Category: Walkalong gliders

All walkalong gliders are here

Noel Eberhardt’s Brilliant Folding Jig(and a bit about Noel)

Here is a video that Noel sent of the Portola Valley Community Center “Flight Night”. He said, “These two girls were flying the walk-alongs minutes after making them with no instruction or guidance other than their observation of others flying them. ” Notice the dog observing the fun!

When I first started making thin foam walkalong gliders, I had to tape on a pattern—which took too much time. For years I developed various folding jigs and they worked; but the jigs were hard to make, involved complicated taped hinges and the foam had to be repositioned several times. Noel Eberhardt, a retired engineer in California, took the quest to the finish line! His folder design is elegant, effective and so easy to make and use. It’s a game-changer for people making walkalong gliders with groups.

Apart from this accomplishment, Noel Eberhardt is a case study of Pasteur’s observation of how fortune favors the prepared mind. His life is rich with eclectic experiences and inventions, some of which I’ve written about below, after we look at his procedure.

Even before discovering very thin foam walkalong gliders, Noel was teaching groups of young people how to make gliders from foam plates.

 

THE FOLDING JIGS OLD AND NEW

Here are some screen shots from a video about the old folding jigs that I developed. They worked, but were difficult to make. You can see the early folding jigs in this video.

The back elevon required a different folding jig, so positioning the foam a total of 3 times per glider. By contrast to that, Noel’s design only requires on jig and one positioning of the foam.

Here are a few pictures of Noel’s new procedure. Gallery of full set are below.

Noel uses thin plastic (red) to make a cutting template for the foam
This is his folding jig--hinged with tape. Simple, but so effective!
The foam goes in...
...like this.
The foam is positioned by aligning with the bottom of the jig.
Noel used fingers to bend the camber. Using a flat surface is possible too.
The elevons go the opposite way as the camber.
Using a rotary cutter for the aluminum foil front weights.
Almost ready to fly.

Make a Tumblewing

Astonishing! You are flying a piece of paper, surfing it on a wave of air created with cardboard. There are many branches of walkalong gliding, but the Big Mouth Tumblewing is the easiest way to start. You only need phone book paper or newspaper. This video starts with a introduction, then instructions for making and flying tumblewings.

Links

Make and Fly a Tumblewing Instructions

More Tumblewing Instructional Videos

Here are some other instructional videos about making the classic, original tumblewings. This one is by John Collins (The Paper Airplane Guy and tumbling wing inventor).

Here are some by Phil Rossoni.

And here is Phil's Instructables page.

Once you master making and flying tumblewings, the next logical step is foam gliders.

I'd like to know how this project goes for you. I'm happy to answer questions about it. Feedback from you is an important way for me to know what works and what needs clarification.

Make Paper Walkalong Gliders

Dihedral Magnus Effect Gliders

There are many branches of walkalong gliding, but the Dihedral Magnus Effect Glider is the easier way to start.

Big Mouth Tubmlewing

You only need phone book paper or newspaper to make a Big Mouth Tumblewing

Tumblewing

It's harder to fly than the other two, but it's good practice.

Origami Hang Glider

These are very difficult to get right. Unlike the spinning gliders, Origami Hang Glider is an advanced project.

I'd like to know how this project goes for you. I'm happy to answer questions about it. Feedback from you is an important way for me to know what works and what needs clarification.

Surf an Origami Big Mouth Tumblewing on a Wave of Air

Astonishing! You are flying a piece of paper, surfing it on a wave of air created with cardboard.

Next to the dihedral magnus effect glider, the Big Mouth Tumblewing is the easiest way to start flying a walkalong glider. You only need phone book paper or newspaper. The pattern here.  This video starts with a introduction, then instructions for making and flying tumblewings.

"Flying Fish" or spinning blimps are simple and quick to make, and you can fly them as walkalong gliders.

I'd like to know how this project goes for you. I'm happy to answer questions about it. Feedback from you is an important way for me to know what works and what needs clarification.

Make Your Own Walkalong Gliders

Make Your Own Walkalong Gliders

Make a Baby Bug Walkalong Glider

This video is a little rough, without sound, but the method is much simpler and faster than the old way. Also, the way to find the balance between stalling and diving is clearly laid out. The PDF cutting/folding pattern is here--no "fit to page" or scaling (100% scale is ok).

Make the Thompson Jagwing

Invented by a then engineering student named Michael Thompson, the Jagwing is a good first walkalong glider.

About Front Weight

Why you need front weight on "flying wing" gliders, what to use, and how to adjust them.

Make Paper Walkalong Gliders

Paper Walkalong gliders are harder to launch and fly. But paper is free and it’s good practice.

I'd like to know how these projecst go for you. I'm happy to answer questions about it. Feedback from you is an important way for me to know what works and what needs clarification.

If your glider is attracted to the board…

Static Cling and Walkalong Gliders

Even though this video is not fully completed, it shows how to work around static cling, avoid it or discharge it.

One day I tried to demonstrate air surfing in a classroom. It was not working. When the air-deflecting board got close to the glider, they were attracted. I finally figured out that static electricity was causing the problem. That time it was because the room had carpet. It can also happen when people unconsciously rub the boards against their clothing--particularly when the weather is cool and dry.

Here are some ways to get rid of static charge. Rub the board with a wet rag or something. Dampness kills static. If the glider itself has static charge, then hold it in the steam (actually water vapor) over a bowl of very hot water. You can dab it with a slightly damp washcloth, but if it gets wet, you'll have to let it dry. Just a few drops of water will add too much weight.

If you do not know how walkalong gliding/air-surfing works, this might be confusing. Walkalong gliding does NOT use static electricity at all; it only uses deflected air to levitate gliders. However, you can use static electricity to levitate tinsel, thin plastic, etc. There is even a toy that is a hand-held Van De Graaff generator that makes things float. And to make things even more confusing, static electricity can attract AND repel things.

So of course by now you are thinking, "Why not combine aerodynamic with static levitation. And indeed my friend Nyle Steiner has done some work with that.


Gordon Pollock


Thanks to Bill Hannan and David Aronstein for discovering the work of Gordon Pollock, who sold a cool walkalong glider called the WonderWing in the 1980s. Gordon told me that he made the gliders from indoor balsa wood and condenser paper, both of which are very lightweight. As you can see from the illustration below, the front weight of the glider also acted as a canard. I've tried that on the foam gliders and it greatly inproves the pitch stability. The canard in front of the wing is set at more of a slant (higher angle of attack). So the canard stalls before the wing. With less lift from the canard, the wing pitches down before stalling. It's really fun to see the theory actually work in practice.


Gordon sent some pictures of some old Wonder Wings--well crafted and huge! (Click to enlarge.)

Here is a video play list of Gordon flying a Wonder Wing in 2017.
Video 1: Notice that it almost seems like the glider is flying backwards. But--just like the Wright Brother's first plane--the canard is in front.
Video 2: Gordon flying a small Wonder Wing with a board.
Video 3: The WonderWing Flies again!