32

15-Oct-07

Garth ?.

Cape Town, South Africa

?

Our informal club of three all had go. We only hand wound her for she has the potential to want to fly to the next country!

31

?-Jun-07

Ernesto C.

?, Argentina

?

???

29

5/9/2007

Art H.

Boynton Beach, FL, USA

~26s

480 turns.

28

5/2/2007

Cesar P.

Daytona Beach, FL, USA

~20s

I did two flights, one lasted 10.31 secs and the second lasted 20.35 secs. On the first flight I wound the smallest rubber band with 215 hand turns and second flight went up to 250. It is an incredible flyer and a plesure to fly.

27

4/21/2007

Bill C.

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

?

Flown outside the Astronaut Hall of Fame. It was a bit breezy so flights were done very cautiously with only a hundred winds or so.

26

4/18/2007

Hollis F.

Barnwell, SC, USA

25s

275 winds on the 1/8" motor: SoFiA climbed out straight on the initial burst then setteled into a nice right hand climb with a beautiful glide to the right. Flown at airport built to train Jimmie Doolittle's Raiders.

25

3/28/2007

Tom B.

Raleigh, NC, USA

~20s

I went with the bigger rubber motor that was supplied with the plane, cranked some turns in and let it loose. Flight time was about 20 seconds in windy conditions. I did a second flight an hour later that resulted in another 20 second flight.

24

3/25/2007

Sandy M.

Kittyhawk, NC, USA

~12s

Three flights made where the Wright Bros. made their first flight. On the third flight, Sofia climbed like a homesick angel to an altitude of about 30 feet and glided to a smooth landing. Wind: WSW 5-10 mph with occasional gusts to 15. 150 turns on 1/8th inch tan supplied with the model.

23

3/18/2007

Ondrej M. and Alinda

State College, PA, USA

?

We really couldn't find an appropriate place to fly, so Alinda and I flew SoFiA (meaning 'wisdom' in Alinda's native Greek) in the HUB student union bldg on Penn State's campus. The poor airplane kept flying into things, so we didn't get any flights longer than a few seconds, but had fun anyway.

22

3/13/2007

Fred R. and Hank N.

Johnson City, TN, USA
University Mini-Dome

79s

The Mini-Dome has been used for 20 years of USIC/AMA Indoor Nats and Indoor World Championships in 1988 and 1990. The plane flew easily, but turned left under higher torque, but right as the torque declined. I think that this was due to a wing warp...Hank removed some but not all of it.

21

2/23/2007

Wayne N.

St. Louis, MO, USA
Clydesdale Park

~15s

Found that SoFiA needed a repair to the wing mount. Got a flight in around 10 AM this morning, in strong wind conditions. Sunny day but chilly. Put in about 150 winds on the motor, and SoFiA did one circle for about 15 seconds.

20

2/11/2007

Jack R.

Mentor, OH, USA

94s

Flown indoors. First flight went ok, maybe 20 sec. Second flight... got stuck on a ledge. We managed to retrieve the plane with no damage ...whew! After a few more trim flights we went for time. First record time... 1:08 sec. Second record time... 94.1 seconds. Not bad for a gym flight. Ihave to give all the credit to Don S. Without his help, these times would have never been this high.

19

1/27/2007

Tom G.

Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, USA

?

Temp was 20 degree's with light wind. Flight time was about 20 seconds as I didn't put many winds in her.

18

1/11/2007

Reese O.

Charleston, WV, USA

~12s

Got 2 flights in between breeze lulls - still around 5 knots... looped 3 times nicely first crosswind launch... good glide... short wind as wind was uncertain... still had about 10 seconds... 200 turns on next flight... same nice looping climb to left - good glide downwind but only 12 seconds..

17

1/8/2007

Rob W.

Wilmington, DE, USA

~20s

Got 2 flights off each about 20 sec. Launched into wind, climbed quite high, did a roll at the top then weathervaned directly into the wind a bit before getting blown downwind.

