วีดีโอ

Fair weather is always prefered, but wind and turbulence were not that much of a problem, certainly not to the point of prolonged control loss. I flew when and where I wanted to, I just had to accept whatever level of turbulence I flew into, like everybody else.

@airchairp nah you can't fly near hills or mountains in that thing, not even with little or no wind. The thermals would be enough to throw you around. Especially without ailerons

m-sandlin.info/bloop/bloop.htm That should do it, you can download the Bloop 2 drawings if you want. The Bloop 2 and Bloop 4 wings do not use the same dihedral setup, it may be confusing if you see pictures of both thinking they are the same.

The weight, power, and wingspan can all be found at the website (see the video caption). Don't forget to ask about the wing loading, which is the real story here.

I'm pretty sure you mean that cruising at “20” mph. is surprisingly slow! Extra airspeed in the pattern is good for reaching the runway as well as keeping an extra margin of control. In this video, notice that Glenn has to fly down a hillside to get to his runway, so I think he stays clear and then dives a little to get down where he wants.

Ideally I'd like to fly with no instrumentation at all, but I can understand the desire for the airspeed or angle of attack indicator. When you fly a really slow airplane downwind at low altitude, it looks like it's going really fast, and there is a great temptation to pull the stick back and slow down, but when the stick gets way far back you begin to wonder what's going on. This would be a good time to read the airspeed if you are not used to downwind dashes in slow flying machines.

Yes, thanks for the note. The downloads from my Bloop website are being blocked as "insecure". I presume this is because my download is using the old http file transfer protocol. It may be that the newer https secure protocol is now being required instead. I don't know how to fix this, I will give it some thought. For now, the online Bloop 4 drawings can be consulted, and copied one at a time if need be. Chapter 2: I opened the website in the html editor and changed the file transfer protocol of the download link (the "http" at the beginning of the URL (web address)) to the modern protocol, "https" (the "s" stands for "secure"). It worked, and the drawing file could now be downloaded as before. So, the fix was trivial, but I still don't know why the problem arose so suddenly. I will now change all the Bloop and Bluebird download URLs to the more modern protocol, so the system should be back to normal soon. The lesson: standards change, a file available today may be unavailable tomorrow, so if you want files get them now and secure them in multiple formats in your own system.

@@airchairp Thanks for quick response, do you ever plan to design tractor biplane ultralight?

Sorry, no tractors in sight. I like the propellor in back so I don't need walls and windows to shield me from the prop wash. Flying in the open breeze is a special kind of flying in itself, comfortable in nice conditions, sometimes requiring dressing up to stay warm.

I think this is now working (it works for me). I think my server stopped allowing the old URL format (http) which I was using, so I edited my web page to use the newer "secured" URL format by adding the letter "s" after the "http" in the links. Now my links are "https" and the downloads are working as they were before. A lesson: old formats may become dysfunctional in time, so download and retain the things you want while they are still available.

@@airchairp Thanks!

San Diego, California back country.

Good old Bloop 3! 25 horsepower & drawings can be downloaded from the website (see video caption).

Actually the much earlier biplane glider version, Bug 2, did have a tail extension of about a foot from the original, but I don't remember why. It had ailerons, so maybe it lacked authority for overcoming adverse yaw, or maybe it just seemed hard to steer on the ground. It might have been done to give better low speed pitch control for rolling launches, which was the premier specialty of my gliders. I thought the tail coupling length was right, especially considering that a longer plane would not have fit in my hangar, and more length might have caused the nose to scrape on the ground when l lifted up the tail to move the plane (remember that I do not taxi, I walk the plane around on the ground). The Bloop 2 through Bloop 4 and Bluebird motorfloaters stayed on the runway pretty well during the takeoff because the rudder was in the prop wash. During the landing, with a weak prop wash, the rudder control was good enough as long as the pilot (usually me) was not daydreaming (see video at 1:37, rudder go left, plane go right).

Use the link in the video caption to see everything. The online drawings are at: m-sandlin.info/Bluebird/Bluebird%20Online%20Visible%20Drawings/BB%20Online%20Viewable%20Drawings%20Menu.html The fabric details are mostly in the "Assembly" drawings.

