PilotOrNot.com

The Place for All Things Airborne
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Welcome Aviation Enthusiasts

As the header suggests this is a site for the " Lovers of Flight" of all kinds. From Stunt Kites to Paper planes to R/C and Full Scale. Even the most extreme Aerial Sports are discussed here, if it's airborne, you'll see it here.  Occasionally I will post sites of other interest as well.

 Enjoy your Visit !! 


Most recent Gallery additions : 

Valkaria Air Fest 2010

  Valkaria, Florida (2/20/10)

 

New Bugatti Construction Photos

let the "planking" begin !
(updated 02/16/10)

NAME THAT PLANE !
   
 
 
 
Submit you responses to    Tidgepilot@aol.com
 
 the first correct answer wins a "Pilotornot"  t-shirt.
 
 

 
 
 
Last week's plane was the:
                                                   
 
 Ryan PT-22
 
                                                                             

My Method - "How to Make a Hatch"

 
This is the stabilizer of my Bugatti, and the opening I have left here is for
the servo which will operate this half of the elevons.
 
 
Here I have glued in four spruce blocks to the wing ribs and two horizontal
supports which the hatch will be attached to.
 
 
Here I have fashioned a hatch from 1/8 " plywood.
 
 
I soaked it overnight then allowed it to dry with some weight positioned on
it to create a slight curve to match the curve of the airfoil.
 
 
Apply some tape to the top of the hatch and make sure it is positioned
exactly where you want it.
 
 
Lay your balsa sheet overtop of the stabilizer where it will be placed.
 
 
Flip it over, and there you have the location for the hatch.
 
 
The final assembly awaiting screws that will go into the vertical spruce blocks
The servo will be attached to the underside of the hatch and only the arm will
stick out from under the hatch.
 
 
Questions or comments      Tidgepilot@aol.com


Red Bull Air Race World Championships Race 6

Round 6 -- Barcelona, Spain
 
Congratulations to 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Champion--
Britain's Paul Bonhomme !!!
Bonhomme on his Title winning run.
 

The sixth and final round of the Championships was held in Barcelona, Spain on October 4. Heading into this round Bonhomme had a 4 point lead over last year's Champion Hannes Arch. As if that wasn't tight enough, Arch squeezed Bonhomme a little bit harder as he took the 1 point for fast qualifying time and reduced the lead to 3.

After finishing second in the last two years, Bonhomme was able to string together the consistency required for a Championship in front of a record crowd of 800,000 here in Barcelona. In 6 races this year he has 3 Seconds and 3 First place finishes. He put it all together on this 6.4 km, 15 gate course laid out over the Mediterranean, to take the title by 7 points. The fabulous season for Rookie sensation from Australia, Matt Hall, continued all the way to the end as he finished third in the Championships the best ever by a rookie.

As he exited his plane after the final round Bonhomme exclaimed, “I’m very, very happy” he grinned. “It’s been a lot of hard work and a long time but we got there in the end. Of course there’s been a massive amount of pressure here but I’m not about to admit that during race week. It’s just a question of how you deal with pressure at the right time.”

As a side note, American Mike Mangold, is retiring after 6 seasons from the Red Bull Air Race World Series, to concentrate on his family and Jet Racing at Reno. 


Red Bull Air Race World Championships Race 5

Round 5:  Porto, Portugal
Sept. 13, 2009
 
The fifth of six races this season was held in Porto, Portugal on Sept. 13. British Pilot, Paul Bonhomme takes the victory, and after his 2nd place finish in Budapest,and the 1 point he picked up here in qualifying, he improves his lead in the Championships to 4 points over last year's Champion Hannes Arch. Once again, Australian Rookie Matt Hall hit another milestone in his career with his first podium by taking third behind Arch and vaulting into 3rd place in the Championships.
 
 
A big problem here in Porto is the existence of a large number of seagulls in and around the race course. To deter their presence during the races, Red Bull has hired a group of Predatory birds to keep things under control during the week of practice and racing. A group of 9 Falcons and Hawks (4 Falcons and 5 Hawks) are controlling the airspace around the runway. Two of the birds are trained killers, and will do just that to let the seagulls know they mean business, the other 7 birds are trained to scare and disturb the seagulls without harming them. Just another example of Red Bull's commitment to safety.
 
The crowd of 720,000 watched Bonhomme clock a 1:09:23 on his final run to clip Arch by .94 seconds over the 6.6km, 17 gate course set up over the Douro River in Downtown Porto. This marks the second victory for Bonhomme this season to make him the first repeat winner of 2009. However a 4 point lead going into the final race is not much cushion considering the winner receives 13. The final race in Barcelona should be a real dog fight.
 
