It was chancy to go out today because it was cool and grey, 53F, and breezy, but I gave it a try because I really wanted to get the AW Ultimate 20-300 up again. It was slightly breezy at the field too, but I think not much above 5 mph out of the North, so I assembled and flew the Ultimate. It was a great time. Nobody else came out, not even the JB guys, although the sprinklers were on. I got in 5 flights today, in just about an hour of pretty continuous flying, typically 8 minutes per flight. Assembly and disassembly still bother me because it takes at least 20 minutes to assemble, and 15 to disassemble.
The extra ounce of lead in the nose seems to make a difference, such that I have the type of elevator trim I can live with. The plane flies level or ever so little up on a straight line when upright. Flipped inverted, it takes just the slightest down pressure on the stick to maintain level flight. On a 45 upline, it maintains that attitude, or slightly increases its climb, but very minutely. I played with mixes to help the plane in knife edge. Both sides of KE require some up elevator to stop the plane from dipping to the LG. Left KE requires a little less. Both sides of KE also require opposite aileron to keep the plane from wanting to return to upright flight. Thus, right KE (left rudder) needs some right aileron while left KE (right rudder) needs some left aileron to stay in knife edge. I have a feeling some of the incidences of the wing(s) and elevator are creating the problem, but I am not going to start cutting the fuse up to change these relationships. It is too pretty and too much work to go down that road. I will enjoy the AW Ultimate as is!
I did a number of fun things in the air today. I practiced more harrier upright flying per a MAN instructional article. By pulsing the throttle continuously, it is really easy to harrier, steering with rudder, and keeping wings level with ailerons. I also tried hovering a couple times, and the pulsing of throttle helps there too, but I need way more practice to get it to stay put. I did some rolling circles as usual, lots of slow and 4pt rolls, and loops. And I tried lots of harrier rolls with high alpha. Getting better and it takes lots of timing and changing of throttle. It too will come with more stick time. Lastly, I tried some clockwise rolling circles, with rolls to the left...more promising than ever before. I do counterclockwise circles with rolls to the right much better due to practicing that direction all the time. I am loving this Ultimate even if it is a pain to assemble and disassemble. It's still impressive and my best looking plane, IMHO.
While I took the Apache, the sun never came out during my flight session, so I did not attempt to fly it. Of course by the time I reached home, the sun was burning the grey haze off, and I betcha this afternoon there will be some nice thermals, albeit windier too.
This is just a place for me to ramble (sometimes rant) about my hobbies which include radio controlled airplanes, oil paintings, my sports cars, and any other random blithering from me.
Aloha and Welcome to my small speck of cyberspace! Dec 8, 2010 is the birth date of my blog. Never had one before, but my son encouraged me to have one, and it seemed like a good way to at least keep a log of my RC airplane building and flying. With the initial design kicked off by my son, I'll carry on from here and have fun with it. Now that I have it, I will use it to also keep track of my oil painting efforts, and any other ideas, hobbies, travels, or whatever else that come up. LIFE IS GOOD!
Update on 02/25/2011. It's been a few months since I began this blog, and I am enjoying creating and having it! I like documenting the things I have done in my hobbies, and sharing with my small family. I think Jer and Tad actually view it fairly regularly, as a means to see what I've been up to lately. At worst, it serves as a reference for my own use.
Update on 12/22/2011. This blog stuff is habit forming. My blog is a year old now, and I make an entry about every other day or so as that seems to be the frequency of doing something in one of my hobbies. Like my hobbies, this blog is a lot of fun, and it has become in itself another hobby that I enjoy.
Years are flying by...update on 01/11/2013. Still enjoying maintaining this blog even though hardly anyone sees it. I don't advertise it anywhere or to anyone, and it is mainly just a way for me to keep my own notes and thoughts on my flying, painting, and cars. If a stranger happens upon it, I think it is by pressing NEXT at the top of the current blog they are visiting, lol. It's a great device for me.
August 2014: still here! Took up flying RC helicopters one year ago and got hooked. Had flown micro Helis up to then, but got serious with 450 size for a couple months, then bought the Goblin 500 and Gaui X5 . Also got my Boxster in April 2013. Most importantly, Ariel was born 12/02/12 followed by Skylar 07/20/13, and they are little beacons of joy in our lives. Life is indeed good!!!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
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