Stinking cold!

I had to try to fly today after weeks of rain and wind.   Finally the winds were lighter, but the temp was 39f when i went out at 10:30AM.  The first flight with the X5 was fine albeit ultra conservative due to the layoff.  Got back in the truck and sat a minute or two while getting the next battery pack.  Jumped out and had a good second flight but could tell i was getting chilled, and the wind was picking up!  Stayed in the truck longer this time to warm up.   Headed out with a pack to maiden the newest Goblin 500.  It went well, but could tell it is tail heavy.   Maybe it won't be as bad in calm air? By the time i landed, the wind was up more and i was freezing.  That was enough...packed up and headed home with heater blasting, lol.  Went home and put the unused five packs on storage mode. BTW,  Given the weather it was not a surprise that nobody else was flying.

Cold and clear

Just above 40F but calm and clear for flying helis today.  4 flights on the X5, then 2 on the G630, and finished with 3 on the 7HV.  All flew well.  Worked the rusty bugs out of the brain and fingers with the X5 first, and felt comfy with the big guys after that.  Pretty much am plateaued and will need to make forward inverted flight routine in 2016.  Just did not get it this year.

Ccccold but fffffun!

It was maybe 40F for flying at 10AM this morning, but it was calm and sunny, so I had to try.  Happy to say that I did not crash albeit rusty after a pretty long layoff (18 days) due to wet, windy, and cold weather.  I only flew the X5 for four packs, and my Star for four packs knowing how cold it was, and that I should take it easy working the rust off.  All went well with the X5 flying fine.  I did not have any misorientations or anything near a crash, lol.  Did some back loops and flips, one forward, no side flips, and just a little inverted.  Mainly I did a lot of slow forward flight and hovering to get the fingers loose and the grey matter focused.  The Star was fine, planes are just lots easier.

Blue Joy

Did painting #4 for 2015 today.  Loved the blues in the sky and water, thus the name.  This is my 98th painting since starting almost 6 years ago.  Still much fun and it is getting more natural and easy even with long layoffs!

#98 Blue Joy

THREE new paintings!

That title sounds impressive...yes i painted three new paintings.  The sad part is that these are the very first three for 2015!  Now that is bad, but i have just been busy with poor health of my wife and myself, RC helis and planes, HO buildings, and my Boxster.  Anyway, i painted the first painting last Saturday, second one on Tuesday, and third one today.  Here they are:

#95 Vibrant Sunrise

#96 Winter Haze

#97 Foothills Meadow

Fourpeat!

Yeah a dull repetitive title but it was another day of using all 14 4000mah pack on helis plus two packs on the Aerostar 40.  Went through 4 on the X5, 6 on the 7HV, and 4 on the G630.   Did well for not flying for 10 days.  Small right turns were surprisingly easy and smooth, with no butterflies in my brain or fingers!  I had just one bailout today, on the last flight.   I was flying the Gobby 630 when I did a half loop and kept my speed up inverted. That's when I decided I would roll out to the right and my dumb airplane fingers input some top rudder which is left rudder in this case, and caused the heli to do some weird things but I quickly corrected. I was able to quickly put the heli upright and stationary even though at a distance, and then return to fly some more.   No crash today!   All flying was similar to the last few times. Fly the X5 first and get my fingers warmed up and fly the big helis after that. I did many loops and flips backwards and forwards and Many inverted straight sections of flight which had Pyros in them.    Coming back to upright was accomplished via completing forward or backward flips or rolling out to either the right or left. It sure was a great day of flying. Not to forget the Aerostar 40, I mostly did lots of touching goes in low wide circles over the sod farm trying to barely clip the grass with the wheels.

Threepeat!

Had another fine day of flying yesterday/Sunday!  14 packs again yielded 4 flghts on the X5, 3 on the 7HV, and 2 on the G630.   Pretty much the same routines as the last two times.  Quang surprised me and showed up to fly his helis.  Made me feel good that he said i am doing well, and that it is too bad that Anthony cannot see my progress, since he quit flying.  I finished up by flying two packs through the Aerostar 40.

Perfection Repeated

Wow it was another good day after several of wind or rain, so i took advantage of it.  Flew my X5 four times, 7HV twice, and G630 three times.  14 packs again!  While slightly grey and  overcast, it was basically calm and visibility was ok since i am tending to fly lower and lower.  Am getting more and more comfy with inverted pyros.  Still not going for turns though.  With the higher comfort level though, i think turns are coming.  I am trying more ways to bail out from inverted too.

