Flight Log: 11/28/10

Finally got to fly again, the weather has been too cold, too wet, too windy.  We got just over 40F today, calmer than forecasted wind, and just some drizzle toward the end of 2 hours there.  Jer went too, with his electric chopper.  I took the Phoenix Funstar aka SNAFU and got in 4 flights.  Jer got 2 flights with it and 2 with his chopper.  Mike was there with his Twist 40, Giant Sportster, and propane heater for us to keep warm.  It was not that cold though, and I should not have busted out 2 handwarmers.  Cold enough that the ear muffs helped though!  Had fun just keeping out the rust from my fingers.  Jer liked the Funstar for loosening up his fingers too, as he has not flown in almost a month.  Mike flew the Twist well till something caused the engine to quit on the last flight.  He made a good deadstick but the engine felt funny, tight on the ground, and would not start again.  He forgot a Y harness for the Sportster so that never went up.  Nobody else came except to watch!

Flight Log: 11/20/10

Brrrrr, it was just over 40F today but the forecast is for worse weather (colder, wetter, even potential snow) so I went flying.  It was cold but very bearable with one handwarmer and earmuffs.  That, and I went to the truck to drink hot water now and then.  Flew my Toledo for 6 fun flights!  Wind was super light.  Plane started good and flew well, no probs today.  Anthony showed up after 4 flights and flew his chopper a couple times.  Nobody else came out today!  Woosies.

Flight Log: 11/14/10

It was windy, 50F, and very overcast like it would rain, but I went anyhow.  Turned out to be the only one there for the whole time.  Wind was variable 5-10mph, I think, and from the south.  Kinda guessing it would be like that, I took the Funstar/SNAFU since I know it can take-off and land on the short "runway" which is really only as long as just about twice the width of our east-west runway.  Had a ball and made 6 flights.  No deadsticks, all fun landings just playing with throttle to make it over the north field and dirt road to hit the short grass runway.  The wind was not bad up in the sky.  Engine needed richening about half a turn of the needle to transition to full without dying.

Flight Log: 11/10/10

Went to the field to mow, and took one flight with the small Extra 300SP.  Needle was way off and the OS 70 Surpass II would start but die with any application of throttle.  It just needed richening about 1/3 turn and then she ran like a top again.  Flies well, but sorta heavy.  Did not do much, it was getting cold around 3:30PM and I also wanted to miss the traffic.  IF I was forced to sell any plane in my air force, this one would be first to go.

Flight Log: 11/07/10

Today was s'posed to be wet, cloudy, with light winds at 6mph.  It was sunny, dry, and winds no more than 6mph just once in awhile.  Most times it was just light.  Took the Imagine 50 up four times, all good flights.  OS 70 Surpass II ran super great, gobs of vertical for this light and clean airframe.  Just flew the usual stall turns, loops, avalanches, slow and point rolls each way, rolling circles.  This plane has small ailerons for classic pattern flying, but it was pretty fair at low alpha harrier rolling circles.  Since the plane it so fast and smooth, I strung some slow rolls together about 50' off the deck...looks cool low on the horizon!  Really, it was a bonus day from Mother Nature to be able to fly.

Flight Log: 11/04/10

Being retired is such a joy.  Got to fly today as another better than average Fall day presented itself, and the weekend forecast is ughs.  It was so nice that Dave and Steve were there before me.  Three of us took turns flying on a glorious day with wind again down the runway.

Flew my Yak 54 three flights, all just awesome air time.  Got in some hovering fun, and also some rolling harrier circles.  The alpha is getting better and my timing is getting better as I complete more full circles!  The 120 Surpass III ran flawlessly, but I sure wish it had just a bit more power for 3D stuff and for better unlimited vertical.  Did some more rolling circles and did some entries from inverted instead of right side up, just to be fancier!  The snaps at the top of loops is fun, and I did both single and double snaps.  Kinda cool to do the snap, then continue down into the X for a cuban 8, then go up and loop and again snap, and continue to the X, and finish up.  Basically a cuban 8 with snaps on the loop tops!  Been having fun doing cuban 8's beginning inverted too.  Just another variant!

Flight Log: 11/03/10

It's a Wednesday day off for Tad, so we went flying together on a altogether PERFECT DAY weatherwise!  Wind was light pretty much from the west, i.e. NO CROSSWIND today!  It was cool at first then a perfect 60F.  Sun was out.  This is FALL?

Anyway, Tad had 4 flights and I had 3 on the Extra 330L.  We only quit because the long tube on my stock DL-50 muffler fell out of the muffler while in midair.  Somehow Tad found it.  The engine sounded and ran the same without it, but I did not know what came off and rushed a landing.  Ended up overrunning the runway, and stopping on the newly seeded field.  One of those darn wooden pegs pegged my left wheel pants, but it is not bad.  Cracks can be repaired. 

Besides that event, the plane flew wonderfully.  And the engine started easy as usual.  The SOP for this engine seems to be about 20-25  flips of choke on, ign on, full throttle till a cough comes.  Then it starts on about the 5th flip of choke off, on low throttle.  Subsequent starts are in just one or two flips with choke off, on low throttle.  I did several KE circles with the belly towards the center of the circle.  Very easy with this plane!  It stays vertical in KE, and the rudder is uber effective in keeping the nose up.  Rolling circles were good...the only trouble is that since this Airtronics radio does not have DR or EXP on rudder, I tend to get too much deflection from the rudder application, as compared to my Futaba radio on my other planes. Tempted to put the Futaba in this plane too, but will need to Y harness a channel to get the battery hooked up.  Landings were all pretty nice except the forced one when the muffler fell apart.