Hello Folks,
Thanks for all the replies.
There are several issues here.
@tschuy the wing certainly will have ground speed at the time of release:
the same ground speed as the balloon, created by the wind. When you
say, "it will gain speed quicker from the launch if it is pointing into the
wind," do you mean air speed or ground speed? I would think in
both cases it would speed up faster if it pointed down and away
from the wind... And yes, I am working with the FAA to get clearance.
@huck1199 why climb a mountain? Because it is there! ;-)
@speedracerntrixie: I think the plane does feel the wind. See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m4nnZgnVBw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LkZW-9rbvI
The first video demonstrates what happens when the headwind
is stronger than the max forward velocity of the plane.
The second demonstrates the effect that gusty, high winds
have on a wing.
I should have said gusty high winds, because often,
at 35,000 feet, there are many gusts.
Thus I am concerned about stability.
Yes the airspeed remains the same. But the ground speed changes.
Assuming you are correct, and the max velocity is higher than
50 mph (for now, let's say 70 mph in calm wind), if we point into the wind,
ground speed becomes 20 mph, and if we point away from the wind,
ground speed becomes 120 mph. 120 mph covers too much ground
we'll have to drive 3 hours upwind to launch the balloon, which means
leaving at 3 am!!!
So can I point into the wind, and fly backwards at 20 mph for a
long distance (under autopilot). This doesn't feel very stable to me...
I'm leaning towards a spiral approach as I write...
@pimmnz the first part of your answer is a good description
of what happens on the way up. The second part contradicts my last
paragraph. You seem to think trimming it dead straight into the wind
will result in a stable flight...When I look at video #1 above I'm not
so sure... Video #2 also gives me pause...
Anyway, any more thoughts on the matter would be much
appreciated. In particular, what are your thoughts about programming
a spiral flight pattern, so it circles down, blown by the wind as it
goes...
Thanks again!!!