The Hawk (Vulture)
The Hawk is really a model of a Turkey Vulture, but will be referred to as the Hawk because Hawks are more elegant than Vultures.
The Hawk belongs to Arthur Markiewicz of considerable soaring fame. He is usually the first to fly and the last to land. According to Arthur, it is a time consuming project to produce one and they are quite fragile. Control is by moveable feathers on the wing tips for roll control and a moveable tail for pitch and directional control. Arthur usually flies his at the Torrey Pines Glider Port (Torrey Pines Cliff) located in La Jolla, CA about 300 feet above the Pacific Ocean. The Hawk frequently gets the attention of Gulls and Pelicans as they cruise by the cliff.
Arthur brought the Hawk to the 2008 CASL SWC contest in Phoenix this year (2008). The Hawk was strapped to Don Richmond's electric AVA for a trip to an altitude of about 1200 feet where it was released and started a desert soaring adventure. Here are a few pictures showing the event.
The pictures were taken by John Hart with an Olympus E-3.. Thanks John.
The Hawk has been attached to the carrier mounted on the wing of the AVA E. The battery has been installed and the nose cone will be held in place with the mounting screw. The AVA E is powered by a Hacker B50 6S motor through a Hacker 125 Master controller. Power is provided by a Neu 5000 Mah 2 cell Lipo.
All systems are go and Arthur is ready to launch the Hawk/AVA E. Note "feathers" on the wing tips for roll control.
The Hawk in under way! The Hacker motor has plenty of power to get the load to altitude in about 45 seconds. All up weight is estimated at 90 ounces.
Climbing nicely! Notice the camera was able to stop the 20 x 12 prop in mid-rotation.
Hawk has separated from the "mother ship". The Hawk is held in place with two rubber bands that are released by actuation of a servo. The Hawk flies off the platform nicely missing the rudder by a an inch or so.
Soon after separation from the AVA, the Hawk was accosted by a few real buzzards. They did a close fly by but then one became a bit more Curious.
The model is the one on the left with the light colored under wings. It looked for a moment like the real bird might attack the importer, but it did not happen. The Hawk soared for about 15 minutes on various thermals before making a perfect landing behind the winches. Thanks Arthur for great demonstration.
If you would like more information, Arthur can be reached at amarkie@pacbell.net.
If you would like more information about the AVA E contact me at hilaunch@aol.com