WT huh?

Anyone know what the story behind this is? Is this thing an
ultra-ultra light? Is it a RC ultralight? Is it an RC plane?

http://i6.tinypic.com/21o7ex2.jpg

Monk

On 1 Aug 2006 21:57:20 -0700, "Flyingmonk" wrote:

Anyone know what the story behind this is? Is this thing an
ultra-ultra light? Is it a RC ultralight? Is it an RC plane?

http://i6.tinypic.com/21o7ex2.jpg

That's the Dmitriev "Suitcase Ultralight". Human-carrying aircraft, able to
fold into a small package. See the June 1991 and Feb 1992 issues of SPORT
AVIATION.

Ron Wanttaja

Midgets have rights too you know!!


Ron Wanttaja wrote:
On 1 Aug 2006 21:57:20 -0700, "Flyingmonk" wrote:

Anyone know what the story behind this is? Is this thing an
ultra-ultra light? Is it a RC ultralight? Is it an RC plane?

http://i6.tinypic.com/21o7ex2.jpg

That's the Dmitriev "Suitcase Ultralight". Human-carrying aircraft, able to
fold into a small package. See the June 1991 and Feb 1992 issues of SPORT
AVIATION.

Ron Wanttaja

Ron Wanttaja wrote:
On 1 Aug 2006 21:57:20 -0700, "Flyingmonk"
wrote:

Anyone know what the story behind this is? Is this thing an
ultra-ultra light? Is it a RC ultralight? Is it an RC plane?

http://i6.tinypic.com/21o7ex2.jpg

That's the Dmitriev "Suitcase Ultralight". Human-carrying aircraft,
able to fold into a small package. See the June 1991 and Feb 1992
issues of SPORT AVIATION.

Ron Wanttaja

Looks like the well-known Adobe Photoshop to me. especially on closer
inspection.


--
Cheers Quilly

For four good books to read look at...
http://www.quilljar.btinternet.co.uk/covers.htm
Buy three or four altogether and get economy postage.

On Wed, 2 Aug 2006 12:10:43 +0100, "Quilljar"
wrote:
Ron Wanttaja wrote:
Anyone know what the story behind this is? Is this thing an
ultra-ultra light? Is it a RC ultralight? Is it an RC plane?

http://i6.tinypic.com/21o7ex2.jpg

That's the Dmitriev "Suitcase Ultralight". Human-carrying aircraft,
able to fold into a small package. See the June 1991 and Feb 1992
issues of SPORT AVIATION.

Looks like the well-known Adobe Photoshop to me. especially on closer
inspection.

I saw it in person at Oshkosh, as did several hundred thousand other people.
The SPORT AVIATION articles show it from other angles, plus have shots of the
designer's earlier aircraft (which were of more conventional size).

Ron Wanttaja

Flyingmonk wrote:
Anyone know what the story behind this is? Is this thing an
ultra-ultra light? Is it a RC ultralight? Is it an RC plane?

http://i6.tinypic.com/21o7ex2.jpg


It looks to me like that propellor would take his head off
just below the chin.

--

FF

On 2 Aug 2006 09:14:27 -0700, wrote:


Flyingmonk wrote:
Anyone know what the story behind this is? Is this thing an
ultra-ultra light? Is it a RC ultralight? Is it an RC plane?

http://i6.tinypic.com/21o7ex2.jpg

It looks to me like that propellor would take his head off
just below the chin.

The seat is in *front* of the wing....if you look ~18 or so inches from the
leading edge, you'll see a small yoke. He's standing between the tail booms
just to hold the plane close to the empty CG.

The articles in SPORT AVIATION show better perspectives...

http://www.wanttaja.com/SA_June91.jpg

http://www.wanttaja.com/SA_Feb92.jpg

Ron Wanttaja

wrote in message
oups.com...
|
| Flyingmonk wrote:
| Anyone know what the story behind this is? Is this thing an
| ultra-ultra light? Is it a RC ultralight? Is it an RC plane?
|
| http://i6.tinypic.com/21o7ex2.jpg
|
|
| It looks to me like that propellor would take his head off
| just below the chin.
|
| --
|
| FF
|

Looks like a model to me. There appears to be a sling or bucket seat
forward of the wing. He is just holding it up for the picture.

--
Jarhead




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Popular Science JANUARY 1993
48
Founded in 1872/Vol. 242, No. 1

From Russia with wings

Originally constructed and flown in defiance of orders from the KGB,
Victor Dmitriev's sophisticated ultralight-aircraft-in-a-suitcase now
could be on its way to becoming the hottest new innovation in
mini-aircraft. Dmitriev, in partnership with Rienk Ayers of Santa
Barbara, Calif, plans to sell the ultralight in kit form.

Constructed and flown in defiance of KGB policies, Victor Dmitriev's
sophisticated "suitcase ultralight" is on its way to becoming the
hottest new innovation in mini aircraft.
BY TIMOTHY R. GAFFNEY

Flights of fancy: Victor Dmitriev hoists his 110-pound airplane (facing
page); preparing for launch in the pre-perestroika times (left); an
earli check-out flight of prototype X-12 (above); a glider-wing design
under construction in the family apartmentcum-hangar (above right).

