RE: Flying wing gliding in high winds
This is fun!
@hattend: yes, we have autopilot on board. WRT balloon drift: I've run dozens of balloon trajectory models in my area (N. AZ), and once or twice, when going high, we've drifted back towards the launch. But 98% of the time it is a west to east flight. Even on calm, early mornings, as you go up, winds get heavy most days.
@MajorT: I'm very familiar with 14 CFR Part 91. The first launch we did adhered to this laws, and this launch will too. My contact at the FAA says they are looking at new regs for unmanned flight, drones, etc, because of all the new tech, and law enforcement's desire to use unmanned drones for local surveillance. At any rate, working with the FAA and my other contacts, one way or another, I'll get a legit clearance before launch.
@pimm: you write, "launch a F/F, circle trimmed glider from the balloon and allow yourself and the balloon to descend at the same rate as the glider, though what you will do if the glider catches some thermal lift...." What's an F/F? And what do you mean by allowing myself to descend? It's a weather balloon, not a manned hot air balloon. ;-) The other things you say make sense to me. And thermal lift is another problem which I haven't looked at yet...
@Dgrant: my heart laughs with you... oh, to be free the way the Wright Brothers were free... alas, the skies are simply too crowded to ignore the regs (at least, that's how I look at it).