AJ-1 Model
I built an experimental model to explore finger skirts.
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The model went well on land but was hopeless on water and tried to become a submarine every time I applied forward power.
Another thing learnt was that the thrust line of the push motor was very critical. The thrust duct has a 10 x 6 nylon prop powered by a speed 600 on 8 cells.
On land it goes like a scalded cat and kicks up a tremendous amount of dust. So much that after one run of six minutes the lift prop, a 6 x 4 wooden prop, was eaten away to such an extent that the model could not hover and so stopping the flight.
Since these photographs were taken I have produced a C type skirt. This has been interesting in that at first the model would not lift as the top part of the skirt collapsed when full lift was applied. After moving the mounting points of the fingures under the model a further 20mm in towards the centre of the machine the model would lift 6.5 lbs (3kg)dead weight and still have an air gap. However the thrust line had a terrible effect on water as the model tried to become a sub even faster than on the first trials with the old skirt. Experiments continue.