Tethered flying

10 October 2022

There's a couple of ways for tethered flying.

Whip

Unpowered gliders is tethered to a string and then the other end of the string is tied around a long staff. I have seen this in magazine.

RTP (electric Round-the-Pole, Round-the-Pylon)

The power source is supplied to electrical twin-core through a commutator type contact at the pole/pylon to the electric motor in the model. By varying the voltage, the power variation cause the electric motor to spin faster or slower thus causing it to climb or glide. I have never tried this before and I'm sure I'll encounter many problems.

CL (Control Line)

This I have experience in my youth. One gets giddy by rotating around oneself. I have seen electric powered CL models, usually they carry the Lipo on board, but it is possible also to transmit power through 2 single core wires. 

CL will have longer lines then Whip and RTP.  Now if I were to fly indoor, it would only be the Whip or RTP. Whip means I would be in the centre of the flying circle and flying it all the way while RTP means I am positioned away from the circle.

Single tether flying

Now if I do a free flying model (an electric capacitor powered Farman Moustique comes to mind), I could insert a straightened piece of paper clip through the fuselage as a tether point. Then the other end of the line (can be any line, no need to conduct electricity and not care about electricity resistance of line) can be as long as the indoor venue allows, letting the model fly around a heavy base.  

Why?

• Basically it is just to tie a string to the wing or fuselage
• It will just fly under its own power around a pylon/base or you can hold on to the line if you wish.
• Tethered line can be long, short or anything in between. 
• No need for gears such as a pair of equal and exact lengths wires to pass electricity, wanting lower air resistance but also wishing minimal resistance to electricity flow. No transformer/adapter, no freewheeling contact points and matching pole, no controller (rheostat)
• Remove the tether point and model reverts to a free flight model.