Stir Crazy!

Haven’t flown for so long!  It was grey and cool in West Salem with light drizzles now and then, but it was calm.   So I quickly charged packs for the Aerostar 40F and headed to Dallas.  The closer I got, the more it was raining.  Oh well, I was determined to fly after several weeks of no flying.  Doug B showed up and provided good company.  Got in two flights in pretty steady light rain.  Felt good that I never missed the runway on many touch and go’s from both directions.  The new grass is looking plush.  I got that out of my system, sorta.

Ode to the Professional Leaf Blower

Fall colors ablaze
Red orange yellow haze
Many large, many small
Falling leaves all

Yards sheathed with leaves
Bright colors turning brown
Crying to be picked up
Most to be blown

Some by oblivious neighbors
Most by the ubiquitous
Lawn maintenance laborers
Hired by those nice neighbors

Where do they go
Those leaves upon leaves
Blown into the street
Blown into my yard

Next week comes
Here they go again
Blowing the leaves
Rarely picking up

I pick my leaves up
Why don't they!
Heck i think i should
Just blow them too

After all most leaves
Are not really mine
They arrive in my yard
Some by the wind
Most blown by leaf blowers
Of the yard maintenance kind.

Sloppy buggers All of them
To just blow the leaves around
Rather than pick them up
They don’t mind because
It gives them all job security
Blow the leaves into another yard
Or on the street
Then another neighbors hired men
Do the same
And so it goes again and again.

Only I am the fool
Who does his own yard work
The fool who doesn’t blow
The leaves into the street or neighbors yard
The fool who picks up the leaves
To break the cycle of the evil yard men.

Flying with Tad!

It has been too long since flying helis with Tad but we finally got in another session today at Keizer.  We both got in four flights; Tad with his Goblin 570 and me with my 7HV.  Conditions were around 40F but no frost on the tables like yesterday, lol.  Air was calm, sky blue and clear!  Perfect too that nobody else was there.  As we finished a flight , the other guy would be ready to walk out to start his.  Tad flew his usual fancy self, lol, while I demonstrated my new found skill of inverted forward flight complete with turns!  Like I said yesterday, the progress feels wonderful.  We had a great time.   Oh, Tad tried flying with nitrile gloves on his last two flights, and he said they kept his hands warm enough with no effect on his touch on the sticks!  Cool find...i might try it if necessary this Winter.

And Tad scared the 💩 out of me a few times, when doing pyro flips and nose up funnels!  Thought he was gonna bury the 570 on the funnel recovery, arg.  But he said he was calm and just depended on muscle memory for recovery.  Lol, I would depend too....on Depends!

Major Heli flying progress today!

Gaui X5

Major accomplishments today in heli flying!  I did many flips to right and left to inverted and back out, plus I made a good five or six circles inverted to left and right.  All done high and I will work lower with time.  Feels so good.  I am gonna claim I can do forward inverted flight albeit high.  First 3 flights were with the X5, then 3 more with the 7HV.  Much easier to do with the 7HV due to ability to see it, and because it moves slower.  The X5 is pretty agile with its light disc loading.  WHAT A GREAT DAY FOR MY HELI FLYING!

Compass 7HV

Look at the clear sky!

I have had the goal of inverted forward flight complete with turns for a couple years and each year ended with little or no progress.  Just a month or more ago I decided to push harder by doing some sim time.  That built some muscle memory and today it all worked in the air with a real heli at risk, lol.  Like I said, it was high to be able to hopefully recover , but not so far I could not tell the heli attitude. Now I can work towards lower heights.  FEELS GREAT TO REACH THIS GOAL!  Now I will add stick time and get comfortable lower and connect maneuvers like in pattern plane flying...that is my goal for 2019!

Cliff’s man cave then flying!

Guessing that it would be foggy early, the guys decided we would meet up at Cliff ‘s man cave at his house first, and go flying after the fog clears.  Words cannot do the man cave justice.  I took several pics and will add them later.  There was plenty of room for loads of chairs for all 8 of us to sit and talk, Don brought doughnuts, Cliff provided fresh coffee, and we talked and joked.  It was my first time there, unlike everyone else, so I was in awe and roamed the room and inspected all the great planes! Cliff is moving towards large planes and it was inspiring to see the big guys with wingspans perhaps 85” upwards of 100”!   Mr Mulligan, DG Howard, Cessna 192, RV-4.  The work of love nearing completion is his 60cc Corsair with Saito 3 cyl gas four stroke engine,  OMG! Great visit with the guys to Cliff’s man cave which by the way has its own bathroom, TV, fridge, wood floor, heat, man cave decor, etc. in an area about the size of a large two car garage.

