3rd Painting for 2012!

Yikes, I am nuts...this is my 3rd painting I want to count for 2012, and it is still 2011.  Oh well, this is my 3rd consecutive day of painting and I am just having too much fun to lay the brush down!  Jeremy wanted a seascape similar to my others, but with Diamond Head in the background, so I found an image online, and traced it on paper over my monitor.  So high tech!  NOT!  Then I cut the profile of DH out, and traced it onto my canvas in pencil and painted it in at the appropriate step in the process.  Did the same thing today with a larger image.  Yesterday's was on the 18x24 canvas; today's was on the 16x20 in case one of our visitors at the end of January would like to take it home in their carry-on suitcase.   Here they are:

18x24 for Jeremy and Rachel

16x20

Sister Sue, after seeing the painting for Jeremy, e-mailed that she wants a painting of Diamond Head too, so I can always take the 16x20 to her in HI on my next visit.  Today, I used the small stiff fan brush for the froth of the waves, and it worked well.  On all prior seascapes, I used the filbert and floral round brushes for this purpose.  I think all work ok, but I can obtain a little more delicate touch and effects with the fan.

First Painting for 2012!

Yeah, I am cheating but I had a nice round 30 paintings done for 2011, and I want to get a headstart on 2012 plus I had the time alone at home today, so I did a painting that counts for 2012, lol.  I call it Misty Wintry Hills.  All aspects just flowed today on this project.  I was really pleased with the gradations for lavendar for the hills, and the foreground evergreens were the most effortless ones I have done.  Using the large fan brush, the foreground evergreens came out "feathery" with delicate tips and more background showing through parts of the trees.  The same brush was used for the bushes under the evergreens, except pushing upwards.  The effect is great.  Then I used a fan brush with white to drag the dark from the underbrush, out to create shadows and texture in the snow, creating the "lay of the land" per Bob Ross.  Totally magical, this method of oil painting.

Go Trojan!

It was the day before Christmas, and all through the day, not a breeze was blowing, not even a whisper.  Great day for flying if one did not have fam obligations!  It was over 40F when I went to the field, and it might have hit 50F when I was out there a few hours.  I flew my T-28 Trojan 3 or 4 times.  I lost count as usual and due to one flight being constant TO and landings in both directions.  I would takeoff, turn a 180, touch and go, turn 180, touch and go, etc, back and forth with full flaps down.  There was no wind to consider in either direction, nor crosswind.  I was not the only diehard.  Mike, Doug, and Dave came out too, but that was all.  Doug had fam obligations, so he brought the whole fam out to watch him fly!  Maybe 6 adults, and a couple toddlers watched him fly his Nexstar equipped with snow skis on the trike gear.  It worked like a charm, including still effective ground steering.  It was an odd but cool sight to see the ski equipped plane fly off our slick grass, lol.  The T-28 flew like a champ and just needs some covering repaired on the wing where it got loose from exhausts, so I ripped a couple square inches off so that it would not flap and worsen in the air.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

#30/#50...aka Winter Solace

Mission accomplished...I completed painting #30 for 2011, and #50 overall since starting the Bob Ross painting method in January 2010.  I sure didn't expect to do 30 this year, but it was just so much fun and I got hooked on doing seascapes halfway through the year.  Maybe I can do 40 next year, haha.  I doubt it, but maybe 30 again? This painting is from memory after watching Bob Ross on OPB on Monday.  I call it Winter Solace.  Very quick to do because there are no clouds and snow-capped mountains to get just right.

I actually learned some new things on this painting, such as the bushes with a fan brush, and pulling the paint from the bushes to make shadows while also creating the shape of the snowy hills.

Sbach 342 Joins My Air Force!

Tad and Becky gifted me the  Pilot 73" Sbach 342 for my 60th birthday back in May, at which time I installed the LG and stab.  I then laid it down for the flying season till just two weeks ago.  With our rainy or cold weather setting in for the Winter, I picked it back up again, and assembled it.  Twas FUN and the high quality of the Pilot ARF made it fall together rather effortlessly. 

Yesterday I attached the wheel pants and painted the all-white helmet head to match the color scheme.  I pretty much completed the plane today by printing and attaching an instrument panel, affixing the pilot, and redoing the servo arms to the shafts with blue threadlocker.  It's a real beauty of a plane, yet I can remember thinking that when I first selected it, the color combo of orange and purple is GAUDY!   Not so in person.  I think the expanses of white help tone it down some.  The scheme is definitely not conservative, but now I like how it pops enough and says "Look at ME!"  Haha, I kinda like that.

The plane has a DLE-30 with JTec muffler for power.  Tower TS160 servos all around except for a Hobbico CS110 for throttle.  Batteries are a 4.8v NimH for the ignition and 2 LiFe 1100mAh packs for the receiver and servos.  Two heavy duty switches service the LiFe packs while one takes care of the ignition pack.  An RCXEL optokill switch provides positive kill of the engine.  Radio is the Airtronics 10 channel SD-10G with their 8channel 92824 receiver.

It's a BEAUTY and I can hardly wait to maiden it.

 

Holy Toledo!

It is not as pretty as before because of the damage to the cowl in the last outing, but the Toledo Special flew BETTER than ever today.  Pour quoi?  First off, I repaired the cowl to be strong but not beautiful (yet) by using CA on thin FG cloth inside the cowl in the several thrashed locations, caused by the demolition of the spinner and backplate on the plane.  I made the repairs but did not repaint those areas because I don't have matching paint and it will be hard to find.  If I do repaint the areas, it will be with what I can find or have on hand, such as a dark blue Lusterkote spray that I have.  The big reason the TS flies better than ever though is because the last MAS prop was damaged in the spinner explosion, so I replaced it with what I had on hand, an APC in the same diameter and pitch...13x8.  Wow, this makes the plane sing through the air.  I can't believe the difference, the increase in speed and authority while sounding smoother or quieter.  Got in 3 nice flights, and had to rush home to take care of Kimi.  BTW, Jer ordered and gave me the new baby blue spinner from H9 for this plane.  Thanks Jer!

PS...I have many planes with APC props on them, but some just like the MAS better, so I do have both in my air force.

Flight Log: 12/15/2011

I was surprised to see the 3 outside thermometers read >40F at the same time, so I went flying.  Nobody else was there since the sky did look very grey and overcast.  Wind was light, but it made the temp feel colder.  Used a handwarmer and was fine.  Flew the Stinger II for two flights and liked it.

Did not like my new glasses, so I intend to use my old ones with sunglass clip-ons for all flying from now on.  I got the new glasses because the old ones are getting milky white lenses...dunno why and KP did not have any ideas why either.  Well, after about 4 rechecks I gave up on going back to get the new glasses perfect.  For some reason, the right side is great, but the left side is slightly blurry, and when I drive I definitely see double vision red stop lights but not green.  Weird!  Anyway, KP is useless even though they say come back till satisfied.  I just give up.  The old ones are not like that, so I will use them just for flying, and always with the sunglass clip-ons so that the milky white lenses don't bounce all kind of white glare into my eyes.  After the holidays I might use the new prescription at LensCrafters or Binyons to see if they can produce them better.  If  I get the same optical results, then the prescription is bad.  Just maybe they will simply produce them better.  This turned out to be a long post on glasses and not on flying, haha.

It felt good to get out to fly again after not going for 10 days!  Sure showed rust in that short layoff.  My landings were bouncy, bouncy, bouncy!  The YS 63 ran like a thoroughbred.  Really like it.

