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BluFly 🛩️ Motorless

A humans-in-the-loop feed for the aviation community with an emphasis on motorless aviation. that is, posts additionally Emojitagged with the 🪽️ (white wing): blufly.media/feed/motorless

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📅 Updated about 1 month ago
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BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

4 days ago

« Mississippi State to Develop Autonomous Soaring for Federal DARPA Albatross Program » RC gliders are only for fun? Their super-efficient flight has attracted the attention of researchers at @msstate.bsky.social and @darpa.mil. | 🛩️ 📡 ⚔️ 🪽 ⚡️ 🏫 🥇 | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 www.raspet.msstate.edu/ne….

Two young men work in the cockpit area of a radio-controlled glider which is located on a small folding table in a large, well-lit workshop. The glider is all white and resembles the full-size, high-performance gliders of current vintage. The model, however, is powered with a small electric motor mounted in the nose. In the background there are various shop fixtures and supplies as well as an overhead crane. Original caption from source: « Randy Welch, right, a research engineer at Mississippi State University’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, and Chris Busutil, left, a flight operations technician at Raspet, integrate early electrical systems to a small, fixed-wing plane on July 7 for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Albatross program at Raspet Flight Research Facility. The DARPA Albatross project is a multi-university project seeking to develop automated weather and flight systems to test if smaller fixed-wing planes are able to travel while using 50 to 75% less energy. » (📸/✍🏻 Claire Wilson | Mississippi State University Office of Public Affairs)

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

7 days ago

What with it being the equinox and the attendant change of seasons, we tried to find the summeriest picture possible to either honour the season just past here in the 🌎 North or to foreshadow the glorious season to come in the 🌏 South. (📸 composite-rc-gliders.com?utm_source=b...) | 🛩️ 📡 🪽 🥇

A man launches a radio-controlled glider from a raised plateau overlooking a lake set amongst a conifer forest. The glider is covered in a transparent yellow film, revealing the internal framework of the glider. The aircraft appears to be approximately three metres in span. It's flying away from the camera and slightly to the left and is airborne about a half metre above the man. It is also banking slightly to the right. Sailboats dot the lake below, and a small number of structures line a small part of the lakeshore. It's a sunny day with what seems to be a thin overcast. (📸 Composite RC Gliders)

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

25 days ago

An email newsletter we're *delighted* to receive is from ADVANCE Paragliders. The recent one linked another one of their remarkable stories: « Piz Palü Trilogy » is an account of Roger Schäli and Romano Salis’ climb/fly adventure of the storied peaks. | 🛩️ 🪽 🥇 | 🔗 www.advance.swiss/en/stor….

A person and a paraglider are flying over what appears to be a glacier, which is just to their left. Snow-covered peaks are to the left of the frame beside the glacier. A brown set of peaks is on the right side of the frame, also beside the glacier. The pilot is photographed from behind, with the left side of his wing visible at the top of the frame. He is wearing a red parka and a white cycling-type helmet. His right hand is reaching up to the right control line. A range of mountains is visible in the distance. The sky overhead is predominantly blue, with scattered clouds and streaks of contrails. (📸 ADVANCE Paragliders)

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

about 1 month ago

Sometimes it's the big story behind a photograph and sometimes it's simply the aesthetics of the image itself, as is the case this time. We love an old glider. In particular we love a sepia-toned photo of an old glider in Norway. More info in ALT. | 🛩️ 🪽 📍 🇳🇴 🥇 | 🔗 digitaltmuseum.no/0210113….

A lightly sepia-toned photo of what appears to be SZD-12 'Mucha 100' glider tied down at the glider school at Øysand, Norway in either the late 1950s or the early 1960s. The aircraft is oriented pointing to the right and slightly toward the camera. Its left wing is touching the ground, and the right wing has a line attached to it which, in turn, is attached to the ground. Its single seat is covered with a bubble canopy. A tree-covered hill rises up in the background and to the left side of the frame. A building resembling a school is visible in the distance on the right side of the frame. Part of a similar building is visible in the left side of the frame. The aircraft's registration, painted on the side of the fuselage although partially obscured, appears to be « LN-GGN ». The field in which the scene is set has fairly long grass. Although uncertain given the black and white photo, it seems as though wild flowers are growing in the foreground. The sky is uniform sepia-toned white. Original caption from source, translated with Google Translate: « The glider school at Øysand, in the municipality of Melhus, was run in the years 1957 – 1961. The first two years were run by the Norwegian Aero Club, before Trondheim Fk. took over. The flying strip here was well suited – with its own “hang” (buoyancy) at Øyberga. » (📸 Norsk Luftfartsmuseum)

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

about 1 month ago

We doff our hats 🎩 to Will Gadd and the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada for working tirelessly and tenaciously with Parks Canada to get this prohibition lifted. All the details in this new article by @carterblatz.bsky.social writing for the @calgaryherald.com‬. | 🛩️ 🪽 📍 🇨🇦 🥇

calgaryherald.com

Banff opens to paragliding takeoffs and landings following 17-year push

While paragliders were always allowed to soar above Banff National Park, they couldn’t launch or land within it until May 23.