Also flew the Aerostar 40 twice and had a ball flying low and slow, just skimming the sod field in big circles.  Dick is ready to sell the Star bipe that he created...for $175 to me.  Hhmmmm a little high for me. 

Perfection

Wow it was perfect heli flying weather this  morning. The temperature was probably around the mid 50s when I got there and absolutely not a breath of wind.    I had my three helis with me and I had all 14 packs charged. There was nobody at the field while  I flew my first eight flights. I got in 4 flights on the X5 then 3 on the 7HV and then 2 on the Goblin 630.    As usual, I warmed up by taking all of my flights on the X5. I did basic slow flight and executed many small right turns.   Towards the end of the X5 flights I started to do my inverted loops and flips in preparation for flying the bigger helicopters.    Then with both of the big helis, the 7HV and 630, I did more prolonged inverted straight lines. I also did many inverted hovers where I would try to manage both speed and altitude.  When I managed a nice hover in one spot I threw in some inverted Pyros then pulled out to upright  flight via half slips or half rolls.    Even though I haven't flown flown for a week, I felt pretty confident today and I did not get in any panic or disorientation situations!    By the time another member showed up I had completed eight flights and had just one left.  What a great way of spending a beautiful autumn morning!

Foggy fun!

It was very foggy at home, but i still went to the field since all my batteries were charged.  Same thing there!  There was enough visibilty for close-in flying though so that is all i did.   It was a good day to therefore practice right turns of small radius, which just aren't as smooth and easy as flat left turns.  Did dozens and dozens of them.   The helicopters were probably never higher than 40' all day, nor farther out than 100' due to the fog.  I got in 4 flights on the X5 first, followed by 3 on the G630, then 2 on the 7HV.  Made lemonade out of the lemons today!

Before first flight

After last flight, and still as foggy!

4-3-2

It was a great day of flying helis today with nobody else at the field even though the weather was perfect!  I had all 14 packs with me.  Split them up to get 4 flights on the X5 to warm my fingers and calm my nerves as usual.  Also had 3 flights on the G500 and 2 on the 7HV.  No disorientations today, whew.  Had a variety of practice doing back flips to inverted followed by rolls or back flips or forward flips to return to upright.  Did many stops to hover inverted in one spot.  Did a bunch of pyros at that point...360 or 180...then return to upright by flipping or rolling.  Maybe it is mostly mental, but it is easier to do these inverted maneuvers with the 630 and 7HV than the X5.  Visibility is the main reason.

Non Gobby day

Got in 4 flights on the X5, then 5 on the 7HV today.  I was alone the whole time at the field, and conditions were great.  Not long after i got home, the wind really increased for the rest of the day.  I was very fortunate!  I actually took the Goblin 630 with me, but realized that i forgot the battery tray and wire extension at home.  I was going to have a couple flights with the 630, but instead used the packs in the 7HV, thus resulting in the most flights taken on the 7HV in a single outing.  I had fears of flying today, but maintained concentration and got all flights in without crashing, lol.  I was able to get inverted but did not push to do the practice of straight passes followed by 180 pyro turns thence repeat.  Satisfied to do what i did today without crashing, haha.

Gobby 500 death, Great day next

Well the Goblin 500 that i remaidened about two months ago got re-destroyed yesterday in a very impressive crash at full tilt (pun intended) as i tried to recover while inverted.  While it might me repairable with enough new parts, i think this is my fourth bad crash with it, and i give up on this airframe.   It served me well.  I might consider the new Goblin 500 Sport at a later date.

I continued to fly after the 3rd and final flight of the g500, with 3 flights on the 7HV and two on the Aerostar 40.

Today i flew again...crashes just make me try harder!  I put in 4 flights on the X5 and 4 on the 7HV, followed by 4 on the Mini Star.  With the helis, i continued to try inverted flight, straight lines followed by 180 pyros, and again.  But i didn't get into a 2nd pyro as i also tried to be more conservative to avoid another demolishment like yesterday.  I used the X5 to warm up mostly.  While i tried the inverted routine, i could tell i was having some vision challenges, so i took it easy, then tried longer and harder with the much larger and more visible 7HV.   Felt good and will be flying the larger helis often due to loss of the Gobby 500.  The X5 is my only 500 size heli now.  Still in the saddle but my fleet is down to three again.