Flight Log: 12/03/2011

Slightly foggy and cold at the start, the sun burnt the mist off quickly and took the chill out of the air to make flying a pleasant event today.  It was 40F but calm, so there was no wind chill till the end of the day when a little wind came up and the sun was low in the sky.  Had a great time with both Tad and Jer staying the whole time I was there.  Flew my SNAFU all day because my Toledo Special had an wardrobe malfunction.  The spinner broke during the first run up, so I took off the spinner cone.  The rest of the spinner shattered on the next run up, and damaged the cowling.  Had to hangar that plane right then.  Should have retightened the prop when I took the nose cone off.  The whole mess might have been due to a loosening prop.  Came home and last night I used some light FG cloth and thick CA to reset the nose of the cowling.  If I can find a paint to cover the cracks and chips, I will do some repainting.  Otherwise, very little will be seen when I get a new spinner on.  Now am deciding what to do about a replacement spinner.  Anyway, the SNAFU flew fine and I had a good time.  Took at least 5 flights.  Tad had 3 with his AW Extra, and Jer had several with his GP Extra with the new Bisson muffler.  The OS 160FX seems to work with the new muffler and is quieter.  He just needs to ensure the muffler does not loosen during flight.

Sunrise Sunset

Painting #49 is here.  For some reason, I cannot get more pictures to load into the GADGET right hand column on my blog page, so I will have to include pictures of my paintings here in the main post column.  It works out for  the best since the pictures here are clickable for enlarging while those in the GADGET column are not.  Anyhoo, here is painting #49 overall, and the 29th for 2011!

Update:  I just tried for the upteenth time to add a pic in the right hand GADGET column, and IT FINALLY WORKED AGAIN!

Flight Log: 11/26/2011

Upon the heels of yesterday's nice weather, today was actually a little nicer still!  It was a few degrees warmer with a few more clouds to screen the sun from our eyes, and the wind was as light.  With the short grass due to  mowing yesterday, the runway was great.  Flew my Yak 54 thrice and the Stinger II 5 times?  I really lose track after the first few flights.  All I know is I burned about 1/2 gallon of 15% nitro fuel, haha.  That is due to the OS 120 Surpass III on the Yak...it seems to guzzle the glow.  It's ok since days like yesterday and today are fewer and further between during the coming months.  The Stinger and Yak flew well today, quite a contrast in speed envelopes.  Jer flew his Yak as well as small electric chopper and Extra.  Bruce, Brandon, Mike, Rudy, and Joe flew again today.  In addition, Bob Ross was there, and Nick with dad Chris came for a flying lesson with Mike late in the day.

NICE Day!

Way more sunshine arrived than was projected, and it was real calm and comfortable for flying.  Didn't need earmuffs nor handwarmers today although the temp was around 45F!  Got to the field and nobody else was there for my first flight.  Bruce and Brandon showed up, then Joe, then Rudy.  Mike came later without any planes, and Shane arrived much later.  I flew my Yak 54 either 5 or 6 flights.  The engine was pulling hard today, and the Yak was a joy to fly through many manuevers.  With such nice weather, I did not want to quit...I was the field from around 10:30 until 3:30.  :)

Brrrrrrrrr

Today it was ccccccold but we flew anyway. Met up with Joe around 11:45 at the field, and Mike was just setting up too. It was 37F when I left home, and 40F when I got home, so it was very nipply the whole time there. Still, due to NO wind, the wind chill was nada. Used two hand warmers in my front jeans pockets, my Pendleton hat, Eddie Bauer earmuffs, and my usual dark green vest and Nike tennis jacket over a thick long sleeve flannel shirt. That kept me warm enough, and not till about 4 hours later when I departed the field was I starting to feel slightly chilled to the bone, haha.

I must have got 4 flights with the new Stinger II, and I loved it more than ever. Landings are so easy, just keep feeding in up once over the runway to flare out and land lightly every time. Joe brought his HOTS, so on the last flight we flew together we were doing some fairly low passes and circuits ala pylon racing. They are evenly matched in speed and look alike. It was lotsa fun. Got a good laugh out of Joe when on the farside downwind leg, I did a real low slow roll, maybe 25' off the deck.

The YS FZ63S continued to operate flawlessly today, gotta love it a lot. I do notice that it likes to start with maybe 3 clicks throttle on the stick, perhaps to get the regulator/pump working, then I can immediately drop to low idle and it stays running.

Joe also flew his Hawk and Mr. Mulligan. The latter flew well, the former not so well. My launch was not great, but the Hawk did not seem to have the thrust to make flight control surfaces effective on the bungee launch. Torn left wing at the fuselage can be repaired and the plane will live to maiden another day.

Surprisingly we were not the only diehards today! Bruce and Brandon, Rudy, and Shane showed up to fly too. Great time had by all. Oh, I checked out Rudy's new electric pattern plane, the Osiris. Took a lot of up trim and resetting of the subtrim, plus moving the balance point to midrange of the recommended CG, then the plane flew nicely. I think it can be refined in trim later, but it is darn close enough for Rudy to fly it next time. I made two flights with the Osiris...that plane is seriously on rails on 2 consecutive slow rolls. Landings were as easy if not better than the Stinger!

I did not take this pic today, but the sky was just as dark and ugly as in this pic:

Sweet Hawaii

That's the name of my latest seascape that I just completed this morning. I painted two similar ones to give to sister Sue and Andy, and they came out so well (to me) that I wanted one to keep in my own home. Theirs are 16x20 to fit in my carry-on suitcase, while mine could be the larger size (18x24) since it is not going anywhere. I'm pretty happy with the results, and I named it Sweet Hawaii! It's painting #28 for this year, and #48 overall. :)

Flight Log: 11/13/2011

The conditions were a little better today, 5F warmer and slightly less wind, so off I went to the field. Jer actually beat me there and was in the air when I arrived! He flew his Yak, BNF Polecat, and BNF chopper. I flew my Stinger three times, and my SNAFU once. The Stinger was very good again, and my corrections made after yesterday's flying were pretty spot on. The left KE now rolls more with the right rudder application rather than less, so I can take out a % or two on that mix correction. Also looks like the plane can use a little weight in the tail so that inverted flight requires less down elevator, and it will help the plane track straight in KE...it pulls very slightly to the canopy now. The YS FZ63S continues to impress, and I like it a lot. The Stinger is a great plane! I remembered my camera so the pics are from today!

OH, and here is a pic of what Joe flew today...gotta love these planes and the age and speed differential, haha!

Flight Log: 11/12/2011

Quite an ugly day, but I got in three flights on the Stinger II. It was probably 10mph from the south and very cool at just maybe 43F. Brrrrrr...had to break out a hand warmer, wear by Pendleton hat and earmuffs too! Got the Stinger dialed in a little more with some mixing to counter the plane's desire to roll out of left KE a little. Also dialed in -60% on expo and I might go all the way to -70%. Had -50% to start the day. Only Rudy showed up an hour later, and I made one more flight with him there. He took one with his Ultrastick, and we were done due to the increasing windchill factor. The YS 63 ran well, and I really like it. I think I shall readjust the wing pin for one wing because right now the wings line up just a little off from each other, causing natural left roll. I have right aileron trimmed in, and it looks too weird. Maybe there is a warp in the wing(s) too, that I did not catch before.

UPDATE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: I inspected the wings on a flat table. They seem pretty flat, but the left aileron is warped basically providing a wash-in effect at the tip, so I used a heat gun and warped it flat. Also, when eye-balling the wings from the rear of the plane (down low and centered behind the stab and fin), the trailing edges of the wings are not level to each other, so they provide an aileron effect for left roll. This explains why I had to trim in right aileron for straight and level flight. I adjusted this by trimming the hole for the left wing pin slightly lower with my Dremel. I filled the extra space on the top of the hole with thick CA and accelerator. Hopefully this puts the wings neutral to each other and I will have no aileron trim required, and no difference in coupling behavior in left KE vs right KE. Lastly, I put in -70% expo on the flight surfaces.

