As God is my witness, I thought humans could fly
July 28, 2023 2:04 PM Subscribe
For the first time ever, the Japan International Birdman Rally will be broadcast live worldwide on Youtube. For this 45th edition of the rally, the human-powered aircraft division will be live in 15 minutes, and the gliders will be live in 23 hours. Commentary will be in Japanese, but you can keep up with International Birdman news in English at the Japanese HPA blog. Enjoy some of the less successful entries from previous years, or Yuri Watanabe's 60km Japanese record from 2019, second only to the world record of 115km, set in 1988.
Came for the turkey drop, found myself immensely entertained regardless. Great post!
posted by riverlife at 2:55 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by riverlife at 2:55 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Yes, thank you. WKRP is my go-to rewatch every fall just to hear that phrase, along with the accompanying hilarity of that episode.
posted by mightshould at 2:55 PM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by mightshould at 2:55 PM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is amazingly fun to watch! Thanks for posting.
posted by procrastination at 2:57 PM on July 28, 2023
posted by procrastination at 2:57 PM on July 28, 2023
I wonder if the guys with the scientifically amazing super lifting wings and ultraefficient propellers get to go first, or if they have to sit and watch all the goofballs trying to hold onto an umbrella while plummeting into the water first
posted by AzraelBrown at 3:05 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by AzraelBrown at 3:05 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
And the first plane is in the water... amazing engineering, months of work (by the students of Ritsuneikan University, if the entry list from the Japanese HPA blog is up-to-date), and it all only lasts a few minutes.
I believe the third entry will be from the team that has been doing this the longest, Nihon University. They created the first Japanese human-powered aircraft back in 1966.
posted by clawsoon at 3:06 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
I believe the third entry will be from the team that has been doing this the longest, Nihon University. They created the first Japanese human-powered aircraft back in 1966.
posted by clawsoon at 3:06 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
The only entry I've seen so far went 1.6km ... stupid impressive to this landlubber. This is fun.
posted by riverlife at 3:08 PM on July 28, 2023
posted by riverlife at 3:08 PM on July 28, 2023
I wonder if the guys with the scientifically amazing super lifting wings and ultraefficient propellers get to go first, or if they have to sit and watch all the goofballs trying to hold onto an umbrella while plummeting into the water first
I'm not sure if they've eliminated the goofball category or if they'll be showing up tomorrow with the gliders. Today seems to be full of srs bizns.
posted by clawsoon at 3:16 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure if they've eliminated the goofball category or if they'll be showing up tomorrow with the gliders. Today seems to be full of srs bizns.
posted by clawsoon at 3:16 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
These poor guys who went second! Looks like they got caught by the wind?
posted by sagc at 3:30 PM on July 28, 2023
posted by sagc at 3:30 PM on July 28, 2023
Hmm... it's not Nihon University in the 3rd slot... I wonder if they dropped out or got shuffled around.
posted by clawsoon at 3:39 PM on July 28, 2023
posted by clawsoon at 3:39 PM on July 28, 2023
I caught only a few minutes of this before having to step away, but one of the commentators was talking about the challenges of training for this. He said [paraphrasing, summarizing from memory]:
This flight in competition is the first time the pilot actually gets to fly the aircraft (!); there are no rehearsals because you can't exactly go around building launch ramps and gliding somewhere. Nowadays you can use computer flight simulators and other new tech, but there's always something different about the real thing. When I was training, I looked around for ways I could practice...how to replicate the actual experience in daily life? The closest thing I found was the roller coaster. I rode the same ride over and over to get a sense of what it feels like to be in the air at that angle.
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 4:14 PM on July 28, 2023 [5 favorites]
This flight in competition is the first time the pilot actually gets to fly the aircraft (!); there are no rehearsals because you can't exactly go around building launch ramps and gliding somewhere. Nowadays you can use computer flight simulators and other new tech, but there's always something different about the real thing. When I was training, I looked around for ways I could practice...how to replicate the actual experience in daily life? The closest thing I found was the roller coaster. I rode the same ride over and over to get a sense of what it feels like to be in the air at that angle.
