What is the idea ..?
A motorfloater is an ultralight airplane with a small motor that flies very slow. The pilot sits completely out in the open, flying in a simple and easy way. It's a lot like a paramotor but with the stability, control, wind tolerance, and crash safety of a light airplane or airchair. The motorfloater differs from other airplanes in having a very light wing loading, allowing slow flight and tight turns.A motorfloater wing loading is similar to a hang glider (well under 2 pounds of gross weight per square foot of wing). and they are light (United States FAR Part 103 compliant, less than 255 lbs. empty). My idea of a motorfloater differs from paramotors, powered hang gliders, and microtrikes in having a tail (for pitch stable flight), a fixed rigid wing (again for stability, without the paramotor issue of canopy collapse), and more fixed structure around the pilot (for crash protection).
I use simple controls, garage technology construction, and a paramotor engine. The stall and spin characteristics (if any) should be very mild and forgiving, and the plane should be unable to do an accelerated stall with moderate weight pilots. The emergency parachute is hand deployed, like a hang glider system, a realistic option as long as the pilot is completely out in the open.
Flying in the open air flying is a special kind of experience, not the same as flying inside a cockpit.
The Bloop is a Pig glider with an engine added. (See the Pig Page for details on this airchair glider.) The Bloop with engine and emergency parachute weighs about 187 pounds. The power package is a modern paramotor system, aVittorazi Moster 185 two stroke engine (25 hp.) with a 1.3 meter two bladed propeller. The engine is started by a rope pull and uses synthetic oil mixed into the Avgas fuel.
For simplicity, the Bloop has no ailerons, the plane is controlled by the rudders and elevator only. This is a traditional two axis system (ala Weedhopper, Flying Flea, Skypup, early Quicksilver MX, etc.) which must be flown using two axis flying procedures. For example, when you are rolling on the ground in a cross wind, you keep the nose low so the weight is on the wheels, which will keep the wings level.
I don't taxi much, I walk the plane to and from the runway, which is practical with a well balanced airplane that isn't heavy. A pilot who walks his plane instead of taxing can see better, has better control, and is safely out of the plane if dangerous weather suddenly arrives. Walking the plane reserves your hot engine time for flying instead of ground moving, and it avoids blowing dust over all over the airport. In consideration of other traffic, you can scoot onto or off the runway while seated in the aircraft when necessary. .
Pilots often ask why the Bloop does not use a more conventional landing gear system, with a tail wheel or nose wheel. My answer is that I have not seen a conventional nose wheel or tail wheel setup that would allow for high wind safety at this wing loading. A motorfloater must be able to roll with the nose low and stop with the nose down, firmly gripping the ground, so it will not be blown away. For this reason the nominal start and stop positions are expected to be nose down on the skid, like trainer sailplanes or airchair gliders.
Hot pilots who want speed and thunder will have little interest in the Bloop. Motorfloaters are for the other kind of flying, The name "Bloop" is intended to suggest a kind of combination blimp and plane, a slow and casual flier. This is a non-commercial project, so nothing is for sale, but I encourage commercial production of something like this. All of the materials on my websites are freely available for whatever purposes the user may desire.
What is the plan ..?
The Bloop prototype is being reworked into the Bloop2, which I hope will fly slower and have other good flight and ground roll characteristics.
I hope to resume regular motorfloater flying this spring or summer (2012). A higher lift airfoil is planned, to get more of the benefits of slow flight, including the experience of open air flying, comfort, low fuel consumption, crash safety, and the opportunity to make gross low airspeed mistakes without severe penalties.
The technical drawings which describe the Bloop as I have flown it are available for viewing and download at my photo gallery (6 albums, 92 drawings, see menu above).
The same drawings in a Computer Assisted Design (CAD) format (92 drawings in dxf format, all in one zip folder) can be downloaded using this link:
[End]
A motorfloater is an ultralight airplane with a small motor that flies very slow. The pilot sits completely out in the open, flying in a simple and easy way. It's a lot like a paramotor but with the stability, control, wind tolerance, and crash safety of a light airplane or airchair. The motorfloater differs from other airplanes in having a very light wing loading, allowing slow flight and tight turns.A motorfloater wing loading is similar to a hang glider (well under 2 pounds of gross weight per square foot of wing). and they are light (United States FAR Part 103 compliant, less than 255 lbs. empty). My idea of a motorfloater differs from paramotors, powered hang gliders, and microtrikes in having a tail (for pitch stable flight), a fixed rigid wing (again for stability, without the paramotor issue of canopy collapse), and more fixed structure around the pilot (for crash protection).
I use simple controls, garage technology construction, and a paramotor engine. The stall and spin characteristics (if any) should be very mild and forgiving, and the plane should be unable to do an accelerated stall with moderate weight pilots. The emergency parachute is hand deployed, like a hang glider system, a realistic option as long as the pilot is completely out in the open.
Flying in the open air flying is a special kind of experience, not the same as flying inside a cockpit.
The Bloop is a Pig glider with an engine added. (See the Pig Page for details on this airchair glider.) The Bloop with engine and emergency parachute weighs about 187 pounds. The power package is a modern paramotor system, aVittorazi Moster 185 two stroke engine (25 hp.) with a 1.3 meter two bladed propeller. The engine is started by a rope pull and uses synthetic oil mixed into the Avgas fuel.
For simplicity, the Bloop has no ailerons, the plane is controlled by the rudders and elevator only. This is a traditional two axis system (ala Weedhopper, Flying Flea, Skypup, early Quicksilver MX, etc.) which must be flown using two axis flying procedures. For example, when you are rolling on the ground in a cross wind, you keep the nose low so the weight is on the wheels, which will keep the wings level.
I don't taxi much, I walk the plane to and from the runway, which is practical with a well balanced airplane that isn't heavy. A pilot who walks his plane instead of taxing can see better, has better control, and is safely out of the plane if dangerous weather suddenly arrives. Walking the plane reserves your hot engine time for flying instead of ground moving, and it avoids blowing dust over all over the airport. In consideration of other traffic, you can scoot onto or off the runway while seated in the aircraft when necessary. .
Pilots often ask why the Bloop does not use a more conventional landing gear system, with a tail wheel or nose wheel. My answer is that I have not seen a conventional nose wheel or tail wheel setup that would allow for high wind safety at this wing loading. A motorfloater must be able to roll with the nose low and stop with the nose down, firmly gripping the ground, so it will not be blown away. For this reason the nominal start and stop positions are expected to be nose down on the skid, like trainer sailplanes or airchair gliders.
Hot pilots who want speed and thunder will have little interest in the Bloop. Motorfloaters are for the other kind of flying, The name "Bloop" is intended to suggest a kind of combination blimp and plane, a slow and casual flier. This is a non-commercial project, so nothing is for sale, but I encourage commercial production of something like this. All of the materials on my websites are freely available for whatever purposes the user may desire.
What is the plan ..?
The Bloop prototype is being reworked into the Bloop2, which I hope will fly slower and have other good flight and ground roll characteristics.
I hope to resume regular motorfloater flying this spring or summer (2012). A higher lift airfoil is planned, to get more of the benefits of slow flight, including the experience of open air flying, comfort, low fuel consumption, crash safety, and the opportunity to make gross low airspeed mistakes without severe penalties.
The technical drawings which describe the Bloop as I have flown it are available for viewing and download at my photo gallery (6 albums, 92 drawings, see menu above).
The same drawings in a Computer Assisted Design (CAD) format (92 drawings in dxf format, all in one zip folder) can be downloaded using this link:
[End]