A Typical Flight of a UL2-D Airship

Flight Preparations

Once the airship is walked out of the hanger here are two special procedures necessary prior to flight:

1. First, you have to allow time for the temperature of the helium in the envelope to equalize to within 2 degrees of the ambient temperature. The main instrument panel has two digital temperature meters, one Envelope and one Ambient. The reason for this procedure is that temperature affects envelope pressure, which must be adjustment before take-off.

2. While you wait for the temperature to equalize, you can do your airship pre-flight.

3. Second, with pilot and passenger on board, you remove ballast (small 1 and 10 lb bags of lead shot) until the airship become buoyant and very gently lifts off the ground. With fingertip ease the ground crew keeps the airship in place. You then put back on 40 lbs of flight ballast. This flight ballast makes the airship fly 40 lbs heavy, which insures a gentle power off decent anytime the engine is throttle back to idle or turned off.

Take-Off

Before take-off you need to decide which of the following three take-off modes to use:

1. Slow and quite: By using only the electric motors on the tail, the airship will slowly reach the take-off speed of around 8 mph, but still will do so in less than 100 feet. The quite electric motors will provide a pleasant and quite take-off that will be enjoyed by both aviators and onlookers. Top speed using only the electric motors is 15 mph, great for slow fun flying.

2. Normal: By using only the main car engine, the airship will reach take-off speed in only few seconds and the ground run will be less than 50 feet. The angle of take-off can be anywhere from gradual to steep depending on the throttle and elevator setting.

3. Maximum: By using the combination of: (a) car engine at full throttle, (b) tail motors at full throttle, (c) elevators full up and (d) tail motors set at full down (vector thrusting the tail down), take-off will be immediate and the ground run will be less than 20 feet. With a little head wind or a push up from the ground crew the take-off will be vertical with no ground run necessary.

Flight Control and Comfort

All USAI models (except the UL1-B) have cars that are 6.5’ tall. This allows the pilot and passenger to stand, stretch and move around while flying. In addition, there are no foot or wheel controls, leaving the pilot’s hands and feet free. All engine and directions controls are “switch controlled”. Once the engine, motor and directional controls are set (like for level flight on a 360 degree heading) the pilot is free until the direction or attitude needs to be changed. Pilots will have plenty of time to enjoy the scenery below, stretch, talk on his cell phone, take pictures and enjoy refreshments. Even with all this freedom, all take-offs and landings should be made with both the pilot and passenger in their seats and seat belts on.

Slow Speed Fun Flight

Using the tail motors only the forward speed can be adjusted from 0 to 15 mph, which is ideal fun flying only a few feet above pastures or tree tops. When flying on the tail motors you cannot hear the tail motors, so you fly in complete silence. It’s like owning and flying your own “magic carpet”. Enjoy talking to people on the ground in a normal voice; hear burbling creeks and squirrels running in the leaves. Slow flight allows you to enjoy nature close up and in slow motion. To continue slow flight beyond the “battery only” capabilities, you can crank the main car engine and disengage the prop. The alternator is powerful enough to run the tail motors continuously and at the same time charge the batteries at the full rate.

Fast Cross Country Flight

When you need to fly cross-country you run the main car engine at 75% to 100% power and if a little extra speed is needed the electric tail motors can be run continuously. The alternator on the car engine is powerful enough to run the tail motors at 100% power and still apply a full charge to the batteries. Ten gallons of fuel will give you duration over 10 hours and a range over 300 miles.

Water Operations

After a slow speed water landing (using tail motors only) the motors can be turned off. The airship will sit level and weather vane into the wind. You may remain on station as long as weather permits. For long stays you can bring along an anchor to hold you in place in light breezes. If you like fishing, what a deal! When you are ready to depart the main car engine will get you into the air in a few feet.

Over Night Docking

The Docking System includes a collapsible docking mask that can be attached to the bed of a pickup or ground mounted using 12 ground anchors. One or two men can set the docking mast in less than 15 minutes. After you land the crew can attach the airship to the mast within minutes. A single car wheel is attached to the bottom of the car to allow the airship to swivel around the docking mast as the wind direction changes. For overnight stays, a battery operated alarm system sounds a car horn if the envelope set “pressure limits” changes or the wind exceeds a set speed. In less than one minute your crew can disconnect the airship and you can be in the air seconds afterwards. Happy flight!