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 4:14 PM on July 28, 2023 [5 favorites]
Considering how the planes tend break into a million pieces the instant they land, I guess it's not too surprising that they don't get practice flights. I wonder how much of an advantage this gives the repeat teams, insofar as they can have a design that they know is flightworthy.
Separately, I found it pretty amusing to hear the commentators riffing on the bishoujo characters that one of the teams used as mascots. From the sound, that's another thing that's changed since the veteran commentator's day.
posted by fifthrider at 4:21 PM on July 28, 2023
Separately, I found it pretty amusing to hear the commentators riffing on the bishoujo characters that one of the teams used as mascots. From the sound, that's another thing that's changed since the veteran commentator's day.
posted by fifthrider at 4:21 PM on July 28, 2023
I am doffing my little propeller-beanie hat to the team that put the young woman in the pixie outfit and tiny umbrella on one end of a teeter-totter and then jumped on the other end of it, to no effect whatsoever. Absolutely premium Looney Tunes shenanigans, right there.
posted by mhoye at 4:25 PM on July 28, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 4:25 PM on July 28, 2023 [3 favorites]
It evidently worked!
posted by sagc at 5:51 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by sagc at 5:51 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
How far did they end up going? I missed it in the broadcast and can't find it skimming around now. (Doesn't help that I don't understand Japanese.)
posted by clawsoon at 6:24 PM on July 28, 2023
posted by clawsoon at 6:24 PM on July 28, 2023
The single-blade team? 8566.72m (I would post the link here but don't see a timestamp option...go back like 45min from now and look for 大阪工大 in the caption in the lower right)
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 6:38 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 6:38 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Thanks.
I see they moved the Nihon team down the list. The Nihon plane looks like it's going to fall apart on the...
...oh.
posted by clawsoon at 6:43 PM on July 28, 2023
I see they moved the Nihon team down the list. The Nihon plane looks like it's going to fall apart on the...
...oh.
posted by clawsoon at 6:43 PM on July 28, 2023
What is this single-blade propeller insanity?
I've seen drones with very lopsided propellers, although I believe that was for noise reduction.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:54 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've seen drones with very lopsided propellers, although I believe that was for noise reduction.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:54 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Nihon team! *sob* The interviews were so sad to watch :(
Right after that--the pilot of the single-blade team (OIT) is doing an interview with the commentators and has brought the propeller with him for a little show-and-tell!
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 7:02 PM on July 28, 2023
Right after that--the pilot of the single-blade team (OIT) is doing an interview with the commentators and has brought the propeller with him for a little show-and-tell!
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 7:02 PM on July 28, 2023
Lol I love the promo poster/flyer with the slogan たくさん失敗しよう (roughly, "Let’s fail a lot!") The flyer further reads, "These failures will some day become your wings"
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 7:29 PM on July 28, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 7:29 PM on July 28, 2023 [4 favorites]
What's happening? Why are they talking the plane back down the ramp?
posted by clawsoon at 7:59 PM on July 28, 2023
posted by clawsoon at 7:59 PM on July 28, 2023
I didn't watch live, but jumping through the recording, it looks like they were having problems with the servos in the tail that provide the pitch/yaw control, based on the power connector (the red connector, I forget the name, it's a standard connector used in RC airplane batteries).
posted by Alterscape at 8:49 PM on July 28, 2023
posted by Alterscape at 8:49 PM on July 28, 2023
Hi, very long time MeFite, first time posting under my real name. I'm an HPA pilot --- you can see me in the results of the British Human Powered Flying Club's 2023 Icarus Cup. (Yes, that's what it's called.) There is nothing like actually lifting off and flying under your own power! I probably don't have time to watch the video right now, but AMA I guess? If you want.
posted by stepleton at 9:02 PM on July 28, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by stepleton at 9:02 PM on July 28, 2023 [9 favorites]
but AMA I guess? If you want.
