Last post here! Skyaak (french) TV Debut!
Excited to let you know that we are tightening up a few loose ends and shifting the url of this blog directly to the Mother Ship at http://skyaak.com/skyaak-rd-blog/
From now I will posting and hosting on the skyaak blog at this spot.
I just wanted to let you down gently by sharing the current blog post at skyaak.com.
So from now on you are invited to CLICK THROUGH to the new url!
In the meantime, have fun, happy skyaak-ing and see you there!
Michael Gaudet
Introducing Mathieu Gratton, host of the popular Montreal-based TV show “Le Banc d’Essai du Peuple” or “Taking it to the People“
Click on Mathieu to view the TV feed from the recent feature on Skyaak, where he takes it to the streets of Montreal.
Just scroll down about a third of a page from where you land and you will see the thumbnail for the Skyaak video.
Received the DVD today in the mail from the producers of the show. They sent along a request that I not replicate the DVD in any way. I found the link to the Skyaak segment on their website with a link provided. So it’s all good. I can share the video with you now through their link.
My grasp of the french language is a tad spotty, anyone who can help me out with some translation would be greatly appreciated.
Judging by the ‘body language’ and overall enthusiasm here, I would wager a guess that Skyaak was quite well-received on the cosmopolitan streets of Montreal.
It’s worth clicking through to watch this. It’s kind of priceless really. Check out how excited the little canine participant is to encounter his very first Skyaak. My spider senses are tingling…could this be a message that we should be looking at R&D into the Skyaak ‘fetch’…?
‘Skyaak Canadian Ring Wing Glider’ as Artist’s Muse
Check this short clip out of California. It was such a rush to see the Skyaak Ultra-Glow experimental prototype flying around in the night skies over Berkeley Campus!
The video artist had to say this about his experience:
Here’s a little bit of night flight with my new Skyaak Model 3 with the light kit. Flight is great, but more than that, this thing looks great at night and was surprisingly easy to catch (especially for people that had never thrown a Skyaak before). Distributed by Tubemogul.
Living in rural Western Canada has its pros and cons. Mostly pros.
I used to think that I was pretty far removed from the action of the great big world living here, but since the world is steadily shrinking thanks to communication and information-sharing advances this is really no longer an issue.
A case in point would be the above video that shows the Skyaak Model 3 Ultra-Glow flying around over Berkeley Campus! Now if that’s not getting out there into the slipstream, I don’t know what is.
The great thing about living here is that I get to pretty much do what I want most days.
As a professional artist/entrepreneur I am enjoying a life ‘off the grid’, meaning I get to spend time devoted to the things I feel passionate about. Sure, I have to do the daily grind to earn the money I need to pursue my interests, just like everybody else. But I also get to spend substantial chunks of time dedicated to ‘following my muse’.
Which is pretty wrapped up in the Skyaak project.
When pressed to come up with a number one reason for spending all this time and energy on the Skyaak project I say this: I get a great big buzz out of creating an object that I can toss into the air and watch as it takes on a life of its own in flight!
There’s something in my lizard brain that gets a wicked rush from the idea that I am in the process of developing a flight methodology, a design configuration that actually works. There is a visceral thrill to the notion that I have nurtured this concept over the years from its crude infancy to the rather advanced form that you see flying around over Berkeley Campus above!
More than this, I’m looking forward to all of the future advancements yet to come. I have lots of ideas in the wings for more sophisticated models that will keep me busy for years to come.
With all the amazing advances in materials, replication technology and IT, I feel like I have access to a steadily expanding tool-box that will never exhaust itself of creative potential.
What more can I ask for?
Copyright Tony Karp 2008
Variations on the theme of re-birth
Clive Gerada is a Malta-based artist who has just published an exhibition called “Unrealized” on FaceBook
I want to share one of Clive’s pictures from the show here, as it rings a bell for us. Strikes a familiar note.
Incoming...
Clive Gerada shows in “Unrealized” a series of selectively masked portraits. His credits hint that he knows all of the characters he has portrayed. His notes say “The bare thought of “Unemployment” has given me the idea of creating a series of 13 “Unfinished” portraits, which resemble the human being when s/he feels unrealized or incompleted, or unable to fulfill his wishes to fulfill himself as a human being.”
My take on this is that Gerada refuses to give in to a spirit of malaise. Rather, he examines the feelings of in-completion by a reckoning based on “I am what I do” or identification of one’s worth being inextricably tied to one’s occupation, job description, etc.
