Person flying a Walkalong glider by controllable-slope soaring.

Controllable-slope soaring (also known as Walkalong gliding) is a type of slope soaring where a slope is made to follow a walkalong glider (a lightweight toy aircraft), both sustaining and controlling the glider's trajectory by modifying the wind in the vicinity of the airplane.

A controllable slope is any object which can be used to affect the air under the airplane: a piece of cardboard, the pilot's hands or even head. The controllable slope is usually manipulated by a person following the glider in flight (please see photo at right).

Controllable-slope soaring allows a glider to achieve sustained flight without the need for an onboard aircraft engine or onboard flight control system.

See also

  • Method of Flying Toy Airplane and Means Therefor - a patent from the 1950s for a walkalong glider using controllable slope soaring.
  • "Free Flight episode with Walkalong Glider, on season 11, episode 9". Scientific American Frontiers. Chedd-Angier Production Company. 2000–2001. PBS. Archived from the original on 2006-01-01.
  • Principles of flying walkalong gliders using controllable slope soaring (Jersey Shores Middle School students)
  • Controllable slope soaring: suitable aircraft and videos (Google sites)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.