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Steve Arndt's Magic Dragon

Started building ~1996 - First flight 1999

Steve Arndt

steve arndt

The second Carbon Dragon to be flying in the United States of America was unveiled at the Sailplane Homebuilders Association workshop at Elmira, New York on 10 July 1999. At the Eastern Workshop, Steve Arndt described the jigs and tooling to build this unique glider which departs from the design in many areas. The glider appears to be rugged and truly a finished product.

Steve Arndt's Magic Dragon (Carbon Dragon) photo captured in flight, below, by a fellow hang glider. Steve has exceeded 90 hours of flying in his homebuilt Carbon Dragon. Steve has successfully flown the Magic Dragon for several years and, as of 2014, logged more than 400 hours in the air. His longest cross country flight was a declared goal diamond distance flight of 314 miles from Wallaby Ranch in Florida into Georgia, landing over 10 hours after takeoff. It was a joy to built and even more fun to fly. -Steve Arndt

arndt dragon

Steve's Carbon Dragon sets the standard for homebuilt gliders.
This glider has been load tested and is now flying.

Steve has hangered his Magic Dragon in Florida for several winters. Week long visits from New England has enabled Steve to "rack up" some extensive hours of successful flights. Here are few images of the Carbon Dragon during assembly in the hangar at Harris Hill.

The Magic Dragon was designed by Steve Arndt, based on the Carbon Dragon by Jim Maupin of California. It has a 45' wingspan with full-span flaperons and winglets, max. L/D of about 25:1. It is built of plywood, with some carbon fiber, molded graphite, fiberglass and/or kevlar. The Magic Dragon is usually launched and landed on a wheel.

Writes Steve Arndt: "My glider is based on the Carbon Dragon but it is unique in several important aspects. The wings are longer which adds almost a foot of span. I have installed winglets which effectively add to the span as well. The fuselage has less frontal area and has been reshaped to reduce drag. The surface elements of the original Dragon were made of 1/32 inch plywood. I replaced all the plywood that touches the surface with molded graphite, fiberglass and/or kevlar. The composites allow compound curves not possible with plywood so a much more rounded, smooth appearance is possible. I also used carbon rods in the spars for added strength and my glider has been load tested to 5 G's based on my weight (185 pounds) and the additional weight of the installed ballistically deployed parachute.

Why change the name? I was told by another builder that Jim Maupin told him that if he changed the design, he shouldn't call it a Carbon Dragon. Besides, for me, the building and especially the flying have been truly magical."

Regarding the flaperons, Steve writes: "Hi Don, I don't use the negative flap settings much, only on fast glides. The positive settings are useful when thermalling. The extreme ends of the flap settings become difficult to use due to the flaperone mixer. In the very positive position the ailerons barely move when you move the stick. Please be careful when modifying the design. You will want to do a load test it and do a comprehensive test flight sequence to insure that your weight/balance calculations are in the range for safe flight. Make a checklist for assembly, preflight, takeoff, and landing. Please be careful during your first flights. The Dragon is a magic aircraft and a lot of fun. Best regards, Steve."

Click here to view deltails of Steve Arndt's Magic Dragon on the ESA website

Articles

rec-aviation

Arndt's Posting on rec.aviation.soaring Newsgroup
(Modified 3/16/2002)

----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Arndt aka Hanglyder
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.soaring
Sent: Monday, October 16, 2000 12:10 PM
Subject: Carbon Dragon

