<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">It was called the electrostatic autopilot. Don experimented with it in the late1970s. It would level the wings just fine, but didn’t work very well on the model’s pitch axis, because a conventional model's engine exhaust messed up the sensor in the tail. I donated my Ascender (a canard design that had an engine in the rear) to the project when I left Dayton in 1979. Don successfully experimented with the electrostatic autopilot, using pitch and roll stabilization with the Ascender after I left.<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Ron</div><div class=""><br class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Jan 28, 2016, at 1:42 PM, Jon Lowe via NSRCA-discussion <<a href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org" class="">nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><p dir="ltr" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="">My Dad tested the static electricity autopilot extensively as part of his Air Force RPV project in the 70s. Uses the radium (I think) source from smoke detectors. It is a real thing. The atmosphere has constant static lines above the ground and detectors at the wingtips sensed them and leveled the airplane in roll. Pitch was problematic when placing detectors fore and aft as I recall, because of propwash disturbing/creating static electricity. You have to remember that gyros were the only other form of stabilization, long before the ultra cheap rate sensors that are in every smart phone. A cheap stabilization system was really desirable. Heck, even in the late 90s, cheap stabilization was non- existant. We were looking for one for a missile program I was managing. Sensors from car airbags looked promising, and led to the current sensors, but didn't mature in time for our system.</p><p dir="ltr" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="">Jon</p><br style="font-family: ArialMS; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><br style="font-family: ArialMS; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><div class="device_aol_et_org_dt_dd_quote" style="font-family: ArialMS; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"></div><hr style="font-family: ArialMS; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; height: 1px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(153, 153, 153); width: 1287px; margin: 0px 0px 9px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: ArialMS; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);" class="">On Thursday, January 28, 2016 Phil Spelt via NSRCA-discussion <<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 160);" class=""><a href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class="">nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org</a></span>> wrote:</span><br style="font-family: ArialMS; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><br style="font-family: ArialMS; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><div id="AOLMsgPart_1.2_383faa7d-ee81-4283-ac71-ef738ca5c854" style="font-family: ArialMS; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><div class="aolReplacedBody"><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;" class=""><div class="">Jay,</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">"<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" class="">static electricity autopilot</span>" -- does that use a "flux capacitor" to function?<br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Where do you get 3-lead battery packs for your Kraft radios? I have an ancient 40-sized pattern plane ARF (a Dennis Hunt Zimpro kit) called a Capri which strongly resembles a 40-sized pattern plane I had in the early 80's. It was my first plane with retracts (Kraft electric ones!) which I want to fly with the same Kraft radio I used in that plane.<br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class=""></span><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"><div style="text-align: center;" class=""><div style="text-align: left;" class=""><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"><span style="color: rgb(139, 139, 139);" class=""><span style="font-size: 13px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11px;" class=""><span style="font-size: 10px;" class=""><em class=""><strong class=""><span style="font-size: 14px;" class="">Phil Spelt, KCRC Emeritus<br class="">AMA 1294, Scientific Leader Member<br class="">SPA L-18, Board Member<br class="">(865) 435-1476v (865) 604-0541c</span></strong><strong class=""><br class=""></strong></em></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"></span></span></span></span></span></div></span></span></span></span></span><span class=""></span><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="begin_alto_quote"></div><hr id="zwchr" class=""></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></body></html>