Slow Cruising

...flaps-down flying transforms the Walrus

This morning I took the Walrus for a suburban fly. Having managed to avoid the lamp-posts last week, I managed to find a deserted sports field without any major obstructions. Three fields in length it offered enough room to fly but, being only the width of a small soccer field, wasn't very roomy.

This was the perfect opportunity to try the Walrus in slow-fly mode with the flaps adjusted to about twenty degrees or so (I haven't actually measured the angle). To be on the safe side, I launched the plane with the flaps up so I could have it flying before putting them down so as to avoid any nasty launch surprises.

With the Walrus up a little, I set the flaps down and was pleasantly surprised at the transformation, with the plane becoming a slow flying floater, just like the Floater. In fact I'd say overall it's better because it doesn't have the pitching effect that can make the Floater awkward. Just smooth, slow and very stable.

I was joined by a hot air balloon, which drifted slowly across the field and lined up for a landing in the field across the road. I took the Walrus up for a look but, with the balloon still quite high and having decided to avoid any risk to my now-lone glider, I didn't get too close.



I had hoped to get some interesting video out of this but, unfortunately, I didn't press the record button properly, so when the Walrus landed I found that the camera, having nothing to do, had kindly turned itself off.

However, when later checking to see whether it was still working, I did get a cute video of our giant cat licking the wing camera...