By taking a closer look at the ‘condition’, the artist affirms his own ‘employment’, is the working artist plying his trade in a very public way.
Photo by Natalia
The concept of a figure struggling to free itself from the confines of the medium (the ‘condition’) has been around for a long time. Michaelangelo expressed it vividly in his ‘Slave” sculptures where he shows us the figure struggling to free itself from the inert sculptor’s stone.
The images here struck me personally as a metaphor for starting a new era in one’s life, with blind spots and information gaps that can seem daunting at first. You have to gather your wits about you and tackle the challenges as they come up.
As with any creative, passionate act, all the effort and energy that goes into the construction of a new web-site can be seen as pushing of the envelope, stretching in all directions to finally arrive at a certain place where you feel fully employed, fully engaged and on fire with enthusiasm!
Make sure you have a safety net
Seth Godin‘s recent blog post takes the gloves off and slaps an idea around the block.
He talks in his usual frank and unflinching style about the ‘correct’ way to enter into the murky waters of e-mail marketing.
Scary stuff!
I have subscribed to quite a few e-mail newsletters over the year for example.
And un-subscribed from all but three of them.
I have signed up to RSS feeds from a few of my favorite web-based sites and actually find the ones that have survived the delete button to be a good healthy dose of very select information. Useful, entertaining or challenging is the key. Boring begets a quick painless death.
Bob Poole asked recently on his blog what readers were planning on doing differently this year than in 2008 to address current economic conditions. Now that’s a great question if you ask me.
My idea for 2009 is to LEAP out of my comfort zone (mmm, it’s nice and cozy in here…) out into the great unknown. After one of my websites languished for over three years (an eternity in cyberspace) I have torn it down and am now rebuilding it. Getting there. Almost done. Or not.
You know what they say, “If you’re not living on the edge you’re taking up too much room!”
Making some progress w skyaak.com
Happy to say that we’re making progress with the all new www.skyaak .com.
There’s still a ways to go yet…and confidentially… we are having so much fun experimenting with all our new toys that we will probably just keep on mashing it up, dialing it in, tweaking and the like.
It could take a little bit to massage it into shape.
So stay posted, it will be rapidly morphing in the coming days.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Ever have that feeling of intense disorientation when you are learning a new skill set or, say, on your first day at a new job? You know what I’m talking about, when everything is strangely fuzzy yet at the same time intensely magnified. You notice every little detail (at least on the surface…) while your head is in a bit of a fog?
I’ve been in this situation quite a few times in my life, as I am not shy about leaping out of my comfort zone. It’s kind of a rush in a weird way.
It would have been so easy for me just to hang on to one of the many (really good) jobs that I’ve had over the years, but some default mechanism in my hyper-creative frontal lobes always insisted on pressing the eject button.
One thing I’ve learned is to embrace this feeling of slight vertigo as the joy ride that it is.
Because it means that once again, you have taken that step sideways.
New things are on the horizon.
So what if you feel like you are plowing your nose through the dirt, you will soon make some sense of it all and then you will feel the air under you as your freshly acquired skill set gathers enough inertia to get you airborne.
I am writing about this today because I am right at that critical point (of vulnerability…) where everything is in a state of flux. I have just authorized the total strip-down of my darling ‘home-page’ at the website formerly known as www.skyaak.com.
You can still pop in, but wear a hard-hat.
So what’s up with the title of this post?!
I’m getting to that.
About a year ago I met this guy…we found each other on an inventor’s forum.
Started chatting, next thing we knew we had crafted an agreement to work together on a tangible idea.
And have been steadily gathering steam ever since, with ever-increasing momentum.
This guy is a Webby-Wizard…an SEO Sorcerer!
And yes, I am his apprentice.
Nothing like some good wholesome terrifying fun.
Royal Flush of Domain Names
Got the exciting news this morning that the domain names for our new skyaak.com site are in the bag. Now we have a Royal Flush to work with. Should be a sweep.
Check the website-in-waiting.
Still shy and blushing in its hatchling status, the ALL NEW skyaak.com will be striking out bold as brass in the coming days, so hang on tight!
Looking at the skyaak logo
A recognizable logo is fundamental in the graphic continuity of brand development.
Skyaak logo is here
Look at an early animated logo here.
Just visited a cool site that showcases some famous logos (evolving!)