Stinger II Maiden!

With just a little trepidation about the maiden due to the Stinger II having my first YS engine on it, I went about making the maiden flight today. It was foggy on the way over, but clear at the field, approaching 50F, and sunny. NOBODY was there, so I set to work/play. I had to make sure I concentrated on fueling and defueling due to the pressure that YS engines operate with. Fuel via the intake line on the side of the fuse and release pressure and catch overflow with the vent line on the bottom of the cowl. I started with the high needle opened 2.5 turns. Needed to use the starter to turn the YS over. Had to fool with higher throttle trim to keep her running, then realized I had not set up the kill switch yet, so I had to turn the needle in to starve the engine and stop it several times. Got the kill set up correctly after fooling with end point on the low end, and the % for kill. Also had to turn the transition needle in about 2 turns when the engine would die at just about any throttle speed when I removed the glow clip. The high needle still seemed slightly rich at 1.5 turns open, but I ran that way for the maiden flight, and was rewarded with lots of exhaust on the plane afterwards, haha.

BUT I was gladdened by the enormous power of the YS FZ63S, and the crazy speed of the Stinger II! The plane needed about two clicks right aileron and two down elevator for hands off flight. Inverted flight requires just a little down elevator pressure. Looks like the plane wants to roll out slightly in KE. The plane whistles at high speed with this engine. Only needed one attempt and landed very lightly on the runway center. The Stinger II slows down like a pussycat. I was about to make a second flight when the prop and spinner took off as a unit without the rest of the plane. I bought the YS used and it came with one aluminum prop nut. On the way home from the field, I stopped at Ace and got two new nuts which when used together will hopefully lock the prop on securely. It was a highly successful maiden and I look forward to zinging about the sky with the Stinger II real soon.

I forgot to take my camera today, so I don't have field pics taken on the day of the maiden like I normally do. This one in the sideyard from a couple weeks ago will suffice for now.

Flight Log: 11/08/2011

Flew the Intruder three times today. The thermometer said about 45F when I went out, but it felt milder and I did not even use a hand warmer today. Nobody else came. I got three good flights, wrapped it up and went home. I tried rolling circles today, humpty bumps and upside down triangles...I forget the real name. Did the usual slow and 4pt rolls too, cuban 8's and reversed ones, lots of stall turns, loops, and avalanches. Excellent day...I think it's good to throw in some new tricks now and then to keep interested and interesting!

Flight Log: 11/06/2011

Almost forgot to log in my flights for Sunday! Looked questionable but I went to the field, and it was cool at first, but got to 50F and with no wind to speak of, it was comfortable. While I busted out a hand warmer, I hardly needed it. Flew the Imagine 50 four times, and the Toledo Special 3 times. Both were extremely happy in the cooler,denser air. They had more speed and lift than usual. Normal suspects were there too...Anthony, Bob Ross, Mike, Bruce and Brandon, and Joe. Watched Joe fly 3 new planes...Evader, Hots, and Giles 3D. All flew well. Glad to see his air force is growing again. For awhile he had very little that was airworthy to fly! Hand launched the Evader with the bungee for Joe...very effective and controllable. Neato!!

Cayman R'ising!

Soared high yesterday with Tad, but we weren't flying RC planes. We got high taking delivery of his new 2012 Porsche Cayman R at Sunset Porsche-Audi in Beaverton, OR. It was foggy during our drive up in the xB, and still misty and foggy in the distance when we drove back, but not a drop of water fell on the new R, haha. The delivery process at Sunset was quick and painless from my perspective, since I did not have to write the check! We were done in no more than 1.5 hours, and it was a really pleasant and professional experience. While there, I got to talk to Nick R, a boyhood friend and classmate of Jeremy's. He works there, I think it's the family business. Here are some pics of the R!

THANKS FOR MAKING ME A PART OF THE MEMORABLE OCCASION, SON! We have an apparent tradition doing these deliveries together...my C5, your C6, your CR!!! What could be NEXT???

Trick or Treat!

Got a great treat when the morning turned out perfect for flying...over 50F, calm, mostly sunny. I flew the CG Ultimate 3 times, and it flew just great. Got done with that, and Mike and Rudy also were finished, so I was able to mow the field. Some dark rain clouds quickly formed and by the time I was making my last pass, rain started to fall. I got the mower put away without really getting wet, and all ended well.

USAF STINGER II

I made some decals out of vinyl with the Cricut for my Stinger II. All decals seen in these two pics are from the Cricut, except for the flag on the fin and the Stinger II decal on the fuse. Also the AMA # on the fin is from my Brother label maker. Hope the vinyl cut on the Cricut can stand up to glow fuel!

Flight Log: 10/23/2011

Got a real gift of good flying weather today. While it was drizzling on my way to the field and thickly overcast, it did NOT rain at all and the sun grew brighter and bluer as the hours went by. I stayed from 9AM till 2PM! Flew the Toledo Special 5 times and the SNAFU twice. Ate up a lot of 15% glow fuel! The combination of cool temp, heavy wet air, and the needle setting provided the most power and speed the Saito 82a in the TS has ever put out. My goodness, lots of speed and authority on all flights made for very pattern like flying. It was fun to putter in low throttle on a low pass, then go to full throttle and go vertical. Not many folks came out today, just the usual suspects...Bob Ross, Rudy, Joe, Brandon/Bruce, and Mike. Blake came out for one flight but could not get a quick charge to go up again. That was it...very light breeze compared to the nearly 15MPH yesterday. Different conditions provided different fun!

8-13MPH!

It was a SNAFU kind of a day with higher winds than most of the guys will fly in at our club. Brandon and Bruce took a flight with the Ultrastick from Joe, Joe had some flights with his Mig and Sundowner. I had 5 fun flights with the SNAFU, using the crosswind runway, and having a ball approaching over the dirt road, with minimal to no rollout on landing, haha. Great fun trying to fly backwards at low throttle into the wind, and the nose held up a little. Tad surprised me by showing up...he had his new Polecat, but it was too windy to maiden it. Bob Ross was there but did not fly his Saratoga. Bob Bevens showed up but did not fly, same with Dave Woodward...I am guessing he came for a lesson with Bob and they determined it was too windy.

Stinger II

I have always wanted a Stinger since the old days, so I ordered the new ARF by Great Planes. I finished assembly of it today, after 11 days of on and off assembly. It is a very easy plane to assemble and the overall quality is good except for the very wrinkly covering. The initial step to smooth the covering probably required the most time and effort in the assembly of this plane. For just $135 after the Tower Super Savers Club discount, I cannot complain. I powered it with a YS FZ63S that I bought used (but excellent condition) months ago. As is typical for my planes, I have Futaba 3152 servos on all flight surfaces, a Tower TS-53 on throttle, and the Futaba 617 FASST receiver in the Stinger II. AUW is 86 ounces or 5 lbs 6 oz. CG is just a fraction of an inch ahead of the location recommended in the manual. The plane comes stock with yellow striping which I removed (difficult) or covered (fuselage) with red because I want to make it a red, white, and blue plane with stars and bars and USAF decals, to be found and added later, but soon hopefully.

An Ultimate Kind of Day!

Oh yes, we don't get days like this often in the Fall and Winter. It was over 55F when I left home, and this afternoon it is over 70F. There was very light wind from the East, but not much to even consider during takeoff and landing. I treated the AW Ultimate to the day out, with 2 very pleasing flights. The additional 2 ounces of lead in the nose helped a little. The plane stays level and drops ever so little while inverted with no down elevator pressure. Flying inverted while climbing at 45degrees, the plane will not maintain that attitude...it increases its climb to vertical. The weight did not cause the plane to nose over on the grass, so I think I can use a little more weight up front. I think I can also use more expo if any is to be had because even at low rates, the plane is touchier around neutral than the rest of my planes (except the other 50cc plane, the Extra 330L.) Landings were awesome today...just nice and steady descent with no bubbles up or down, with wings staying real level, and riding just a little low throttle till going to idle inches off the ground. BTW, starts and restarts were a piece of cake like always. The DLE-55 ran like a top.