> Hello all,
>      I have been asked to write to you regarding
> my Magic (Carbon) Dragon. I've read some of the
> recent posts and have searched this list before
> so I guess that makes me somewhat of a lurker.
> Briefly then, by way of introduction, my name is
> Steve Arndt. I have flown hang gliders for 26
> years and took sailplane lessons four years ago
> to prepare for flying the ultralight sailplane
> that I was building in my basement. I have my
> private glider license.
>      My original intention was to design and
> build the highest performing hang glider ever but
> the more I researched and considered the options,
> the more the Carbon Dragon seemed to be really
> what I wanted. But there were problems. I was
> too heavy at 185 pounds and the prototype was too
> fragile and subject to weather degradation.
>      So the new plan was to build a better Carbon
> Dragon without sacrificing the performance
> capabilities of the prototype that I had seen
> flown masterfully by Gary Osoba.
>      After talking with many old and newfound
> friends, especially those connected with the
> Sailplane Homebuilders Association (SHA), and
> reading about various construction techniques, I
> decided to combine the previous efforts of many,
> throw in some new ideas, and build a new Dragon.
> Almost three years later, the first test flights
> were flown in June 1999.
>      My glider is considerably different than the
> prototype. It gets it's spar strength from the
> use of carbon rods integrated with an all
> composite leading edge D-tube. There are many
> additional composite parts both internal and
> external. It has been load tested to 5G's based
> on a pilot weight of 185 pounds and including the
> additional weight of an installed ballistically
> deployed parachute. Additional changes were made
> to try to reduce fuselage drag and optimize the
> Culver/ Maupin designed wings.
>     I have been reluctant to pronounce it a
> success or recommend that anyone else build one
> like mine until the flight test sequence was
> completed and I had an opportunity to become
> familiar with the glider's capabilities. To date,
> I have just over 90 logged hours of airtime in my
> Dragon in a wide range of soaring conditions. I
> guess it's time to speak up.
>     The real magic here is that the glider can
> maintain an incredible sink rate within the
> turning radius of a hang glider. With its very
> large control surfaces including full span
> flaperons, it can maneuver with ease to follow
> the most elusive thermals or hunt almost
> whimsical little traces of lift sought out by
> feel as the glider "sniffs" its way using the 45'
> span and very light wing loading. You can really
> feel the texture of the airmass better than any
> aircraft I've ever flown. Even better still is
> its very forgiving stall characteristics. The
> airfoil shape is varied across the span and may
> be adjusted in flight by changing the flaperon
> settings. The efficiency of the flaperons is
> further improved by the differential mixer and
> enhanced by the addition of winglets which, I
> believe, improve tip efficiency particularly at
> low speed and in turning flight. These design
> features give the pilot a variable wing that has
> a speed range wide enough for xc flight while
> allowing confident flight very close to terrain
> and the exploration of low level microlift.
>      Building it has been a most rewarding
> experience exceeded only by the great joy of
> flying it.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Steve Arndt

By Dan Johnson

Product Lines - June 2004

By Dan Johnson, Hang Gliding Magazine, June, 2004

(View article on original website here)

CENTRAL FLORIDA-- At the start of the big Sun 'n Fun airshow, I had the pleasure to fly John Dunham's American Tug built for him by ultralight producer, M Squared of Alabama. This design resembles the popular Quicksilver ultralights that evolved from the original hang glider of the late 1970s. Beefed up for the hard duty that is aero towing, the M Squared entry is a robust ultralight that should be capable of steady operation as a tractor of the air. American Tug is a single-place aircraft employing a 32-foot span, high-lift, slow-flying, single-surface, strut-braced wing. While Dragonfly has been the lone fixed-wing tug in the USA, flight parks and clubs now have another choice. And, importantly, the American Tug -- as opposed to the "Australian tug," John says -- costs substantially less. A basic Rotax 582-powered tug should sell for about $20,000 says John.

The American Tug I flew, with a custom-configured 680 cc Rotax engine rated at 100 hp, demonstrated an acceptable climb rate while towing plus excellent low speed controllability. Stall in the American Tug is very slow, with a tow speed range of 25 to 40 mph, depending on the individual tow requirement. John is able to tow hang gliders at speeds below 30 mph or up into the 30s for blade wings, rigid wings, or ultralight sailplanes like the Steve Arndt's Magic Dragon. Though he's still refining the aircraft for production that should start in a few more weeks, John's American Tug appears ready to start duty at flight parks. Additional hardware added aft of the tail now spreads the tow forces vertically much like the Dragonfly. And, since it is a tricycle-gear aircraft, some experienced tow pilots see an advantage over the taildragger Dragonfly in the event the towed hang glider pilot rises too high on takeoff. The nosewheel on the American Tug can wheelbarrow without digging in.