Name that skyaak skyline for free DIY deuce
Brendan w his skyaak model 3 overlooking the distant metropolis of Melbourne skyline.
Name that skyaak sky-line.
Leave a comment w locale id to grab a DIY deuce comp.
Stumped? Enjoy our instant delivery crash-free product disbursement system anytime.
You wanna hack? I’ll show you a hack!
As a tail-end of the holidays treat just had to post the Twittering Washing Machine video. Don’t know how viral this has gone yet. It is a great celebration of human ingenuity. No wonder it’s hot.
Not to mention how ironically ridiculous the idea is.
First Artwork of 2009
Oscar Wilde famously quipped “Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life.”
When an artist allows the creative process to trump the ho-hum banalities of everyday life, there can be some interesting results.
What if the act of making art could cast the mold for a year in the making?
What if the choice of a specific idea or image could influence the outcome of a brand new year?
What if the very act of creativity (at the outset of a New Year) could be a harbinger for a a creative, milestone year?
Or, to put it simply, what if the conscious choice to spend the first hours and days of a New Year engaged, really focused, on being creative casts a certain attitude on the remaining 364 days ahead?
That would be a good reason to step up to creativity!
Leaving nothing to chance, I decided to do whatever…exactly…I wanted to for the past couple of days. Turns out I planted myself in front of my easel to produce a New Painting to match the New Year.
But not just any painting, not a random subject!
I decided to paint a picture of a dragon-fly resting on a leaf.
For me, this is symbolic of latent energy…the dragon-fly can spring off it’s temporary resting spot at any time and fly away into the sky!
Thought I would show you a few of the steps that I took in the painting process to ‘breathe life’ into my fist work of art this year:
The next (and last I think) step will be to tweak the high-lights on the rear gossamer wings…just a light touch of light…
It would not be too much of a stretch to equate this idea with the steady progress we have been making with the Skyaak project, especially since the invention of the innovative Skyaak DIY deuce, the down-loadable ring wing glider that you can grab, print, laminate, custom-decorate, cut out, build and FLY.
Working it out w GoDaddy @ WordPress
Check the Skyaak R&D sister site. This is strictly an experiment, in a total state of flux.
We are going to use the WordPress platform as a launch pad for the brand new skyaak.com.
WordPress has all the support, plug-ins, CSS, et al to juice up a world-class site.
For example, GoDaddy talks to WordPress. WordPress is a plug-in feature of our spanky new GoDaddy host and by proxy server. So hang on for the ride, folks. This will be fun.
A True-Blue Winning Attitude by GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons
Working with GoDaddy as our new host and server for the blazing new skyaak.com site has been a blast already, and we are just getting started!
Our ETA for the new site is about January 15th so stay posted!
Take the five minutes or so to watch GoDaddy CEO and founder Bob Parsons in action, you are going to love this guy!
Skyaak ‘betcha can’t make just one’ contest reminder
Seeing as how this space has now hosted quite close to 1500 visitors, thought it would be a good idea to remind y’all about the ongoing FREE SKYAAK PRIZE CONTEST.
As a gesture of appreciation to all of you that have purchased a Skyaak DIY deuce, here it is:
Skyaak DIY deuce
‘betcha can’t make just one’
OK. It’s official. You read it here.
To make your Skyaak DIY deuce experience even more fun, we’re announcing a contest with prize awards of *FREE* Skyaak Model 3 units to best videos of your DIY deuce in 3 categories:
1) Most creative customizing
2) Best finesse throw with best glide
3) Most creative editing
All you have to do to qualify is grab a Skyaak DIY deuce that you can download, dope w clear tape, customize ( go on, you know you wanna customize it!) cut out, build and fly! That’s a lot of fun for 2 bucks.
Youtube your video entry and include skyaak in the tag so we can find it and we will announce the winners in this space every 3 months. Send as many entries as you want. Build as many DIY deuce units as you want. Have fun and good luck!
3 winners every 3 months. *FREE* Skyaak Model 3 shipped *FREE* anywhere on the planet.
Flat package concept, w 3-D Model 3 ready for maiden voyage!
Skyaak DIY deuce
‘betcha can’t make just one’
Skyaak re-birth-ing
As mentioned earlier, we are now in the home stretch in the process to overhaul skyaak.com.
People still tell me that it’s a good-looking site,
but everyone around here believes it’s time for an extreme makeover.