4 cubed

4 flights of the X5 followed by 4 of the G500, then 4 by the Giles 202.  All went very pleasingly well.  I made good strides with the helis today!  Finally got the cajones to do more than a straight line inverted.  I would half loop up to inverted, stabilize in hover, go straight into a very slight stall turn, pyro 180, and come back for another inverted straight line into another pyro 180, etc.  Big step for me!  Did it on 7 flights after the warm up first flight.  It is helping me maintain flat and level inverted, using aileron to correct tilt, pitch to control speed, rudder to control path and pyro turns.  It's helping to figure out which way rudder goes in response to stick input.  Great fun after the first few times to work the jitters out.

Giles started up and ran fine, with just a little bit of priming squirts of glow into the carb.  It always was a challenge to prime the OS 160FX enough so that it pops on hand flipping.  Fun to fly the big guy again, 4 flights of 8 minutes each.

I flew yesterday too!  It was club picnic day so I flew planes only.  I did have the G500 with me but did not take it out of the car.  Got in 3 flights on the Toledo Special and 2 on the Yak 54.  Both were dialed in and on rails.  I just love flying big circles and loops with both of those, and of course low passes.

AND big news...Tad maidened his brand new Stinger 90 EDF and it is pretty awesome.  Not that fast, but it has terrific coolness factor with its size, sound, stability, and retracts!  Flew steady as a rock and really entertained everyone at the picnic  who were eating lunch at the time.

GREAT day of flying today with little to no wind, a few puffy clouds, no JB workers, no sprinkling, and pleasant temperatures!

Someone's fat fingers almost messed up this pic!

I got 4 packs through the Gaui X5, followed by 4 flights on the Compass 7HV, and then topped with two long flights of the Intruder!  Very nice outing.  While the helis made me nervous, the Intruder relaxed me and wowed me with its stunning sound and missle like flights.  Felt good to carve up the sky with lots of rolls, knife edge, huge loops, fast
passes, inverted flight.  And then it came in nose high on landings for beautiful touchdowns.  On the first flight the OS 91fs kinda missed a few times during straight up and over the top inverted manuevers.  Before the next flight, I turned the high needle just one click richer, and the engine ran great the second flight, so much so that I did not even think about the issue on the second flight.

4 x 4

Very nice day at the field without too much irritation from JB workers.  Got in 4 flights first on the G500, uneventfully.  Then flew the Bravata and Mike flew his Rascal 110.  Nearly the same size, but the Rascal has  DLE 20 while my Bravata has a DLE 30.  Speed difference is readily apparent yet the Bravata will float in for landings too.  We had three flights together, then I added a fourth individually.  The muffler seems to be staying on, and my engine did not suffer any flameouts.  My idle seemed a bit high, which I adjusted by increasing the endpoint on the low end of the throttle, to make it go lower.  It worked although I think I hear a little hum from the servo at full low, so the servo may be stalling.  Not gonna worry about it since very little flight time is spent at low idle.  Next time I am inside the fuselage, I will look into the servo throw more.  The plane flew great and we had a few nice tandem passes over the runway.

Just 4

Got in four flights on my 7HV this morning. I only took one heli because I intended to fly my Intruder plane to no end, but alas JB messed that plan up by dawdling around near the runway, running the sprinklers near the runway, and just being annoyances.  I don't really think they intentionally mess with us although I would not put that pass them to do so simply due to lack of thoughtfulness through ignorance and not meanness.  Anyway I got in the four fun flights on the heli, with many flips to inverted at various altitudes.  I did not even assemble the Intruder today.

Another 7

Today i got 7 flights again, but distributed differently than last time.  Flew 4 flights on the 7HV, 2 on the G500, and one on the old Intruder plane.   It was overcast, foggy, hazy when i got to the field. Put inthe flights on the 500 first, then four in a row on the 7HV.  While not my fave sky conditions, i did not lose perspective due to now flying lower than i used to when going inverted!  Did get into trouble a few times as i did roll flips...for some reason i had brain farts and fed in left rudder like i would in a plane doing a right roll!  That caused the tail to really kick out and look crazy!  Luckily i recovered each time.  After that i had to tell myself to stop feeding rudder, and instead feed negative pitch.  All went well after that but wow what a lame brain.

I also flew the good old Intruder pattern plane once.  It was great and i need to get it out again.  I wanted to fly it more but the JB worker was vacuuming the cut grass with the tractor.   It was just great to do very axial slow rolls and 4 point rolls with a neutral aerobatic plane!  GOOD GRIEF it has been 14 months since last flying this fine plane!  Need to take it out again in the next week then.

