Daryl Soars

2011-02-27T16:33:00.000-08:00

Ya know, I've won a lot of comps, cool trophies, plaques, etc... but none are as meaningful to me as this one. Mike Verzuh, the 2010 US F3J team manager, awarded this to me at this past competition in Phoenix. It's basically a performance recognition award for this past world championship win - something I actually get to keep. (We have to give the World Champ trophy back at the next world champs - it''s perpetual).

Thanks to the US team, FAI, AMA, LSF, and all the glider guiders and supporters out there. It's been a great ride - I've been places, seen things, made friends, that I never would have experienced without soaring.

Thank you to you all - it's been a great ride!!!

J in the Desert

2011-02-21T07:12:00.001-08:00

Well, looks like F3J is gaining popularity in the states. J in the Desert filled up in the first 5 hours after opening registration last year. The comp was this weekend, and came off REALLY well, was a ton of fun, rewarded short tows and smart flying, and early morning 15's took a toll on some top flyers with the "wrong" model.

On a personal note - I flew my ass off. I dropped all of 0.58 points out of 9000. (My throwout was a 997.xx) Hit 5 out of 10 100's in some turbulent and tough landing conditions. I made a few mistakes, but was able to fly my way out of them with some spectacular low level saves. On one occasion, after a one second tow in the wind, I went way downwind... but chickened out, and didn't get all the way to the thermal, so had to come back through the schmeg (technical term), only to work a thermal just on the other side of the treeline, BELOW the treeline. The thermal was completely chopped up by the treeline. Had to climb enough (in LOUSY air) to get over the trees to a very slightly stronger and less chopped up thermal, all at about 15 feet with 7 or so minutes to go.... I don't think I was over 100 ft at any point during the entire flight.... While everybody finds low level saves spectacular, I consider this flight a failure. I exercised bad judgement, and I'm never happy when I have to save my ass low level. But pulling it off was damn cool... ;-)

After the intensity of the J comp, the SWC was completely anti-climactic. It's nice to see the quick growth and enthusiasm for the much more fun J format. (Over US yawn style TD)

The planes showing the most promise - Icon 2, Aspire, Exploder 4000. I don't believe there is a perfect all around plane. You need a quick tow model for flyoffs, an all around model for longer but slightly quick tows, and a model for the very early morning flights (span span span/light light light)

GO J!!!!!!!!

RES??? Holy Crap!!!

2011-01-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

Ok... now I've gone and done it... Picked up an AVA Pro. The craftsmanship on this thing is just unbelievable. Very nicely done - Kudos to Barry and Vladimir. Should have it built by the end of the weekend... flight reports soon.

Let's hope 2011 gets better

2010-12-16T08:44:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a tough year for all of us. Well... at least for me. I apologize for not updating my site, or keeping up to date on my blogging. I had all kinds of personal drama, work drama, and even toy airplane drama... I want to say that, things are looking up for 2011. I've got some business opportunities that are showing some promise. I've got interested parties in a few of my newer model designs. Can't talk about them yet, but they're cool. And there is even renewed interest in getting the Stalker completed. It's amazing what happens when you win a little contest...

Happy Holidays to all of you!!! Wishing you the best in 2011!!!

Merry Christmas ...and new stuff....

2009-12-28T19:17:00.001-08:00

Well guys, I have to apologize I've been so quiet, but this real job thing really gets in the way. So many great and new things since I last posted - the Icon 2 is simply amazing. And the SD10G - Wow!!!!!!!!!! The US team is pretty talented this cycle. Look for a podium finish out of the team. The Junior team - Brendan is almost too good. Connor and Mikey will back him up well. Again, look for a podium or gold out of these kids.

I've been spending some time on the I2. It's so stable, my tendency is to get it too slow to really shove the nose over on landing (the necessary abusive stick without a skeg), that I've been doing some things I really don't believe in. In an effort to have more authority when slow, I've put a bit of expo in the model in pitch, and CRANKED UP the throw. It still feels the same around center, but at the end of my stick movement I've got so much more authority. I'm already landing better after only 1 short session. I would never do this for a slope racer, or for F3B, but for a steer and stab contest.... it allows me to get the model slower on approach, and still be able to stick it. J is all about the landing these days....

The word is in from Barry - there will be no Stalker. I'm pretty angry, and upset about it. It cost me a lot of hard cash to get the CAD work done, not to mention the 4 or 5 years of development time. I don't know if I can improve on the design, I REALLY believe in that model, but I will have something new soon. It will be different - maybe better, but certainly no worse. And I can't use the name. Too bad, Stalker's such a great name for a DP model.

Who's got an idea for a name? It has to have attitude. I'm leaning towards Diablo. But I'm not sold on it. I like having an "S" in the name. In that case, Satan works... but might put some people off. Let me know if you have any ideas - post them here, or send them to my email. Dp@darylperkins.com .

Have a safe and sane New Years. You guys be safe....

Real job/Real airplane

2009-01-24T14:16:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I'm a real pilot. My new job will allow me to fly their plane to and from some of our various offices. The great thing is... I get to pick the plane. I've been working on the owner, and since I am a long time fan of Lancairs, used to own one, and since he rode in mine a few years ago.... we are now looking at IV-P's.

Can you say 280 KTAS???? I knew that ya could...