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

3 months ago

The 2025 FAI F3K World Championships is coming up July 26 through August 2, 2025 in Tarp, Germany. For the first time, winners will be recognised in both men’s and women's events. These hand-launch gliders require mastery of both finesse and fitness. | 🛩️ 🪽 📡 📰 📅 🇩🇪 🥇 | 🔗 www.fai.org/news/2025-fa...

A young man in a pink shirt and khaki shorts launches a radio-controlled model glider. It climbs away from him at about a twenty-to-thirty-degree angle from right to left in the frame. His right arm, presumably used to launch the glider, is still extended and pointed directly at the glider. He is wearing a white, fingerless glove on his right hand. He is also wearing a baseball hat, albeit backwards. He is depicted in a field of relatively short, green grass and appears to have been running. Other people engaged in the same activity can be seen in the background. They are wearing competition number 'bibs' on their shirts. At the far end of the field is a stand of trees. The sky above is blue and with many puffy, cumulus clouds. (📸 Antonis Papdopoulos | FAI)

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

3 months ago

How did we miss this? 🤦🏻‍♂️ That is, 2024's feature documentary « The Flight of Bryan » from @altitudefilms.bsky.social about Paul MacCready's eventually successful quest to win the Kremer Prize. Check out this summary, from their website: | 🛩️ 🎬 🪽 🥇 | 🧵 1/3 | 🔗 www.altitudefilment.com/f….

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

4 months ago

Anticipating the FAI General Conference 2025 coming up in Vantaa, Finland in October, they have just released this excellent overview of recreational aviation in Finland. They cover a lot of bases for both crewed and uncrewed aircraft. (📸 FAI) | 🛩️ 🪽 🦆 📡 📹 📰 📅 🇫🇮 🥇 | 🔗 www.fai.org/news/fai-gen...

A montage of seven photos depicting various aspects of recreational aviation in Finland. From the top left and rotating clockwise: 1) a model sailplane competition; 2) a small floatplane on a lake; 3) a pilot's point-of-view from a full-size, crewed sailplane; 4) a man presents a trophy to a second man, both of whom are standing in front of a small, single-engine aircraft; 5) a small child walks in front of two full-size sailplanes parked at an airfield; 6) an airshow in progress wherein a jet demonstration team is performing over an assembled crowd; and finally, in the centre, 7) a small, model glider is captured having come to rest on a snow-covered field. The seven photos are presented as a background to an mostly obscured eighth photo, which the caption reads: « View of the sun setting over the city of Kuhmo, Finland, 29 June 2023 at 00:23 hrs ». (📸 FAI)

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

4 months ago

We've seen Josh flying over Cape Kiwanda, Oregon. Then, remarkably, this article appeared: « Five Questions and a Secret ▫️ You may have seen him flying over central coast beaches, now meet Josh Norris. » (📸 Kathleen O'Connor | Lincoln Chronicle) | 🛩️ 📍 🇺🇸 🪽 🥇 | 🔗 lincolnchronicle.org/6045….

A fully deployed, multi-coloured paraglider is pictured while launching from a bluff overlooking the ocean. In the distance, beyond the bluff, there is a flat sandy beach extending out to the low surf and a calm ocean. The paraglider and its pilot are offset to the left side of the frame. Its wing is orange at the leading edge and then fades through white to purple at the trailing edge. The pilot has his arms outstretched in order to pull the cords used to control the flexible, cloth wing. At the bottom of the frame, there is a low concrete wall. Just beyond the wall, there is a line of green, leafy bushes amongst which the pilot appears to be standing just prior to leaving the ground. On the camera side of the wall is a cobblestone pathway. There is a park bench at the bottom right and a lighting bollard on the bottom left. The sky is mostly cloudy with small patches of blue visible. The lighting on the wing makes it appear as though the sun is about to come out. Original caption, for a similar picture, from source: « Josh Norris’ launch at Don Davis Park sometimes involves jumping up and over the concrete ledge at the edge of the park. Once airborne, pilots usually fly 500 to 1,000 feet above the ground. » (📸 Kathleen O'Connor | Lincoln Chronicle)

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

4 months ago

It's National Paper Airplane Day and rather than raiding the office stationery cupboard for a modest, folded flying machine, why not consider this much more ambitious undertaking meticulously documented on Instructables? | 🛩️ 🪽 📡 🥇 | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 www.instructables.com/How….

