Wow!!!!!! You HAVE to let us know how it does. It looks amazing...

Tim
AG4RZ
(who is also fond of bacon...mmmmm...bacon...)

 

Nice job Lead. Can't wait to see the video.

RC

 

Looks like I'll have good weather for a maiden flight/voyage soon.

Has the windsurfer design dude been flown yet?

 

The "Surfing" flying surfer dude had it's first water tests this AM. Here are my observations:

Flies well in general.
Rudder is less effective while flying; probably because it is not in the prop blast any more with the high thrust line.
Floats fine.
Taxis on water OK but turning was kinda slow
Won't take of from water. I couldn't get the back end to go down.
Lands fine on the water.

Here is a video of this mornings tests. http://s715.photobucket.com/albums/ww154/lead2feather/?action=view&current=surfing.flv

I think the fix for rise off water may be to minimize the fins and possibly add some rudder above the board. Still thinking about this.

 

When I first saw your surfer I thought that the step is way to short. There is not enough lifting area in the front that will stick out of the water to give it the push up. The rear area, on the other hand, is way to long to cut the suction of the surface tension. The problem is that the CG is so much forward. If you'll put the step further to the back it may not rotate.

 

@MARK - Maybe I missed it, but did you ever get your SurferDude down from that tree??

 

Speaking of magnets, I have an idea....

Get a big treble fishing hook and secure a length of fishing line to it with a magnet on the end of the line. Tie another piece of line secured to your rescue hovercraft with a magnet on the end of it.

Let the two magnets attach to one another and go fishing for the surfer dude. If you snag the plane, you can try lifting it out. If you snag the tree instead, you can get a running full throttle start and break free from the treble hook so you don't loose your rescue craft in the process.

Just do some tests to see if your magnets can hold the surfer and yet be broken apart when forced.

You can glue the magnets to a piece of 1/16 lite ply to attach your fishing line. Attached files

 

I (my surfer) have now been able to rise off water. I'll get video when I can.

 

WAHOO!!! :mrgreen:

 

I was able to modify my surfer to rake off from ground and from water.

I've got some ideas for more improvements and a better looking "surfer" (better looking than the simple fin I used) will be added in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5dRvOgSMNo

Attached files

 

hehehh, at first glance I thought I was looking at the bottom of my wifes iron

 

Try this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5dRvOgSMNo Attached files

 

Good show, glad you solved your problem.

 

Even with smaller, thinner fins, they created so much drag I couldn't get enough speed for take off. Then I realized by getting rid of the fins altogether for max speed on water I could also possibly take off from ground. It worked for both ROW and ROG.

I think the improvements from here would be a deeper hull to allow more rotation for take off and then I could also lower the thrust line too.