Here's a pic of some bungee hooks you can tape on

I built the Mini JW in the video with bungee launching in mind. I simply gooped in the nose weight needed to balance the plane flush with the bottom of the fuse. Strapping tape and Ultracote went over the top of that so it's never going to move. When the plane was finished I drilled a small pilot hole into the lead and screwed a heavy duty hook right into it. You don't have to add anything to the plane if you can screw the hook into your balance lead .

Be careful about putting the hook back towards the CG like you would on a thermal ship. The stronger the bungee you use the more you want the plane to launch parallel with the ground. If you use a massive bungee and your plane flares up on launch because you had the hook to far back or if you have to much up trim you will probably fold the wings. The hook on my Mini JW was only about 1 1/2" back from the tip of the nose and it worked very well.

Trim is extremely important when using one of these launchers because if it is off your plane can crash unbelievably hard before you can react and make any corrections. Even if there is no wind at the hill I always give my plane a good toss first to make absolutely certain that the trim is neutral before I hook it up to the pedal launcher.

Dean

I may just have to give that ruler hook bit a try. Do you think a bit of wire from a metal hangar would be sturdy enough or should I go with something stiffer?

I have some metal rods from short hangars like you find at department stores and those are pretty thick and sturdy but I'm not sure about how easy they are to work with...

Hey guys thanks for all the bungee hooks insight. Please keep it coming. Lot of good safety tips too. I didn't even realize it is better to put the hook close to the nose, but it makes sense when launching straight.

Love the removable hook ideas as well. Gotsa I am sure coat hanger wire would be plenty beefy enough, that's thicker than the wire I am using.

Wow that mini jw with the foot launch is so sweet. Got to find out how to make one of those foot launchers. The rocket sound on the last launch is so cool. My friends say my moth makes a great sound, but I am always doing the launching so I haven't heard it yet.

We clocked my weasel launch on my single bungee at 73 mph last weekend! But the wings are flexing, so definitely need to move the hook up further. Wild fun stuff.

I actually just bought a used mini jw from a friend today. It is so cool looking. Can't wait to DS and bungee that little guy.

Chris, I just got my moth up and running after a DS crash at Key's View that exploded the epoxy in the tail (where it was potted) and pushed the longeron out of the tail about 1.5 inches.

Are you planning on going out to Poway next week? I may have to go out there and borrow your bungee to try some DSing. I haven't really gotten consistent yet but I did have some promising circuits at Key's View.

Besides, I don't think you've seen my Moth yet and I haven't even been out to Poway since I lost my Weasel there a week before Weaselfest.

Hey Alex, I wish I could go out there during the week, but have to put in my 40 hours, to pay taxes, to keep the govt operating, to keep the rich rich, and so we can get ripped off by the oil companies, since they only have a few months left with their boy GW in office.

Sorry for the rant. You only need the bungee if the lift isn't enough for the moth usually later in the evening when the wind begins to fade. So sorry, but next weekend we can do some bungeeing.

I have heard rumors that your moth was flying really nice. Sorry to hear about the damage. I have a love hate relationship with the bushes at poway. The are a pain to crawl through but they definitly keep your plane from major damage like you had at Key's view.

Keep practicing, soon it will all come together and you won't beleive how you can keep going and going and going.

Chris

Yes I have to agree about putting the hook well forward of the CG, so it launches like a catapult. One thing you find using a powerful bungee is that no matter how much up trim you launch with, the plane will head straight along the bungee line - it won't climb until the bungee is more relaxed and then it will pull up steeply. So don't hold full up at launch -just a bit, and try not to get it to pull off the hook with too much up, or it will loop back.

And don't tie the bungee to your car, like I did. I did that with my old soft light bungee no problems. Then when I got the Hosemonster I just kept doing it. It was fine until I did one very flat launch and the end of the bungee hit the back window like a bullet with a loud crack and smashed it. Very upsetting, very embarrassing, very expensive.

AvB, that's terrible! Haha but mighty hilarious though I would suspect (for those other than you :-p)

Chris, I was going to head out there yesterday (Saturday) during the HURL race because I had been up at my cousin's house which is right up on the 56 in Carmel Valley...until I was about to leave and discovered that I had forgotten my tennis shoes. Doh! Oh well.

I ended up going home and going out to Grossmont College. There's a nice ridge out there that doesn't produce a whole lot of lift but the shear layer was really powerful from what I saw. I couldn't keep it consistent but I could really see the energy that my Moth got from the shear layer on top.

Only bad part is the recovery on the backside. There's a bowl that formed where it looks like a landslide happened years ago...the bowl drops off suddenly for about 50 feet. I had to recover my plane from about 6 feet down the bowl - scary and not fun... clinging on to bushes and praying you don't lose footing. Probably the worst recovery I've ever done.

Hey all

I will be at Dave's Beach around 5 ish if any one is interested. I have a reborn wing with my mod for winglets... Should be fun..Hopefully wind is good..


David

Originally Posted by radioglitch

Hey all

I will be at Dave's Beach around 5 ish if any one is interested. I have a reborn wing with my mod for winglets... Should be fun..Hopefully wind is good..


David

Definitely got deja vu when I read the San Diego Sloping thread...

I wonder why? :-p

Hey AvB sorry to here about your window, but that is classically funny. Actually I thought you were going to say you launched the plane through the window. Sounds like something I would have done. Thanks for all the tips and wisdom. It is very much appreciated.