Sweet Seven

I expected to do lots of plane flying, so I only took 8 packs for helis.  That yielded two flights each on the X5, G500, and G630.  The 630 was good to have out again.  Ever since I maidened the 7HV, the 630 has been sitting at home.  It was very cool weather and overcast, so chilly.  First time since Spring wearing a jacket, arg!  Had fun also with the Toledo Special but just for a single flight.  JB brought out the mower and I went home before 10AM!

Baker's dozen

Just 13 packs of 4000 today, lol.  That yielded 3 flights on the 7HV, 4 on the X5, and 3 on the G500.  It was overcast and cool as the Summery weather wanes in the PNW, sadly.  But due to getting lower on my loops and flips and inverted hovers, I have not lost orientation frequently.  That is good news for my slow but hopefully steady progress in learning inverted flight.

I had the Aerostar 40 with me again for its two flights, which were fun and relaxing, shooting many touch and go's, and low level circles just a wingspan or two off the deck of the sod farm grass.

14 x 4000

Yes!  14 packs used on my helis today.  All are 4000mAh.  I had two 5000 packs but gave them to Tad because they were a struggle each and every time to get in and out of the 7HV!  Then he bought two new 4000 packs from HK for me.  I got another 4000 pack on my own at the same time, to get to a nice round and even number of 14.  Today i ran 4 through the X5, 2 through the G500, and 8 (4flights) through the 7HV.  That is the most flights in one day on the 7HV.  Great fun in the sun all by myself....not another soul turned up today.

Also flew the Aerostar 40 with the only 2 packs I have for it.  Silly trainer is great to relax with.

Only 5 flights

Expecting JB to be crawling all over the field collecting irrigation pipes, I only charged enough for two flights on the 7HV and three on the Factor 3D.  I was of course wrong...all the pipes were gone and there were zero workers to be found.  Oh well.  I did get to fly in peace then mow the few green blades of grass on our runway.  Both aircraft flew well and i am enjoying both.

Instant replay almost

Today was virtually the same as yesterday except dead calm today.  Very nice flying conditions with good visibility albeit hazy due to wildfire smoke pervading the PNW!  I had the same helis and numbers of flights: 4 on the X5, 3 on the G500, and 2 on the 7HV, utilizing all eleven 4000 packs.  Also flew the Star today instead of mini Star, and had 6 packs for it.  Sustained elevator damage due to slight midair with Jerry's Delta Ray foamie as we tried to fly in formation and make low passes over the runway.  Great fun.  The helis were all awesome and I flew the same way as yesterday, with perhaps more half rolls out of inverted.  While improvement is slow, I do see it happening.  I was not rolling out of inverted just last week.

Very nice flying day!

I had a little company all the time I was at the field today.  First Bob and Mike were there very early, and leaving by about 8AM for their breakfast after flying.  As they left, Don and Jerry arrived.  Brian came just a bit later.  Then they all departed and Steve arrived as they left.  Finally John showed up at nearly 11:00  when the wind was up, but he flew anyway.  I was actually almost done when Steve arrived but I stayed to watch him fly, as well as John.

Anyway, I flew 11 packs through the helis: 4 on the X5, 3 on the G500, and 4 on the 7HV (for two flights.)  With the last adjustments to the derivative gain (decreasing it 2 points from default setting in the iKon), the 7HV seems to fly fine enough to not worry about any more adjustments in tail gain until I get used to the heli.  With all three helis today, I flipped lower and played with inverted more.  Instead of the usual continuation of the back flip to return to upright, I did quite a few forward flips instead.  This is probably safer since the heli stays at altitude or gains, rather than drops.  In an emergency the former would be better.  Felt really good about flying today, likely due to great visibility in the sunny (but later smokey) sky today.

I ended the day with 3 packs through the mini Star, a fun and fast plane!

Happy Dozen

I had a great time flying with Tad this morning.  I got about 6 flights with my helis before he came, but still had 4 more while he was there.  In all, I got in 4 flights on the X5, 3 on the  G500, and 3 on the new 7HV.  I made sure Tad got to see two of the flights of the 7HV since he had not seen it fly before.  Today was calm and sunny so visibility was good.  I was able to bring my back flips to inverted lower than I have before, and it was spooky once or twice, but it was of course much easier to see the helis!  The 7HV was fun but had a fast waggle to the tail at the beginning of the first flight, then seemed either to diminish or I got oblivious to it on the other flights.  I still am going to adjust the differential gain in the iKon.  I think I increased the default setting, and will now decrease it since the waggle was worse today than before I set the increase.