For one thing, mind-mapping
and eye-maps tell us that the logo-man ought to be chucking the Skyaak up to the upper left-hand side of the page to draw eyes in a natural swooping trajectory.
At present, the ‘logo-man’ is throwing Skyaak Model 3 in a closed loop off to the right hand side of the page, like a visual staircase to nowhere. Not so good. We’ll probably abandon the idea of an animated gif altogether on the new site. More than likely we will have a brief, friendly introductory video to give it a personal feel. I imagine you will get the impression that I am pretty excited about the Skyaak design and how well it flies.
There will also be a big emphasis, as always, on how good this unit looks. As an artist, I am always looking for a new perspective on this project. A major perk for me is quite simply the look of the thing as it flies through the air.
Google ‘Maker’ Christmas Art take 3
From the Google Christmas Art series 08
Here’s today’s Google ‘Maker’ art. Looks like things are heating up, you can see that they are getting some steam happening. Whatever it is they are making, it appears to be working!
Speaking of ‘making’, you can make your own Skyaak DIY deuce…the cool ring-wing glider that you can download, laminate, custom-decorate, cut out, build and FLY for two bucks.
A buddy of mine popped over yesterday and I showed him the Model 3 and the DIY deuce. He told me that he is hard-core Frisbee enthusiast. At first he was a bit skeptical about the Skyaak design. It IS a rather unlikely-looking glider! Like nothing you’ve ever seen!
However, once we had tossed the deuce around the living-room a few times, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. He told me that it flies surprisingly well, and he pointed out that the ‘finger flicker’ does exactly the same thing as a ‘throwing stick’ or ‘atlatl’; that is, it creates unexpected extra power with little or no exertion!
He also enthused about the fact that the deuce tends to lift its nose up by the time it reaches the recipient, making it (conveniently) easy to grab out of the air by the shaft! Yeah, that is definitely a bonus feature that you will notice and enjoy!
You can clearly see in this brief clip how the DIY deuce lifts up its nose when it’s gliding through the air. This is the ‘positive incidence’ that we talked about earlier. Just means that the design of the ring-wings create ‘lift’ as it propels forward. Basically, the more thrust you have, the greater the lift. The ‘finger flicker’ (read: atlatl) feature is your ticket to a lot more airborne power.
Another nice ‘Maker’ image from Google
Well I enlarged yesterday’s image and there are no identifying marks that I could find.
I see that Google has posted a fresh image today:
Another nice Christmas 'Maker' image from Google
Skyaak Maker Dylan Cooke shows how a translucent sphere, that will eventually end up inside the sealed shaft of a Skyaak Ultra-Glow unit sucks up and diffuses LED light.
Specialis praevius of skyaak.com incumbo*
This is a rough mock-up of what the skyaak.com incumbo** might look like . We are in processus ut nos narro.***
Some version of this, possibly quite altered, will appear in early 2009.
* Sneak peek of skyaak.com overhaul
**overhaul
***in process as we speak
Behind the scenes of Skyaak R&D
Lest I get convicted for IP theft, please let me make it clear from the outset that the artwork on the left is of unknown origin, other than I found it at today’s Google search engine.
I am posting it as a very warm compliment to Google. They have extremely good taste in this instance. I love the image of a maker intent on his task of creating strange shapes and widgets at his work station.
Very very cool!
Obviously a billion or so sets of eyes have already seen this enchanting artwork. Wish I knew who the artist is.
Oh Gooooogle…
Who is it by?!
I am going to blow it up a lot bigger and look around for a sig.
(-nal?,- nature?,-nificance?-)
In the same light, Skyaak developer Dylan Cooke zooms in on an ‘Ultra-Glow’ LED hack that he created.
The third hand makes the delicate and precise work possible.
We can’t go into the proprietary details other than to say that there are many steps and it is quite the process to fabricate the complete LED array hack that includes front LED facing to the rear of the unit through the clear shaft, with a second LED at the rear that faces forward inside the shaft.
Dylan worked out all of the electronic engineering to accomplish a glowing shaft that makes it feasible to throw the unit back and forth over a distance of thirty to forty feet in the pitch black. With almost 100% completed throws and catches!
Dylan tests the ricochet LED prior to installation in the front of Ultra-Glow unit
Dylan made a special request that we show only certain details of his hack..sometimes less is more.
