Mike Couts after the first high flight! Sept 30, 2001

Our story follows:

Nov 21, 2001

Note posted on the Soaring Newsgroup by Mike Couts:
rec.aviation.soaring

The soaring season in Ohio has come to an end.
The summer has been a mixed bag of fun and work.
I was given the joyfull task of acting as test pilot for
the new Carbon Monarch, as well as further testing
of the model F and G Monarchs and the Pioneer 2 D.

The many hours of hard work have resulted in a great deal
of new knowledge and understanding toward the flying
wing concept. The Carbon Monarch construction was a
fantastic and rewarding experience. The result was a true
ultralight sailplane that performs beyond my wildest dreams.
The handling is superb and the soaring ability so good that
all I usually have to do is desire to stay up, and it happens.

This past weekend some further testing of the glass model G
was began. More forward sweep, and a new windsheild.

The P2D has been put back in the trailer and will go into
the shop this week for a good series of modifications that
include airfoil profiling, tip extentions, and an in-flight
adjustable C of G system. The testing of the Monarch
this summer proved that the gains of the C of G system
will be more than worth the effort.

The Pioneer has proven to be a real gem in the rough.
Many areas of this sailplane need redone to bring it up
to my liking, but it will be worth the effort.

As for me personaly, I don't have any financial interest in
Marske Flying wings, except for a share in the Pioneer.
I gladly give my time toward the Marske efforts. I believe
in the "wing". Jim Marske and Mat Redsell are doing
something that I feel is cutting edge and I'm proud to be a part
of it. As for my flying experiance, I have flown all types of
model aircraft for the last thirty or so years, held a national
record, and over the years gained a keen sence of picking
out those things in this world that REALLY work.

My "full scale" soaring got started after watching Jim soar
his old reliable yellow and red Monarch. I joined the local
soaring club in the spring of 99, soloed that September,
and earned my private glider in the early spring of 2000.
All becauseI wanted to be a part of the Marske Wing.
In the last two years I have made and been a part of hundreds of
soaring and test flights.

Steve Davis stated that there two kinds of pilots:
Those that haven't flown a Marske flying wing
and those that have.

I'm proud to be in the later group.

And Steve, if you really think it takes 15,000 ft of runway to
land a Pioneer, please visit us, I will fly, you can operate
the tape measure.

Mike Couts

Flying the Monarch and Pioneer by Robert Mudd as posted on the Soaring newsgroup.

21 Nov 2001
From: robertmudd1u@aol.comnojunk (Robertmudd1u)
rec.aviation.soaring

Last Sunday I got to fly both the Monarch G and Pioneer 2d. I want to pass on
my impressions. You can call this an advert or a public service, the choice is
up to you, but given the interest in the subject on the news group I felt it
should be posted here rather than on Matt's web site.

If you have a chip on your shoulder about flying wings in general and Matt
Redsell in particular you might want to stop here as this missive contains
nothing negative about either. I am not employed by Marske Flying wings and
have no financial interest there in.

On Sunday I made three flights in the Monarch, and having flown the F model I
was looking forward to this G version. For the first two flights I had ballast
in the nose and I felt that the c.g. was too far forward. I could not get a "g"
break at the stall, only a controllable mush and a bit of pitch bucking. I did
note that the handling was far more crisp, solid, than in the earlier version
and this was a welcome improvement. The third flight was more enjoyable, the
ballast weight was out and the glider had more elevator authority. It would
stall but it was a very mild and easy to control event. I can probably move the
c.g. back a bit farther. There was no lift to explore and from a 900 ft.a.g.l.
release height the flights did not last long. A windshield was fitted and it
did a good job of making the flight comfortable as long as you stayed
coordinated, if not you got ear buffet, telling you to push rudder in that
direction, sort of step on your ear for coordination. I still think the roll
rate needs to be improved a bit but given the speeds at which the Monarch flies
that may be a difficult task to accomplish. Matt has some trick he uses to
inhance the roll but I did not try it. I was always looking for someone on the
ground that I could yell down to but never did see anyone, all part of the fun
of flying low and slow. The flights were quite enjoyable and I look forward to
flying in connective air next time.

Flying a Pioneer has been of interest to me ever since I read Rick Apgar's
article in Soaring about 30 years ago. As Matt has said the one I flew is not a
good example of the homebuilders art. Each wing has its own unique angle of
incidence, but the resulting roll has been mostly eliminated by some crude,
make work, aerodynamic fixes. I wondered how all that would affect flying
qualities.
The launch was by air tow off the sod but I should have launched off the hard
surface for a smother lift off. The rough ground makes you want to lift the
tiny nose wheel off as soon as possible and that leads to over rotation.
However once off the ground the tow proceeded smoothly. Holding position was
easy in the smooth air that was the result of a very high-pressure air mass.
The tow system uses a bridal adapter that hooks in at the wing root just aft of
the leading edge. This provided a perfectly normal tow. I am recommending that
a traditional Tost nose hook be installed, I see no reason why that will not
work.