How big of a team, and how long did it take, to build the aircraft you flew in?
posted by clawsoon at 9:31 PM on July 28, 2023
How big of a team, and how long did it take, to build the aircraft you flew in?
posted by clawsoon at 9:31 PM on July 28, 2023
Dozens of students and several faculty and staff at the University of Bordeaux built the plane over a period of five years (longer than intended thanks to COVID). Construction took place at an aviation maintenance programme at the university. The plane is a copy of Alec Proudfoot and team's DaSH and, being French, is called Le DaSH. I only became involved at the very end during proving flights in Bordeaux in April and then the Icarus Cup itself about a month ago. (So I only got to meet some of the people who had helped build the plane --- many others had graduated and moved on to other parts of their lives.)
The plane takes a crew of at least three to launch, plus the pilot of course. Most of the launch crew's job is to hold the plane upright until the wings catch the air and start flying. Because we land on the ground with the aim of flying the plane again right away, you also have two more people chasing the plane on bicycles and then leaping off and catching the wings after touchdown.
posted by stepleton at 9:52 PM on July 28, 2023 [6 favorites]
The plane takes a crew of at least three to launch, plus the pilot of course. Most of the launch crew's job is to hold the plane upright until the wings catch the air and start flying. Because we land on the ground with the aim of flying the plane again right away, you also have two more people chasing the plane on bicycles and then leaping off and catching the wings after touchdown.
posted by stepleton at 9:52 PM on July 28, 2023 [6 favorites]
Dozens of students and several faculty and staff at the University of Bordeaux built the plane over a period of five years... Because we land on the ground with the aim of flying the plane again right away...
One thing that amazes me about this Japanese event is that every single plane is destroyed every single year.
posted by clawsoon at 9:56 PM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
One thing that amazes me about this Japanese event is that every single plane is destroyed every single year.
posted by clawsoon at 9:56 PM on July 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
I think part of the willingness to create a craft that is going to be used only once is because while it's a competition between mainly engineering students, it's also a made for TV competition - a SASUKE for aviation nerds in a sense.
posted by LostInUbe at 10:20 PM on July 28, 2023
posted by LostInUbe at 10:20 PM on July 28, 2023
The (original) Japanese version of American Ninja Warrior.
posted by LostInUbe at 10:28 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by LostInUbe at 10:28 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm kind of curious how much of the successful flight is the engineering and manufacturing and how much is the person being the pilot/engine?
I'm guessing that, given the difficulty of maintaining the flight, you need someone who's pretty darn fit powering the thing. But how is it on the scale of "person we found in the department who is super into cycling" vs competitive, world class athlete?
Could a world class cyclist take one of these from "maintaining altitude at a steady velocity" to "look at me, I am a bird!" or is it pushing the limits of both man and machine just to get a decent distance flight?
posted by Zalzidrax at 11:41 PM on July 28, 2023
I'm guessing that, given the difficulty of maintaining the flight, you need someone who's pretty darn fit powering the thing. But how is it on the scale of "person we found in the department who is super into cycling" vs competitive, world class athlete?
Could a world class cyclist take one of these from "maintaining altitude at a steady velocity" to "look at me, I am a bird!" or is it pushing the limits of both man and machine just to get a decent distance flight?
posted by Zalzidrax at 11:41 PM on July 28, 2023
Could a world class cyclist take one of these from "maintaining altitude at a steady velocity" to "look at me, I am a bird!" or is it pushing the limits of both man and machine just to get a decent distance flight?
Pushing the limit of both, for sure. The MIT record in 1988 was set with a combination of an Olympic cyclist and what they estimated was (with all of the donated time and materials) a $1 million engineering effort.
I would love to see an Olympic cyclist in one of these planes (especially the one that's flying right now). I'm sure they'd give the old record a run for its money.
posted by clawsoon at 11:49 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Pushing the limit of both, for sure. The MIT record in 1988 was set with a combination of an Olympic cyclist and what they estimated was (with all of the donated time and materials) a $1 million engineering effort.