All 8 of us headed to the field to fly, and indeed the fog had cleared.  More great fun.  I flew my Shoestring 60 twice, and it did well.  The new grass is sprouting up well, thereby making it safer to roll off the matted runway without damaging a plane.  Thus I was willing to risk flying the tail dragging Shoestring which would damage something in the previously loose dirt and gravel surrounding the runway.

Cccccccold!

I think it was around 36F when i headed to the dallas field at 8:40.  The guys decided we should go an hour later due to the fog that has been present lately.  It wasnt foggy today but instead was pretty cccccold!  I used one hand warmer, double socks, tshirt, flannel shirt, vest, medium jacket, ear warmers, and pendleton hat.  Comfy enough, but later as the wind built up, we all got chilled enough to call it a day.  I am ahead of myself.

I flew my Kaos three times today.  No probs with the retracts due to the smooth runway mat we installed this Summer!  The plane flew great but did use most of the runway to rollout on landings.  Due to that behavior and the need for down elevator to hold inverted flight, i will add some tail weight.  That should help the plane slow down for landings.  Other than that, the Kaos flew really nice ....we all love how it looks with the gear retracted.

Usual suspects were there....Don, Ken, Gary, Mike, and Bob.  Dave Martin also flew!  Ken had his pretty blue Carl Goldberg Skylark, first time for me to see it.  Real nice plane!

Deja vu!

It has been a week since flying due to wind and rain and busyness.  It was foggy again, so we spent time huddled around the heater like hobos until the fog lifted enough to fly.  I got in 2 flights on the X5 plus 2 on the Toledo Special.  Nice day of flying with the die hards Don, Ken, Gary, and Bob.   I didn’t get to venture much with the heli due to the fog on the first flight, then discomfort on the 2nd...I think the X5 is too quick and small for the inverted forward flight attempts after my RF sim training.  Gonna try with the 7HV next time.

Foggy flying!

Flew in medium fog this morn.  Too low to do my dirty birdy...did it once and the plane almost disappeared on one half loop back to me.  Flew the x5 twice.  Getting more relaxed with side flip to inverted, due to sim time.  Die hards Don, Bill, Ken, and Gary were there, but only Gary and I flew. They didnt like not seeing my dirty birdy in the fog at times, lol.

INTRUDER!

The Intruder performed flawlessly yesterday.  Only Ken, Bill, Don, and I showed up to fly.  That was likely due to the fog in the area.  It was a thin fog that had less ceiling than distance ,but it was flyable  so I was up first with the Intruder.  No problem but I did purposely stay closer for safety.  All my landings were on the mat...only the third one ran off the west end just a few feet.  The plane flew well.  The engine was fine except for a slight burble at the top of loops, which at that point put the OS90 four stroke upright.  Bill and I surmised that the engine is leaned out to run most of the time inverted, thus tends to be too lean when upright at the top of the loop.  I richened the engine one click and it seemed better on the third flight.  So I richened it one more click for the next outing.  Even though we were just four in number, it sure seemed to be one of the best days I have had there.  It was calm, the fog cleared but never went away, which probably helped to shield us from the sun which has been a PITA low in the southeastern sky, over the east end of the runway.  That resulted in the freedom to fly as far East as we wanted, a rarity.

Helis in the fog!

Well crap, it was foggy enough to screw my plans to try more inverted forward flight(FF) this morning.  At least i got to fly close in to psyche myself up, and as the fog thinned some, i did right roll flips to inverted, which I had not done before.  Easy peasy after doing it on the RF sim at home the last couple days!  I did the first couple on the X5, then a handful more on a  couple flights of the 7HV.  With the 7HV, i attempted left turn inverted FF, but the fog still was bothersome enough to make me chicken out.  Got 3/4 of a circle done once.  So its a good bit of progress for me...been plateaued a long time.  I was trying to start the inverted turns from my half loops to inverted, but for me that put the heli high where its harder to see.  Right flips are quick, so i dont begin the inverted turns as high as the half loop entry.  Anyway, now i am anxious to try the inverted turns with this new entry and based on getting the RF simulator working again and practicing there more too.  The year is not done, maybe i can make my goal of Learning inverted FF this year!

