The Pacific I is a high performance glider designed by Doug Fronius and built by John Lasko. The basic goals were that is should offer competitive performance at the Icarus V level while being much simpler and less expensive to buid.
The glider was first conceived in late summer/early fall of 1974. An important design goal was that a Quicksilver’s basic structure (everything but the sail and wing ribs) could be converted into a Pacific I with very few modifications. A Quicksilver would need a better airfoil for more lift and better streamlining. More lift was provided by a modified Liebck section from the Icarus V. A rear spar was put at the trailing edge and eliminate the use of any secondary structures. The 1in trailing edge could be put in latter with foam, paper, or whatever.
To reduce the drag, all surfaces were covered on both sides with 1.8oz dacron glued and shrunk in place. Gussets and pop rivets relace bolts and machined fittings. The only machied parts ae standard bar corner fittings. The calculated desin weight was 48 lb however some larger tubin increased the weight by about 4 lb. The completed machine came in at 53 lb.
It has no turnbuckles, as it has a homemade threaded expandable kingpost to take up the rigging slack after assembly. It can be assembled by one person in under 5 minutes.
The wing ribs are made out of 1.2lb foam with spruce capstrips and weigh 3 oz each. Foam blocks are glued between the ribs to the high point of the airfoil, covered by a thin layer of cardboard under the dacron.
The rigging uses double leading and trailing edge wires top and bottom, and a set of extra tail brace wires running from the stabiliser leading edge bolt to the first compression member on the wing.
The prototype Pacific I cost about $225 to build.
The only major changes to the prototype was the pilots suspension system to allow supine flying. It was flown to 3rd place in the rigid wing class at the 1975 Tellurise Championships.
There was a need for better roll control and/or glide path control.
All Aero 