Once off tow a few turns showed the handling to be entirely normal. Next time I
fly I'll do a Zacher profile but for now I have only impressions and memories.
The stall exhibited the same characteristic that the Genesis has. I had thought
that it was unique to the Genesis airfoil but now I think it may be common to
reflexed airfoils. When doing a more aggressive stall than the standard
1kt/second deceleration the "g" break occurs almost in slow motion, the pitch
down rate and the resulting nose down angle are not what you would expect given
the nose high attitude at the break. It is not a mush, the nose does drop but
it drops, by comparison to a conventional glider, slowly and not nearly as far.
The nose down acceleration seems normal for a relatively clean glider.

When approaching the stall slowly and with not as high an angle the glider
gives plenty of buffet warning of what is to come, you hear and feel the air
flow separation, the glider mushes in a very controllable wings level attitude.
However, based on the sounds of separation, I think it takes a more than
expected reduction of the angle of attack to re-attach the airflow that is
close to the fuselage. This may be the result of the condition of the
wing/fuselage junction as my Genesis does not exhibit this. In fact the glider
generates a lot of cockpit noise, a sure sign that some serious clean up work
is needed. No spin entries were attempted. The landing pattern and touch down
were non-events; I made a smooth touchdown despite being a bit nervous on the
stick.

I followed the two seat Grob around for a while while in the Pioneer and did
not lose much to him. The top and bottom surface spoilers are not very
effective, I think because the air just passes through the hole in the wing,
there is no close out panel in the spoiler box. Both gliders are very sensitive
to c.g. location, but flying off the optimum location seems to present no
problems.

The most expressed comment from the many European pilots I let fly my Genesis
during 1999 was, "It flies normal" sometimes said with more than a hint of
wonder. That is how I would describe the Pioneer, and yes I do fly conventional
tailed gliders on a regular basis. My comment to Matt and Mike was "I see a lot
of potential." It is going to be very interesting to see what evolves from the
modifications to this airframe.

Robert Mudd

Nov 20, 2001.

We all flew the Pioneer a number of times and have now put it away for the rebuild this winter. The recorded L/d was about 29:1 in its very rough condition. Robert Mudd had the last flight... and his comment "this glider has potential!" Theoretical predictions with a 15 meter wing are for 120 feet per min sink and and l/d of about 35.Watch for our rebuild!

November 11, 2001.

Another fine day of flying! The thermals where very hard to find and very uneven lift but Mike and Mat each had flights of about 30 minutes each. We have moved the CG back to about 5.5" from the level ground to the bottom of the fuselage at the tail. Mike and I both noticed a decrease in the sink rate and airspeed. Next flights we will put the CG back further.

Mike preparing for the first flight of the day. Mike used a palm pilot computer and his GPS to get a data logger and we have the trace of both our flights. Paul Wolfe tow pilot said how easy the Pioneer was to tow. He said the climb rate was excellent with the Pioneer in tow.

November 6, 2001

Douglas Carpenter and Jim Marske with the Pioneer after Mat's flight.

What a relief... the gaps seals where not buzzing... there was still a very small buzz when the right rudder pedal was pushed hard.... have to think about that one! The shift rearward of the CG was noticable right on launch ... it went up on the main wheel then took off easily. The control on tow also seemed much improved. Upon release I slowed to an indicated 40mph the airfoil just started to burble... then I raced it to about 90mph.....It picks up speed quite easily and at 90 mph you have a feeling of still having quite a good L/D. I thermalled and noticed a very good climb rate. I can't wait for Mike to try it.... and thinking that to myself I took another flight just for him....I then tried to get the log person to bill it to him... someone didn't buy that!!... it was for Mike ......but when I phoned him he said he would rather try it for himself... well I tried! This glider tracks so well I could put my feet on the floor and not bother with the rudder. The differential in the ailerons works well! OK where from here? I need to get as much time as possible in this glider before we rebuild the wings. It does fly differently from any other glider I have flown... and I must say that it is the most enjoyable glider I have ever flown... even in its rather poor condition. There is great potential with this glider!

November 5, 2001.
Mat did a 3000 ft tow to test the gap seals, cg and annoying left turn. The gaps seal was a failure... it just buzzed. After flying for a time he did feel that Mike was right that the CG should move back. The left rurn was certainly much better... but that perhaps a small adjustment o nthe upper surfacxe on the right wing would prove more effective. The old gap seal was removed and a heavier cloth put in ready for flying on november 6th.

Oct 29, 2001. Mike flew Oct 28th for about 30 minutes. It was a rather bumpy day with very little full 360 degree lift. Mike found an anoying buzz in the rudder area which created a lot of noise. The left turn is somewhat helped by the tab on the underside of the left wing. Mat put the gap seals back on with a curature to stop the buzzing of the mylar against the rudder.