RV day

Yesterday, Ken, Bill, and I decided that today would be RV day, so they both brought their RV-4’s by Great Planes, while I brought my RV-8 by Hangar 9.  Virtually the same size planes.  I got in two flights, both good on takeoff and landings on our new mat.  Invariably I end up sitting with the guys and talking so i just don’t get many flights in like I used to at keizer.  Lotsa fun with this group of buddies.

Dirty Birdy

Sweet airplane, got in just two flights but sublime ones...the plane is so clean unlike its name, and it slips through the air on a rope.  Both landings were good.  One was completely on the runway til dead stop, the other ended a few feet off the end.  The second was IMHO the best final approach I ever had...gradual and steady with no noticeable bounces or wing tip bobbles at all, all the way to touchdown where the DB just stuck to the mat.  The fuel tube brakes help for sure.

Bravata day

I got the Bravata out again today.  Three flights were good.  All takeoffs were to the west away from the low rising sun, from the west taxiway, so i used only about 30’ of the matted runway for takeoff....the Bravata was usually off the ground in under 10’, lol.  Landings were all nice touchdowns but the darn plane doesn’t steer well immediately after landing.  All of a sudden the plane gets squirrelly and typically ends up running on the loose dirt shoulders.  A nice landing ends up looking like shit.  It never did that on grass.  Hmmmm, what to do!  No point checking toe in or out because the LG are super thick and stiff and won’t be adjustable.  The wheels seem to spin on the axles with similar friction.  I am thinking of just landing on the dirt/grass where the plane slows down fast and doesn’t seem to want to ground loop.  By next Spring we will have grass or something green covering the loose dirt we created with the runway mat improvements.

SNAFU and Ultimate

I flew the SNAFU yesterday three times.  Took it due to the ease of short landings to ensure I would not have issues rolling off the runway mat at Dallas.  Never touched the dirt shoulders or ends with the plane, yay.  It flew well with the change in prop from 12.5x3.75 (yes a weird prop for 3D applications) to a typical 12x7, both APC.  The OS52 FS ran like a top.

Today I flew the Carl Goldberg Ultimate 10-300 twice.  With landings into the wind (and under the very low rising sun), the plane landed once completely staying on the runway mat.  For the second landing, I had a little too much speed so the bipe came to a stop beyond the west end of the mat, but no harm was done on the dirt or gravel.  The plane flew great.  Starts were not real easy even with the new Align super starter!  The OS120Surpass tended to want to die when idled low enough to not roll on the mat, so I had to keep the idle speed up a bit.  Still, good flying!

More DB

Flew the Dirty Birdy again today to test the fuel tubing braking action.  It helped but all three landings still carried beyond the matted runway.  That was somewhat due to coming in hotter or not touching down as close to the beginning of the mat as I would have liked.  I tried moving the collars to apply more pressure to the fuel tubing, but it didn't make much difference.  Later, at home i used a harder tubing with a little thicker slices to hopefully create more friction.  So far I have only put the tubing on the main LG, and i might have to add it to the nose gear too.  My flying was ok, not very thrilling due to flying higher and further out to avoid the rising sun as it migrates southward for Winter.

Clean Dirty Birdy Today

Okay, the adjustments to the nose wheel worked well today.  I had more turning sensitivity so the DB would turn sharper...it turned around in 12’ instead of almost 24’, easily remaining on the new matted runway.  It also rolled straighter thereby making takeoffs and rollout after landing much easier.  While the plane rolled straighter, however it still rolled long, off the ends of the runway,  but it is relatively safe to roll off there, unlike the north edge of the runway.  In the air, the plane was great with the OS running strong.  One small adjustment I made for the third flight was to richen the low needle just 1/8 turn, and that seemed to stop the sputter and tendency to die when throttling up from low idle.

At home, I added thin rings of fuel tubing to the axles of the main LG to cause  braking action with the wheels and cause the plane to slow down faster on the runway.  Ken is using this method with success to slow his Stik with on the new runway.  Hope I got the wheels set evenly so that the plane still rolls pretty straight!

Helis only

Today I went to the Keizer field to fly helis only.  It was coldish and drizzly with hardly any wind.  Got in 2 flights on the X5 first, then 3 on the 7HV.  All good.  Felt comfortable.  No issues.  Still not feeling confident to fly inverted turns.  Have been at this plateau for at least two years!  Arg.