All the pilots were somewhat behind the eight ball as practice on Thursday and Friday had to be canceled due to severe fog. Bonhomme credits a recent engine change for the extra speed, as he already had 3 second places and a victory with the old setup, this could be bad news for the rest of the field in Race 6. After having lost the Championship in the very end of the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Paul is very eager and excited to be heading for his possible first Red Bull crown.
 
The final round shootout in Barcelona will be Oct 4.
 
GO HERE  for all the news and pictures.
 


46th National Championship Air Races

Official "Gold" Race Results from the
2009 Reno National Air Races

Unlimited Class -     Strega           -  P51 Mustang    -  Steve Hinton        -   491.822 mph
                                  Rare Bear     -  F8F Bearcat     -  John Penney        -   479.088 mph
                                  Czech Mate   -  Yak - 11             -  Sherman Smoot   -   464.312 mph
 
Jet Class             -     Viper             -  L-29                   -  Curt Brown         -   513.521 mph
                                  Euro Burner -  L-29                   -  Mike Mangold     -   510.295 mph
                                  Pip Squeak   -   L-39                   -  Joe Gano             -   508.021 mph
 
 
T-6 Class            -    Six Cat                                         -   Nick Macy           -   237.557 mph
                                 Warlock                                        -  Alfred Goss          -   235.134 mph
                                 Midnight Miss III                         -  Dennis Buehn    -    231.194 mph
 
S.S. Class           -    Nemesis          -   NXT                  -   Jon Sharp           -   407.061 mph
                                 Relentless      -   NXT                   -   Kevin Eldredge  -   387.839 mph
                              Bad Intentions -   Questair             - Mike Dacey          -   382.872 mph
 
Sport Class        -                            -  Lancair               -  David Sterling    -   352.662 mph
                              Poky                  -  Lancair               - Tom McReynolds -   343.339 mph
                              Breathless        -   Lancair               -  Lee Behel           -    335.417 mph
 
Biplane Class   -  Phantom           -  Mong Sport         -  Tom Aberle         -   236.995 mph
                             Magic                -  Pitts S-1S            -  Norman Way       -   218.726 mph
                             Drag Racer       -  Pitts S-1C            -  Dennis Vest        -   213.329 mph
 
F-1 Class         -  Invictus             -  Cassutt                 -  Thom Richard    -   241.064 mph
                        Scarlet Screamer  -  Cassutt                 -  Gary Davis          -  236.136 mph
                           Madness             -  GR-7 Panther      -  Steve Temple       -  226.891 mph
 
 
GO HERE    for all the pictures and reports of the whole week.


Red Bull Air Race World Championships Race 4

Round 4 - Budapest , Hungary
 
 
The 4th round of the Championships took place, on August 20, in Budapest, Hungary. American Pilot Michael Goulian took the win as his first win ever in four seasons of trying on the Red Bull Series. British Pilot Paul Bonhomme snagged second place, and with it, took the lead in the Championship by 1 point over Austrian Hannes Arch. Arch finished 4th behind American Kirby Chambliss, who also collected 1 point for the fastest qualifying time on Wednesday,and the German rookie Matthias Dolderer rounded out the top 5 with his career best finish.
 
The 6.6 km course was laid out over the Danube River and the start of each run required flying UNDER a 30 foot bridge !!  That's right, UNDER the bridge, an action which is extremely frowned upon by the FAA is the lead-in to the first gate in Budapest !. Go HERE for a video. A record crowd of 650,000 watched on a blistering hot holiday in Hungary. This has proven to be the pivotal race each year as 3 of the last 4 winners have  gone on to take the Championships. Unfortunately, Home town Hero, Peter Besenyei finished a disappointing 10th.
 
Bonhomme now leads the series with 42 points, followed closely by Hannes Arch with 41, Nicolas Ivanoff sits in 3rd with 28 points, and Mike Mangold and Australian Rookie Matt Hall are tied for 4th with 24.
 
Next Race is in Portugal on Sept. 12 and 13. 
 
GO HERE for all the Red Bull Air Racing website.

 
 


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Today in Aviation History - March 10, 1910... The first flight at night is made by Frenchman Emile Aubrun in Argentina on a Bleriot airplane. Aubrun makes two flights in the dark, each about 20 km from Buenos Aires and back again. ___________________________ Free paper planes for the kids www.funpaperairplanes.com www.paperairplanes.co.uk/ www.bestpaperairplanes.com/ www.amazingpaperairplanes.com/ www.10paperairplanes.com/ ___________________________ Aviation Weather Links www.nws.noaa.gov/ www.noaa.gov/wx.html http://maps.avnwx.com/ www.usairnet.com/weather/ Questions or Comments ? Tidgepilot@aol.com