Steve has added about 18" to each wing and beefed up the structure and now calls his sailplane a Magic Dragon. It qualifies as an unpowered ultralight by coming just under the weight limit (180 pounds with a ballistic parachute).
He claims a 96 f/m sink rate. The quality of work is amazing. It is a work of art!
This is a real "ultralight sailplane".
I took these pictures at Wallaby Ranch, FL, April 10, 2000. Click on any picture to get a larger image.
Steve's wife and son holding the wings.
Nice job fairing at the intersection of the wing and fuselage.
Steve in the cockpit. Above his left shoulder is a handle for deploying a large airbrake/spoiler. This basically destroys lift at the root section and requires aft stick to counteract.
Taking off behind the Dragonfly. Steve wanted a tow at 41 mph.
Soaring the treeline at sunset.
Stephen Bannasch, stephen@concord.org