7HV!  Photo by Tad, thx very much!!

Tad had a misfortune on the first flight of his G570.  He was flying fine, then got into an inverted hover.  The heli almost seemed to power down, as it descended slowly to the ground.  He kept it flat and it crashed into the short grass of the North field.  It looked like the only thing broken was a landing gear support, so Tad set her on the tarmac to throttle up and look for things like bent shafts or blade holders with the blades spinning. None were observed so he went ahead and lifted off!  Later he told me he likely made a pilot error...he thinks maybe he did not go to IU after take off, therefore had too little negative pitch for sustained inverted hover.  Stuff happens to the best!  Luckily only pride was damaged other than the one LG support, which he has already found and ordered online, lol.

After my helis, I had two 10-minute flights on the Aerostar 40 in the rapidly increasing and gusting wind.  It was total fun to play with the plane in the wind, shooting passes and touch and gos on the short NS runway!

BTW I also flew Saturday.  Got in 4 flights on the X5.   Main purpose was to fly the Bravata.  It ran perfect the first flight, then flamed out in the middle of the second.  Luckily hit the runway on the deadstick landing, avoiding the irrigation pipes all about the field.  Found the muffler loose yet again.  Arg.

Early onset alzheimers!

So today i was planning a lot of relaxation via flying the X5 and Bravata.   I got the 4 packs through the X5 without a hitch before anyone else came.   Needed to do that because our good old JB friends were watering the helipad again.  So i needed to take off and land using the main runway.   Got that done and moved the xB to the gasser area for assembly of the Bravata.  That went well, about 20-30 minutes of work.  And then i tried to start the engine.   Not a sound out of the DLE-30!   Kept trying and got frustrated and tired so I gave up and disassembled the plane, and drove home.

At home i took off the the cowl and checked the ignition  battery, then the spark plug to ensure i was getting spark.   Next checked the fuel lines and tank.   Then the carb.  Tried starting the engine outside at various points.

Finally the engine ran as i fiddled with choke and throttle settings.  Nothing wrong with DLE-30!  I am a lame brain.  I was pulling on choke to get it to first bark.  It has to be pushed in.  Dunno why i was thinking backwards .   I think i have early onset alzheimers already.   Well, i tested batt, spark, and fuel tank at home, driving self crazy.   Hate myself.

Got it to run in sideyard and noted reverse of choke stick from what i was doing this morn at field.   Good grief.  Now i can put it all back together but i am resting after the copious amounts of frustration suffered unnecessarily!

Heli fun!

Nice calm weather and cool temps this AM, so it was great except for overcast at first, that cleared somewhat as the morning progressed.  I flew the G500 three packs, then used my other 10 packs in pairs to yield 3 flights on the new 7HV, and 2 on the G630.  The 7HV has a little rebound on the tail after releasing the stick sharply, so looks like I will decrease the i gain back to 23.  The tail wag seems to be gone, so tail gain remains set at 41 in the iKon.  Other than that the 7HV is fun to fly, so big and stable, and easy to see due to its hugeness!  The 500 and 630 were great as usual.

Ready for departure to the field!

Also flew the Aerostar 40.  I used the two 4s packs for the full 10 minute timed flights.  Tried the 3s pack, and while the plane flies, it reminds me of the good old days of underpowered RC planes, flying on the wing and being careful not to get too slow and low at the same time.

More 7HV delight!

Started the flying with 4 packs through the X5, then 2 flights on the 7HV, next 3 on the G500, and finally one on the TREX 450 DFC.   All were good, but due to JB watering the helipad, i had to take off from a small dry corner of the pad and land on the grass runway.  Fortunately the grass is short, dry, hard, and easy to land on.    The 7HV flew very well but it still has a small tail wag.  So I came home and decreased the tail gain from 43 to 41.  I also raised the integral tail gain back up to 25, the default value.  It seems like reducing it to 23 did not improve the tail wag at all for today's flights.   All in all though, the 7HV is going to be a really fun helicopter to fly on a regular basis!

7HV success!

