Letters to the Editor
Intellectual property, flight simulators and Daylight Saving Time — the letters we received are eclectic, to say the least.
Glider Patents
It comes as a surprise that the single-most commented series we run is this one! Here’s a representitive sample of what we’ve received in response to last month’s Folding Wing Glider patent which we’ve linked below. — Ed.
This should have never been granted. I published an article in Model Rocketry Magazine about this type of folding wing in 1970, and I was not the originator. Someone had previously done it for F1C free flight piston powered models.
Patent examiners have a really tough job, and this patent was issued pre-internet and pre-Google. It is really unlikely the examiner would have found the published prior art.
Normally, if there was actually money to be made with this, it would get sorted.
Bob Parks
(via Medium Responses)
Does it matter that I was building and flying a version of this concept in the 70s? Interesting that someone was able to patent it.
It is indeed interesting what ends up being patented. I work in another technical field involving marine design and frequently run into patents for concepts that are reasonably obvious to a skilled practitioner.
Having a patent is really only license to litigate the idea.
Craig Funston
(via Facebook Comments)
I built a model with this system in the mid 1980s. It was produced commercially, called the Tantrum. Outer panels of the polyhedral wing were spring loaded with a mechanical release connected to the elevator. It worked OK, but occasionally one panel wouldn’t deploy, and the resulting asymmetrical wing didn’t fly so well! The build was heavier than a normal build as well, so the negatives of this design exceeded the positives.
Andrew DiMizio
(via Instagram Comments)
Condor Club
There’s an active Condor club in the UK — although it’s not geographically limited! It’s called the UK Virtual Soaring Club and we fly tasks at 1400 / 2000 (local time in the UK) on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Details via the Discord channel (linked in Resources, below).
Pop by and say hi and join in. We fly a variety of tasks: ridge, thermal, mixed as well as a mix of glider classes.
Marc Panton (PRV)
Windsor, Berkshire, UK
(via Medium Responses)
Swan Song for Daily Saving Time?
This received in response to the March edition of the In The Air editorial which, oddly, focused on this twice annual ritual. — Ed.
Oh that was a nice walk down memory lane for you! Thanks for sharing! My wife just informed me this might be the last time we experience the time shift. The powers that be are trying end this outdated practice. We just need the States to get on board. It’s amazing to me how one little hour change can really mess me up. Well, for a couple of days at any rate!
Lyle Jeakins
Hamilton, Ontario
(via Medium Responses)
You’re one of our biggest fans, Lyle, and for that we are truly thankful. So far as DST is concerned, you’re right, we’re pretty sure it’s a thing of the past, too. We think The Ed is the last person on Earth who will actually be sad to see it go. — Ed.
Resources
- The UK Virtual Soaring Club on Discord. — General glider and aviation chat, as described in Marc Panton’s letter above.
- Glider Patents | US 4759736 A: Folding Wing Glider in the March, 2023 edition of the New RC Soaring Digest. — “A folding wing hand launch glider having two modes of operation is disclosed. In one mode of operation a portion of the wings are retracted…”
- In The Air | Spring forward by Managing Editor Terence C. Gannon in the March, 2023 edition of the New RC Soaring Digest. — “For the record, I’m firmly in favour of retaining [DST] as-is. But for a very selfish and some would say silly and sentimental reason…”
Send your letter via email to NewRCSoaringDigest@gmail.com with the subject “Letters to the Editor”. Alternatively, you can leave a reply in the Responses section below (that’s the little 💬). We are not obliged to publish any letter we receive and we reserve the right to edit your letter as we see fit to make it suitable for publication. We do not publish letters where the real identity of the author cannot be clearly established.
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