A small paper model of a flying wing vaguely resembling Jack Northrop's YB-49, at least in terms of its generalised layout. The model is viewed directly in front of and slightly above, 'flying' directly towards the camera position. Along the trailing edge of the wing, there are four small pink pieces of paper formed into vertical stabilisers, also similar to those found on the YB-49. The rest of the aircraft is primarily white. The aircraft is sitting on a green, self-healing cutting mat. Original caption from source: « How to Make the Omniwing Swift Paper Airplane » (📸 OrigamiAirEnforce via Instructables under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

4 months ago

We think ADVANCE Paragliders does an outstanding job with their 'Stories' feature on their website. Here's another eye-popping tale told by Team Pilot Tom de Dorlodot about his flying adventure at the Ol Doinyo Lengai active volcano in Tanzania. But there's much more to the story. Read on. | 🛩️ 🪽 🥇

www.advance.swiss

The Mountain of God

There are places in this world that touch us so deeply that we make a promise to ourselves to one day return. Tom de Dorlodot made such a promise over twelve years ago during his travels across Africa...

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

5 months ago

« Developed in response to a warfighter request for standoff cargo delivery, Grasshopper was created in collaboration with the US Air Force to provide a low-cost logistics solution capable of reaching areas inaccessible to traditional aircraft. » Read DZYNE's press release with link. | 🛩️ 📡 🪽 ⚔️ 📰 🥇

dzyne.com

DZYNE Technologies - DZYNE Delivers New Autonomous Cargo Glider ‘Grasshopper’ to US Air Force

Advancing Low-Cost, Precision Aerial Resupply for Disaster Relief and Contested Scenarios DZYNE Technologies, a leading innovator in autonomous defense solutions, […]

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

5 months ago

From a couple of days ago: « Stratolaunch Successfully Completes Reusable Hypersonic Flight and Recovery with Talon-A2 Vehicle » Continue reading their press release with link. (📸 See ALT) | 🛩️ 🪽 📡 ⚔️ 🥇 | 🧵 1/2 | 🔗 www.stratolaunch.com/news….

The Talon-A2 fully autonomous vehicle glides back to a smooth landing after achieving Mach 5 subsequent to being dropped from the Stratolaunch 'mothership'. The vehicle is still airborne a short distance from the ground and is flying from right to left in the frame. It is a delta-winged aircraft landing on a barely visible runway. In the foreground is a desert landscape. In the background, there is a small rise with similar vegetation and power lines running across it. In the far distance are larger hills where windmills can be seen. The day appears clear but hazy. (📸 Stratolaunch)

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

6 months ago

« In the Blue Condor project, Airbus, the Perlan team and the German Aerospace Center (@dlr-de.bsky.social) have, for the first time worldwide, measured contrails of a hydrogen turbojet engine in flight. The three-week flight test campaign took place in December 2024 in Minden, Nevada … » | 🛩️ ⚡️ 🪽 🥇

www.dlr.de

World-first in-flight measurements of contrails from hydrogen propulsion

Formed in the upper troposphere when the air is sufficiently cold and humid, condensation trails may be one of the most significant contributors to aviation's climate impact.

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

6 months ago

It's hard for us to imagine climbing *one* 4000-metre peak in the Alps, let alone paraglide back down. However, last summer Chrigel Maurer and Peter von Känel not only did *that* but did it for *all* 82 peaks over 4000 metres in the Alps, and in just fifty-one days. What. A. Story. | 🛩️ 📹 🪽 🥇

www.advance.swiss

Project XPEAKS

“Hi Chrigel; got any plans for next summer?” A mountain guide talks to someone he knows well. The next summer is 2023. Of course Peter von Känel has a private agenda. He feels that it's time to carry ...

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

6 months ago

« Chilean wingsuit pilot Sebastián ‘Ardilla’ Álvarez has completed a breathtaking flight, submitting preliminary claims for multiple FAI World and South American records. » Distance: 53,448 m; time: 661 s; altitude: 12,639 m. Their press release with link. | 🛩️ 🪽 📰 📹 🥇 | 🔗 www.fai.org/news/sebasti...

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

7 months ago

We're always looking for something to celebrate, and for today, it’s π Day. As in 03-14. So, for that, here's a 'Pi 3' from ADVANCE Paragliders of Switzerland. We think it would be good karma to order one on this particular day. | 🛩️ 📹 🪽 | 🔗 advance.swiss/en/products/...

