FLIGHT TIMES, DYING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

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danyalukin
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FLIGHT TIMES, DYING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

Post by danyalukin »

Hey fellow Wright Stuffers!

My partner and I are dying to know where we stand compared to other teams who are going to nationals, naturally.

If you are going to nationals, please post your BEST FLIGHT TIMES and the HEIGHT OF THE GYM. Also post if you are or not continuously hitting the ceiling (pretending your gym is, indeed, 98 ft) when testing.

----------------------------------

Our max flight - 3:11, height of the gym - 23 ft, hitting the ceiling continuously.
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new horizon
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Re: FLIGHT TIMES, DYING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

Post by new horizon »

have you checked the score tracker? I think eta got a 3:07 to win PA states.
our best time was 2:06 but we're not going to nats so... i guess it doesn't matter.
Also, the gym at UIUC has a 96 ft ceiling so you should probably try to get max. height without stalling.

good luck!
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Re: FLIGHT TIMES, DYING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

Post by danyalukin »

new horizon wrote:have you checked the score tracker? I think eta got a 3:07 to win PA states.
I've checked that, but thats the only score on there ;)
new horizon wrote: Also, the gym at UIUC has a 96 ft ceiling so you should probably try to get max. height without stalling.
Yeah, its 98, i mentioned taht in my first message.
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Re: FLIGHT TIMES, DYING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

Post by new horizon »

i'm not certain, but CMS who is representing NJ at nats got 2:11 on their states run. I think. I'm pretty sure but this is off my memory.

And uh.... gym size? it was a little larger than our school gym, I think. I'm not really sure about the exact size, sorry.
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Re: FLIGHT TIMES, DYING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

Post by wlsguy »

Take a look at the flight times thread.

Also, it would be more helpful if you gave a flight time for 1/2 or 1/4 motor that keeps the plane off of the ceiling. (you have been praticing with partial motors right? ;)

If you can hit 2 minutes on a 1/2 motor and rising to the height of your gym, you are doing well.
Regardless, you are flying pretty good.
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Re: FLIGHT TIMES, DYING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

Post by danyalukin »

No, actually, we werent practicing with partial motors ;)

The secret it to practice just like at the competition, but record the time when the plane first hits the ceiling. Then, before the next launch, let the prop loose for that time period and launch the plane. This, way, if the plane climbed to the height of the gym the second time, the total climb at nats would be 2x the height.

The 3:11 was a fair flight in the 23 ft gym. And, wIsguy, i am totally aware of that other thread, but...
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Re: FLIGHT TIMES, DYING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

Post by andrewwski »

That's a very rough estimation. For purposes of optimizing your plane, you definitely want to be using partial motors.
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Re: FLIGHT TIMES, DYING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

Post by danyalukin »

Not exactly, by breaking up the flight into two parts we get alot of information without any need to approximate. Because most of the flight is is the second part, we get to observe the upper flight just like it will take place during the competition, which is very important. We also get the total altitude of flight with the precision of 2-3 ft.

What we dont get from this style of testing is the appriximation for the decent of the final 25 ft, but thats ok because by that time almost no wind remains.

We also dont get the best approximation of the flight, becasue we dont know the behaviour of the plane during the last 25 ft (as already mentioned), but it isnt as important to know the flight time as knowing how it relates to the other tests.
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Re: FLIGHT TIMES, DYING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

Post by jander14indoor »

Actually, partial motor flights are no more an approximation than what you are doing. They simulate the whole flight behavior, but in a fraction of the time and height. Everything your plane will do on a full motor in a higher site it will do on a partial motor, just for half the time.

That said, the 'learned' estimates are saying 4 to 5 minutes will be needed to win next weekend.

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Re: FLIGHT TIMES, DYING TO KNOW WHERE WE STAND

Post by kjhsscioly »

i agree.. at states, i do not know the competition times but there were teams that flew around 4.5 minutes and over during practice runs. there was also an issue with planes getting stuck in the rafters, as there were four up there when i walked in. My suggestion is to practice the night before in order to avoid getting stuck on the ceiling, but trim so it takes maximum advantage of the height. also come equipped with a balloon to get your plane down in the event that it does get stuck. The proctor had one, but it is best to bring one with and appropriately long string. Ceiling bumps are very dangerous in the armory because your plane is very likely to get stuck. Also important is that the armory is sloped down, and is shaped like a dome. I saw quite a few planes knock the walls on the up because of the dome shape, and making sure you fly at the center of the flying space will prevent this.

EDIT: yes, the balloon was a large mylar balloon
Last edited by kjhsscioly on May 17th, 2010, 9:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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