Flight Log: 10/16/2011

Fog lifted at 10AM so we could fly. I was there at 9am, and I mowed while we waited for the fog to lift. Flew my Yak 4 times. What a great plane and engine combo. Doesn't fly real fast, but it goes vertical easily, flies a steady speed through many manuevers, and lands like a feather. I would be tempted to add another but larger Yak 54 or 55 to my air force.

Flight Log: 10/15/2011

It was foggy at home, but not as much at the field. Wind was light from the north, but increased as time went by. Still had a nice time flying the T-28 for four flights. There is something to flying in wind and very cool conditions like today (50F) that makes it pretty enjoyable. Maybe it is the challenge to stay under control at all times, and especially on landing approaches. Jer flew his Yak, and Joe flew his Sundowner 50 and Graupner Kadett. Bob flew his Ultrastick, an Brandon his Sukhoi foamie jet. Oh, Quang flew his 90 size nitro chopper. On one flight, his whole tail rotor flew off, yet he managed to fly the chopper from the north field across the dirt road, and land softly and upright at the edge of our runway! WHAT A SAVE!!! The engine was still idling after landing. WOW!

Flight Log: 10/12/2011

Contrary to the forecast the weather today was very nice after a foggy start. Albeit cloudy, the sun also shone, and the wind was nearly dead. Flew my GP Extra 300SP. Oddly, I just did not feel comfy with the plane today and even landings were just not spot on...too bouncy, too slow, or just ugs. Got in four flights anyhow, and practiced the rolling circle. Tried some clockwise too, and the timing and stick input is just not there like the other direction. It will just take time and enough repetitions. I think perhaps the air was just too dead such that the plane had no feel to me. Rudy and Ty were there, flying his Ultrastick and Vanquish. Oh well, it was good to get out midweek since I cannot fly tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be nice...we are taking Tad out for his birthday. I was able to mow too.

Asian Pear Harvest

I planted an Asian Pear tree in our backyard about 5 years ago in 2006. It had 4 different Asian pear varieties grafted onto one trunk. Sadly two years ago when the tree was heavily laden with fruit, a wind storm broke one of the grafts away from the trunk. We thought perhaps the tree would die after that. I researched ways to treat the wound, and most people online recommended just cutting the broken branch off as cleanly as possible and leaving the trunk to heal itself instead of pasting some kind of salve and bandage on it. So that is what I did, and the tree has survived and fruited the last two Summers. 2011 yielded an abundant crop of the remaining three varieties. Too bad the bands on the tree are long gone and I have no idea what the names are anymore. One variety is the very round, light yellow skinned pear with a delicate sweetness and extremely juicy insides. That one ripened first. The other two varieties are similar in color to each other and very golden brown, but one is slightly larger and has more freckles or pores on the skin. This one also has a sweeter insides than the smaller one.

Here are some pics of the tree and fruits that I snapped today. The tree looks about 8' tall with an 8' spread. It is not the prettiest tree, but we love it for its wonderful fruits.

The season is ending and yesterday I picked 25 pears, and today I got another 18. I have given away many bags of these pears to 5 neighbors, my family, friends at the flying field, and Sandy has even taken some to Curves! I have tossed dozens away into the field behind our house over the season due to bugs eating into the fruit. It's been a bountiful harvest of probably 200-300 fruit. We are blessed.

KRCA Distances

View Larger Map
While on Google Map this AM, I noted our field is:

1. East end of runway is 600 feet to Highway 99
2. West end of runway is 1500 feet to RR tracks
3. Center of runway is 1200 feet to south border of the JB sod farm
4. West end of runway is 1/2 mile from I-5 ROW

Flight Log: 10/08/2011

Although fog looked like it would set in early, it was burnt off by the sun and had no impact on our flying. I had 3 slick flights with the Intruder and another 3 or 4 with the SNAFU. When I disassembled the Intruder there seemed to be lots of fuel on the tank itself, so I suspect a fuel tank leak. Looks like I need to remove and check the stopper and fuel lines. Ug. Flew well though and I love that plane. SNAFU was itself and had some perfect landings on the N/S runway, landing to the south and with just a 5' rollout, haha. FUN DAY. Jer flew his Yak and showed who's boss. Lots of folks came out today!

Blush of Winter

It's been almost 3 months since my last landscape painting. I've been doing seascapes since then. So I thought I would do a landscape again, emulating the one Bob Ross did on his TV show this AM. Sandy likes it, saying the sky, mountains, and trees are very strong. Yup, I still need more practice on those snow covered bushes. Overall, I like the painting. The white paint on the mountains really broke well with the palette knife today, so I must be getting the lighter touch and technique down a little better!

Flight Log: 10/06/2011

Had a nice time flying with Tad this AM but in very crisp 50F air! Wind was from the southeast, so it made for fun landings from the west. I got in 3 flights on the Yak 54 while Tad flew his AW Extra 3 times. Tad did not look rusty at all from not flying for a month at least. Rudy and Mike were there too. Nice day. JB mower man started right when Tad and I were done and packing it up. It was good timing for Tad and me.

I WON!

I flew today in my own contest, and I won handily, haha. Of course I won...I was the only competitor!! Flew my Yak and Shoestring for 3 flights each. Took out the Yak first and had 3 really smooth flights where I felt I was in complete command of the plane every second of every maneuver. Due to the threatening sky (which never did more than just that), I put the Yak away before bringing the Shoestring out. I didn't want two assembled planes to take apart if a downpour struck. Joe had his electric Sundowner and we had a blast "racing". We think the planes are very equal in speed, and had a blast with some very low, close, and fast passes from right to left today, due to the light breeze from the SE. I am liking that Shoe more and more due to its speed, and rock solid handling. Landings still have to be just right to avoid bounces on the stiff LG. I think we had 3 flights together.

Joe also flew a plane we haven't seen in a couple years, his Graupner Electro Kadet. Very nice looking and flying plane that seems real suited for funflys! We helped Brandon and Bruce with their P-47, and Joe maidened it for them. I helped Harvey bring in his electric Funster when just after he took off, he decided the heavy overcast and hazy sky was making it too hard to see more than a black silhoutte of the plane. It flies and lands very nicely. Mike and Tyler showed up when I was nearly pau.

My Own Worst Critic

....is myself! Flew in our Valley Challenge today, which is a challenge RC plane contest between 3 local clubs. Each club had its own contest with the same tasks and rules, and the top 3 pilots from each flew against each other today. I placed in the middle of the pack out of the top 3. Nobody to blame but myself. I was tied for the lead after the first two flights, missed requirements for both loops on the 3rd flight, and then really failed to adjust on the last flight which is 2 circuits through 4 gates. I made 2 gates but missed 2 gates on each circuit. I kick myself for missing the gates on the second circuit. After I knew I was long on the first circuit, I should have adjusted more. I did adjust by turning into the missed gates earlier, but with the speed I was carrying, the plane still went long in those gates. I should also have slowed down to between 1/2 and 3/4 throttle so that the plane would turn tighter and give a better chance of making the gates. That would have saved me a 200 point deduction, and put me in a tie for 3rd. Oh well, live and learn. Must learn from this!!! Think and adjust. Sorta hard to do while in flight, but hey that is what it takes to do better.