A mostly white paraglider flies over a rugged mountain landscape on a partly cloudy day. (📸 ADVANCE Paragliders)

Terence C. Gannon

@terencecgannon.com

7 months ago

I wrote the first version of this for the New RC Soaring Digest a couple of years ago and thought it was worth a revisit and refresh before this week gets away. | 🛩️ ⚡️ 📡 🪽

terencecgannon.com

Spring Forward

Why I hope the annual switch to daylight savings time is never eliminated.

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

7 months ago

« Autonomous Parafoil Flaring Control System for eVTOL Aircraft » by Stephen Doran, Toufik Souanef and James F. Whidborne, Centre for Aeronautics at Cranfield University published 2025-02-14. Read the complete paper with link. (📸 Authors, NASA) | 🛩️ 🏫 🪽 🥇 | 🔗 www.mdpi.com/3183082/?utm...

A montage of five line drawings of various aspects of parafoil gliding flight, as supplied by the authors of the academic paper which is the subject of this post. In addition to the line drawings, there is a colour photograph of a parafoil in flight and annotated with a number of dimensions. A seventh diagram is a further montage of a rendering and line drawing of an eVTOL aircraft. The washed-out background of the montage is of a parafoil wing in flight over a desert landscape. (📸 Authors, NASA with montage by BluFly)

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

7 months ago

As we have likely said numerous times, we have a real soft spot for old photos of old gliders: another great example is this Hütter Hü 17 captured at Øysand, Norway sometime between 1957 and 1961 by an unknown photographer. (📸 Norsk Luftfartsmuseum) | 🛩️ 🪽 📍 🇳🇴 🥇 | 🧵 1/2

digitaltmuseum.no

Trondheim Fk. Hütter Hü 17 brukt til undervisning av flyelever på Øysand seilflyskole.

Norsk Luftfartsmuseum - Photographer Ukjent

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

8 months ago

What's old is new again in @terencecgannon.com's new 'In The Air' editorial kicking off the month of February, 2025 here at @blufly.media. Also, some significant changes in the social strategy are announced. All that and this exquisite cover photo are in store with the link. | 🛩️ 📡 🪽 📍 🇨🇭 🥇

blufly.media

BluFly 🛩️ | February, 2025

A humans-in-the-loop feed for the aviation community — if made by people and flying up to the Kármán Line you'll find it on BluFly.

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

8 months ago

While we have soft spot for old gliders, we present this more as a periodic reminder of the Library of Congress as a spectacular resource for aviation research, including 'Free to Use' material. Details with link. (📸 Alfred T. Palmer via Library of Congress) | 🛩️ ⚔️ 🪽 🥇 | 🔗 www.loc.gov/resource/fsa...

A bright yellow two-place glider is parked on an airport runway under a cloudless blue sky. Two young men dressed in khaki uniforms stand close to the cockpit. A third man, also dressed in uniform and sitting in a jeep parked in front of the glider, looks back at them. A tow rope connects the jeep and the glider. The leading edge of the wing is silver, as if covered by metal. The number « 4 » is painted in black block letters on the side of the fuselage. The US Army Air Force roundel is painted on the upper surfaces of both wings. A yellow flag is visible in the top-right corner of the frame. The image is from a transparency and therefore has rounded corners and is set on a black background frame. (📸 Alfred T. Palmer via Library of Congress)

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

9 months ago

Okay, this is news to us and perhaps you, too: « FAI Virtual Gliding is thrilled to announce the upcoming FAI eSports Series 2025, a premier virtual racing event that promises adrenaline-packed competition and soaring excitement. » Didn't even know this was a 'thing' but it sounds great. | 🛩️ 🥇 🪽 🖥️ 📅

blufly.media

FAI eSports Series 2025

January 18 — 26, 2025 | Virtual | Planet Earth 🌍

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

9 months ago

Given it's Boxing Day 📦 we wanted to provide a little inspiration for what to do with all the empty ones cluttering up the living room. At least the ones in which the cats aren't sleeping. 🐈 Looks like a good project although we do recommend against scaling it up to crew-carrying size. | 🛩️ 📡 🪽

www.youtube.com

making a HUGE Cardboard Glider

YouTube video by MNda TV

BluFly 🛩

@blufly.media

9 months ago

A new article out of Australia by ABC News. We always think it's interesting to see how aviation is covered by traditional media — quite often it can be sadly deficient. However, reporters Sally-Anne Young and Rachel Holdsworth seemed to do a good job in the concise format afforded them. | 🛩️ 👩🏻‍✈️ 🪽

www.abc.net.au

High-flying women want to shatter aviation's glass ceiling

The sport of gliding is male-dominated, but the women who love it want to see more female pilots in the air and across the aviation industry.