As the inventor of Skyaak, Canadian ring-wing glider it is a real honor, privilege and total rush to collaborate with a guy as talented as Dylan!
Among others, Dylan has been a long-time Skyaak enthusiast who has had a huge impact on R&D.
Before Dylan installs the LED into the sealed shaft he tests each unit.
Dylan presses on the mechanical on/off switch that will soon be inserted into the rear of the shaft.
I like the way the light of the LED in combination with the ambient light create interesting-shaped shadows and secondary highlights in this picture.
After the unit is fully assembled, Dylan gets first dibs on pointing out the on/off switch.
In this case we installed blue LED units in both the rear and front of the Ultra-Glow.
My friend Fred sent us a brief video clip of of couple of his buddies tossing an early prototype Skyaak Ultra-Glow around at Berkely Campus. Thought it would be a good time to introduce you to this, with all the chatter about the Ultra-Glow.
It was super-exciting to see the video emanating out of California. It is short and sweet, with beautiful resolution.
Fred wrote, “Here’s a little bit of night flight with my new Skyaak Model 3 with the light kit. Flight is great, but more than that,, this thing looks great at night and was surprisingly easy to catch (especially for people that had never thrown a Skyaak before).”
Skyaak Skinny
Why in the world would a grown man get up every morning with a spring in his step, all excited to carry on with the continuous evolution of an offbeat, odd-ball, esoteric idea like a ‘ring-wing’ glider?
That is a question I asked myself today as I went about my day…
I think back about 30-odd years when a friend of mine innocently showed me a very crude little glider. He didn’t even have a name for it but I instantly dubbed it a ‘ring-wing’. Which makes sense when you consider that it is just a stick with loop of paper at each end. With a dab of gum stuck to the front to balance it. Sounds simple, right?
Turns out it’s not as simple as it seems at first glance, at least not to me.
All I know is that once we had tossed it back and forth a couple of times, I was hooked!
You might say it was ‘love at first flight’.
I built a model to re-create what that first little unit looked like:
I wasn’t sure why, but the thing fascinated me.
I built quite a few more models over the next couple of years and thought of a few ways to improve the design in idle moments. While working for a design firm in Montreal, before the advent of CG graphics, PhotoShop et al, I decided to get the new innovations I had been tinkering with down on paper and drafted up a study of how it might work:
As you can see I was thinking about suspending the shaft inside the center of the ring-wings. Turns out this makes it more balanced and makes it possible to get the thing spinning on its axis in flight. That never happened when the stick was just taped to the bottom of the loops.
After I drew the plan I filed the design away for a few years. In fact, until after I had moved to Saskatchewan, got married, had a daughter and watched her grow up to the age of seven years old. (By now I was the ripe old age of 37.)
My daughter ilara and I had often spoken about the idea of ‘influences’, ‘heroes’ and ‘idols’. I mentioned that I was a big fan of Leonardo da Vinci and had been since I was a little kid, her age.
She thought about this and casually asked me, “Well, if you such a big fan, why don’t you have any inventions?” She had been reading up on Leonardo and knew about his mechanical genius for invention.
That threw me for a bit of a loop, I had not really thought much about the ring-wing glider for quite some time. I recovered in a few seconds and responded, “But I have!” and rushed off to unearth the old drawing from Montreal in one of my bulging portfolios.
It is simply amazing what a huge influence a little bit of encouragement can exert on our lives!
ilara was very, very impressed with the drawing and it this enthusiasm that lit a spark under me to ignite my renewed interest in the thing.
I started to tinker some more with it in my spare time and managed to build some very crude prototype models to see if my ideas would work.
Fast forward to the present. Many incarnations and design tweaks later, I can now show you what the latest model looks like:
This is a rather playful model decorated with color pigments, made of various types of plastic. This puppy can fly over sixty feet at speeds of over 45 kph in the hands of an expert.
The front of a contemporary model:
Kinda slick, don’t you think?
Now, the reason I am wrting all of this is to try to explain just a bit what all the fuss is about with Skyaak 
It’s really about the “follow your bliss” thing.
I just get a lot of personal enjoyment…a real rush…out of shepherding the whole process forward. It’s kind of my post-graduate thesis on ‘how to stay happy and excited in life’.
Of course there are a lot more reasons why I am basically a happy person, but this project is a big factor.
Put it this way: it is a huge rush when you get to see your idea literally ‘fly off the drafting table’ as a working glider. Um…a drafting table is an outmoded reference…think monitor.
