
G3first.jpg
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Shown here is the first test flight of Goat3, just a low hop from a rolling launch down a hill (Otay Mesa, San Diego, California, May 2006) This Goat has a more sophisticated airfoil than Goat1, with a slightly smaller wing area of the same span. This wing was a little too small for me in light conditions, so when I designed Goat4 I went back to the original (larger) Goat1 & Goat2 wing area, allowing slower flight.
airchairglidersoaringultralight glidergoat3
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G3_walk2.jpg
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Goat3 gets walked up the hill for another training flight, November 2006. Novice training is not easy for the student pilot. There's a lot going on, with all three controls needed from the very beginning, the need to steer while rolling, and having to balance on a single wheel. The basic training formula is: "nose level, wings level, steer with your feet".
airchairglidersoaringultralight glidergoat3
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G3_EM_06.jpg
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Banked into a thermal and climbing, Goat3 is soaring over the California desert in summer, 2006. The orange yarn on the little mast is the yaw string, telling me I need a little more right rudder. The ball on a line is the release handle, which I pulled to release the tow line at the end of the aerotow, then wrapped around the nose tube to keep it out of the way. The plastic tape on the nose tube is my pitch attitude indicator, I keep it visually on the horizon, as shown, to maintain a constant airspeed. Mounted higher up on the nose tube (but not visible in this photo) is my soaring (and only) instrument, a combination audio variometer and digital altimeter
airchairglidersoaringultralight glidergoat3thermalling
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G3Training.jpg
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Flight instruction is underway in Goat3 at a training hill, November 2006. The Goat nose is down on the ground, as it is at the beginning and end of most flights. This rolling launch will allow a brief floating flight before a landing in the grassy field. Notice the yellow hang glider which has just landed out in front.
airchairglidersoaringultralight glidergoat3
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