On Sunday i maidened the Compass 7HV with limited success.  It flew but had a definite tail wag with oscillations about an inch or two, several per second.  I put it away and flew my x5 and g500 six and four packs respectively.   Also flew the mini Star four times.

At home i got advice from cousin and friend, but also some hands on help from jeremy and tad to figure out what the issue was.  It turns out the tail slider was too draggy due to the three ball links binding with the balls.   I used the sizing tool and got them loosened up.   Today i flew the heli with great success and happiness.   There is still a small tail wag now and then, but it is very flyable.  On the second flight today, i did a flip in each direction just to feel it out more.   This heli is rock solid in the air and i think it will be a fave pretty quickly!

Today i also got in four flights on the x5, three on the g500, and four on the mini Star.  Winds were 5mph+ but it was not a problem.

Fail then Succeed

Went fly yesterday...total failure.  It was windy at home and unfortunately the same at the field.  So I did not get the helis out.  Instead I put my Aero 40 on the table, and as I reached for the wing, the fuselage got twirled by the wind, rolled to the far side of the table out of my reach, and proceeded to do a nice left roll upside down as it fell to the ground.  Landed upside down of course and snapped the stab off the fuse on one side.  Yay, day done, went home.  Fixed the stab with lots of thin CA and accelerator.  Good as new.

Today I took that plane out again, and my G630 and X5.  Got in 4 flights on the X5, 2 on the G630, thereby consuming 8 packs for the day.  I did not charge more as I was expecting wind again, and maybe rain.  Instead it was perfect and I wish I had my other 4 packs!  I don't know why I was very tentative on tight and flat right turns today, but I was.  I forced myself to do lots of them to get over it, lol.  At least I did not have any crashes.  I believe I did my lowest back flips to inverted today, and a couple inverted pyros.  Still not enough cajones for doing more than that.

Followed that with two 9 minute flights on the Aero 40.  Fun plane to fly low, and do lots of touch and goes on the NS runway.  The volt meter read 3.82 per cell after 9 minutes, so I am going to up the timer for that plane to a nice round 10 minutes.  I bet it will still come down with about 3.80V per cell.

Dozen packs!

Yes, I got two new packs so I am up to an even dozen 6s 4000mah packs for my three helis.  The new packs are the new heavy duty Turnigy packs, and they did seem peppy when I used both as a pair in the G630 today.  I split the 12 packs today so that I got 3 flights each on the 3 helis...the Goblin 500, Goblin 630, and Gaui X5.  Lots of fun, but also scarey at times because today the sky was solid overcast, which is the worst visibility conditions possible for me.  ARG!  I lost orientation on the G500 a couple times, scaring myself, but never got in danger.  Whew.  Due to the poor visibility, I stayed close, mostly slower, and I did not fool with too many flips.  I had to do some though!

I also flew the Aerostar 40 today with great pleasure.  And today I also had a new battery for this plane, a Zippy 4s 2650mah pack.  This supplements the single Turnigy pack of the same capacity that Dick gave me with the plane.  The packs seem to both be capable of 9 minute flights, and there is about 3.8v per cell upon landing.  That is a plenty safe landing voltage that stores well.

Started off the day flying my helis, before the wind picked up, which it turns out did not happen while I was there from about 8AM til just past high noon.  I got in 6 packs on the X5 and 4 on the G500.  Very nice day of flying with 5MPH+ but the helis don't seem to mind.  Visibility for me today was good because the sky was cloudless per the pics!  Today I gained confidence just flipping the helis on their back at various heights, and then holding a hover followed by slow forward inverted flight.  Also did some starts and stops, and a pyro turn or two.  Been flying the Goblin on IU1 instead of IU2 for lower head speed.  Seems calmer!

I also flew the Yak-54 just one time due to the heat and fatigue, lol.  It was the right plane to bring given that the field is full of netting and long parallel lines of fixed sprinkler pipes and heads, including along the entire south edge of our runway.  The engine ran good and the Yak always lands soft and slow, so little rollout is needed.

Aerostar 40

Yesterday, I maidened the new to me Aerostar 40, which i bought from Dick a couple months ago.  Finally installed the Futuba receiver, programmed it, programmed the ESC, and it was flight ready.  The wind was greater than I would like for a maiden, but there was an hour to kill before the noon club meeting at the field, so I took her up.  It needed a bunch of down trim and a couple clicks of right aileron, and she was happy.  Slow flying with the leading edge lift plate, but still all kinds of fun.  Sure has a slow roll though, almost as lazy as my Bravata's roll.  Take off and landing are a piece of cake.  The plane is odd that it sits on its tail when on the ground under no power.  As soon as power is applied, the nose sits down and the nose gear is effective.  It will be great as a trainer, as intended, but also a fun flyer for me.  I seem to have a real affinity for Aerostars since I own three made Dick now, lol.