So can you imagine how cool it was when the idea of the DIY deuce came around, that converts your PC to a Skyaak vending machine? Now, people from all over the world are scratching their little curiosity itch, scraping up the two bucks for their very own DIY deuce that they can download, laminate, decorate, cut out build and fly! Talk about coming around full circle!
Now I get the immense satisfaction of hearing from you all that are enjoying this cool design just like I did way back when I was a kid of seventeen. That is so cool, don’t you think?
This sweet little DIY deuce unit features the ‘finger flicker’ that you use like an atlatl to rocket it through the air with very fast scale air-speed!
Make sure you check out the details of the Skyaak “betcha can’t make just one” Prize Contest that invites you to submit a video that chronicles your DIY deuce adventures with the chance to win a *FREE* Skyaak Model 3 shipped *FREE* to your door anywhere on the planet!
Skyaak ‘betcha can’t make just one!’ Contest
Skyaak DIY deuce
‘betcha can’t make just one’
OK. It’s official. You read it here.
To make your Skyaak DIY deuce experience even more fun, we’re announcing a contest with prize awards of *FREE* Skyaak Model 3 units to best videos of your DIY deuce in 3 categories:
1) Most creative customizing
2) Best finesse throw with best glide
3) Most creative editing
All you have to do to qualify is grab a Skyaak DIY deuce that you can download, dope w clear tape, customize ( go on, you know you wanna customize it!) cut out, build and fly! That’s a lot of fun for 2 bucks.
Youtube your video entry and include skyaak in the tag so we can find it and we will announce the winners in this space every 3 months. Send as many entries as you want. Build as many DIY deuce units as you want. Have fun and good luck!
3 winners every 3 months. *FREE* Skyaak Model 3 shipped *FREE* anywhere on the planet.
Flat package concept, w 3-D Model 3 ready for maiden voyage!
Skyaak DIY deuce
‘betcha can’t make just one’
It’s snowing @ WordPress
When I logged on this morning to post a blog entry I noticed that the smart folks at WordPress HQ had stuck in snowflakes trickling across the category cloud and all the avatars in Hawt Posts as well as through the WP logo! How cool is that, pun intended?
Smiley Moon from down under
What the alignment looked like from here
A couple of nights ago I noticed the crescent moon resting right over two bright lights, that I assumed were Venus and Jupiter . These are the brightest objects in our night sky when no meteorites are zooming by!
I thought it was kinda cool at the time, but only now realize that this was a fairly unusual occurance, according to Graham Tibbetts of the UK Telegraph.
A rare positioning of planets Venus (top left) and Jupiter (top right)and the
crescent moon of the Earth provides a “smiley” effect that captivated Asia
Monday night Dec. 2, 2008. Photo: AP
Check the DIY deuce under black light!
A couple of days ago I was visiting a friend of mine who happens to own a black light. He had switched it on and we noticed that the DIY deuce lit up like crazy and also looked pretty cool flying around in the dark room lit up with black light.
I decided on the spot that I wanted to catch the image of the DIY deuce barreling through the darkness lit up by black light so I invited my friend over this evening. The deal was: he brings the black light, I supply a nice supper and some beer. He agreed and came over with black light in tow.
We ended up getting some pretty good footage I think. Whatever, it was a fun way to spend an evening!
Teaser of Skyaak Ultra-Glow prototype
Just a teaser of Skyaak Ultra-Glow prototype in action in the pitch-dark … the guys hafta wear glow-in-the-dark bracelets so they have something to aim at … this eliminates totally wild throws.
Curious? Scratch the itch for just two bucks right now. That’s right. You can download, dope with clear tape (or laminate), customize, cut out, build and fly the Skyaak DIY deuce in minutes!
Wow! Eye-Witness report of Fire-ball in the Night-Sky
Single frame from local sky-watcher video ... Uploaded by Emilio Lizardo November 21, 2008 at 08:14 am
I saw the reported ‘fire-ball’ on Thursday November 20th at about 6:30 in the evening at Manitou Beach here in Central Saskatchewan, Western Canada. It was quite a fluke, must have been my LUCKY DAY! I just happened to be outside bringing in an arm-load of firewood, using a flashlight. I switched the light off and suddenly there was a glowing ‘pulse’, kind of a blue-ish-green that lit up the whole sky. I thought for a second that it was a street light, but then immediately dismissed that because it was from totally overhead, where there are certainly no streetlights.
