Le Fish 40″ from Rhys Porter on Vimeo.
Rhys Porter of Australia has built and flown this very cool 40″ wingspan Le Fish scratchbuild using a downscaled version of the Le Fish plans. Posting about it in the “How to Build a Swiss Fish” thread, he writes:
“Vac bagged fuse and wings, super light layup with only one layer of very very light glass over most of it, with two layers in the LE and around the nose of the fuse. 5mm Carbon Tow strips as spars top and bottom, Kevlar hinges. Aimed to make this as light as possible, so it will come out of the bags looking DLG style… Fingers crossed it works!”
It came out great and has got to be one of the smallest Le Fish I’ve heard of yet. Looks like it’s fun to fly… great job Rhys!
Posted on April 21, 2012 by surfimp under
General.
More amazing Dave Garwood photographs of the American VTPR vanguard flying together at WeaselFest. The quality of photographs Dave was able to produce for this event is truly awe inspiring!
Posted on April 19, 2012 by surfimp under
General.
This is my favorite photo of my glider and flying ever taken. Dave Garwood has really made my day with this one!!
This is my 17oz ultralight Le Fish flying at Ellwood Mesa here in Santa Barbara, California and this image defines everything about what I’m trying to accomplish with California Style VTPR aerobatics: light lift, close in, exciting flying that is tremendously fun! 
Le Fish at Ruitoque’s Mountains from temerario on Vimeo.
So it turns out there’s a pretty good aerobatics scene in Colombia! Here is a nice video of Carlos Calvache flying his Le Fish outside Bucaramanga, his hometown. This was his second Le Fish; he built his first one in 2006 and it was the first one shipped to Colombia. So cool to see this! Next he says he plans to build a lightweight version. I can’t wait to see what develops from this.
Posted on April 18, 2012 by surfimp under
General.
Great shot by Dave Garwood of my Le Fish and a Weasel flying at Ellwood Mesa during WeaselFest this past weekend. Dave is a very talented photographer and came all the way from New York to document our event. I can’t wait to see more!
Dave Nutt of Arizona has been working on a composite version of my Le Fish design since the end of last year. Just today he’s pulled the first fuselage from the mold and to my eye, it really came out great. Like I encourage everyone to do, he has put his own spin on the design, increasing the height and chord of the rudder from the original. I think it looks great!
I can’t wait to see the finished plane, and I hope he really enjoys the fruits of his labors here. It’s super cool!
You can see more photos of Dave’s work in this thread on RCGroups.
Endless Aerobatics with Le Fish Light from Dawson Henderson on Vimeo.
What a great video! Suuuuper smooth and elegant, showing the kind of polish that you can only get by flying nearly every day. So creative and beautiful, and so much fun!! Watch for the amazing save after a flip gone wrong… such a great sequence. Dawson is a true master of the art of stylish aerobatic flying, and this is one of his best videos yet!
California Medley from surfimp on Vimeo.
Here’s a more extended length video, set to a medley of tunes by country blues master R.L. Burnside.
I was flying my 16.5oz Le Fish at the Ruins in about 10-15mph wind. The flying is itself a medley-like mix of VTPR, traditional aerobatics, and hoverbatics. Which is an overly complicated way of saying that it was a really fun day!
VTPR Practice at Sheba Crater, AZ, 03-13-12 from Dawson Henderson on Vimeo.
Dawson’s ripping it up with a sweet VTPR practice session at Sheba Crater near Flagstaff, Arizona. He’s flying his “heavy” Le Fish in wind from the high teens to mid twenties. Gave him plenty of energy on tap to shred it up!
I love this, if we want to fly VTPR any lower we’re gonna need shovels!!
Mountain Sunset VTPR from surfimp on Vimeo.
A very fun sunset VTPR session at the Ruins in bumpy light lift. I wanted to test the GoPro Hero2′s lowlight handling and overall, I’m pleased. It picked up the colors in the sky really well and the graininess of the shadows (technical term lol) isn’t too bad. I’m pleased to have a memento from this evening, as it was a beautiful sunset.
