Dynamic soaring B/Gs?
 

Hello All,

I’ve come across something that could be an interesting and exhilarating variation of boost-glider and rocket glider flying (for R/C boost-gliders and rocket gliders, in particular). The somewhat shorter, stouter, and stronger proportions of our rocket-boosted R/C gliders would also lend themselves well to this type of flying, in which the rocket-powered ascent would propel the model into the following flying environment (and a second, air-ignited rocket motor might even make transonic or supersonic flight possible):

Below is material on a recently discovered soaring method—dynamic soaring—which is the method (which was long a mystery) by which Albatrosses fly very long distances over the sea. It also works over land, particularly behind hills and ridges; indeed, R/C (Radio Control) aircraft modelers are already using it (see: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlPI0AOj5MI ) to fly their model gliders at speeds of over 500 miles per hour in tight circular courses! Below are links to information on this method of soaring (including the R/C models), and on NASA and Sandia National Laboratories research projects for applications of it. They are as follows:

Here is a NASA video on their motor glider-like Albatross (a fitting name...) UAV concept (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4zEaYl01Uw ), and here is an IEEE Spectrum video on dynamic soaring and its application to UAVs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMX2wCJga8g . The Sandia National Laboratories paper can be seen here: https://cfwebprod.sandia.gov/cfdocs...ensorArrays.pdf ). ALSO, below are links to information on, and videos of, R/C dynamic soaring—the jet-like sounds and “blink and you’ll miss it” motions of these unpowered models are incredible:

By repeatedly flying into and out of the variable-velocity air masses found on the lee (downwind) sides of hills and ridges, R/C glider pilots can “pump up” their models’ speeds to several times the actual wind speeds behind such obstructions by using dynamic soaring, called DS for short. The video accompanying this DS article (see: http://www.wired.com/2009/06/dont-b...hrough-the-air/ ) shows a radar gun-clocked R/C glider going 392 miles per hour (about half the speed of sound). Videos of even faster DS flights can be seen here ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFPJ6DUAY10 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfoxjNg-eg0 ), and more can be seen on YouTube www.youtube.com —just look up “dynamic soaring” using the site’s search line. As of January 2016, the record DS speed is 513 mph (see: http://www.rcspeeds.com/aircraftspeeds.aspx?rpt=BD )! More information on dynamic soaring is available here (see: http://www.rc-airplane-world.com/dynamic-soaring.html , www.google.com/#q=dynamic+soaring , and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_soaring ).

I hope this information will be useful.