Just sorta flew discombobulated today, as one of the other pilots from another club said about his own flying. It was interesting that the top qualifier in the other two clubs did not win today either, so misery loves company, lol. I do think that we should have been given a free lap with judging for the last task (the one with 4 gates). We were given free passes on all the other tasks to help us judge speed and placement, so why not this task also, which was really the most difficult due to the distance the gates were from the pilots.

BTW I flew the Imagine, which did well in the club prelim, but I think the SNAFU would have been a better choice for the event due to its slower speed envelope. I would probably have flown it full speed due to adrenalin, but its slower top speed might have saved me, haha.

Maintenance

At the field, I noticed that the throttle servo on one plane has been very slow, way too slow. Of course once at home I forgot which plane it was. Last night, I took the xmitter and turned on each plane in order and found that the Toledo Special is the one. Took it down and put in a new Futaba 3004 servo that I got from Tower the other day. Throttle is fast again, responsive like it should be. Marked the old 138 as dying/slow and put it away with others. I can use the connector at least. Keeping planes in safe flying condition requires continual visual checking, and repairing as needed.

Flight Log: 09/29/2011

Took the Imagine out for some stick time before our Valley Challenge Fly Off against the other two RC clubs on Saturday at our field. Just practiced a whole lot of landings, touch and go's, and general flying so that the plane feels comfortable on Saturday. I think I had 3 flights with it. Since the SNAFU will be the backup, I took it and had a flight with it too, and just had fun doing crosswind landings on the short runway.

Rudy brought out his new Vanquish electric pattern plane for help to maiden it. After checking all the controls (rudder was opposite), having Rudy increase rudder and elevator throws, and input expo on all flight surfaces, I maidened the bird. Flies really straight as an arrow, and quite quick but not super fast. Still has plenty of power for sustained vertical without struggling to steer it straight up. He will love it when he can fly it. He tried a flight with it himself, but said it was too fast and landed after one circle within maybe 30 seconds, haha. Landed it off the runway on the sod farm, with a flip on its back at the end, but there was zero damage.

North Shore Surf

This painting is my best seascape yet, in my personal opinion...I don't think Sandy agrees, lol. I call it North Shore Surf because it is something like viewing towards Kaena Pt, Mokuleia, Dillingham Airfield, etc. from Haleiwa town somewhere. Not sure if it really exists because I made up the lava flow and rocks with the two coconut trees on it. This is my 9th seascape. GOOD FUN and I like doing seascapes more than landscapes!

KRCA POKER FUNFLY

A week ago, I volunteered to our club president (Keizer Radio Control Association) to run the Fall funfly event if nobody else stepped forward. Of course nobody did, so I got the task a couple days later. I had some ideas, so I ran with them over the next several days, and it all turned out well yesterday, Sat, Sept 24, 2011. The following is a flyer of task descriptions which I handed out as each competitor paid his entry fee of $5.


KRCA POKER FUNFLY

Scoring: A playing card is awarded for each completed task. There are 5 tasks. The best draw poker hand wins 1st place. 2nd place goes to the next highest hand, and 3rd to the 3rd highest hand. Someone with only 3 or 4 cards could beat someone with 5 cards. Anybody can win!

Flight 1: Take off and land . Wheels up to wheels down must be between 70 and 90 seconds. You will be asked 3 simple questions sometime during the flight. You MUST answer.

Flight 2: Take off and get to your own comfortable altitude. Fly inverted for 8 seconds. You tell timer when to start, and he will tell you when 8 seconds are done. Land at anytime after that task, but kill your engine completely before flying over any part of the runway. Prop must NOT be turning when you enter the runway threshhold. Only landings completed on the runway will count.

Flight 3: Take off and clear the runway. Do a touch and go on ANY part of the runway. To count, the plane must then fly clear of the runway after the touch and go. Land at any time after that task, but touch down between the designated lines (spray painted yellow about 30 feet apart). Full width of the runway will be used. Plane may roll to stop outside of the touch down area. Only landings completed on the runway will count. If you kill your engine on the touch and go, it counts, but then the landing task is not successfully completed.

Only one attempt per task. Make sure your engine runs well. Flameout or crash ends the flight with remaining tasks on that flight counting as unsuccessful.


The funfly is all over, and I had FUN running it. I kinda liked being the dictator, haha. I think I was blessed with very perfect weather, lots of amiable competitors (12), and very little interruption by workers who were on the sod field at times.

Everyone seemed to like the poker card format. Our winner had 2 Aces in his 5 cards (one card for each successfully completed task). Next best was a pair of kings in 5 cards. Then a fellow took third with a pair of queens in just 3 cards. There were five other pilots with more cards them him, but he got lucky and they did not.

I must be efficient because we were done in two hours flat! I did not hear any flak, so I think it was fun, fair, and not stressful at all. There were hints that I should do this again, and I said nope! Actually I would but I did not admit that to anyone, and it would have to be after a rest of a year or two...we have two funfly events each year.

Cruzn in My Little Red Corvette

Needed a ride in THE car today before the good weather is gone for another year. Took her out to the north from West Salem all the way to Newberg, then back south on the east side of the Willamette River into Keizer. Just about 62 miles of smooth riding and listening to only the engine, tires, and wind. Did not turn the CD on even once. Odometer shows over 16,000 miles, for a car that is 9 years young. Need to make a real roadtrip with this sportscar and Sandy, perhaps just before or after next Summer, to beat the crowds, the traffic, the heat.

Painting #40

I completed painting #40 in the Bob Ross method, #20 for 2010, and the 7th seascape. I think it's my best seascape yet! I liked the previous one, but wanted to improve on it, so I went for it today. When I went for my walk this morning, I saw a sky much like this one, full of clouds in the foreground and clear light blue sky towards the horizon. Tried to emulate that. For the ocean, I tried to make the foam on the wave once and then not touch it again. I also used less foam where the wave is forming the curl but not breaking yet. From one of my pics of a Tabora seascape, I used the rocks on the left to create depth...rock in front of a wave in front of a rock, etc. I feel real good about this seascape, till the next better one, lol.

Flight Log: 09/19/2011

Had an urge to fly at least a little today after not being able to fly on Sunday due to weather and commitments (took Alex to OSU). Flew my SNAFU just twice, practicing landings from various directions, and trying to dial in the low mixture setting. Seems better now, not wanting to die on some inverted situations. Mowed the field after flying.

Seascape #6

This is my 6th seascape, which I did from memory after watching Bob Ross on OPB this morning. This one is a little different from the other ones with black gesso and liquid clear under the water. How so? While it has the black gesso, Bob did not apply liquid clear for this one, so neither did I. His base coat on the black gesso was dark lavendar for the top third of the water, prussian blue and yellow ochre for the middle third, and typical pthalo blue and pthalo green for the lower third. Blend the layers together a little. It makes the finished ocean have a nice transition in color from background to foreground. Had fun and only took 3 hours...don't tell!

Flight Log: 09/17/2011

Whooosh...windy and drizzly today, the 5mph windsock was stiff all the time, and my guess is we had 10mph+. Made one flight with the SNAFU when it was not so bad, took off and landed on the N/S runway, and had fun. Landed at a very slow crawl! Surprisingly other die hards came out but hardly anyone flew. Brandon had a few flights with a trainer and Somethin Extra, while Quang flew an electric Blue Phantom. Rudy and Anthony came and stayed grounded.

Flight Log: 09/16/2011

Nice but cooler morning...Summer is waning. Flew my Toledo Special twice after mowing. Replumbed fuel tank helped the engine run smoother and faster, yay. Rudy was there too, and is getting better all the time!

Toledo Special and Extra 300SP

Not sure why more folks aren't flying these days, but it was a gorgeous day. Enjoyed flying the Toledo Special 3 flights and the Extra 300SP for 3 flights. I couldn't get the TS to run super smooth, but noticed air bubbles in the fuel line feeding the carb, so I am going to pull the tank to inspect all the lines. I suspect a cracked line in the tank. Still the plane flew well.