I would love to see an Olympic cyclist in one of these planes (especially the one that's flying right now). I'm sure they'd give the old record a run for its money.
posted by clawsoon at 11:49 PM on July 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
And the plane that's flying right now, from Birdman House IGA, was built by employees of the multi-billion dollar machine tool company DMG Mori as part of their corporate social responsibility [PDF] efforts.
posted by clawsoon at 12:00 AM on July 29, 2023
posted by clawsoon at 12:00 AM on July 29, 2023
Another factor is the course environment or conditions. Earlier in the broadcast they discussed the unique challenges of this year's location, Lake Biwa, as opposed to the usual marine/coastal locations (apparently the lake is sorta dreaded because of difficulty to navigate? Microclimate, changing wind patterns, sound levels, etc). I'll have to relisten more closely but I think they also mentioned unpredicted levels of wind when speculating about why the Nichidai team crashed upon launch--so part of it is luck of that day's (and time of day's) weather.
As for cycling prowess, you see the stamina needed--did I hear right that that 2019 pilot was pedaling for two and a half hours?! One of the pilots this year took supplements in order to prevent cramps, which were an issue in previous competitions. The commentators also mentioned they have stats like the pilots' thigh measurements, and they did sound big...
But there is also definitely a flying/piloting skill element (e.g. judging how far to push the nose down at launch so you get enough to bounce high and without crashing/stalling).
With so much time and thought and hard work poured into one chance to prove it all, I feel it would be easy to get stuck in an "if only" thought loop. If only we'd gone one slot earlier when the wind was blowing that way, if only we'd made the wing a few cm shorter, if only my left leg hadn't cramped...
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 12:34 AM on July 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
As for cycling prowess, you see the stamina needed--did I hear right that that 2019 pilot was pedaling for two and a half hours?! One of the pilots this year took supplements in order to prevent cramps, which were an issue in previous competitions. The commentators also mentioned they have stats like the pilots' thigh measurements, and they did sound big...
But there is also definitely a flying/piloting skill element (e.g. judging how far to push the nose down at launch so you get enough to bounce high and without crashing/stalling).
With so much time and thought and hard work poured into one chance to prove it all, I feel it would be easy to get stuck in an "if only" thought loop. If only we'd gone one slot earlier when the wind was blowing that way, if only we'd made the wing a few cm shorter, if only my left leg hadn't cramped...
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 12:34 AM on July 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Could a world class cyclist take one of these from "maintaining altitude at a steady velocity" to "look at me, I am a bird!" or is it pushing the limits of both man and machine just to get a decent distance flight?
I'm definitely not a world-class cyclist! I train a lot for HPAs (and don't really care about other kinds of competitive cycling as it turns out), so I can have a pretty snappy commute to work if I want. On paper I can keep Le DaSH straight and level for quite a while, given my weight! But that's without the margin that a really strong cyclist would have, and I think you'd really want that for long flights (to cut down on the number of if-onlys).
The weather and time of day is another difference between our competition and this event. We usually fly at the crack of dawn and right at dusk to minimise wind. Since we schedule so near to the summer solstice, that means showing up to the airport at 4 AM! (There's plenty of midday napping during the Icarus Cup --- unless you broke your plane and need to fix it before the evening.)
posted by stepleton at 1:21 AM on July 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm definitely not a world-class cyclist! I train a lot for HPAs (and don't really care about other kinds of competitive cycling as it turns out), so I can have a pretty snappy commute to work if I want. On paper I can keep Le DaSH straight and level for quite a while, given my weight! But that's without the margin that a really strong cyclist would have, and I think you'd really want that for long flights (to cut down on the number of if-onlys).
The weather and time of day is another difference between our competition and this event. We usually fly at the crack of dawn and right at dusk to minimise wind. Since we schedule so near to the summer solstice, that means showing up to the airport at 4 AM! (There's plenty of midday napping during the Icarus Cup --- unless you broke your plane and need to fix it before the evening.)
posted by stepleton at 1:21 AM on July 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
And the plane that's flying right now, from Birdman House IGA, was built by employees of the multi-billion dollar machine tool company DMG Mori as part of their corporate social responsibility [PDF] efforts.
posted by clawsoon at 12:00 AM on July 29 [+] [!]
Birdman House IGA is still going!
posted by LostInUbe at 1:30 AM on July 29, 2023
posted by clawsoon at 12:00 AM on July 29 [+] [!]