Designer Dick Smith and his 3 Stars that I own, lol!

Goblin 500 is ALIVE!

Yes, the remaiden of the G500 was uneventful today!   It is great to have it back after about a 40-day absence.  As soon as i got to the field, i put the Goblin up first.  Slight nervousness abated after 15 seconds in the air.  No vibrations, no trim issues, no problems at all.  I ran 4 packs through the machine, 5 through the X5, and 2 tankfuls of glow through the Yak-54.  The Yak is a smooth flying aircraft worthy of retaining longer...i had considered selling it after i ran over the left wheel pants with my Boxster, lol, and since it sits on the garage floor for storage, thereby getting in the way.

Just a great day in perfect weather in the mid 70's, very little breeze, and partly cloudy skies.

Goblin 500 Revived

Out with the Pulse edition crash victim

The Dragon edition rises again!

I crashed the G500 back on May 29, 2015.   That day, I took the mangled parts off and kept the salvageable parts in a box.  As time passed, I thought I would buy either a new Gaui X5 or a new G500 and reuse the electronic components.  Finally a week ago, I was bored, so decided to remove the components from the victim.  As I did so, I found that I could reuse some heli parts, take spares from the spare box, and order just about $100 of new parts to get the heli back in the air.  That is much less than purchasing a new heli, of course, but it is due to convincing myself to repair and use an old canopy from a prior crash, reusing the slightly damaged main frame, etc.  So the list of actions follows, for my own records.

1.  Frame:  damaged right side is missing the battery latch part of the frame, plus has a crack in one place on the outside only.  By switching the left and right sides, I hide the slight surface crack, and put the battery latch on the correct side where it should be.

2.  LG mount:  took spare part to replace one broken/lost.

3.  Main blades:  bought new.

4.  Tail control rod:  bought new.

5.  Main blade holder:  took spare part for one side, including ball link arm.

6.  Radial arms:  used two spares.

7.  Nylon bolts and nuts: bought new plus used a spare.

8.  Tail belt:  bought new.

9.  Canopy and tail boom:  repaired spare Dragon canopy in a few spots with FG cloth and CA,  and used with spare Dragon boom.  Tossed demolished Pulse canopy.

10.  Tail skid and main LG:  used spare Pulse edition parts, tossed broken Pulse parts.

11.  Servo arms:  Used new Dubro arms for all servos.  Tossed old ones that all were broken.

12.  Control linkages and ball links:  Used spare used parts to replace all broken or lost ones.

It feels absolutely awesome to have my heli squadron back to full force of three.  And there is a fourth one on the building table!

From back: G630, X5, G500

Compass 7HV being assembled very slowly!

Got to go flying again, early to beat the expected mid 90F heat.  Flew the X5 five times, and the G630 twice.  Also put in four flights on the mini Star...that little bird is fast and groovy.  Re helis, not much progress is being made.  I might be getting a little lower when I flip to inverted, but still am not making inverted turns much.  I hope it comes when I get comfortable enough.

Yakking it up

Flew my X5 for 5 packs first thing in the cooler morning air, just around 7:30AM.  Next up was my Yak-54 interspersed with Apache flights.  The Yak was super good like days of old.  Steady flight speed on the slower side allows closer in controlled flights.  Landings are just so slow and pretty with the Yak.  THere was some light air but no boomer thermals while I flew the Apache.  Unfortunately the elevator servo started to be unresponsive, so after a shallow dive into the north field, I stopped flying it.  Great fun today with all three aircraft.

13:48

The Apache DLG clocked a long flight of 13 minutes and 48 seconds today.  I hopped into a couple big thermals that I had to bail out of due to height or proximity to the full sun.  Also had two 3 minute flights and host of short ones.  There is nothing so pure as hand launching a glider and then hunting, finding, and working thermals for good duration flights.

My 9 battery packs again split 6/3 for 3 flights on the G630 and 3 on the X5.  Lots of fun, and I am getting lower on my inverted and flips, but still not making many turn attempts.  I am not flying enough to feel comfortable on the first flight, so I take many flights just to get acclimated again before trying anything new.

