RCU Forums - How Slow? What About Wings?

John....

Here's my $0.02 worth:

I have seen a scale Cierva C-30 flown across the field at about 2 feet elevation in a 45 degree nose up attitude slower than a person could walk. Required excellent throttle control.

Rick Anderson with his Autogyro Co of Ariz Kellett routinely flies not much faster than a walk. With a bit of wind, the plane "stands still."

Neither of the above two aircraft have "wings". But both had at least lateral tilt control. In order to have any elevator authority, some airflow has to be passing over the elevator...mostly from the prop wash at very slow speeds.

Hope others can jump in with their thoughts. Please note, these are observations. My skills as a pilot don't allow this kind of slow flying.

Bill