<html><body><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div>OK, "electrostatic" autopilot makes a lot more sense to me than "static electricity" autopilot! I thought someone was kidding about that, hence my flux capacitor comment...</div><div><br></div><div><span name="x"></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;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"><span class="signature-truncate"><span style="color: #8b8b8b;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: 10px;"><em><strong><span style="font-size: 14px;">Phil Spelt, KCRC Emeritus<br>AMA 1294, Scientific Leader Member<br>SPA L-18, Board Member<br>(865) 435-1476v (865) 604-0541c</span></strong><strong><br></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 name="x"></span><br></div><br><hr id="zwchr"><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;">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></div><br class=""></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>NSRCA-discussion mailing list<br>NSRCA-discussion@lists.nsrca.org<br>http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion</div><div><br></div></div></body></html>