When Scott had said to Dean that the Opal was ready for him to fly Dean took this to mean it was ready for anyone to fly because it was always intended that the Opal would go into production. At the time of the Opal accident Scott had been trying to set up a 200 aircraft deal for coastal surveillance, and it was always going to be sold as an ultralight as a follow up to the Sapphire.
The reason for the delay in anyone else flying the Opal was that it was very stable in 2 axis but Scott could not get the pitch right. There was either too much or too little response to stick input. Scott spent a lot of time trying pushrod adjustments and different bellcranks on the mixer system.
  Before flying down from Bellina Scott had fitted a trim assist device to the elevons and said that it now flew 'hands off.' The Opal had always flown well but Scott was not willing to let anyone else fly it until the pitch input problem had been solved.
There was another Opal under construction at the time of the accident. The Wing Mould had been made and there where drawings but Dean does not know what has happened to them.

Scott had four aircraft planned or completed at the time of his death. The Facet Sapphire was the first, and the Facet Opal was the second. In the early planning stages, including a radio control flying model completed and flying, was the Facet Diamond.
The Facet Diamond was to be a small 300 knots flying wing powered by a small turbine engine. The fourth, the Facet Gem was an idea that Scott had but had not formalized.

The Future of the Facet Opal

Dean has expressed an interest in completing the program Scott had for the Facet Opal. The Opal is repairable and Dean wants to update the design to make it more user friendly. These changes would be an increase in weight, a new undercarriage, leading edge extensions and butterfly air brakes.

If there is anyone out there wanting to sponsor Dean please email this magazine with ideas to be passed on to Dean. Please do not send any donations, just your expression of interest and ideas. If there is enough interest it can go from there.

Personally I would like to see the speed and distance records planned by Scott completed, and for the Facet Opal to go into production as was always the intent.



First 'Real' flight for the Solar Impulse

Since the ‘first flight’ last December, where the Solar Impulse lifted to slightly above the ground and stayed there briefly, there has now been a ‘Real’ first flight.
The flight lasted 87 minutes and the maximum altitude reached was 1200 metres. The pilot , Markus Scherdel, said that the aircraft performed as the flight simulator indicated it would and there where no problems. The flight was 100% emission free.

  This stage of flight testing is planned to progressively increase the length of the flights to a 36 hour day/night mission. The final step will be a round the world flight in five stages. Five stages has been chosen because each stage will be three to four days, and this is considered to be the limit of endurance for a single future.
There is a second two seat Impulse planned when battery technology has advanced sufficiently to power a heavier aircraft. See Also