Gotsa, another San Diego DS spot at Grossmont college? Sweet, but don't like the recovery story. Wow, glad you got it ok. Reminds me when I crashed into the bush at Poway with the bee hive in it. Actually, weren't you there with me that day? That was really scetchy after the swarm of pissed off bees settled down, I had to tip toe around the bush and pull my plane out sitting only a foot from the hive. Luckly they did not notice me and they weren't killer Africian bees.

In the end its all about the stories we survive.

How was the wind in SD today. Yesterday was a bust at Daves 5mph at the most. I went to Grass Mountain with Mark and Ray today to watch them F3F race. Really cool, but to expensive for my wallet. I will stick to DSing, more my style. Awesome planes and pilots, and had a great time.

Did not DS at all this weekend, and am having withdrawls. Have to wait an entire week to get my fix. Please keep me in your prayers and thoughts, so I can make it through )

Haha Chris that's classic. Withdrawals! That's how I feel when I can't fly for a few weeks. I was so pissed on Saturday when I discovered that the wind out at Blossom was east and everywhere else in the county was west, because I hadn't flown in a while.

The place at Grossmont is really full of brush and there's literally no LZ without hitting a bush or two. There's maybe a 5' by 5' square where there's fewer bushes and just some tall grass, but it's at the far end of the hill. The other thing is I couldn't find an optimal DS spot because there are little trees poking up that block a good view of the backside. I think it would take some shovel work and maybe just stacking some rocks on top of each other to make a little platform to stand on. But yeah, you definitely don't want to lose it on that part of the backside.

And you're right, I was there when you had to recover from the bees. That was the last day I spent looking for my Weasel. I had an encounter with the bees too. I was by the last switchback in the road on the way down and I saw a dark cloud and almost walked right into it. They kind of came around me a little too because they were moving up the hill. I moved to the side across a drainage ditch and they left me alone, thank god. That would have been no bueno.

I think the wind was good today but I didn't get to fly because I spent the day at my grandparent's house in Alpine. I was watching birds rip up the thermals in the valley infront of his house though...wishing I had my plane and a bungee so I could get out there and fly with them.

Give me a call when you go flying this coming weekend, I'd like to meet up with you again at Poway and maybe I'll have my hook set up and CG issues sorted out.

I think you have my cell number already but I will shoot you a PM with it anyways.

Chris-

I am sorry you have to wait a whole week to fly. I live 6 min away and get off work at 4 and head out around 5 pm and fly 7 days a week.....Damn I am a junkie or I have tons of free time.

The wind at Dave's beach today was less than 5 mph and fog in....lol you could not see the ocean

I think of you this week when I do a loop or something..hope that helps.

Later

David

Originally Posted by quadshot

Hey AvB sorry to here about your window, but that is classically funny. Actually I thought you were going to say you launched the plane through the window. Sounds like something I would have done. Thanks for all the tips and wisdom. It is very much appreciated.

Gotsa, another San Diego DS spot at Grossmont college? Sweet, but don't like the recovery story. Wow, glad you got it ok. Reminds me when I crashed into the bush at Poway with the bee hive in it. Actually, weren't you there with me that day? That was really scetchy after the swarm of pissed off bees settled down, I had to tip toe around the bush and pull my plane out sitting only a foot from the hive. Luckly they did not notice me and they weren't killer Africian bees.

In the end its all about the stories we survive.

How was the wind in SD today. Yesterday was a bust at Daves 5mph at the most. I went to Grass Mountain with Mark and Ray today to watch them F3F race. Really cool, but to expensive for my wallet. I will stick to DSing, more my style. Awesome planes and pilots, and had a great time.

Did not DS at all this weekend, and am having withdrawls. Have to wait an entire week to get my fix. Please keep me in your prayers and thoughts, so I can make it through )

Hey David it is not the flying (frontside) that I can't do until the weekend. It's DSing! And that is what I am having withdrawl from. I work right by Daves beach and can fly at lunch or after work everyday.

DSing has kind of ruined my enjoyment of frontside slope flying. After mastering loops, rolls, and inverted flying and doing them thousands of times, it just becomes the same old thing.

There is an adrenaline rush from Dsing that I have never experienced before with any type of soaring, which is hard to explain. That's the rush I am having to wait for until this weekend.

Maybe I should have taken Oran's advice, and to not Ds because it is as addictive as Crack, but then I would not have experienced something so unbelievable that we can do with our gliders, that it still amazes me that I am able to do what we do.

I haven't mortgaged the house (I don't really have) yet to go as 400 mph. I have as much fun dsing my weasel as my carbon bird, and that is what this thread is all about after all.

Anyway, talking about it has helped with the withdrawl pains ), thanks for letting me share.

My name is Chris and I'm an amateur ds junkie!

Chris

I am glad you feel much better Chris.. lol. I never have tried DS'ing so I am anxious to try it out also. I have flown my planes 80 to 100 mph and yes it is a white nuckle rush but getting to go that speed and even faster with really no time limit is what I am looking for in DS'ing. I need to go "Faster"....

I am a "Top Gun" movie nut I even have the ringtone.."I feel the need....the need for speed" my gf calls me a dork...lol....I am ex navy sorry..

Maybe Ill buy a house in Poway and get a real key to unlock that dang gate 4 you guys

David