TTC Flexity Outlook on a training run

[Photo of a Bombardier Flexity Outlook in Toronto Transit Commission colours by Vince Pugliese. It was shot on an iPhone and post-processed with Instagram filters. This and other photos can be found on Instagram.]

Vince sent me this photo he took of one of the TTC's new Bombardier Flexity Outlook streetcars on a training run. The Toronto Star reports that the first vehicles will enter regular service on the TTC's Spadina line later this summer on 31August. 

Amtrak to New York City

A couple of weeks ago I went to New York City via Amtrak from Albany. That’s the train at Albany station waiting for us to board. The trip was on time, and the staff were friendly and efficient. Overall, quite a pleasant experience, and I’d certainly do it again.

New York: buildings, buildings and more buildings. An urban model builder’s paradise. On this trip I happened to be near the retro-70s-futuristic Solow Building - shown in the photo above - located at 9 West 57th Street. I had never seen it up close before. Amazing. Some rough calculations suggest an N scale model would stand around 1.8 m tall. In HO? I’d need to buy a new, and much taller, house! Clearly, some selective compression would be in order to build something suitable for a model railroad.

New York City’s Penn Station. Busy doesn’t begin to describe it, but again, it seems efficient. We didn’t experience problems or delays. One odd railroad related thing I saw underground as our train approached the platform was a rustic, old flat car parked on a siding whose markings clearly said ‘Rio Grande’. We zoomed past before I was able to snap a picture. It seemed like an out of place time traveller.

Eagle Spacecraft Models, meet the Balsa Disk Fliers

[Cover image of Eagle Book of Spacecraft Models sourced from John Guy Collick]

Vince sent me a link to a review of a most excellent old book published in 1960 called Eagle Book of Spacecraft Models by Ray Maimstrom. I’m a sucker for these sorts of old-school model building books. I searched and found it for sale at an online reseller, and although it’s a little pricey for me, the seller had a photo of this interior page describing  how to build a free-flying model airplane in the shape of a ‘Martian Flying Saucer’.

[Sourced from an ad at Abe books; won't say which one as I might still buy it :-) ]

I immediately flashed back to some posts at my now defunct blog, retroDynamics, about some simple disk-wing hand-launched gliders I made some years ago from balsa wood and styrofoam. They won’t go to Mars :-) but they’re good for some pleasant backyard fun. For a change of pace, here are the old posts:

13 April 2009

Circular Wing Glider

I’ve been reading about airplanes with circular planform wings, and building some simple flying models, for a year or so. Hopefully I can write more about them in the future, but, thusly inspired, I built this very simple balsa glider back in January.

The wing has a diameter of 6 inches. The mass of the glider, less the nose weight, is 10 grams; the clay nose weight adds 3 grams and puts the balance point ahead of the wing’s quarter-chord.

It flew fairly well. For awhile. I launched it from the back deck of the house by pitching it high over the snow drifts piled up in the backyard. During construction I had inadvertently glued a small twist into the tail fin - which I couldn’t quite twist back out - which caused the glider to turn to the right, sail over the 8 foot side-yard fence, and crash against a wall of my neighbour’s house precipitously close to her kitchen window. Luckily no damage was done and I was able to inconspicuously retrieve the plane without having to explain to her, or my wife, why a man of my age was assaulting her house with a toy glider.

That was the last flight. The raw balsa had absorbed a lot of snow and the whole thing warped too much to be flyable after that. That and the impact on the nose-weight snapped the canard from the fuselage. Now that summer is almost here I’d like to try and build a few more of these; some from foam as well as balsa.

21 July 2010
First flight of a disk-wing glider with a K-F step

I tried flying this disk wing glider with a Kline-Fogleman step in the backyard last evening after the wind had died down.

The disk has a diameter of 6 inches and the total mass of the glider is 5.5 grams. A paper-clip attached to the nose was used to place the centre-of-mass a bit ahead of the quarter-chord.

Synopsis: It felt too light when it left my hand, veered in a large arc to the left, crashed into a tree, and broke off the canard.

I clumsily tried to glue the canard back on with super-glue - it was originally attached just with white glue which was no doubt why it broke off ! - but, I got the alignment all wrong. I decided to call it quits for the evening, and spend a little quality time some other day on fixing the plane.

I did try to fly it immediately after the crash without the canard. It didn’t flip end-over-end, just made a short and graceful arc to the ground.

17 August 2010

Trimmed flight of the K-F disc glider

I fixed-up the broken KF disk-wing glider and gave it another try. The wing and canard were re-glued with a thick super-glue, and the balancing clay mass was moved all the way forward to the nose. Total mass is now 8 grams. The centre-of-mass is about halfway between the leading edge of the disk and the trailing-edge of the canard.

I flew it a little in the backyard to get the trim worked out before trying to fly it in a larger field. This way I can run down to the workshop to easily fix things if needed. I shot a short video of some of the backyard test flights, but for some reason I couldn't get them uploaded, so some imagination is required at this point :-) The glider was launched from roughly 5 feet above the ground, and it flew for about 22 paces before crashing. It seemed surprisingly resilient and didn’t break or distort after a few fly-and-crash sessions.

I think the model has a lot of drag, the canard is getting a bit beat-up from a few crashes and re-glues, and the disk is probably too thick for such a small wing and low-speeds. Anyway, I’ll try flying it in a larger field before starting to build another variation.

19 August 2010

Disk wing glider without K-F step

This glider is the same basic size as the one with the K-F step. I took it out to the backyard to get it trimmed for flights in a bigger field.

The centre-of-mass is just a little bit ahead of the disk's leading edge, and the total mass is around 6 grams.

Once trimmed, it seems to fly ok - well, I know that isn't too quantitative :-) I think it flies a little worse than the one with the K-F step, but this too isn't based on any quantitative. I need to devise some sort of test that would demonstrate what sort of effect the K-F step does have.

19 March 2012

Unfinished: Disk wing glider with curved K-F step

Back in 2010 I was playing around with disk wing gliders and one that had a Kline-Fogleman step. I made up some parts for a variant that had a curved step, but never got around to gluing the pieces together. I thought the model with the K-F step flew better than one without, but that was just a feeling and never proven. I need to get out the glue and give this one a try.

I checked around my workbench and those pieces are still there - maybe a summer project.

…showing results for: El Moore…

[The El Moore Apartment Building in Detroit. Image sourced from DetroitYES]

Sometimes Google search really outdoes itself. While searching on E L Moore some days ago, it returned links and images to an amazing, but now down-on-its-luck, apartment building located in midtown Detroit called the El Moore. As you can see from that photo of the façade it has the signature vibe of a potential E. L. Moore build. A 2012 post at curbed Detroit says it’s under renovation by new owners and might be finished by 2016. dETROITfUNK also has some excellent photos. I hope all goes well with the renovation and it gets restored to its former glory.

Broadview, Saskatchewan, 1944

C.P.R. Dominion No. 3. At Broadview, Saskatchewan, at 5 P.M., Feb. 22, 1944; photo and annotation by William Henry Wood.

The C.P.R. No. 3 At Broadview, Sask, Going West on Feb. 22, 1944; photo and annotation by William Henry Wood.