Try to imagine doing what Victor Dmitriev has done: Driving down a
rural road, you get the itch to fly. Scratching the itch is simple -
just pull over and unload a large container from the roof of your car.
Inside are all the components of a miniature single-place aircraft.
Bolt together the tubular framework, unfold and attach the wings and
tail, and in 15 minutes you're ready. A few spins of the two-blade
propeller fires up the two-cycle engine. Pull on your helmet, strap
into the tiny open-air seat, and aim the craft down the road. Now twist
the right handle grip like a motorcycle throttle; the engine's buzz
becomes a loud rasp, and you hurtle forward, gaining speed. As the
craft reaches 34 mph, pull back gently on the control column. The
ground drops away. You're flying.
Now imagine doing it the way Dmitriev had done it for years: sneaking
out at night, the aircraft sections concealed in tarps, driving far
into the countryside for a brief flight-all the time fearing that
someone would see you and report your activities to the KGB.
Forty-seven-year-old Victor Dmitriev was a teacher, truck driver, and
aviation enthusiast in what was once the Soviet Union (sometimes
referred to as Russia), where building and flying airplanes could get
you put in jail. He pored over every bit of available information on
American sport planes and taught himself how to design aircraft when
the Soviet state considered such knowledge secret. Over the course of
24 years he built 30 aircraft, scrounging materials from the trash, now
and then buying real aircraft parts through an illegal underground
network. He modified a Czechoslovakian motorcycle engine for an
airplane power plant. His design studio, assembly plant, and hangar
were all located in the four-room apartment his family shared with two
others in Beshckek (formerly Frunze) in Kirghizia, a Minnesota-size
republic wedged between Kazakhstan and China.
Only glasnost, perestroika, and finally the collapse of the Soviet
government allowed Victor's amazing story of innovation, commitment,
and daring to emerge: His one-of-a-kind aircraft has begun to draw
attention in America's sport-aviation community, and an ultralight kit
based on his design is already being offered for sale.
When we visited him last July, he was sweating over the latest version
of his machine - what he calls the X-14d - in a large steel hangar
at Lodi Airport, a small airfield south of Sacramento, Calif. At the
time, his biggest technical hurdle appeared to be matching his airframe
design with an inexpensive and readily available engine. He had
replaced his old engine with a power plant commonly used in
conventional ultralights, but it proved too heavy and underpowered for
his tiny-winged craft.
"Here, I only fly a little, because this plane needs 40, 50
horsepower," he said in halting English. He gestured to the new motor
bolted to his airframe. "This, 24 horsepower."
He admitted it achieved only a brief hop off the runway in California.
On the other hand, his original engine had a nasty tendency to quit in
mid-flight; steel tubes holding the main wheels bear the scars of
repeated welding, evidence of many hard landings. Unable to demonstrate
its airworthiness for us, the best evidence of the plane's potential is
found in the photos and films of flights he had made in Kirghizia.
What makes the X-14d different from other ultralights? Evolved from
hang gliders, most ultralights have large, sail-like wings that allow a
pilot to fly low and slow. A few are miniature airplanes, complete with
enclosed cockpits and fuselages, considered ultralights only because
they meet the federal aviation requirements: weight not more than 254
pounds (not counting floats or emergency parachutes), fuel capacity not
more than five gallons, a maximum level speed of 63 mph, and a stall
speed - the speed at which an aircraft loses the ability to fly -
of 27 mph. The allure of the ultralight is obvious: An ultralight flier
isn't required to hold a pilot's license or meet rigorous FAA
requirements for expensive scheduled inspections and maintenance.
Dmitriev's airplane is neither an outgrowth of a hang glider nor an
en-closed-cockpit design. First, it's incredibly tiny - only 10.9
feet long, 16.4 feet in wingspan, and four feet high at the tail. Its
wing area is only 18.9 square feet. It's light, even by ultralight
standards - 110 pounds, as Dmitriev had it outfitted in July. Compare
this with a typical well-known ultralight, the Quicksilver MX Sport,
produced by Quicksilver Enterprises of Temecula, Calif. Quicksilver's
model is 18.1 feet long, 28 feet in wingspan and 8.1 feet high. Its
wing area totals 156 square feet, and its empty weight just brushes the
254-pound weight maximum.
But Dmitriev's diminutive craft is most striking in its use of
big-airplane features to get maximum performance from its flying
surfaces. Its wing has airliner-style flaps and leading-edge slats,
giving it more lift and thereby reducing takeoff and landing speeds. A
slight but noticeable forward sweep to the wing makes it more
controllable at low speeds. And extra joints in the elevators and
rudder increase the effectiveness of their small surfaces.

That is really cool, Anyone know of any other small suitcase planes. Is this
the smallest / lightest ever??

"Ron Wanttaja" wrote in message
...
On 1 Aug 2006 21:57:20 -0700, "Flyingmonk" wrote:

Anyone know what the story behind this is? Is this thing an
ultra-ultra light? Is it a RC ultralight? Is it an RC plane?

http://i6.tinypic.com/21o7ex2.jpg

That's the Dmitriev "Suitcase Ultralight". Human-carrying aircraft, able
to
fold into a small package. See the June 1991 and Feb 1992 issues of SPORT
AVIATION.

Ron Wanttaja