Birdman House IGA is still going!
posted by LostInUbe at 1:30 AM on July 29, 2023
I should note that the pilot for Birdman House IGA is the same person. Yuta Watanabe, who set the record in 2019 (which broke his own record set in 2017).
posted by LostInUbe at 1:36 AM on July 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by LostInUbe at 1:36 AM on July 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
It sure is banging a lot.
posted by atomicmedia at 1:43 AM on July 29, 2023
posted by atomicmedia at 1:43 AM on July 29, 2023
Did he fall short by a few meters?
posted by atomicmedia at 2:02 AM on July 29, 2023
posted by atomicmedia at 2:02 AM on July 29, 2023
Yes. Less than ten meters. I think there was a rule change? The goal was to complete the circuit of 70 kms to get a Kanzen Seiha (total victory - a phrase that they also use for when someone completes the course at SASUKE).
posted by LostInUbe at 2:04 AM on July 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by LostInUbe at 2:04 AM on July 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
I fell asleep about 40km into the Birdman House IGA attempt, thinking I'd finish watching after some sleep... but now they've made the original stream private! Did they fall ten meters short of 60km, or ten meters short of 70km? Did the defending champs Tohoku University Windnauts get to make an attempt? If so, how did they do?
posted by clawsoon at 3:32 AM on July 29, 2023
posted by clawsoon at 3:32 AM on July 29, 2023
I've been wondering how they steer those things in a 70km circuit, when I'd imagine the pilot can't really see much besides an expanse of water. Do they have GPS? Autopilots?
posted by moonmilk at 6:44 AM on July 29, 2023
posted by moonmilk at 6:44 AM on July 29, 2023
stepleton: I'm definitely not a world-class cyclist! I train a lot for HPAs (and don't really care about other kinds of competitive cycling as it turns out), so I can have a pretty snappy commute to work if I want. On paper I can keep Le DaSH straight and level for quite a while, given my weight! But that's without the margin that a really strong cyclist would have, and I think you'd really want that for long flights (to cut down on the number of if-onlys).
Would I be correct to guess that there's a direct relationship between the quality of the design-and-build and the number of people who'd be able to keep the plane in the air? Better engineering allows for less-physically-fit pilots, and vice versa?
And how is steering done? I remember that the Albatross used wing warping... is that still a thing, or is it all rudder, or...?
posted by clawsoon at 7:34 AM on July 29, 2023
Would I be correct to guess that there's a direct relationship between the quality of the design-and-build and the number of people who'd be able to keep the plane in the air? Better engineering allows for less-physically-fit pilots, and vice versa?
And how is steering done? I remember that the Albatross used wing warping... is that still a thing, or is it all rudder, or...?
posted by clawsoon at 7:34 AM on July 29, 2023
Would I be correct to guess that there's a direct relationship between the quality of the design-and-build and the number of people who'd be able to keep the plane in the air? Better engineering allows for less-physically-fit pilots, and vice versa?
To a point. Better materials and construction will mean a stronger, lighter, cleaner plane, and that means less watts out of you. Good design must count for a lot too --- if you have a suboptimal airfoil, surely you must pay for it in effort or controllability, for example.
But once you can count on reasonably "good" design and construction, then there's the question of what you're optimising for. A plane with less wing could take more effort to fly --- but it would be faster. Better for timed tasks, worse for distance.
And how is steering done? I remember that the Albatross used wing warping... is that still a thing, or is it all rudder, or...?
All of the planes flying at this year's Icarus Cup were two-axis control: rudder (yaw) and elevator (pitch). I've never seen ailerons on an HPA in person : presumably not worth the weight and complexity in most cases.
Most HPAs have substantial dihedral, so if you want to turn, you yaw the plane and hope for the wings to sort themselves out eventually. Nothing is fast in an HPA except your legs.
Which brings us to another reason not to have more than two-axis control. In a normal plane, you do pitch and roll with your hand and yaw with your feet: three axes. In an HPA, your feet are mighty busy and your powers of cogitation are a bit reduced (try doing mental arithmetic in a flat-out sprint and you'll see what I mean). Two axes are probably a reasonable limit.
