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Five 1988 Sunguidance flights were made using a Cineroc, 2 for roll tests and 3 for pitch-yaw tests. Click here to download a Zipped 1.5 meg Quicktime movie (160 x 120 pixels). This is from the 5th flight which was three-staged using Chad-staged D12-0/D12-0/D12-5. After many false starts, it seems that now finally this QT movie will play on PC's! Thanks to: Matt Steele for the use of his Cineroc, the late "Mr Cineroc" Herb Desind for arranging for the film loading and processing, and Tom Beach for the QuickTime movie conversion.   2005 Update - Sunguidance Flights resume! Gearcam Onboard video instead of a Cineroc. Go to the Video page.

Sunguidance is an R&D project which won at NARAM-30 in 1988. Based on using sun sensing to guide a model to fly towards the sun (or fly near vertically on overcast days). The 1988 test models used aerodynamic controls. Copies of the 1988 Sunguidance report, laid out by Jim Cook, are available from NARTS (TR#-204). If you are interested in knowing more about how Sunguidance works, and perhaps want to build your own, please get this report from NARTS.

Gimbal Flight #1 from 1989 R&D project : After a ballistic boost on a D12-0, a D12-5 in a gimbaled engine upper stage ignites, with sunguidance steering the model towards sun. The camera angle makes the flight appear horizontal but it was not. Sunguidance did not prove to be too well suited to gimbaled flight, introducing major course corrections at liftoff on the later single staged F15 and F10 flights, often with problems of overcontrol. As well some flights rolled too quickly for the servos to keep up with, resulting in ballistic flights.

1988 Sidewinder style Sunguidance test model, BT-60 tubing

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