Tag Archives: Rolf Christophersen

Free Flight Mailing List (FFML) sighting

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Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 2:02 AM
Subject: [ffml] OOS Squirrel
Hi List,

Our son visited us in Wiesbaden last spring. I had no models ready for fun so we went on the Internet, downloaded the SQUIRREL (Darcy White design), and with a slight modification, built and took it up to the brow of the hill, a big walkers and pet exercise area. There is a Roman watch tower there so we think it is the highest point in Wiesbaden.

We cranked in a few turns and while we were trimming and testing with short flights, we noticed a gentleman reading the newspaper. He was watching over his glasses. We sent up a few mid-power flights and decided too crank in some turns. We got it up to 80-90 percent and gave it a toss.

It was a sunny, cool day with the slightest breeze from the SSE. The model spiraled almost straight up and then began a more gentle circle to the left as the power came off. After a few circles we realized it was in rising air and we watched it get smaller and smaller as it tracked North. Just before it specked out as it flew over the city, the gentleman reading the paper put it down and asked in perfect English, ‘is your name on the airplane?’ I said,’ yes- also my address and telephone number.’ He said something like this. If that comes down in town and causes a car accident, they’ll know who to call for the suit! We laughed but later I wondered if he was kidding or was voicing a real concern. Regardless, the telephone never rang about the model and Hung is the only one who knows where it is.

The modification I made to the power system was to slant the toothpick that holds the rubber for the rear hook. I re-read the instructions later and found the reason the toothpick is pointed straight down is so when turns are depleted the rubber slips off which changes the CG and brings the model back down- a built in DT! Bill Kuhl has Squirrel video on his website.

Rolf

Squirrel fly-away in Germany!

April 2005, Rolf Christophersen,Wiesbaden, Germany

Hi Darcy,

I saw your Squirrel on Bill Kuhl’s site and liked the video. I downloaded the instructions and built one with a few little mods. I used two orthodontic rubber bands to hook the wing to the stick body; as you can see, the top of the wing has a center guide. I got this idea from the Denny Dart II which I’ve built several of. I took it up the hill and tried 3/32s rubber but it was sluggish. I changed to 1/8 (it weighed 6g without rubber) and after a few trimming flights, I cranked in 700 turns and gave it a toss. It specked out after six minutes. I live in Wiesbaden, Germany, and hope someone will call me to say where it came down. Our son was visiting when I gave it a toss. He ran under it for a while but it slipped into a thermal and kept going up. The flight was so stable, a gentle left turn after the initial torque ran down; then it would seek the breeze and head-up into it until it made the next circle. This picture is of the second one. I’m going to introduce it to my Model Airplane Club next week. We are learning about model aviation Why is it so stable? Those winglets look like something from Hollywood instead of dihedral.

Rolf Christophersen
Wiesbaden, Germany