And while I had the mini Star and xmitter, I forgot the batteries exactly where I left them at home, bah.

New mix

Took the x5 and g630 out again for three flights each.  But for a change, i brought out the Apache dlg for  the first time in a year.  There was overcast that blocked the morning sun , so there were no thermals to be found.  Nobody else was at the field while i was there between 8 and 9:00 AM.

3x2

Got the helis out for first time in a week.  Felt shakey at first but good after that.  Three flights on the X5 and three on the G630.  Nothing special done inverted...stayed steady and hovered or did slow forward flight, and only tried a quarter turn successfully.  But no crashes is a good thing, lol.

9-6-3

Nine battery packs yielded six on the g630 for three flights and three on the x5 for another three flights.   I miss having the g500 to use single packs and give me more flights per flying day!  Oh well.  It was about 7mph today making it a wee bit more challenging.  Felt pretty good though!

SNAFU and helis

Nice day of flying with Tad and Quang this morning!  Perfect weather with one JB worker doing soil prep but he ended early and was not an issue for us.  Flew my SNAFU maybe 4 times, and my X5 and G630 three times each.  Feel like I got the confidence back and am doing my flips and inverted straight lines as usual.  In fact I seem to be getting lower on the inverted flight, and am working the pitch more to either speed up or slow down, plus collective to maintain a steadier height.  I used to climb a lot while inverted, prolly the natural save your ass tendency, lol.  In discussing with Tad, I plan to make very gentle turns while inverted, more like flat pyros for change of direction, with little bank.  Banking is what causes the speed to build up fast, then bad things happen, haha.  Also I want to flip into inverted at altitude, then drop the altitude to get the feel for being lower while inverted, then pump it back up to flip out.

Good old SNAFU still serving me well

Tad flipping the Forza 700 into inverted

Tad is doing awesome with his F700, as well as the others, but that thing has the best presence in the air.  And lastly, Quang flew his 7HV with just twin 4000 packs.  Flew same as with 5000 packs, so I am thrilled that I can use my 4000 packs too for my 7HV.  He is getting 4 minute flights, so i bet I can stick with my 4.5 minutes due to flying style and ability!

Flight Log: 06/10/2015

Flew the X5 thrice, and the G630 likewise.  Got back the confidence and did some inverted straight flight as well as a couple of inverted 180 turns to the left.  Felt good.  Mowed the field afterwards.

Bravo Bravata!

Took my Bravata and the X5 to the field today, a day of forecasted 90F.  Lucky I went early, at the field by 7:30AM when it was still cool and in the 70's.  By the time I was done it was getting toasty.  Got in 5 full eight minute flights on the Bravata, a real sweet gasser to fly.  And though my largest plane, it can slow down and land light and with a short rollout due to the flaps, so it was perfect for our short runway now surrounded by tilled dirt after the sod harvest.  Between the Bravata flights, I threw in 4 flights on the X5.  I felt more comfortable with it today but sticked to simple horizontal 8's with a few flips and very little inverted.  I did many small, flat right circles to get the confidence back in that maneuver.  All went well today.

The Bravata prolly stayed under 100 feet high except for a few times I went up high to spin the plane down.  I love the rolls on this gently giant, as they are slow and graceful.  Interestingly inverted does not take that much down elevator.  Perhaps most fun is just flying slow and low with or without flaps, and often carving banked turns about a wingspan off the dirt.  Just tempting a dirt nap!

Featured aircraft for today's flying.

Panzy and Fancy!

I am da Panzy, still flying my helis with confidence stricken since the G500 demolition last week.  My weakness is in my head as making a slow right turn down on the right side of my periphery.  I get in that zone in front of me and I get scared to make the turn, so I forced and forced myself to make many such turns today. I will get the confidence back eventually.  All other parts of the sky and maneuvers seem pretty normal.  I just don't want to go brain dead again so that plays on my mind.  In any case, I got in six packs on the Gaui X5 today.  I put in four packs on the Mini Aerostar, and likewise on the Aerostar 20, the first one I bought from Dick S.  Those are confidence builders that translates in my brain, thus helping in flying the helis.

Tad is the Fancy...Tad flew today too, with his rebuilt G500, and his G570.  The 500 is good as new in the air, so all is well there.  Tad says it feels weak compared to the 570 which he has grown accustomed to while the 500 was in parts.  He did well with the 570 per the pics below, lol.

Low and inverted!