That'll take some time off my trip to Muncie... ;-)

Stalker news

2009-01-24T14:11:00.001-08:00

I had a long chat with Barry. I am very happy to announce that the Stalker will happen. He and I had a mis-communication that has since been addressed. I do apologize for the wait, some things are just out of our control.

In the meantime, I will be campaigning the Icon 2 from Don Peters/Maple Leaf design. Ya just gotta love span!!!

Real job vs/soaring addiction

2009-01-18T19:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys! I didn't mean to leave ya hangin... This real job thing has really gotten in the way of my soaring addiction.... a necessary evil unfortunately... but it is going to be a good thing for me. While I won't have much freedom to fly toys, I will have access to a full scale plane to assist me in getting around to manage some of our remote offices. Soooo... at least I'll be in the air.

I'm trying to get them to look at a Cirrus, but they seem to be stuck on an A-36, and now the owner is making noises about a twin. As I wouldn't have to pay for fuel while on company business, a nice Cessna 421 would be nice, but then, I wouldn't be able to afford to borrow it... so I'm pushing for the Cirrus. We'll know more in a few weeks.

Up and coming contest season:

I've flown the Supra pretty exclusively for the past couple of seasons. There is absolutely nothing that touches it in the air... its launch performance is outstanding... its light air performance unmatched.... but it never fit my landing style, and I'm just too old and stuck in my ways to relearn how to land. Many of you land the Supra very well. Bob McGowan won the Masters with it for Christ's sake, so it certainly works, just not for me...

Anyways..... Looks like I may be flying a new model for the season, at least until the Stalker is done. You all know what a freak I am for span... well, there's not really anything out there that'll beat a Supra in the air... except maybe .... a bigger Supra. Can you say Icon 2? What's drawn me to the model is the span, and, more importantly, the flap span. Now I know the model had some issues when it was first released, but Don Peters has retooled the fuse... added some nose moment, and gotten rid of the outsourced tailboom and is molding the entire fuse in one piece. He can now control tailboom flex... Oh, and did I mention he's made a larger stab for the model? If all goes well, expect to see me maidening mine at the SWC.

How does all this affect the development of the Stalker? Right now, I'm not real sure. Barry is understandably not real happy about it. He owns the Stalker. I believe in the Stalker, and I have told him I still want to work with him on the development. He, of course, may choose to go a different way. It really would be a shame to let it die... I expect it to be the next generation in contest sailplane performance...

V-Tails suck!!!

2009-01-04T09:38:00.001-08:00

I get asked a lot of questions. Sometimes privately, sometimes publicly posted, but I try to respond to the best of my ability. This was my response to a question on RC Groups from a long time slope guy in reference to V-tails for open class thermal duration:

Nice to see you learning all you can about this TD stuff. You slope guys starting to fly TD.... there goes the neighborhood.

The V tail for duration question is one that has been around a long long time. There are many schools of thought... and... naturally... I've got my own opinion... and of course... mine is the only right one. The fact of the matter is, V-tails are cool, they're sexy, and a V-tail is a compromise. If the V is sized to be correct in pitch, it will be undersized in yaw. If it's sized more towards yaw, it will be oversized in pitch. Not that far off in either direction... certainly flyable... but a compromise none the less. The typical trend is to optimize the V-tail for the correct pitch feel, and live with the adverse yaw issues generated as we get slow and hang it on the wing.

The main problem shows up in contest flying, not so much due to the V-tail, but due to the articulated, and not full flying, stab. Most people tend to land with almost full flap deflection. That means that the elevator is in a full compensation mode, with not much authority left to push over with. I've seen many pilots fly right over the spot with their V-tail equipped model, push full down on the elevator stick, and start this big slow gentle arc towards the earth, barely missing their shins, but certainly missing their landing... they then look at their timer, then down at their transmitter, back at their timer as they wave their arms up in the air, wrongly proclaiming... "I had nothing" (This is a problem with any model with an articulated stab - t-tail, cross-tail... V-tail.) The full flying cross tail gets around the pilot's bad habit, with a much more linear response, even if already in full compensation mode.

This can all be overcome by creating good landing habits. Don't land with your flaps down... I can't remember the last time I broke a flap servo, but that's not why I do it. With the flaps down, the model will stay more buoyant at the slow speed, and if not stuck hard, will float a bit more, even along the ground, and will yield inconsistent landing scores. Close and push all at the same time.... that gets rid of all sorts of problems... and will even allow you to utilize that sexy V. Sure worked for Feigl...

Happy New Year Soar Addicts!!!

2008-12-31T08:20:00.000-08:00

Well guys and gals,

2008 is almost over. That's ok... it's been a pretty tough year for a lot of us. The economy is in the crapper, nest egg's are gone, and most importantly (I know it's been a big concern for you all)... my contest performance sucked. I only won 1 major this year. Finished 6th in the World Champs... most would be happy with that... yeah... well... not me. That's the spot I deserved. I need to shoot a few million more landings before going back if I want to win. Those Europeans get to fly 2-3 F3J comps a month... tough to compete with. But... I know I can take 'em... I underestimated them.

2009 will bring a lot of positives in my personal life. I start a new job right after the first of the year.... I'll be getting my pilot's license current again. It's just not right me not flying.... Looks like the Stalker will FINALLY go into production.... Airtronics new 10 channel is only months away...

I plan on being much more accessible this year. I'll try to make the Nats this year. Team selects will be the number 1 priority. And I'll be at Visalia for sure. Hopefully I can take the company plane... ;-)

Green Air!!!

dp