Английская Википедия:Heaven Rubber Bandit

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Шаблон:Infobox aircraft type

The Rubber Bandit was an experimental aircraft, designed and built in the 1990s by George Heaven, of Van Nuys, California, which was powered by a rubber-band motor.

Development

George Heaven was a pilot and aeronautical engineer who wanted to make the first flight in a rubber powered airplane. Development work included the building and testing of a Шаблон:Fracth scale free flight model, which had a Шаблон:Convert wingspan. This was followed by building and testing of a Шаблон:Frac scale rubber powered, radio-controlled model, which had a Шаблон:Convert wingspan. The latter craft was said to be the largest rubber-powered airplane to have taken off and flown under its own power.

The full-sized craft, dubbed the Rubber Bandit, was of conventional configuration. It was a high-wing monoplane, fitted with a tractor propeller. The craft's primary structure was made of carbon-fiber and Kevlar tubing, with the wings and tail surfaces being built from carbon-fiber ribs, and covered in blue Mylar film. The wing was of constant chord, with the outer panels set at a slight dihedral. There were no ailerons, with all control being via the tail surfaces, which were operated by remote control servos. The fuselage consisted of a single tube, within which the rubber-motor was contained. A small nacelle, located under the fuselage and below the wing, accommodated the pilot and a passenger.

Rubber motor

The motor was made of Шаблон:Convert-wide rubber, folded into 800 strands, and measured Шаблон:Convert long and would be wound up to 800 revolutions. According to an article in Flying the motor, fully wound, would initially generate the equivalent of Шаблон:Convert, at high torque and rpm, before reducing down to Шаблон:Convert after 20 seconds. The motor would run for an estimated 90 seconds, sufficient for the airplane to take off and make a Шаблон:Convert flight.

Testing

Initial media coverage indicated the airplane would be completed and flight testing undertaken before the end of 1996. A 1998 Los Angeles Times article reported that the first taxi tests took place in March 1998, with the second being on May 3. A 2011 article published on the Sustainable Skies website reported that testing of the Rubber Bandit had continued through to 2003, with some short hops but no flights being made.