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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Many year ago a good friend, Jim Duckworth, gave me one of those autopilots. He had used it for a program with the Georgia Agriculture Dept folks trying to build and fly what essentially was a crop duster. It never worked out. But I finally asked the AMA museum if they wanted it and they accepted it. I have not seen it on display but its there for anyone who would like to ask about it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>John<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> NSRCA-discussion [mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces@lists.nsrca.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Ronald Van Putte via NSRCA-discussion<br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, January 28, 2016 1:52 PM<br><b>To:</b> General pattern discussion<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [NSRCA-discussion] F3A Championships circa 1971<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>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.<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Ron<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Jan 28, 2016, at 1:42 PM, Jon Lowe via NSRCA-discussion <<a href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org">nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'>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.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'>Jon<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"ArialMS","serif"'><br style='orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><br></span><o:p></o:p></p><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:6.75pt;text-align:center'><hr size=1 width=1287 style='width:965.25pt' noshade style='color:#999999' align=center></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.75pt'><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"ArialMS","serif";color:#999999'>On Thursday, January 28, 2016 Phil Spelt via NSRCA-discussion <</span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"ArialMS","serif";color:#0000A0'><a href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org"><span style='color:purple'>nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org</span></a></span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"ArialMS","serif";color:#999999'>> wrote:</span><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"ArialMS","serif"'><br style='orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;word-spacing:0px'><br></span><o:p></o:p></p><div id="AOLMsgPart_1.2_383faa7d-ee81-4283-ac71-ef738ca5c854"><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.75pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Jay,<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.75pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.75pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>"</span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>static electricity autopilot</span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>" -- does that use a "flux capacitor" to function?<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.75pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.75pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.75pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.75pt'><strong><i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#8B8B8B'>Phil Spelt, KCRC Emeritus</span></i></strong><b><i><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#8B8B8B'><br><strong><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>AMA 1294, Scientific Leader Member</span></strong><br><strong><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>SPA L-18, Board Member</span></strong><br><strong><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>(865) 435-1476v (865) 604-0541c</span></strong></span></i></b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.75pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.75pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:6.75pt;text-align:center'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><hr size=2 width="100%" align=center id=zwchr></span></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:6.75pt'><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></body></html>