How the controls connect to the control surfaces is also interesting. Some HPAs use radio control servos (same hardware as in models), others use mechanical systems like cables or pushrods. Tradeoffs to both...
posted by stepleton at 8:00 AM on July 29, 2023 [4 favorites]
To a point. Better materials and construction will mean a stronger, lighter, cleaner plane, and that means less watts out of you. Good design must count for a lot too --- if you have a suboptimal airfoil, surely you must pay for it in effort or controllability, for example.
But once you can count on reasonably "good" design and construction, then there's the question of what you're optimising for. A plane with less wing could take more effort to fly --- but it would be faster. Better for timed tasks, worse for distance.
And how is steering done? I remember that the Albatross used wing warping... is that still a thing, or is it all rudder, or...?
All of the planes flying at this year's Icarus Cup were two-axis control: rudder (yaw) and elevator (pitch). I've never seen ailerons on an HPA in person : presumably not worth the weight and complexity in most cases.
Most HPAs have substantial dihedral, so if you want to turn, you yaw the plane and hope for the wings to sort themselves out eventually. Nothing is fast in an HPA except your legs.
Which brings us to another reason not to have more than two-axis control. In a normal plane, you do pitch and roll with your hand and yaw with your feet: three axes. In an HPA, your feet are mighty busy and your powers of cogitation are a bit reduced (try doing mental arithmetic in a flat-out sprint and you'll see what I mean). Two axes are probably a reasonable limit.
How the controls connect to the control surfaces is also interesting. Some HPAs use radio control servos (same hardware as in models), others use mechanical systems like cables or pushrods. Tradeoffs to both...
posted by stepleton at 8:00 AM on July 29, 2023 [4 favorites]
Oh, wait, it's actually the last of the planes, last year's champs?
posted by clawsoon at 2:15 PM on July 29, 2023
posted by clawsoon at 2:15 PM on July 29, 2023
came back in to thanks the OP for the post and say that my sons and I enjoyed it, and to check on the gliders.. and yeah, looks like last year's champs Windnauts are up in the pedal-powered plane... and they're somewhere around 40km! And still going!
posted by martin q blank at 4:14 PM on July 29, 2023
posted by martin q blank at 4:14 PM on July 29, 2023
Windnauts 42837.78m; new student record!
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 4:52 PM on July 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 4:52 PM on July 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
The Japanese HPA blog says that the current glider record is over 400m. Anybody want to make a guess as to what sort of glide ratio that translates to?
posted by clawsoon at 4:59 PM on July 29, 2023
posted by clawsoon at 4:59 PM on July 29, 2023
The footage they're airing now is the commentator's flight from 1980!
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 5:06 PM on July 29, 2023
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 5:06 PM on July 29, 2023
Announcer mentions the Hokkaido team's aircraft took 40hrs and 700,000yen to transport
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 5:15 PM on July 29, 2023
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 5:15 PM on July 29, 2023
I'm a bit surprised that the current record isn't massively better than the 101m flight from 1980 we just saw, considering how much larger and more high tech the 21st century gliders are!
posted by moonmilk at 5:23 PM on July 29, 2023
posted by moonmilk at 5:23 PM on July 29, 2023
After watching a couple crashes, I get quite nervous watching the launch. Those thin, long wings snagging in the wind...And especially with the livestream showing how much team effort goes into just the launch prep, not to mention the engineering and funding and training work off-screen--so much riding on a moment.
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 6:39 PM on July 29, 2023
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 6:39 PM on July 29, 2023
Commentators discussing info that the Iwatani glider uses titanium; bit of shop talk on materials used for the aircraft (costs, students vs more-funded teams, newer tech vs "back in the day" of the commentator)
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 7:54 PM on July 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 7:54 PM on July 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Windnauts were supposed to go yesterday but BIRDMAN HOUSE IGA went for over two and a half hours yesterday so Windnauts was moved to this morning.
Watanabe fell just short of the 70 km mark. The end was in sight but apparently he was battling the wind throughout and I think especially at the end.