The Extra 300SP was my most unfave plane in my 14 plane squadron. I even offered to trade it to Joe yesterday. Then I flew it again today and by gosh I was very happy the way it grooved. I think maybe I need just a little more expo to soften center more than my other planes, and then it will be as smooth as them. I must be getting adapted to its landing needs, much like the TS due to them both having very stiff LG, and am getting the right speed and alpha to set them both down real soft and with little or no bouncing, MOST times. As of today, I don't feel like trading it anymore! That says a lot about it. Most unfave plane now? Actually, I can't pick one anymore!

Update that night: Upon pulling the tank out of the TS, found all tubing had softened extensively and the one to the clunk had broken midway such that the clunk was disconnected completely. Also short fuel lines at the vent and drain tube ends (purpose is to not have hard brass or alum tube ends scratching the fuel tank walls) were possibly cracked. The tubes were clear stock variety, so I replaced all with blue type, and must remember not to use stock fuel tubing anymore. This should make the engine run smooth like a top!

Flight Log: 09/10/2011

Flew the Intruder 3 flights and the Apache a bunch of launches. Found no thermals with the latter, or could not center on them. There was some light air but I couldn't get a good ride. Intruder was real groovy and fun, just nice and reliable. Did many slow and 4pt rolls about as low as I dare, perhaps 25' off the deck.

SNAFU day

Took the SNAFU out today and had 4 flights and many, many landings for practice. Tweaked the low idle screw for better transition...it stuttered on instant full throttle commands at first. Flew great, hovering is getting easier and easier. Took 6 new pins painted red for the frequency box, and left a couple more membership applications in the forms box. Anthony was there but left soon after crunching his big Stryker foamie...he said he was flying inverted and dumb thumbed it, pilot error.

Seascapes

My last FOUR paintings have been seascapes, something I always wanted to attempt but was afraid to try. You can see on the right side of my blog page all of my paintings. Today I completed my 4th seascape and 37th painting overall in the Bob Ross wet-on-wet technique for oil painting. I created it after looking at a bunch of photos from Tabora's book on seascapes, and another bunch of photos of real waves at Sandy Beach, Oahu. (I just visited in August 2011 and snapped those pics.) This one took about 6 hours, not counting the time to prep the bottom of the canvas with black gesso and allow it to dry completely...I did that a couple days ago. I am really enjoying creating these seascapes, they actually are more fun than landscapes at this time for me, and are easier to create. So far two seascapes are created on the black gesso and liquid clear background, and two are on liquid white. While the latter are more realistic, the former has a better contrast and WOW factor, IMHO. Here are three of the seascapes in larger and expandable format (right column pics cannot expand).

Today's painting, "Stormy Coast"

"Storm on the Horizon #2"

"Seascape #1"

T-28 and Apache

Had a good day flying the T-28 and Apache. It was sunny, warm in the afternoon again, and hardly any breeze. Think I had 4 flights with the T-28, and a bunch of launches for the Apache. The Apache caught a strong thermal and rode it up for about a 14 minute flight. The thermal seemed very narrow, like a column just 5' across. I kept doing figure 8's to try to cross the thermal as much as possible and to keep the column located. The Apache rode it up till pretty much specked out for me. Any higher and I would lose wing and fuselage orientation easily. Only Anthony, Bob Ross, Mike, Rudy, Joe, and Stan flew today, but hardly anyone was there at the same time as anyone else.

Another Ultimate Day!

Wow it got HOT in the afternoon today, and I sweated just taking the plane apart when I was done around 1PM, but it was worth it for the 4 nice flights I had earlier! Cool at 9AM when I got there, the flying was good with no workers on the field today, and a small turnout of regulars, including TAD! He got in 2 nice flights. My Ultimate felt a little out of trim on the first flight, but I later noticed that the top wing ailerons were both setting a little high! Turns out I forgot to plug in the ailerons on the top wing when I assembled the plane. For the next 3 flights I had the ailerons all plugged in and the plane flew much nicer. The plane is a little tail heavy, and I guess I need to add some nose weight. Been reluctant to do so since the plane will then want to nose over on the ground, which would kill $30 props too easily. Basically I have to alter my stick inputs on some maneuvers such as the slow and 4pt rolls. I don't need any down elevator when inverted...if I add any, the plane climbs during that part of the roll. This plane is super handsome in the air as it is big, smooth, and powerful. Just loving flying it, but not assembling and disassembling it!

Joe had a misfortune with this big Extra powered by the Moki 2.10. Coming back over the runway from the left, he lost all control and the plane disintegrated when it hit the fencing. It was bad enough to put a hole in the orange material the size of a basketball, which is where the engine and cowl penetrated and got decapitated from the rest of the plane. The airframe totally splintered upon impact. The wings kept the whole plane from going through the fence. The engine, gas tank and spilled gas led through the fence into a pit table. Luckily nobody was pitted there and nothing got hit. I saw the whole thing. The plane looked like it was in a slow roll to the right, and impacted in right knife edge. Good thing the plane hit the fence or it might have reached parked cars. Mike was in the air at the time with his Uproar and the commotion was so distracting that he thumped his plane in the sod farm some 200 feet due south, and tore off his landing gear. He landed on the runway somehow, with just a broken prop!

An eventful day!

Flight Log: 09/01/2011

First day of September! Had my left eye rechecked yet again this AM at KP optometry, and it got dilated for the exam. Went to the field with the eye still dilated and sensitive to light, and still not focused back to normal. I wanted to test run the Yak and Toledo Special with the smaller props. While I mainly wanted to ground run them both, I could not help flying them for the true test. Just had to concentrate on watching them real close, with the fuzzy vision in the left eye.

First up, the TS flew well with the 13x8MAS prop, and turned higher RPMs, but I forget what the number was, haha. Closer to 9k like it should be though. I turned in the mixture screw too much, and the engine cut out when the plane was inverted too long, which it did not do before. I need to back it out and keep adjusting it till satisfied.

The 15x6MAS on the Yak was too small. While the engine really ran faster, 9k RPM, it made the plane fly slower in level flight and in vertical. Lots more noise but lots less speed! I switched at the field to a 15x8MAS and the plane flew much faster to my liking, and the engine still turned about 9k. I also leaned out the mixture screw a smidge. I tried to snap in vertical climb once, and the engine did not bog down after the snap like it did prior to this with the 16x6. I think I found the prop and mixture setting to stick with for now.

Yak

Took my Yak-54 out today primarily to tune it. Slightly breezy but I got to fly her for two flights anyway, as I tried to find a sweet spot in the needles. High end seems good after some fiddling, not rich, not too lean. The mixture screw was a pain and I still don't know that it's as good as it gets, but it's close. Seems that whether I go in or out, the transition during quick change from low idle to full throttle causes the engine to run very slow, and sometimes it never gets to full speed unless I back down to some mid throttle position, then go WOT again. On the rich side of the mixture screw, the engine smokes a lot in the transition; on the lean side it smokes less in the transition. BUT in both cases, the engine just runs slow till mid throttle is given, OR it picks up speed extremely slowly. The cure seems to be just advancing the throttle slightly less than instantaneously going to WOT, and then the engine transitions nicely at the current setting. Not impressive, the tach seems to show only about 7500rpm at WOT with the 16x8MAS. I think I may need to try a smaller prop. The plane however has pretty good speed with the current prop and needle settings.

Giles 202

Took out the Giles 202 for a day of fun in the sun. It was a very calm wind with nary a breeze, not even crosswind! Had 4 flights with the Giles; the OS 160FX was on the money today, very powerful and smooth with a touch of smoke trail. I flew it a little tighter than usual. Only gaff today was the remote needle nuts loosened so the needle valve was wobbling around in the cowl when about to take off for the 4th flight. I noticed it and killed the engine. I had to take off the spinner, prop and cowl to get to the nuts to tighten them. After that I had one more flight with the plane but am a click or two away from the sweet setting. Jer and Joe both had muffler probs with their big Extra's, and were grounded after Joe's muffler lost both bolts in the air, and Jer's completely fractured off and fell of the plane during flight!

I also flew the Apache, and had some bubbly air a couple times, but nothing to brag about. Launch height seems below normal, and might be due to me relocating one aileron servo, and causing both ailerons to flex down a smidge. I think it dirties the wing, and I need to reset the aileron servo again.

Intruder

It was another warm day filled with sunshine, and a little stronger wind out of the north. Still, it was a great day of flying the Intruder for 4 flights of smooth and rail-like aerobatics. That is still one of my fave planes...makes me look like a good pilot! The challenge today was the long line of sprinklers along the SE corner of the runway, making approaches from there a little wet. Along the south edge of the runway at the west end were two lengths of extra sprinkler pipe with heads on them, so that made another obstacle. And finally the sprinkler pipes were laid along the dirt road beginning at the west end of the runway, and they were turned on for added fun. Joe overran the runway twice with the WM Extra that he maidened today, and ended up in the sprinkler radius over there, getting lightly sprinkled both times. Joe and I helped inspect John Doan's 50cc Edge 540T (KPM), after Jeff did some repair work to it since its last outing. I flew it for John, and then he took over on a solo flight of his own. There was concern about it porpoising out of control in its last outing. The first thing I observed when Jeff turned it on was that up and down elevator were reversed, so maybe they tried to fly it that way last time and were lucky to get it back with just engine mount damage. It flew fine for me, and then for John. They were most appreciative.

Extra Nice Day!

On a beautiful day of 85F or more, I flew my Extra 330L twice today. Tad went too, but we cut it short because of a JB mower on the field. Tad did not even assemble his plane. The DL-50 in mine barked after 30 flips with choke on, then started in another 5 with choke off. That is normal for it. Great running engine, but it still spits out a fine black mist on the LE of the left wing and the left LG. Don't care too much as long as it runs sweet like it does. Flew some with low and high rates, and was happy that high is not too sensitive around neutral. In fact it felt the same as low rates. Was able to hover some up high, but not very good. Landings were pretty nice today, no problems at all.

Flight Log: 08/23/2011

Toledo Special flew today at least 4 flights. Had many more takeoffs and landings than that as I tried to tune the Saito 82. It seemed to be honking around real fast on the first flight and seemed too lean, so I tried to tone it down, richen it a bit, but then it never purred smoothly. Seemed to hunt up and down. Couldn't find the original setting, but got close in sound and flight speed, yet my tach says max rpm was only around 6500rpm! Way too slow. Will try smaller diameter prop to get the rpms up. Still it flew nicely, and landed gently too. Mowed the field when I was done.

Update: changed from 14x8MAS to 13x8MAS. Balanced prop and repainted white tips.

Flight Log: 08/21/2011

Flew the Yak 54 for four flights today. Like yesterday it was sunny and got pretty hot by the time I quit at 1PM...around 90F. The Yak flew great with a good trail of exhaust. Might need to lean it a little bit. That might help a tendency for the engine to lose power in violent vertical maneuver such as uphill snaps. Other than that, the plane flew smoothly and gracefully in all maneuvers. Did some of the lowest slow rolls yet with this plane. Also executed a couple of very nice rolling circles up higher, doing 4 rolls in one circle. Getting less doubt doing the last quarter of the circle (coming at me and the pits). Replacement LG from a UCANDO are holding up nicely.

Tad flew his Extra very nicely. DLE-55 started and ran great all day. Landings were light.

Quang showed up with a new Hangar 9 Denight Special, with electric power. It flew way faster than my glow Shoestring, and was very entertaining!

KRCA Valley Challenge

On Oct 1, we will have the challenge pitting the top three finishers in each club's individual challenge contest against each other. Today we held the KRCA individual contest. Somehow I lucked out and came out on top, with 900 of a possible 1000 points. Ron finished 2nd with 800, and Joe beat out Jer in a tie-breaker fly off for 3rd place, both with 700. The Imagine 50 was pretty well suited to the 4 tasks we flew in 4 separate flights. At first I wished I had brought the SNAFU, but it turns out it could have been too slow for the timed flight through the gates at each end of the runway. I believe my only 100 pt deduction came for flying too fast on Task 2, where I had to complete two passes through the gates in 4 seconds each. The first pass was 3.8 seconds, the second was between 4 and 5 seconds, AOK. Anything can happen in the finals with different weather and wind conditions. We had about a 5mph crosswind out of the North today, and about 90F by the time we ended around 1PM. I will add a scan of the task directions given us at the pilot's briefing.

Flight Log: 08/17/2011

It's been two week sinces I last flew, due to the family trip to Hawaii. I took out the SNAFU to get the feel for it again, in prep for the Valley Challenge event our club is hosting. Had at least 4 flights practicing loops, landings, and just flying low and slow. Felt good to be back in the air. Not sure if I will fly this plane or another in the VC.

Flight Log

On Saturday, I flew my Apache, CG Ultimate, and Shoestring. All went well. First off the Apache had two long flights. The first one was about 10 minutes, the other perhaps as long, but the amazing thing on that one was that I apparently launched it right into a boomer thermal. I swear that in a minute, the Apache was as high as I can comfortably see the plane...way way way up!

I was anxious to try the Shoe because I added another ounce of lead under the stab to move the CG back about 1cm. This was done to slow the plane on landing, and it worked. I landed it easily today on both flights with NO flaperons which I normally use for this plane. The CG is on or nearly on the rearmost CG location recommended in the manual. Interestingly the plane did not need any elev trim change in the air!

The CG Ultimate flew great, like it always does. 3 flights on that one. Will fly the AW Ultimate tomorrow!

An Extra Ultimate Day!

Tad flew his Extra and I flew my Ultimate today, both by AeroWorks. I got in 4 flights, as I arrived and was flying before Tad arrived. He got in 3, including a deadstick landing on the last one where he managed to miss the large sprinkler and just clip the small one with his tail wheel. That pushed the rear gear up into the bottom of the rudder for extremely minor damage, whew! I had all good landings yet the darn wheel pants are still starting to crack. Flights were good. I took out 1% of the up elev that activates with rudder deflection. Added in 1% more aileron when rudder is applied. That seemed to keep the KE better. Still not set on the elev mix to the rudder because the plane seemed today to pull to the LG in KE, yet on the last quarter of the 4 pt roll, it seemed to want to pull to the canopy. Also decided to up the expo on the middle and high rates so that they are not so touchy. At first I took off on LR, but did all taxiing on HR to keep the tail down. This meant switching to MR or HR in flight to do harrier rolls. On the last flight I took off on MR with higher expo, and that allowed doing the harrier attempts without changing rates. All my glow planes are on one rate with 70% expo, so maybe this 50cc plane should be too. Definitely am having fun with this great looking machine!!! :)

The ULTIMATE Day!

Holy Moly, the AW ULTIMATE 20-300 just gets better and better. I had 4 flights with it today (which makes a grand total of 6), and Tad had 3 with his AW Extra 300. Wind was very light and mostly non-existent, and it was warmer than yesterday. Also a little cloudier though. My DLE-55 started like normal, which is easily, as did Tad's. We both got basically all greased on landings. I moved my two LiFe batts forward, and it might have made a smidge difference in that the plane does not climb while inverted with no stick input. The plane still tucks to the LG on KE, so I clicked on the mixing to add up elevator on either KE, as well as more aileron to hold the KE. After trying that for a flight, I increased the up a couple percent and the aileron one percent. The plane is holding KE better, as well as making flat circles without diving. I think it might need one more percent of up elevator mixed in. I'm tickled to death about how well the plane flies. I got to hover a little, and also do some harrier rolls, which I think Jeremy caught on video! Low rates are too little for either, so I go to mid or high rates for those maneuvers. The plane easily does pattern style flying with grace and power. So far I like this plane MUCH better than the 50cc Extra 330L.

Wings Over Keizer!

Our event on Saturday was truly remarkable beyond my personal expectations. The crowd to see us fly all day was actually a CROWD. ALL the bleacher and bench seats were taken, people set up their own chairs behind the fence or on the grass area east of the pits, and also stood behind our spectator fence. The parking lot was full of THEIR cars because all KRCA members parked around the farmhouse! At one early point I counted about 50 people of all ages in our audience. I estimated about 15-20 in line for the food later. Other members came up with their crowd estimates. I would say we had over 100 total for the day, but could be conservative...I just try not to stretch the truth, lol.

Everything worked out well, and we had members helping that we rarely see help, so it was remarkable in that aspect as well! This was really an event that KRCA members could be proud of. I was actually in awe a number of times when I viewed the audience and saw the number of people, the variation in ages, many ladies, and a ton of smiles. WOW, WOW, WOW!!! We have to give Ron credit on this one.

The flying went well, better than I expected, haha. Flying in 4 levels worked out decently, as we tried to maintain separation and it apparently kept us apart because we had NO midairs. The deck session went shorter than planned , from just after 10 till about 11:15 when JB workers showed up to move the sprinklers. At that point we shut down flying and moved the planes to the runway for the static show. All the audience loved milling around the planes and asking questions, or posing some when prodded a little. We members circulated and talked to many happy people and very nice people, oldsters and kids, men and women, it was very fun. It worked well to have longer for this portion of the program.

At noon we put on our demo flights: Brandon and Ken showed our wide age membership, Joe and Jer flew the micro electrics, I flew my Intruder, Jer flew his Extra, Joe and Quang flew electric jets, Mike flew his Pawnee, Quang flew his nitro chopper, and Stu and friends had a tank battle. What great fun. The audience seemed to take it all in and enjoyed it. I sure did!

About TWENTY people signed up for Try and Fly slots starting at 1PM! It lasted to about 4PM. Some did not show up which was just as well because we had to stop flying a short time while JB guys did their thing again in the field. One of Bob's trainers folded a wing during one flight, due to a deficient wing joint (apparently cut/sawn through the main spar, reglued poorly, and not reinforced. Another problem arose later when the throttle servo on Mike's Avistar died completely. At this point there were just a couple more test flights and I think Bob handled them. I was pooped at 3:30 and departed.

It was a GRAND DAY! Job well done by all KRCA members who helped, as well as a couple wives...Ron and Doug Brown's wives! Members who participated: Rudy, Charlie, Doug Brown, Doug Steele, Ron, Bob B, Bob R, Mike, Ashton, Joe, Jer, Ken, Bruce, Brandon, Al, Quang, Dean, and me. Quang brought a friend along, named Dan, who also flew.

For my flight log, I flew the Intruder once, SNAFU once, and Toledo Special twice.

Intruder Practice

Took two flights with the Intruder 90R on Friday in prep for demo flight during Wings Over Keizer event on Saturday. Plane flew great and was ready for the big show.

Flight Log: 07/19/2011

Yesterday I took the Intruder out for some practice. In the middle of my second flight the JB guys showed up and walked on the field to move the sprinklers. I landed and wrapped it up as raindrops began to fall anyhow. Went today to mow and fly. The mower battery is dead, so I flew 3 flights with the Intruder. At least my timing will be somewhat decent, but the maneuvers felt rushed and imperfect today. Nevertheless I did not crash or do anything bad, so the plane is ready for Wings Over Keizer demo flight this Saturday. I practiced lots of slow rolls, 4pt rolls, 2pt rolls, loops, avalanche, cuban and reversed cuban eights, inverted cuban and reversed eights, stall turns and rolling circles. With 8 minutes, there is lots of time to do many of them and make low passes too. Should be fun if I don't mess up! Adrenalin can make bad things happen!

Apache

After mowing the field, I flew my Apache a number of times. Can't figure air time from number of flights too easily since most flights are just a launch and glide back to earth without finding lift. Maybe all I can do is keep track of number of launches? Hard to do with my brain. All I know is I spent about 45 minutes with the Apache, with no rests between landings and launches except to walk to the new launch point. It was very overcast and I could not find any thermals, but the air somehow felt light. There was a breeze up to about 5mph. Made a few hand catches. Trimmed the plane to be real floaty, but that means it was easily thrown into a stall by the wind. A good DLG day.

Flight Log: 07/10/2011

Holy Toledo Special, there's an Intruder in da house. Took the TS and Intruder (and Apache) to the field today on another calm and sunny day. Awesome fun again. Had abouit 3 flights on each, and maybe a five minute thermal again on the Apache at the end of my time at the field. The Intruder is on rails everytime and I practiced a bunch of slow and 4pt rolls, and a few rolling circles. I will perform these during the Wings Over Keizer show in two weeks. Should wow the crowd, hopefully. Toledo Special died on the first two partial flights, then I got her tuned better and had no deadsticks after that. Tad had 3 nice flights and all good landings with his Extra 300, and starting was a piece of cake each time. Also, I took up Brandon's Funtana at their request to make sure it is airworthy again, and to trim it out. On the first flight, the engine started to lose power after a couple minutes in the air. I brought her down and looked her over. Mike checked the glow plug and found the top coils all distorted. Threw that away and put in a new OS Type F, and it ran like a champ the rest of the day with Brandon flying it.

Flight Log: 07/09/2011

Great weather made for great flying today! Took the Yak-54 and Shoestring out to stretch their wings. Had 4 flights on the Yak and 3 on the Shoe. All were great with no misfortunes. Almost had a mid air with Jeremy and his Extra 300. I had right of way on a low pass over the runway because I was first over the runway and I have the slower plane. I was going to flip to inverted at show center, and made it to KE when Jer almost ran through me. You can take the same line as someone else before you only if they are in front AND FASTER. You cannot take the same line when you are much faster and you are behind. YIKES! Luckily I did not get hit, but it was total shock and my brain fortunately recovered the plane in KE. Had a first landing with the Shoestring that was much too bouncy, but made adjustments and had great landings on the following two flights.

We had two maiden flights today. Bob Ross maidened a new Ultrastick 40 but had a deadstick then floated the plane into a pit table and totaled the left wing and broke the fuse at the LE of the stab. OUCH. Good thing nobody was pitted at that table! Quang maidened his electric Sundowner 36. It has small wheels and had a hard time taking off the runway, but once up, Zoom Zoom Zoom! That is one slippery little devil that seemed as fast as his prop jets! It came in hot but he made it safely and nicely down on the runway.

Me and My Red Corvette!

Took Sandy to Spirit Mountain yesterday! We got up early and were out of the house on a simply gorgeous morning by 7:30AM. It was just a perfect drive over and back with the Corvette running smoothly and powerfully. Drove a little slower than usual, just over 60mph for an ultra relaxing cruise, and just talking to Sandy. The car is an excellent road trip vehicle, I think, due to the smooth ride and the comfortable interior. My preferred end spot at SM was taken, so I chose another end space and hugged the side. When we came back to leave, an SUV had parked in the space next to us, but was nicely centered and did not crowd the Corvette. :) I washed the Corvette this morning so it is perfecto again.