Nav. Lights. ?

anyone fitted running light suceesfully to there control liner
for night flying .

Yep. Last year Mike Schmitt flew demonstration patterns in the dark at the SIG contest and the FCM contest. Mike's on this forum and probably can give you more details on the equipment he used.
DennisV

See Don McGovern's Eclipse biplane published in the October 1950 Flying Models. It is OTS legal and looks quite stuntable. Engine shown is a rear intake Forster 29. I have thought about building one with fake lights for OTS.

Back in the early Balsa-Lithic (Fifties) the Chicago U-Liners did a fair amount of night flying - a flashlight bulb on the inboard wing tip and a pair of pen-cells on the fuselage worked well. One guy trailed about 3 feet of wire out the back like a combat streamer with a bulb on the end. NOT a good idea - the bulb bobbed up and down with the motion of the plane and, since it was the only thing you coud see, he wound up "flying" the bulb resulting in a lot of out-of-phase gyrations that eventually resulted in an impact with the turf. Also, you have to restrain the batteries well since if they come adrift in mid-flight, the bulb goes out!

Mild Bill

Flying at night sounds like fun. How about this idea: put a tether attached to the handle that goes out to within 10' or so of your plane. Attach a line grouper with an array of LEDs pointing at your airplane. Add a little tip weight to compensate for the added line weight. There's less wind after the sun goes down, right?

Dave "McSlow" Hull
LA_Flyer

We used AA batteries, (2 in series) and model railroad grain-of-wheat bulbs. This was 1970, before LEDs were widely available.
The 'Grain-of-wheat bulbs were user-friendly, inthat just a 1/4" hole had to be drilled (counterbored) from the front of the leading adge, with 1/8" going into the wing from the bottom of the 1/4" hole.
The bulbs were set into the holes, but weren't very bright...ended up using 3 per side. The planking was opened up, velcro used on plastic sheet for trap door. Bottom of wing was uncovered for running wires, re-monokoted.
Oh, plane was an S-1 Ringmaster, Natch.

Come to think of it, there are small sets of Christmas tree mini-lights with a 2-D cell battery pack! (8 or 10 bright mini lights, about 10 ft/ of wire. D cells can be replaced with AA cells, same voltage. You're NOT flying all night nonstop!

Back in my Free Flight days, 1969-75, we had a Night Flying event (perhaps they still do). Batteries and small bulbs soon gave way to cyalume lights ("glow sticks") strapped to the fuselage....an inexpensive, reliable and fail-safe alternative.

Mike Keville

Hello everyone,

I did a lot of night flying in 1960. I had a Satan powered by an Oliver Tiger. The Satan was a very early combat design, with the wing rubber banded on beneath the fuselage. I simply used a flat flashlight stuck in the wing retaining rubber bands. It worked very well indeed.
I had an interesting flight when I picked up the symmetrical handle upside down! You can't waggle the elevator to check in the dark, well you can, but can't see it! That was an interesting flight...must have been quick witted in my youth and realised what was going on....thesedays I would have re kitted it.

Regards,

Andrew Tinsley.

Bob Zambelli flew a Cardinal at Brodaks last year (or was it in 2006?)that had small wind driven generators to power small strobe lights. I believe they powered up in the propwash for takeoff and stayed on through rollout and quit at wheel stop. Worked great and even attracted a bat that had a (minor) mid air, with the Cardinal. He stayed attached (ie impaled) on the stab through landing.
Roger V.

I got the idea of using light tubes from watching the Helicopter Jambori flying choppers at night. I purchased several light tubes from a helicopter parts supplier. Although I think I've seen ads for them from tower hobbies. I bought tubes and a "Driver" but went to radio shack and found a 9volt battery harness and a switch. I then found a pill bottle that could hold all components and mounted the switch in the lid. The tubes and pill bottle were taped to the wing and fuselage. The lights never used up the 9v battery. I mounted the light assembly on a Force 40 at SIG, and a Jamison Special at FCM. I'm able to fly the whole pattern with either airplane-at night-just pull out a bit sooner for the weight does make a difference


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>I got the idea of using light tubes from watching the
>Helicopter Jambori flying choppers at night.

Funny looking aeroplane in the second picture . Just Kidding .

Looks like a V tight corner down on the left ?

Time delay photo ?

Anach,
Looks suspiciously like a Pathfinder, doesn't it?

Dave Hull
LA_Flyer

>Anach,
>Looks suspiciously like a Pathfinder, doesn't it?
>
>Dave Hull
>LA_Flyer


Ah Ha. Now I see . an INVISABLE Pathfinder . Pretty Good.

Id thought it must be the flight track . Thanks .