The current glider record is 533.58 meters set by Team Azamino last year (and who are not competing this year). You can see that run here.
posted by LostInUbe at 7:58 PM on July 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Watanabe fell just short of the 70 km mark. The end was in sight but apparently he was battling the wind throughout and I think especially at the end.
The current glider record is 533.58 meters set by Team Azamino last year (and who are not competing this year). You can see that run here.
posted by LostInUbe at 7:58 PM on July 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
They took a break but after an announcer change they will be back soon.
They keep referencing that the Iwatani pilot, Nozomi Sonobe is a youtuber - which she is. She does Iwatani's non-corporate videos.
As an aside, I'm pretty sure that almost everyone who has ever used a gas canister in Japan has used an Iwatani one. Big company.
posted by LostInUbe at 8:42 PM on July 29, 2023
They keep referencing that the Iwatani pilot, Nozomi Sonobe is a youtuber - which she is. She does Iwatani's non-corporate videos.
As an aside, I'm pretty sure that almost everyone who has ever used a gas canister in Japan has used an Iwatani one. Big company.
posted by LostInUbe at 8:42 PM on July 29, 2023
After another break, the final three are going to make their attempts.
posted by LostInUbe at 10:04 PM on July 29, 2023
posted by LostInUbe at 10:04 PM on July 29, 2023
The final team, Team Mitaka Mobara Shimo-Yokota, with (as the blog calls him) "Mr. Birdman" Shoji Ohki will be making their attempt soon. I haven't been watching the whole thing but no one has really made a long run today so this might be the last chance at anything possibly record-setting.
posted by LostInUbe at 10:32 PM on July 29, 2023
posted by LostInUbe at 10:32 PM on July 29, 2023
460.76m
From commentators' chatter about pilot Ohki & team:
- skilled at flying very close to water (very difficult but you want to stay close to lower resistance)
- their aircraft tends to stay more intact than other teams', so they collect & reuse/remodel
Lol, they're pushing the commentator to close in English. A reluctant but smiley "Thank you for watching, world(?) my friend!"
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 11:12 PM on July 29, 2023
From commentators' chatter about pilot Ohki & team:
- skilled at flying very close to water (very difficult but you want to stay close to lower resistance)
- their aircraft tends to stay more intact than other teams', so they collect & reuse/remodel
Lol, they're pushing the commentator to close in English. A reluctant but smiley "Thank you for watching, world(?) my friend!"
posted by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 11:12 PM on July 29, 2023
And that's a wrap. Like before, the stream will probably go private soon. The edited on-air version will come out on August 30th in Japan. Hopefully they will keep uploading things to youtube, Maybe not right now but after the TV airing.
posted by LostInUbe at 11:16 PM on July 29, 2023
posted by LostInUbe at 11:16 PM on July 29, 2023
Is there some kind of correction for wind in these long-leg HPA flights over water? I was actually expecting the course to be in a relatively tight loop to neutralize wind more, but the 70km sure wasn't that.
posted by away for regrooving at 12:46 AM on July 30, 2023
posted by away for regrooving at 12:46 AM on July 30, 2023
Watanabe fell just short of the 70 km mark. The end was in sight but apparently he was battling the wind throughout and I think especially at the end.
Surely a new Japanese record, though, right?
posted by clawsoon at 3:54 AM on July 30, 2023
Surely a new Japanese record, though, right?
posted by clawsoon at 3:54 AM on July 30, 2023
Thanks for the translations from all the Japanese speakers!
posted by clawsoon at 4:29 AM on July 30, 2023
posted by clawsoon at 4:29 AM on July 30, 2023
Yes, definitely a new Japanese record. Sorry I can't get the official measurements. YTV may not release the official results until the airing in August so keep an eye on the HPA blog, the official page, official youtube and the Japanese wikipedia page for updates and info.
Thank you to clawsoon for sharing this info. Sorry for turning it into a mini-liveblog!
posted by LostInUbe at 6:06 AM on July 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Thank you to clawsoon for sharing this info. Sorry for turning it into a mini-liveblog!
posted by LostInUbe at 6:06 AM on July 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
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