John was working at Wallaby Ranch after Sun 'n Fun, learning the right techniques and being receptive to feedback from pilots and other tug pilots. He also performed at Quest and planned to visit the Florida Ridge towpark in the south of the state. An experienced aviation businessman, Dunham is doing this right, in my opinion, collecting information and making changes as needed to perfectly suit the American Tug to the marketplace. It's been too long since I towed, but that changed with a nice evening flight behind the American Tug. We climbed easily at over 600 fpm, a rate John was also able to achieve with a tandem load behind. I experimented with various tow positions behind the American Tug. The new tug is not particular about position, proving the V-bridle system John and M Squared devised. Putting the tugs wings, rather than wheels, on the horizon appeared to be the optimal position for best climb and overall controllability. FMI: 987-6545-3210 (cell, while John travels).

Having mentioned the Magic Dragon above, let me tell you a little more about this rare ultralight sailplane. Even with its custom-designed ballistic parachute, the Magic Dragon qualifies as a legitimate Part 103 ultralight vehicle just like any solo hang glider or paraglider. Empty weight is 179 pounds; the 155 pounds allowed under Part 103 plus a 24-pound allowance for the emergency airframe 'chute.

However, Magic Dragon is in a performance class all of its own. Arndt reports glide is an impressive 27:1. Sink rate, perhaps an even more important determinant of soaring performance is a rather amazing 97 fpm calculated, though Steve says actual practice is about 115 fpm "circling sink rate." On a day when flex wings and rigids got periodically flushed by light, sporadic lift, Steve managed a 4-hour flight and traveled 30 miles north to Quest and still returned to Wallaby before evening calm shut down the thermals. Arndt has logged over 480 hours in his special Magic Dragon.

Steve is aware of four or five other Carbon Dragons, but believe none of the others are currently airworthy. He'd like more pilots to tackle the few-hundred-hour build job as the design shows great promise. FMI: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

EAA's world-class museum in Oshkosh WI, is visited by folks all over the world (especially during AirVenture, the organization's huge airshow event. Just opened on May 15th was a new section of the museum called KidVenture (a spinoff of the AirVenture show). This gallery in the museum will have several hands-on flying simulators, including hot air balloon, helicopter, radio control model, and| surprise, a hang glider. The latter caught me off guard as I didn't think EAA had any real interest in hang gliding nor any expertise to offer.

The system they are building uses three large screen TV arrayed in an arc in front of a pristine Delta Wing 6 single surface glider with a swing seat (much easier for visitors to get in and out). An inverted joystick controller about the pilot receives input from the weight shifting and reflects this on the screens. A similar system, albeit with a prone harness, was seen at the Ontario, California Air Sports Expo. The effect of flight was uncanny, at least once you started focusing on those three big TVs and not on the folks walking around. EAA's museum manager, Adam Smith, should be congratulated for making hang gliding a part of this new permanent gallery for kids interested in aviation.

In closing, I am extremely happy (and relieved) to announce that my long-in-development Web site is finally live. Hang glider and paraglider pilots may be most interested in the Hang Gliding section (click the button tab). While I'm asking you to pay a small fee to read pilot reports -- to cover some of the cost of building the Web site and making it available 24x7 -- you are welcome to read previous "Product Lines" columns free of charge; even the basic free registration is not required. At launch, the site offers all columns from January, 2000 to the present (with a 90-day waiting period to assure HG&PG is never scooped by this archival Web site). Though I've made you wait far too long, I hope you'll come visit. Those interested in trikes or other powered ultralights will find many pilot reports I published in several magazines. Membership is only $29 -- you then get over a dozen pilot reports for free -- or you can register for free and just pay for the articles you want. Membership earns a lower price per pilot report and allows access to several other unique features of the site. Please have a look at www.ByDanJohnson.com

So, got news or opinions? Send 'em to: 8 Dorset, St. Paul MN 55118. Messages or fax to 651-450-0930. E-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. THANKS!

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