My next thought was that it was a huge UFO, have you heard about ‘Foo Fighter’, you know those reports from WW11 fighter pilots who saw orbs of light tailing/teasing/evading them at 50,000 feet or so? It was a weird and amazing sensation. I could see all around me in the yard just for maybe a second, maybe a bit less. I naturally looked straight up at the night sky and saw a glimpse of a very bright, fast-moving light that was trailing a tail of white sparks behind it. It looked like it smacked down somewhere north of the Lake.
So yes, I can certify that I was a witness.
It’s being called a ‘fire-ball’ here in Western Canada.There’s a guy from CTV news who is running around trying to locate remnants as we speak. There were quite a few eye-witnesses and even reports of glowing chunks spotted in fields. Hopefully there will be some fragments found, as they will be quite collectible I imagine.
Anyone interested in watching a video of this event can visit this link.
An update of this increasingly fascinating occurance and the involvement of the Canada Space Agency can be seen here.
About the Skyaak DIY deuce ‘finger flicker’ advantage
You can just throw your Skyaak DIY deuce exactly like a dart and get pretty good results, or you can introduce the ‘finger flicker’ advantage that increases your torque with less exertion. It’s true. When you place your index finger behind the finger flicker, and flick the unit with your finger just as you toss it you will notice a turbo-boost in the power of the flight. Your deuce will rocket ahead at fast scale-speed. Remember to hold the nose up a bit-about 10 to 15 degrees- above level when you are launching it.
The cool thing is that the more thrust you give it (w the catapult power of your index finger…a built-in atlatl!) the happier it is and the better it flies. You will see that the ring-wing configuration of your Skyaak deuce produces surprising stability. When it spins naturally on its axis, as it is bound to do, the stability is further enhanced.
Which leads one to ponder: does the ring-wing design create its own vortex as it flies that it tends to ride on like a cushion of air, or maybe a lifting energy?
You will witness this phenomenon by experimenting with the DIY deuce. Watch how it flies as you gain expertise.
Any theories or insights into the aerodynamic properties of the Skyaak design that you may have through your hands-on observations would be welcome. Let me know if you have any thoughts about this.
Grab the Skyaak DIY ‘deuce’ model that you can print on regular 8.5″ x 11″ paper, dope with clear tape, customize, cut-out, build and fly for the one-time cost of $2.00. Make a master copy of your download before you cut it out so you can go on to build a whole fleet if you want!
Skyaak hits CoolestGadgets.com!
Left: the flat plans for the Skyaak DIY deuce sit under two built units, Right: the DIY deuce is airborne a split second after it is 'finger flicked' by inventor Michael Gaudet
You will want to check this out!
Skyaak DIY deuce has hit CoolestGadgets.com , “the ongoing search for the coolest gadget”.
Pretty cool stuff…actually the coolest !
If you want to experience the sensation of Skyaak ring-wing flight before your very eyes, you can right now.
Grab the Skyaak DIY ‘deuce’ model that you can print on regular 8.5″ x 11″ paper, dope with clear tape, customize, cut-out, build and fly for the one-time cost of $2.00. Just remember to make a copy of your download before you cut it out so you can go on to build a whole fleet if you want!
Charlie Clarke presents Skyaak DIY deuce ring-wing glider!
Charlie Clarke cautions against throwing a Skyaak Model 3 around in the house, something might get broken! We wanted to prove once and for all that the Skyaak DIY deuce is perfectly safe to throw around in your average home, classroom or office, though. A half an hour or so later, we had chucked all four of these around and none of them got wrecked. Neither did any lamps, windows or TV screens. So yeah, they are safe alright.
Charlie Clarke holds 4 Skyaak DIY deuce units in a clutch before we started to chuck them around at his place.
BTW, you can also visit the official Skyaak DIY ‘deuce’ vendor site at PayLoadz here that includes the affiliate builder! Anyone who wants to can grab the code there to start earning $$$ by offering this cool new product on your website or blog!
If you want to experience the sensation of Skyaak ring-wing flight before your very eyes, you can right now.
Grab the Skyaak DIY ‘deuce’ model that you can print on regular 8.5″ x 11″ paper, dope with clear tape, customize, cut-out, build and fly for the one-time cost of $2.00. Just remember to make a copy of your download before you cut it out so you can go on to build a whole fleet if you want!
