The Glide Fast Journal

Vintage Hobie Hawk Promo Video

Found this super cool vintage Hobie Hawk promo film that was made circa 1975. I remember seeing this film at a sailboat show around that time. (I was into sailing) The print ads were cool too. Some great shots of flying at Torrey Pines, Dana Point, San Francisco, and Palos Verdes. Little did I know that I would fly those spots myself 20 years later! I have a few hours on a Hawk, decent flyer, dutch roll and all, might have to get one someday. Enjoy the hot chick loading her hawk into her 67 Bug. (had one of those).

Should You Upgrade To The New Spektrum DSMX 2.4 System?

Last Month Spektrum/JR released a new flavor of a 2.4 radio transmit technology called DSMX. DSMX is a hopping hybrid variant of their DSM2 transmit technique which aims to have better lock-out resistance in high interferance situations like large fly-ins or other harsh 2.4 radio environments. I cover the DSMX technology in my new 2.4 Radio Clinic DVD, and you can watch the clip here for free. DSMX is not needed by a vast majority of DSM2 users, DSM2 still works great. But if you are buying new JR radio gear, make sure you get DSMX compliant hardware, though some older gear might be on sale cheap. Good thing is that older DSM2 radios (not receivers) can be upgraded to DSMX for a small fee. I am no hurry to go to DSMX, though it may work better in some situations. Watch the clip and check out the new 2.4 Radio Clinic at this link.

Download Interesting Thermaling Research Paper

I found this interesting paper on the thermal soaring techniques of birds and how the science geeks are using this data for UAV flight. By Ákos, Nagy, Leven,Vicsek and published on the Cornell Univ site. A lot of this paper contains info known to the better HLG pilots already! Download the small but-oh-so interesting PDF file here: Download BirdThermal

My New Electric Glider

Last month I got a new plane, well a used one. Yep, it has a prop. It's an Aria, built has javelin throw HLG in 2001, converted to electric. Glass bagged wings, MH32, glass fuse, v-tail. More with pictures after the jump: