Flight Log: 04/30/2011

A great day for flying was welcomed by all.  I took out my T-28 with reattached LG doors, and my Shoestring.  Been flying the T-28 since almost the maiden without LG doors because my method of attaching the doors to the struts AND the wing was terrible.  When the plane rolled, the struts moved about, and tore the doors off the wing.  Now the doors are attached solely to the struts and are free to move independent of the wing.  It works, as today the doors stayed on.  The only fault is I should bevel the aft top corner of the doors so that they can rotate more to the back.  The covering on the wing is dented or torn where the corner hit it, but it is not enough for me to repair it yet, so that is good news.  The Shoe flew well, and the flaperons helped in landing.  I think I will add a little more flap deflection to slow the plane a little more.  I had probs on one landing, just not getting down in time on our short runway.  The OS 70 Surpass II on the Shoe seems to be finding its legs because I do believe the plane is getting faster!  In all, I think I had 6+ flights with the T-28, and 4 with the Shoe.  I was at the field around 9AM-3PM, hyuk, hyuk.

Tad flew his big Extra, with repaired LG and left wheel pant.  AND also with the a new NGK CM6 spark plug that I gave him.  He had been using the stock plug till now, and was experiencing starting problems every single time.  He asked before the first start today, if I thought the new plug would make a difference, to which I said for sure or something to that effect.  Wham bang thank you Mam, the priming resulted in a pop in just a few flips of the prop, then the engine started on the first flip after choke was off!  The DLE-55 seemed to run better at idle and top end and everything in between.  :)

Joe flew his small Ultra Stick and his Reactor, the latter sold to Bruce later in the day for a mere $100 with a nearly new Magnum 80FS, all servos, and an airframe that looks still new!  Such a DEAL!  MIke flew his new Super Stearman and had some tuning issues with the DLE-30, but the plane flew great.  Bob Ross flew his Ultra Stick and never got his TWM Texan up due to engine problems.  Quang showed up late and showed his super skills with his choppers. 

Tomorrow's weather forecast is for even BETTER weather than today...maybe even 70F!

Flight Log: 04/23/2011

Nearly 50F when I arrived at the field, the flying day ended in the mid 60's with just a light breeze varying between W and NW.  Stayed about 5 1/2 houirs!  Awesome fun with my Giles 202.  I had 3 flights with it maybe 4.  I need to do a tally while at the field, or I forget the exact number!  Jer showed up for an hour or so, and he took one complete flight with my Giles, and seemed to really enjoy it.  Said it does fly lighter than his Extra.  Actually got some movies with Jer flying, then me flying the plane.  Will post that to RCU and YouTube.

Mike maidened his Super Stearman with DLE-30 today, and it flew well!  Very pretty aircraft, and it is real stable in the air.  Ground handling looked very controllable too.  Joe zipped around with his P-51 powered by Saito 100...sweet airplane that looks great on those low passes!  Kudna boys were there with Escapade and RV-6 (?)  Al flew his Escapade and showed off his P-51 on the ground.  The MoonBeam McSwine vinyl decals I made look pretty nice!  What else...Bob Ross came real late with his Saratoga.  Anthony and Quang came late and flew choppers and electric jets.  Oh boy, Anthony took his eyes off his FunJet to switch on dual rates.  He couldn't relocate the plane after that and it accordioned itself in the north field.  Luckily he found the jet in the field afterwards. 

I flew my Apache a bit and caught one small thermal, but my soaring was inefficient today.  Still fun.  It probably was 6 months since I last flew it, so it felt good to launch it and get the feel again. 

MoonBeam McSwine

At the monthly KRCA meeting a couple days ago, I gave to those attending a vinyl decal each of my KRCA Krosswinds creation.  When Al Mismas saw that, he immediately asked me to make a set of decals for his MoonBeam McSwine P-51 project.  He provided this picture:

 

With dimensions that he specified, I created a set of vinyl decals with fonts that were the closest I could get to the original.  Far from exact, but they capture the essence and Al will hopefully be happy with them:

I will add a picture of Al's P-51 when completed with these decals!

HERE"S a couple pics from this weekend.  The numbers aren't on the fin yet because the first ones shown above were too large.  Al gave me new dimensions for another set of numbers, which I gave to him today.

Another Update:  04/27/2011 - Al got his stars from Major Decals and added the numbers I made for the tail...looking GOOD!

Flight Log: 04/20/2011

Yeehaw!  Another fine day in Salem required me to fly, so I took the 50cc Extra 330L out for a spin.  Nobody was there, light breeze was from the NW, and I got the plane assembled and ready.  Hey, I did NOT forget anything required today!  The tie down works well.  The plane started easily with the routine she likes...perhaps 10-20 flips with choke and full throttle, then she starts in 5-7 flips on low idle and no choke.  Awesome.  Took TWO nice flights which were the first ones with the new Airtronics SD-10G transmitter.   2nd flight did not require choking.

A couple clicks of right aileron, and down elevator were needed.  Wow, without that elev trim, she sure floats.   Got her settled down and flew some stall turns, maybe a click of right rudder was needed.  In KE, I need to program in some up elevator.  She goes to the LG in both KEs, and tell you what...outside KE horizontal circle was easy, haha.  I think one KE dove more than the other, but I forget which, so I will program in up on both sides the same for a start.  Did some hovering and it is not too hard for 5 seconds.  My throttle curve seems to be pretty good.  Landings were not bad, but floaty, so I need to come in with more throttle then let off on it to settle in.

Got nervous with the tricky landings, so I congratulated myself after the second one, which was nice, and decided to call it a short day!  Oh, rolling circles are very easy with this plane in that it doesn't have to be forced to complete 4 rolls in one circle like my smaller planes.  Will work on it.  Snaps are really snappy!  And the stop is positive.  Very cool.  These were flights 20 and 21 on the plane.  :)

Last, there is still light black exhaust mist on the cowl and left wing LE after flying.  The engine runs great, sounds fine to me.  Will  ask around.  DL-50 might need to be leaned out?

DLE-55 first start-up!

I was very happy to see my DLE-55 in the Aeroworks Ultimate 20-300 start up without any hitches today.  I started her up in the back yard, with the tail of the fuselage held down with my stake and rope contraption, and the front half of the plane on the side patio concrete.  The engine needed about 30 flips with full throttle, ignition on, and choke on until the engine first barked.  I took off the choke and put the stick on low idle, and proceeded to flip the prop again.  In either 5 or 6 flips, the engine started and kept running at that setting.  I played with the trim on throttle while running the engine a few minutes and increasing and decreasing engine speed.  Dunno if I was not supposed to, but I went to full throttle at least twice to see how it sounded.  All I know is, I am happy it started and kept running!  Now.....when is the maiden?  Where did I put my cajones.....

Absolutely Exhausting!

The weather today was AWESOME all day long except for variable breezes that of course were crosswind to our runway.  I spent about 6 hours at the field, and am exhausted now.  Need a nap!  Flew the CG Ultimate thrree times.  After adjusting the transition screw out and in and then back out a bit, I seemed to find the sweet spot where the engine went from low idle to full throttle smoothly and without hesitation.  The Ultimate flew real fine today, and Tad took a movie of one flight that hopefully is good for sharing.  I honestly lost count of how many flights I took with the SNAFU, but I will credit myself with 6 at least, haha.  As usual it was very fun to fly the SNAFU off our extremely short N/S runway due to the crosswinds out of the North.

Tad flew his AW Extra 300 really cleanly today, but was bummed out by still hard starting of the engine, and by damage on the last landing.  The landing was soft and seemed perfect, but at the very end of runout, somehow the plane tripped on its main LG and nosed over, hitting the prop (no damage), and surprisingly twisting the aluminum LG and cracking and splitting the left wheel pants rather too much.  It's one of those things like my landing with my Extra 330L a few weeks back, where you think the landing is made and done, but terra firma jumps up and humbles you.  We can bend the LG back, and the wheel pant can be repaired (not to Tad) or replaced (Tad's preference).  Really a minor thing in the big picture.

Joe flew his Banf, which flew mostly well, but Joe couldn't buy a good landing today.  He actually lost 1/4 of a wheel pants on one of the landings!  His little Merlin foamie flew beyond my expectations.  His Aeronca suffered a stall on take off, and had minor wing mount damage.

Mike had his Giant Sportster that he flies now like a little sport plane...pretty cool.  Also flew his Uproar.  Bob Ross flew his Ultrastick just 4 days after having 4 stents put in his chest.  TOUGH GUY!  Kudna boys flew their airforce.  Al was packing it up when I arrived just after 9AM, but it was good to see him out again. I think that accounts for everyone who flew today.  A GREAT DAY!  I might have some sunburn!  :)

5x3

Went to fly today and due to the ugly outlook, nobody else came for 3 hours!  Now, I said 3 hours...does that tell you something?  Yes, I got to fly for almost three  hours ALONE because everyone else is so wimpy.  It was over 50F, very overcast, and very light winds straight out of the west, i.e. exactly down the runway for a rare occurrence!  Flew my Extra 300SP five times first, then switched to my SNAFU for another three.  Figuring nobody was coming, I wrapped up, and then busted out the lawn mower.  Of course in 5 minutes someone came to fly, haha.  Brandon and Bruce came...I told them to fly and just tell me when they were taking off and landing, but they elected to wait for me to finish.  When I was nearly done, Joe drove up.  He helped Brandon with an electric hotliner that he gave/sold them.  Unfortunately, the wind and rain developed and we all gave up and went home.  Well, I did, and I think everyone else did too. 

