Ridge soaring is how I learned how to fly and will always be my favorite especially when there's thermal activity near by. Use the ridge lift as a safty zone while searching for the big lift out front. When the thermal dies off come back to the ridge for sustained lift while searching for the next thermal to kick off. Great video.
What a perfect model. The 0 ground speed launch and lift is incredible and watching the tail lift with the rising Lee Wave is so satisfying to me. I want to travel to a location like this with my models and just spend days flying there. 5 stars on the build and covering job. Thank you.
@@SlopeRCGliders what an incredible offer...so appreciated. I actually own both the Tower Hobbies Vista and Vista Grande that I have yet to slope. Would be a dream come true to fly those with no power at a site like that. Where exactly is this location?
Beautiful, my kind of bird. Seasoned Glider Guiders can see the tendencies of this bird to fly tail up, nose down and haul butt picking up speed and lift with the slightest rising air! Dave got it right when he designed the bird! Clean, smooth, appealing lines especially the outboard panels! I always hoped I could free up time to build the BOT with Dave's suggestions like the inflight movable GC and moving wind mounting! He had good ideas, and if I'm not mistaken this bird was his test platform, it certainly is/was a winner! John, you fly it well! Thanks for sharing!
Hi John, this has to be my favourite video of yours. The plane, the flying, the camera work, the editing and music all coming together to make a truly relaxing and calming video. Thank you. My BOT has a ton of lead in the nose, guessing yours has a feather and a gnats chuff. Keep them coming John.
Brad Atkinson thanks Brad. I did try to make it as light as possible. I changed the tail design slightly so it only needed a tiny bit of lead to make it balance.
A absolutely beautiful example of the most recognizable glider in the world. Yours is a featherweight! I wish there was a spot to slope soar here in Pennsylvania. Lots of hills and mountains but they're all forested.
I used to fly gliders off a highstart. I ended up losing interest after the person (cousin) that got me involved passed away. But this is got to be the bomb where you have a constant updraft! Nice looking plane.....
These birds have been around sine the early seventies & are still popular. After watching this vid I understand why. Great build John, graceful bird indeed.
2:10 That calm composed look on the pilot's face when he hands that glider on his hand, and very-much-so smiles. Thumbs-up and thanks for making my day.
Awesome video, beautiful plane and nice music to accompany. Reminded me of my Gentle Lady. White fuselage and transparent blue Monokote over wings and tail. I never got to fly it on as beautiful a spot as this though.
@@SlopeRCGliders You're very welcome! I have never flown slope but I so badly want to! I have a Pulsar 3.2m a Renny 2m and a 60" Manticore... Hopefully someday! :-)
I love the Bird of Time, it's a beautiful glider. My first glider was a 2 meter Wanderer in 1976. Then I built Mark Smith's Wandered 99. Which I slope soared east of LA on a great hill that provided very good, reliable slope soaring. Then my work promoted me to Dallas, which is too flat (or at least I never learned of any place to slope soar) and I just never got into Hi-Start. So no soaring for a lot of years now. Sigh!! Like your video's!!!
Hi John, the BOT has such a distinct look and pedigree when it comes to flying. They will float on a vapor of air. Mine is the commercial version from Dyna flyte. Still it is very well made and such a pleasure to fly
Lovely. I just picked up a BOT, but probably 1900-2000g, so nothing like yours, but I'm hoping to flat field it, even if it's a heavy old bird, just because they look wonderful. I might be able to shave a few grams off it shortly. You did a masterful job with your build.
Nice flying! I take it this isn't your first rodeo the way you were hand catching it as it came back in. I have a Mark's Models BOT waiting to be built. Nice seeing yours and encouraging for me to get mine built
Oh, that's a blast from the past, late 70s if memory serves. What can I say, I used the section in a 100 inch soarer and man did that ever have a flat glide. I didn't use the bird of time plan form though, just as well. If you know anything about Prandtle's work developing both the elliptical wing and the bell shapes lift distribution, you'll know that the bird of time isn't an efficient plan form. Masked by the sections ability at low trim though. That little 100 inch model of mine surprised a lot of people with it's ability to get upwind fast without much height lost. Mind you, it was so fast that it's duration in dead air couldn't match a floater but on a windy day with even a little thermal activity, it was king.
Actually, I've read that this sort of planform improves the flow at the join between inner and outer panels. The first time I saw one circa 1979, I scoffed at the pointy tips, but I've never seen one having tip stall problems. The "Spirit" with unsheeted tips is much worse.
@@awuma I have come across such claims but no supporting proof either by maths modeling or by physical testing. I'd be interested in proof. Tip stalling can easily be controlled even with high taper tips. If we consider an elliptical wing where every section is geometrically exactly the same so that the Cl is the same right across the span, then the tip being a smaller chord will have a lower RE and tend to stall 1st. however, if we increase the tip mean camber relative to the root, then the tip can hold a greater Cl max than the root. Then, we need to introduce geometric washout to compensate for the change in Beta incidence that occurs with camber. So the whole span is ones again operating at the exact same CL throughout. Therefore the root having a lower CL max will once again safely stall first. This is a pretty standard sailplane design technique also outlined in Martin Simmons book to make a wing both efficient and stall safely. Further, if you have a look the bell spanwise lift distribution, it is like adding tiplets but they are aligned with the span rather than upright. Their purpose is to use the vortex flow to rotate the entire surface vector to produce thrust from the vortex. The bell distribution does the same, using washout on very highly tapered tips and without adverse stalling characteristics if it;s done correctly.
Looks like 2,5m or 100 inches. 1,1kg is not very light today, but for older models only made from wood and foil... The color-scheme of pilot and plane match perfect. Nice
Q gratificante se debe sentir tener el control de algo q esta lejos de ti pero de la cual tienes una conexión y así mismo te sientes al volar como si fueras tus sentimientos y emociones representados en el avión saludos desde colombia
Hi John. Congratulation for your Glider hangar. I live in Chile South America. Actually, I am working in the same kit of these video, Bird of Time from Dynaflite, and I have a doubt about de diammeter of the shaft for the full flying stab. In your video, I noted the stab has lateral movement with the wind. I think the sistem requiere better fix or more diameter in the shaft. Your comments will be very well received.
Hi there, it’s important to try and keep the tail as light as possible. Every extra gram added to the tail will take a further 3 grams in the nose to make it balance. Just be careful not to over engineer it.
Needs to be thrown into a thermal from a flat field.......... we had a couple of those with the COGG (Central Ontario Glider Group) back in the 90's - a good "light air" machine...........
yep, I remember COGG days with those, the Aquila, my Paragon, some Gentle Ladies, and of course....the Oly II. No noise, 1-hour flights when you hooked the right thermals...some "lost" times in today's sophisticated times.
Loved my bot. Great for slope or thermals. Totally worth installing spoilers on the wings though. Had mine so high, you could only see it when the sun flashed on the monocoat. Almost lost it.
I'm building one now and yes, the Bird of Time is well-known for not wanting to come down. So, spoilers (big ones!) are being added. I've been wanting this plane for decades. Finally...
The Bird of Time was my all time favourite thermal competition plane. I went high tech and couldn't win and was told to bring the BoT back out and started winning again. Could thermal it in the lightest of lift and had the timing and spot landing down pat. Last flew it over 15 years ago.
