Building on a few years experience with developing and approving towed survey bird systems, and after a year of development, today I did the first flights of the newest system. The bird is about 12 feet by 16 feet, and weighs about 380 pounds. We did initial testing of a model under the wing of my C 150 last January, and that gave us the confidence to move forward with the full sized design. An amazing development project by a great team. It's nice to take off, and see the whole team on the ramp, watching us go by....
Careful attention has to be paid to not raising the nose too high during takeoff and landing...
Off to see how it stalls, before I have to come back and land it....
The second flight was the opportunity for the first deployments...
The second Caravan with the boss flying chase for me is very reassuring. The great photos are just a bonus!
The winch developer was also the operator, all I had to do was fly straight and steady, He did the hard part! Letting the "bird" out of the "nest" for the first time is a total commitment!
Initial model testing under my wing last January
With the model, we could design and refine the tail to provide the desired flight characteristics.
Over the next weeks, we'll be working on some details, then I'll be beginning the certification test flying, for Canadian STC approval.