Flying Fun

Great time flying this week.  I flew on Wednesday with the old Giles 202.  That is a rocket with the OS 160FX two stroker screamin on the front end!  It flew well.  One landing was great, the first one.  Second one was too slow so the plane wallowed but landed ok.  I finally have figured out priming the beast for starting.  It needs a good dose of fuel in the carb to startup....it needs that wet squishy sound to be present before flipping with the glow plug hooked up.  I used to turn the prop over slowly with my finger covering the carb opening, over and over and over....many times over, lol.  This time I put the corks in the twin exhausts, plus put my finger over the carb as i turned the prop over.  Just a couple turns brought fuel to the carb and wet my finger nicely, and created that wet squishy sound.  Then i hooked up the glow, gave the prop a back flip or two, and the OS 160 came to life right away.  SWEET!  And the funny thing is just this same morning I ordered the Align Super Starter from AMain for this and other hard turning engines, lol!  Oh well, it will crank any engine easier than my heavy old tethered starters.

Yesterday was Thursday, and I flew the old Yak-54 three times at Dallas.  It flew well too, but my landings were again average.  Hit the first one perfect, then got to wallowing the other landings.  Just getting too slow due to the desire to stay on the new runway.  The dirt, grave, rock shoulders are brutal so avoidance is advised.  Hope the rain today helps to firm the shoulders up.

Car Cruzin'!

We began in Carlton and ran the pink route clockwise.  Short lived...road turned to gravel around the 8 o'clock spot.  Paper map shows entire loop to be paved.  Came back to Carlton, drove due N to Yamhill and went east on rest of route...very nicely paved smooth with good shoulders.

MR2, 911, Boxster

Meeting up in Carlton near the popular Carlton Bakery

Choosing some nice pastries at $3.50 each...they were ono at home!

We finally got a car cruz in this morning...me and my three sons, Tad, Jer, and Alex, plus Mark (friend to Tad).  Weather was not the nicest since Fall is here, so we had a few sunbreaks but mostly grey sky with drizzle sometimes, and temps near 60F.  We met in Carlton, chosen for being halfway between where Jer and Alex live in Hillsboro, and where Tad and I live in West Salem.

The route I selected did not pan out perfect because part of the route shown as paved on a paper map was in reality gravel when we got there!  Anyway we met near the bakery in downtown Carlton just before 10AM, got some pastries, then headed out with me in the lead, and Alex riding shotgun with me.  Good navigator!  Headed west on Main Street and about five miles out the rather bumpy road turned to gravel, so we could not complete the loop to Yamhill.  We turned around, stopped in Carlton to discuss new plan, and then headed north with Jeremy in lead this time, to Yamhill, and thence east and south per the original planned route.  That portion was nicely paved and maintained so it was a joy to drive.  We completed our loop back to Carlton.  Not a long route but adequate for us due to the less than perfect weather.

the Young family...good looking sons!

Full complement of cars...Boxster, 911, MR2, CaymanS

Mark has joined us

Jer's MR2 on the prowl

On the road

We broke up from there.  Jer and Alex went north, Tad and Mark went east, and I headed south via Mc Minnville and 99W to home.  Nice time.  Need a better and longer route next time.  My roundrip mileage was 93 today.  I was out from 9AM till about 12:30PM.  We should do this more!

TGIF BRAVATA!

Flew the Bravata twice this morning for the first time on the new Dallas runway.  It flew well like always, but landings were just ok.  The prob is maintaining a straight rollout after touchdown.  It just wants to  groundloop which is bad at this time due to the soft dirt with rocks and gravel in it on the shoulders of the matted runway.  After thinking on it later, i think i need to feed in full up as soon as possible after touchdown (without lifting off again) to establish tailwheel authority quickly.  It will be awhile till i fly it again.

I meant to fly the Giles 202  yesterday but that did not pan out.  When i got to the field and began to assemble the Giles, i realized i had packed the wing rod for the Yak, not the Giles!  Arg.

STINGER II!

 Fun day of just two flights on the Great Planes Stinger II!  I chose it to fly today because I felt the need, the need for speed!  And I thought it could slow enough on landings to avoid running off the new pink mat, and becoming another dirty birdy.  It started great, ran fine, flew finer. Indeed it slowed enough to easily stay on the mat, plus the turn radius is small enough to turn around without stress.  Really enjoyed the fast low passes!  The YS63 is idling well and singing nicely at WOT.

