero 2 with the suction cup mount stuck to the inside of the windshield. I was worried about the vibration as you could see the camera shaking but it must handle that internally somehow.
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Gonna have to get me one. :yes:

That got me motivated Jesse, thanks.
 
JasonCT said:
Where's all the snow??
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drmon.gif
 
Wow you guys are smack in it and looks like it has been for some time?!
 
JasonCT said:
Wow you guys are smack in it and looks like it has been for some time?!
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The world's cycles... I predict Lincoln Nebraska has watering restrictions again, crops burning up etc...
 
yep the soaring has been GREAT the last two years.
 
Jesse,
I'm curious. Why the parachute? Don't take that as knocking it or anything, i'm just not accustomed to seeing that unless aerobatics are involved.
 
VanDy said:
Jesse,
I'm curious. Why the parachute? Don't take that as knocking it or anything, i'm just not accustomed to seeing that unless aerobatics are involved.
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On May 25th, 1999, Fly Baby N96MG lost a wing in flight and was destroyed near Mount Olive, North Carolina. By great good fortune, the pilot/owner, Scott Hinton, was wearing a parachute and escaped with minor injuries.
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Here's brief summary of the accident reports:
Total Reports: 55
Pilot Error: 26 (Some with associated engine problems)
Engine Failures: 13
Collisions: 3
Wing Failures: 14
Other: 6
Of the thirteen wing-failure cases
Half happened during aerobatics. Two of the cases also involved improper construction. In one additional case, alcohol was involved.
Two involved aircraft that had been improperly stored, and the carry-throughs rotted
One was pilot error - the plane didn't have the spar pins in
One had improperly-repaired damage from a previous accident
One had a turnbuckle fail from corrosion
One had fatigue cracking from the solid flying wires
One had improperly-balanced tensioning
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Parachute is cheap insurance and without it I'd need a pillow to push myself forward a bit. Might as well make that pillow a parachute.
 
jesse said:
Parachute is cheap insurance and without it I'd need a pillow to push myself forward a bit. Might as well make that pillow a parachute.
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Fair enough for me, I didn't want to assume that, but it was my guess.
 
What would be considered a good parachute? Seat, back or chair?
One any better then the other for a Fly Baby application?
 
Nice flying! Man, between reading Ron's Fly Baby site lately and seeing this video, now I really want one.
 
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