Note to self:  the Extra needed the transition screw opened about 1/4 turn to make a good transition from idle to any higher throttle setting.  WIthout this adjustment, the engine would die when throttle was increased.  In the last few weeks, this has also been true for the Imagine 50 using the same type engine (OS 70), and also the SNAFU with the OS 52.  Also, I leaned out the needle on the Extra for faster steady running and still good smoke.  My guess is that the temperature variations are causing the change in engine settings.

Failure to LAUNCH!

Bad day at the field today, and it was so beautiful weatherwise.  Just wasted it.  Took, my 50cc Extra 330L to fly today.  As soon as I got there, I realized that I forgot to bring my rope and stake  and hammer for holding the plane.  Strike ONE.  I got the plane together uneventfully and tried to start it with Mike holding the plane.  Took about 70 flips to get a bark, then it would not stay running on the real start.  Bah.  Mike suggested my servo needed reversing!  I thought, gee I think I have it right, but I should check.  I took off the canopy so I could see the throttle flap, and indeed I would go full throttle and the flap would close.  Go to idle and it was wide open.  Oh well, strike TWO.  Got that taken care of and got the engine started, but it would not stay idling at one speed.  I moved the plane and it turns out the muffler stack fell off the muffler can and was laying under the plane...this was one that I had repaired with JB Weld...it does not hold.  I did not even get one flight out of the repair, strike THREE.  So like the stubborn genius I am, I decided to fly it anyway.  Got ten feet off the ground on take off and the engine quit!  DEAD STICK.  Luckily I had speed and could float it down, but it was halfway to the RR tracks, lol.  Strike FOUR!  Ok, one strike too many, but no damage, so I decided not to push my luck anymore, packed up, and went home to sulk.

NOT!  At home, I immediately removed the cowl and busted muffler.  I installed a new one from the DLE 55...I did not use the stock muffler for the Ultimate.  The plane is ready to go again.  I am guessing and hoping that the engine did not stay running due to the change in back pressure due to the missing exhaust stack.  The only other change I made since last time was to switch the new Airtronics SD 10G transmitter to this plane, and to create a throttle curve.  I doubt that would make the engine die like it did.  Will hope for the best and just try again!

UPDATE ON 04/19/2011:  DUHHHHHHH.  I started my Extra 330L with the DL-50 in my backyard just now.  I know why it died the other day after take off.  OPERATOR ERROR, DUH, of course, as it almost ALWAYS is!  When the plane is stored, I put a little plug in the vent line to prevent dripping and the smell of gas near the plane.  To fill the tank, I return overflow of the plane's tank to the gas can via a line connected to the vent line.  After filling, I simply leave the vent line hanging, with no plug since it is supposed to VENT.  OOPS.  The other day, I stuck the plug back on the vent line after filling the tank.   That means that as the plane sucked gas to run, a vacuum was created in the tank until the engine just couldn't pull the gas into the carb anymore.  So it was SELF INFLICTED.  Almost always is, isn't it?  Oh well, glad that is solved!

Busy Day at the Field!

Yesterday was a beautiful flying day with light wind changing directions all the time, over 45F, and partly sunny skies!  That brought out a lot of flyers...me, Tad, Jer, Dean, Mike, Joe, Bob Ross, Anthony, Quang, and the Kudna cousins.  That's the most we've had out at once this year.  It was good to see.  I took my SNAFU and Imagine 50 out, putting in at least 4 flights on each.  I think I burned almost 1/3 gal of fuel!  Joe and I flew the SNAFU and Reactor, doing some lowest and slowest flybys for much entertainment and fun, haha.  Tad flew his AW Extra 300, and Jer flew his Extra.  One stack on his Pitts muffler fell off in midair...which Brandon observed.  He has sharp eyes.  Rachel found it in the field on the ensuing hunt!  Needle in the haystack!! 

Worst news of the day was that Dean totalled his AW Edge 540 due to unknown reasons.  He said the radio did not respond.  A gang of us went out to gather the shards in bags.  It is definitely not repairable.

Tad's plane flew fine but did not start easily.  The engine often barks then dies after the prop flip.  He will check out adjustments to the two adjustment screws.  Mike and Joe suggested filling the hole in the butterfly so that the engine will suck gas better.  Other than that, the plane flew great and sounded quieter and smoother with the new Mezjlik prop on it.  Tad still needs to program some down elevator when in either KE...the plane likes to fly to the canopy when top rudder is given.

