by Mike Sandlin ................. Last Update: June 25, 2008 ( more testing )
Testing of the enlarged Pig rudder/stabilizers on the training hill was interrupted by a control system failure, and much was learned from this and the resulting "off field landing".
These
rudder panels are 34% larger than the previous time I flew, two weeks before.
This image shows my setup area with the training hill in the background
.
On Monday, June 23, 2008, I took off on the day's first test flight in the Pig at the training hill at Crestline, California.
Another view of the Pig showing the enlarged rudders.
In
my first right turn, the rudders jammed in the turn position, so around
I went in a ground loop through the bushes (I started about half a wing
span high). There was enough damage that the day's flying was over.
Pig is sunk down in a brush filled gully after a "bush loop", with the takeoff slope visible
off to the right. What is demonstrated here is a large part of what the glider was designed for:
following an impact, the uninjured pilot walks away.
This is, of course, the kind of thing you want to happen on the test hill and not on a high flight. The rolling launch test method is paying dividends. Now it's time for some repairs and rebuilds.
Pig is sunk down in a brush filled gully after a "bush loop", with the takeoff slope visible
off to the right. What is demonstrated here is a large part of what the glider was designed for:
following an impact, the uninjured pilot walks away.
I
could not find the cause of the rudder jam, but I
surmise that the rotating eye bolts used as the rudder mounting
fixtures managed to rotate into a lockout position. Rotating eye
bolts will not be used as rudder mounts in the next version.
This is, of course, the kind of thing you want to happen on the test hill and not on a high flight. The rolling launch test method is paying dividends. Now it's time for some repairs and rebuilds.