Mat flew a 3000 ft tow on Monday in calm conditions on Oct 29, 2001 with Jim Marske assisting. While under tow the left turn is still there but less prominent. The buzz was still there though and a later inspection turned up the problem. The calm air was fantastic....a great landing, in about 100 ft. Those spoilers really work well below speeds of 55 mph.

Really cannot wait for tomorrows flying!

.

Oct 28, 2001. The weather has been cold and wet not allowing us to do much flying so we did a few modifications. To get rid of the left turn Mike Couts suggested putting a piece of trailing edge backwards glued to the underside of the left wing. this will casue a slight lifting of the wing... at least on his models! Mat felt the ailerons where a little stiff so a new hole was drilled in the elevator arm and the ailerons are now easier with more stick travel.

Mat flew his first soaring flight Oct. 20, 2001.

I wanted to fly the Pioneer in rather calm conditions but the day was drawing to a close and if I didn't get off soon I was not going to fly. So I walked back to the hangar and got out the Pioneer. Robert Mudd gave me a tow to the glider field and then helped launch me from the hard surface.

The take off was uneventful, the glider left the ground when it was ready. The low level turbulence bothered me at first since the rudder reacts differently when the ship is on a short bridle. In a post flight discussion with Jim Marske he recommended a longer bridle, so I made a 25 foot long bridle for our next flight.

Mike had reported that while on tow if one delayed responding to the tow ship going up one had to use an exaggerated pull back on the elevator to climb back up with the tow plane. I did not find this to be the case but I will admit that I flew a lower tow than usual at first. Once above the turbulence the glider was easily managed but I did notice the turn to the left which made me uncomfortable.

Upon releasing it became immediately apparent that the Pioneer is a remarkable design with a tremendous potential. Jim Marske was way ahead of his time when he designed the Pioneer in the 1970's as his answer to the 1-26. In lowering the nose just a small amount the Pioneer picks up speed very quickly which is unlike any other glider I have flown. At speeds of 80 indicated the sink rate was still very low and the glider seems totally at ease except for that nagging left turn. I flew with the Grob 103 in the same thermal and easily out climbed it: I next tried slow flight to under 40 mph indicated but did not attempt a full stall. There was no wing dropping... which to most people would seem unusual for a wing with no washout, but that is one of the wonderful things about a straight or forward swept wings.

The Pioneer has upper and lower surface spoilers. Mike had reported that they where relatively ineffective but I knew better... yes ! at speeds below 60 indicated they where quite effective! The key to using the spoilers is not being too fast on final. Mike had warned me that at speeds above 60 mph the spoilers created quite a noticeable vibration when partially opened which I confirmed. On this particular wing the spoiler pans are missing which may contribute to this effect. I lined the Pioneer up for a landing on the numbers but since that was going to be so far from my truck I just closed the spoilers and went about a half mile in ground effect at a 3 ft. altitude which I found very surprising.

Another area of difficulty for flying wings is having a wheel brake. If you use the wheel with the nose off the ground the use of the brake slams the nose on the ground: the trick is to use the elevator to push the nose skid on the ground then apply the wheel brake: it works just fine!

This glider is very reminiscent of the Monarch and is noticeably different from other tailed gliders and the potential for high performance is very real! How the soaring public has missed out on this gem is beyond me! -mat

Oct. 7, 2001. Anyone doubting the performance of the Pioneer should talk with Mike Couts. He did the first thermal flights.....a flight of about 2 hours in very demanding conditions.... the only problem he had was that the foot warmer was malfunctioning and he ended his flight with freezing feet!... but his praise of the pioneer just would not stop!! I tried catching him in the thermal with the 103 Grob and could not even come close... he did two circles for every one of mine and stayed well above...... in a straight run he never came down to our level, even after turning a 360 to allow us to catch up! What surprises me is that Jim designed this glider as his answer to the 1-26 and in the comparison to the1-26... as Phil the owner of the 1-26 says.... in the straight out run with the Pioneer, the 1-26 just fell out of the sky!

	Mike over-flying us in the Grob 103 before heading home to unfreeze his feet and get his smile muscles back to normal.
	The Pioneer in the straight out run .Oct 7, 2001
	Chasing the Pioneer at 5400 msl, Mike Couts pilot. Oct 7, 2001
	The Pioneer at 5200 msl, pilot Mike Couts suffering from frozen feet and in grave danger of exploding his bladder!
	Mike is actually waving in this picture!

Sept 30, 2001. The day finally arrived after nearly 250 hours of work.. we autotowed the glider and then Mike elected to do the first high tow.

	Mike getting ready for the flight
	The Landing wtih upper and lower spoilers.

Pioneer travels and rework prior to Sept 30, 2001

Designer:
Jim Marske

Phone :(740)-223-3550
Marske Flying Wings
c/o Marion Industrial Center
3007 Harding Higway East
Marion ,OH, 43302