This was the first time for Jer and Tad to meet Quang, who is a highly skilled RC helicopter pilot.  Quang brought along a new electric chopper, very large like his 90 size nitro one.  This new one is flybarless!  Anyway, he put on a couple very incredible flights with it that thoroughly impressed Jer and Tad, and all the rest of us as well.  Also, he and Anthony brought their electric Funjets that wowed us with crazy quick speed.  Jer flew Anthony's 2 jets, the old and the newer stiffer and heavier one that seems to be even quicker than his older version.

It was a good day with lots of good company and a wide variety of planes to entertain all!  I was at the field from around 9:30 till 2:30PM!

Flight Log: 04/08/2011

Expecting good weather, I took both the Toledo Special and the SNAFU out.  I was not disappointed because I was greeted with sunny skies, light wind not exceeding a few mph out of the North (for a change), and good company...Mike and Dean.  I got in 3 flights on the TS and 4 on the SNAFU.  Had one dead stick on the SNAFU, but landed on the runway AOK.  Great fun as usual.  Something funny happened at the end of the day.  Mike departed before me, and when I went to fly my TS just one more time, I could not find my transmitter!  Holy Moly!!!  Mike and I were talking about xmitter cases and he opened mine, so I thought he put the xmitter into the case.  NOPE...it turns out he walked off with it and took it home.  By the time I got home, there was a message on my phone that he just discovered he had my xmitter in addition to his, hahaha!  He brought it over later in the day, and I showed him the AW Ultimate and my squadron in the garage.

Lake Tranquility

Felt the creative painting urge after watching Bob Ross (twice yesterday), so I borrowed some ideas from his show and made my own version.  The sky is made up of yellow ochre and black only!  Making grassy meadows and bright bushes is my current nemesis, so I practiced.  I scraped the lower left area off twice, I think, before settling for what is drying now, lol.  Also scraped part of the mountain off a couple times to make myself more satisfied too.  The overall feel is very calm and tranquil...I am satisfied for now.  Next one will be better!

Flight Log: 04/05/2011

The forecast was wrong this AM.  Instead of windy and rain, it was calm and sunny.  I headed out but the wind began to build on my way to the field.  Still I had about 4 flights with the SNAFU, and had a ball.  Wind was directly out of the south, so I used the short N/S runway.  Landings were fun, coming in slow with hardly any ground speed over the dirt road, and having a very short rollout after touchdown.  Don't know if the throttle has always been this way, but I had to use all my trim to get the engine to stay at low idle.  I adjusted the control rod at the field, to have a good idle at neutral trim again.  Maybe this will stop the engine from dying during another funfly event and getting zero score, lol.

Flight Log: 04/03/2011

Today marks the 4th year to the date of my last day of work.   I celebrated in fine style by flying most of the day, lol.  Luck was with us, and we had good weather, the few that showed up.  I flew my Yak 54 for 5 flights, all without mishap.  I leaned out the OS 120 Surpass III today a bit, and she responded with nice power.  I do think the front bearing is wearing out because the plane is starting to sound like tractor, like when the bearings in my Saito 82a (T-28) went out.  Still, the engine ran strong and the Yak had great pull through the verticals.  Lots of nice stall turns, avalanches, cuban 8's, reverse cuban 8', and a towering vertical 8.  Also did the requisite slow rolls and 4pt rolls.  Landings were all light and spot on.

Who else flew?  Joe with his ME-108 and Ultra Stick, Doug with his Nexstar, the Kudna cousins with all kinds of planes, including some from Joe...Sportster, Jaguar, Tsunami, Cessna.  Mike flew his Giant Sportster and Uproar.  Not a single crash by anyone today!  Only mishap...the muffler came off Mike's Sportster while in flight.  Brandon found it easily.

Flight Log: 04/01/2011

The trick was on us today.  Tad, Mike and I went to fly and were disappointed to find the JB field being sprayed with weed killer.  The north field was also being sprayed by about 10 guys with hand held sprayers following a large tank.  Mike and I got a couple flights in when workers on both fields were far away, but we gave up and went home rather quickly.  The stink of the chemicals in the air was not that pleasant anyway.  My two flights with the Yak 54 felt good though!  No probs except for loose wheelpants.  Landings were light as a feather.

Hangar Hangers

Too many planes were on the garage floor, so I bought more shelving brackets and pipe insulation, and attached them to the wall per the pic.  The storage on the left side of the pic is the new stuff...it has 3 fuselages on it.  I still have the Yak 54 on the floor and the SNAFU on the workbench.  Additionally I have the 50cc planes to store somewhere...the Extra is on the floor next to the car, and the Ultimate is still in the bonus room!  SOMEDAY I have to part with some planes to get any new ones, but I love em all!