16

12/20/2006

Ed T. and Alan C.

Naval Air Station Lakehurst, Hangar #1, New Jersey, USA

~30s

We flew her off the carrier deck inside the famous Hangar #1. Got in about 6 successful flights from Sofia, with at least 30 seconds each, I would estimate. (Who want's to look at stop-watches when you're having so much fun?).

15

12/15/2006

Bob C.

Cornell University, NY

?

Flew indoors in the atrium of an engineering building on the Cornell University campus where I work. +/-250 turns on the 1/16" motor managed a climb to maybe 15 feet and about 3/4 of a circle to the left where it hit a wall.

14

12/9/2006

Robert S.

Canton, MA, USA

?

Two flights early this morning 26ºf/-3ºc, light winds.

13

12/5/2006

Steve K.

Beverly, MA, USA

~11s

I used the 1/16" square motor and about 250 (hand) winds. The flight was only about 10.6 seconds. She stalls, which I did not try to trim out. I did try several more flights, but did no better. A later flight in a breeze was much shorter; she does not handle wind well!

12

11/11/2006

Ron G.

Montreal, PQ, Canada

~19s

Flown by FAC Squadron Escadrille Harfang at night-time.

11

11/8/2006

Steve P.

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

~20s

Flown in military gym, with 300 hand-winds on a 1/16" motor.

10

10/26/2006

Jim M.

Ajax, Ontario, Canada, near the memorial to HMS Ajax

~15s

In a light breeze (towards the lake!) a careful, safe lowturns flight of about 15 seconds; Sofia has a pronounced right turn - warps look OK so a slight reduction in right thrust might be advisable.

9

10/21/2006

Sam B.

Burlington, Ontario,
Canada

32s

Flew indoors in the gymnasium used by my FAC squadron. Replaced motor with a loop of 1/16" X 7". Launched with 550 turns. It circled to the right as widely as the room would allow and landed at 32 seconds.

8

10/2/2006

Tim E.

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada

~20s

What a floater! About 500 un-stretched hand winds on a cold, tired motor gave a beautiful climb and floaty glide back down. I'm glad I flew in the evening or she would be gone!

7

9/16/2006

Don B.

Saranac Lake, NY

10s

Flew at the "High Peaks Fun-Fly" at Marcy Field in Keene, NY, located 20 miles east of Saranac Lake, NY. On 50 turns she flew straight ahead up to about 10 feet and then made a 180 degree turn to the right and began her descent.

6

9/3/2006

Dirk K.

Lake Forest, IL

16s

5:46pm-calm: 250 turns: Flys great, fast climb, turns left, affected by wind puffs. Jack S. timed flight & took photos-many thanks for the help.

5

8/30/2006

Will H.

Baroda, Michigan

25s

250 winds and let her go. I got two flights each 25 seconds. Must of got some good air. She flew like an angel. What a great experience.

4

8/21/2006

Del O.

Deerfield, Illinois

?

Had to wait for bad weather to end. Sorry for the delay. 300 turns was all I
could put in, else it would have flown away.

3

8/10/2006

Lyman H.

Merrill, WI

?

Launched with 200 winds: spiral dive to the right. Found bad warp in right wing. A bit of hot breath on her and tried again. 150 winds - launch - and success. Nice right climb to about 30 feet. Perfect!

2

8/8/2006

Lee D.

Experimental Aircraft Association Museum (EAA), Oshkosh, WI

15+s

Only 50 hand-winds and she flew about 30 ft. high. Please be careful. She wants to go around the world in one launch!

1

8/5/2006

LeRoy B.

Prairie Chicken Preserve, Wisconsin Rapids, W

15s

(1st official flight - flown in MIMLOCT Cloud Tramp Launch) Good flyer from the git-go. Stays close. 500 winds, stretched X 2. Overcast day with light wind.

0

7/23/2006

Bhagat D.

Oshkosh, WI (USA)

20s

Initial trim flights required slight downthrust adjustment. Very stable & consistent flyer!