@@airchairp I don't understand english very well (Technical terms) and i can't translate the page. So can you tell just a summary of wing Materials? If it is necessary to use Styrofoam, or it can just be with aluminum spars and the wing profile made of wood

Dear Sandling, admired designer, ¿could you let me know which airplane is easier to build and assemble; And which plane has more flight lift? (comparing bloop and blue bird) thank you very much.

In my motorfloater flying I landed with a fast approach in turbulent conditions (for better control), but always setting down as slow as possible (also for good control, because you have more time to react). The slower landing in a cross wind will be at a greater crab angle, but I think the skidding loads on the landing gear will be minimal at low ground speeds even if at a slightly greater sideways angle. The trikes are in the same situation, and some choose to land slow, some fast. On a long, smooth runway a fast landing might be an option, but in a rough field I would really want to touch down slow. My engine used to quit a lot on final approach, in idle, maybe there was some icing. Eventually I just raised the idle setting and avoided flying at idle until final glide was a sure thing. The high rpm engine problem shown in the video may have been due to a clogged static port, lowering pressure in the fuel tank.

[Wrong Engine] ? Maybe 16 horsepower is too wimpy for most pilots, but remember that this plane was intended to provide the experience of flying with a minimal engine, like back in the day of the first motorized hang gliders.

I think the Goat 1 (& Goat 4) airfoil is the right one to use. The documented (NACA, etc.) wing airfoils are all multi-speed airfoils, whereas the Goat is just about a one speed aircraft. The Goat airfoil flat bottom encloses the ladder structure of the wing, and the low leading edge provides lots of camber (thus lift) for slow flying. A lower drag but faster flying airfoil would be much less practical, you need to be able to slow down for effective thermalling.

I (not Matt the pilot shown) considered the other control setups, but I wanted my motorfloaters to use the most standard airplane controls: foot pedals for the rudders, fore and aft stick for the elevator. I thought this would be the expected system for most pilots, and favorable for novices moving on to bigger things. My feet have nothing to do except steer, anyway, since my nosewheel does not turn nor do I have pedal operated wheel brakes.

@@airchairp i could argue that what i proposed is a more std setup and better for novices. Steerable wheel aside, is not your "primary" means of left/right normally on the stick? If you do not have ailerons your "primary" control is rudder, should be on stick. you are then turning with the stick as you normally would be as if flying an aileron equipted aircraft. all good cheers

like a rc plane. On rudder only models, rudder is most always moved over to aileron stick. Pretty much the normal way of doing it, or so i thought. :)

Week that's a dumb comment. 🤦

Yes, even the Wright brothers eventually had ailerons. My cave man approach to flight control is sometimes disdainfully dismissed as primitive beyond redemption. However, I do enjoy flying with just the rudder for turns, the simplicity of it seems quite elegant.

This is a hang glider style approach, a lot of s-turns to get down at an exact spot while while maintaining extra altitude in case I hit sink. I doubt that I was doing any slips, they would inhibit my maneuvering into this small landing zone. Slips don't impress me as a means of losing altitude, and remember that the drogue chute is already deployed for this entire sequence (and I am holding a camera in my left hand).

The airport is John Nichols Field in San Diego, California. Small private airplanes are no longer allowed to fly there due to a business decision by the management about a year ago. Commercial air traffic was increasing at the site.

The Bloop4 is flying again after about a year in a hangar. It has a new pilot and is in another area in California. I hope there will be some postings from there so we can all benefit from a new Bloop flier's impressions. See this: th-cam.com/video/2V74FRj83Zg/w-d-xo.html

@@airchairp Neato airplane mister

Good question. Now I can send you to the Bluebird drawings! Go to the Bluebird Website (link is in the video text description), then link to "Bluebird Drawings Online", then link to the Assembly Drawings, then link to "BBA3 Nominal Dimensions". Here you will see that the longest fabricated solid part is the main wing panel, which is less than 12 feet long. The plane can be disassembled for transport in a big box rental truck, but it isn't quick and is not intended for trailer transport.

You can download the drawings from the website.