Homebuilt UK to USA Non-Stop

"tregonissy" wrote:

Hi all,

Just wondering if any homebuilt aircraft have crossed the Atlantic
non-stop - who was it and which aircraft.

Also of note is the RC aeromodel crossing last August. Newfoundland
to Ireland, 3030 km (1883 miles) at an average speed of about 78 km/hr
(48.4 mph). Custom designed autopilot using GPS, piezo rate gyros,
and a pressure transducer. Two telemetry transmitters onboard, one
for position and status data to a satellite and one for terrestrial
data transmission during the departure and landing phases. An amazing
accomplishment. Here is a short photo tour,

http://tam.plannet21.com/Tam_photos.htm

And here is the home page, with FAQ etc.

http://tam.plannet21.com/


David O -- http://www.AirplaneZone.com

David O wrote:

Also of note is the RC aeromodel crossing last August. Newfoundland
to Ireland, 3030 km (1883 miles) at an average speed of about 78 km/hr
(48.4 mph). Custom designed autopilot using GPS, piezo rate gyros,
and a pressure transducer. Two telemetry transmitters onboard, one
for position and status data to a satellite and one for terrestrial
data transmission during the departure and landing phases. An amazing
accomplishment. Here is a short photo tour,

Notable, but certainly not the first time it was done. I think that claim
goes to the Insitu Group from my home town. See
http://www.insitugroup.net/Pages/pressReleases.html.




--
Frank Stutzman
Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl"
Hood River, OR

On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 16:58:34 +0000 (UTC), Frank Stutzman
wrote:

David O wrote:

Also of note is the RC aeromodel crossing last August. Newfoundland
to Ireland, 3030 km (1883 miles) at an average speed of about 78 km/hr
(48.4 mph). Custom designed autopilot using GPS, piezo rate gyros,
and a pressure transducer. Two telemetry transmitters onboard, one
for position and status data to a satellite and one for terrestrial
data transmission during the departure and landing phases. An amazing
accomplishment. Here is a short photo tour,

Notable, but certainly not the first time it was done. I think that claim
goes to the Insitu Group from my home town. See
http://www.insitugroup.net/Pages/pressReleases.html.




--
Frank Stutzman

Wait, Boeing is not claiming their UAV crossed the Atlantic are they?

Divide the distance the RC model flew by the average speed and you get
a duration of flight of 38.846 hours. The Boeing creation stayed in
air for 15.5 hours, although it doesn't say at what speed.

Also, Boeing had a lot of money and resources to throw at the project
while the Atlantic RC crossing was literally an amateur effort.

Corky Scott

On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 16:58:34 +0000 (UTC), Frank Stutzman
wrote:

David O wrote:

Also of note is the RC aeromodel crossing last August. Newfoundland
to Ireland, 3030 km (1883 miles) at an average speed of about 78 km/hr
(48.4 mph). Custom designed autopilot using GPS, piezo rate gyros,
and a pressure transducer. Two telemetry transmitters onboard, one
for position and status data to a satellite and one for terrestrial
data transmission during the departure and landing phases. An amazing
accomplishment. Here is a short photo tour,

Notable, but certainly not the first time it was done. I think that claim
goes to the Insitu Group from my home town. See
http://www.insitugroup.net/Pages/pressReleases.html.

Yeah, it's kind of funny...so many people are making a big deal about this
most-recent flight, when Insitu did it five years ago. Flew the Atlantic,
Newfoundland to Scotland, on a gallon and a half of fuel. They launched
three about the same time, and one made it. No telemetry, so there's no
way to tell what happened to the others.

One of their people brought an airplane and talked at our EAA meeting. The
airplane didn't have any batteries! The engine had a generator on it, if
the generator failed, the plane lost all power. With a reliable-enough
generator and a single engine, it made sense. IIRC, they've got one of
their airplanes hanging in the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Ron Wanttaja

On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 17:29:58 GMT,
(Corky Scott) wrote:

Wait, Boeing is not claiming their UAV crossed the Atlantic are they?

IIRC, Boeing bought Insitu *after* the Atlantic crossing, not before. This
was not done by a major corporation...Insitu was then a pretty small
company, almost a hobby shop.

And I'm not sure how much of the company Boeing now owns. I met one of the
Insitu guys (at a B&B, in fact) a couple of months back, and his business
card just said "Insitu." Boeing generally puts its name on any company it
has controlling interest of.

Ron Wanttaja

Ron Wanttaja wrote:
On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 17:29:58 GMT,
(Corky Scott) wrote:

Wait, Boeing is not claiming their UAV crossed the Atlantic are they?

IIRC, Boeing bought Insitu *after* the Atlantic crossing, not before. This
was not done by a major corporation...Insitu was then a pretty small
company, almost a hobby shop.

The crossing was certainly done before Boeing showed up on the Insitu
doorstep.

And Insitu is *still* a pretty small outfit. The infusion of cash from
Boeing was a blessing. I'm not privy to their finiancial status, but I
doubt they could have survived more than a few more years. As it is they
just recently broke ground on a largish (for this area) new building.


--
Frank Stutzman
Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl"
Hood River, OR

Corky Scott wrote:

Wait, Boeing is not claiming their UAV crossed the Atlantic are they?

No, Insitu flew an Aerosonde across the Atlantic before Boeing
was working with them. As I understand it that was one of the
things that drew Boeing's interest.

Divide the distance the RC model flew by the average speed and you get
a duration of flight of 38.846 hours. The Boeing creation stayed in
air for 15.5 hours, although it doesn't say at what speed.

The 15.5 hour flight was for a Scan Eagle, in Oregon. Different
airplane.
For details see: http://www.insitugroup.net/Pages/atlantic.html
Summary: 27 hours, 76 mph, less than 2 gal fuel used.

Also, Boeing had a lot of money and resources to throw at the project
while the Atlantic RC crossing was literally an amateur effort.

I don't think Boeing threw any money at the trans-Atlantic effort.

I don't mean to take anything away from Maynard Hill, he's done
some pretty remarkable things for model, and full-size, aviation.

Caveat: mine is a biased opinion.

Dave 'bingo' Hyde

Ron Wanttaja wrote:

IIRC, Boeing bought Insitu *after* the Atlantic crossing, not before.

Boeing didn't buy Insitu, they teamed with them to develop
the Scan Eagle.

Dave 'eye in the sky' Hyde

"Frank Stutzman" wrote in message
...
David O wrote:

Also of note is the RC aeromodel crossing last August. Newfoundland
to Ireland, 3030 km (1883 miles) at an average speed of about 78 km/hr
(48.4 mph). Custom designed autopilot using GPS, piezo rate gyros,
and a pressure transducer. Two telemetry transmitters onboard, one
for position and status data to a satellite and one for terrestrial
data transmission during the departure and landing phases. An amazing
accomplishment. Here is a short photo tour,

Notable, but certainly not the first time it was done. I think that claim
goes to the Insitu Group from my home town. See
http://www.insitugroup.net/Pages/pressReleases.html.




--
Frank Stutzman

The most recent was a FAI recognized record of a "Model" airplane, which
placed0 additional restrictions on weight and engine displacement. This
does not in any way lessen the previous accomplishment.
--
Jim in NC

Ron Wanttaja wrote:

Yeah, it's kind of funny...so many people are making a big deal about this
most-recent flight, when Insitu did it five years ago.

The TAM aeromodel crossing remains a "big deal" from my perspective
for a number of reasons. Kudos to Maynard Hill and the gang.

David O -- http://www.AirplaneZone.com