Too bad Bill had a crash today with his Ugly Stick!  He was flying it well, then decided to do a medium speed, low inverted flyby.  That went well until he pitched up and added throttle...and the engine died right then.  Compounding the situation, the plane was right in the sun just past the east end of the runway.  Down the plane came from maybe 40’.  He couldn’t see it and did not put in up elevator, although I don’t know that the plane would have pulled up in time anyway...40’ up, no speed, pointed straight down.  The plane burrowed into the ground a few inches, demolishing the front end all the way to the wing saddle.  Arg!  Before we wrapped up an hour later, he already had a new one on hold at Trump’s Hobby Shop in Corvallis.  Attaboy!

Clean RV-8!

Flew with the guys this morning and had two good flights plus excellent landings on the new pink mat, with no dirt expeditions, lol.  Of course it’s much easier to land and stay on the mat with a plane that has flaps for slowing down!  Great fun watching everyone else deal with the new runway.  Poor Gary landed his Giant Sportster on the dirt and when trying to get back to the mat, got dumped on its nose in the dirt and stones, splintering his wooden XOAR prop, a $20 error.  Almost everyone had some off runway adventures with the dirt, but without serious damage.  Likely we will try it again tomorrow because the weather is good and we know the rain and cold are fast approaching.

Filthy Dirty Birdy!

I took my DB to the Dallas field for my initial flying off the new runway and taxiways.  First landing,    the plane touched down just before the new pink mat on the west end, then rolled all the way to the east end where it was slow enough to turn around!  Second landing I touched down on the sloped shoulder of the north edge then rolled onto the pink mat.  Sure made a filthy mess on the plane!  Third landing was from the east end, opposite approach direction, and the plane touched down on pink mat but rolled onto north sloped shoulder and made another mess on itself, lol.  Then I tried slowing the plane more by approaching higher and just feeding up elevator to get the nose up.  That helped.  The plane was rolling semi slowly right so I think I corrected it at home and will see the effect next time.  Also, the plane was barely turning around in the 24’ wide runway, so I switched the nose control from the inside hole on the servo arm to the outer.  That required switching the rudder control from outside hole to inside hole on the same servo arm.  Should have lots more nose wheel control, and less rudder throw.  To partially compensate, I moved the rudder control rod one hole in on the rudder horn.  And while at the fiddling, I lowered the nose wheel to raise the nose some, so that the prop doesn’t strike the new pink mat at the transition point from taxiway to runway.  If that doesn’t work, I need to physically smooth out that transition area with help from Doug B.

My final comment though is that the new runway and three taxiways are a tremendous improvement to the club field, something we can be proud of.

Flight log: 09/23/2018

I had a nice five flights on helis this morning at the keizer field.  First up was the G500 twice, then the G700 three times.  Still just not feeling the cajones to go for forward inverted coordinated turns.  I don't fly enough to build the stick time to get her done!  At least i got her upside down many times and keep trying to get familiar.  Not getting the throttle feel while inverted, dummy.  Anyway, no crashes and it was fun.  Didnt fly at all last week due to major field renovation at the Dallas club.  I worked there T, Th, and Sat.  Work took place Monday through Saturday!

Eleven!

I got in 11flights at the Keizer field today, and I did it very quickly because not a single soul came to fly today!  So I put up 4 flights on the X5, 4 on the Aerostar 40F, 2 on the Aerostar 76, and one on the lil Ascent electric glider.  Not really liking the Asssent much so I might return it to Jer with a free orange receiver in it so he can fool with it in parks or schools where he lives. It was a ball flying the heli and the planes.  With the X5 I did a whole bunch of flips and rolls, and I put it inverted frequently.  Just gotta keep doing it and hopefully turning will come gradually.

Foggy season again!

Well, the foggy season is upon us again as the weather changes from summer to autumn.  Upon arrival at the Dallas field, the guys were standing around talking since it was foggy enough to prevent flying.  It wasn't too long before we took to the sky.  I flew my Dirty Birdy and it slipped through the air with the greatest of ease.  Just two flights were enough for me.  Ticked the APC prop on the mat when i taxied the plane back after the first flight.  Flew again anyway since i did not observe any vibration, but i am going to rebalance the prop now to ensure it doesn't damage the motor or airframe.

Flight log: 09/08/2018

Flew at the Keizer field prior to the field work day.  Turns out there was little to do except move some tables to the east end of the pit area so that Bob can load them easier for transfer to the new field near Silverton.

I flew the repossessed Ascent electric glider...I gave it to Jer years ago, saw it in his garage last week, and asked for it back, lol.  Once at home, I removed the old 72FM receiver and put in an orange 2.4mhz receiver.  I don’t like orange receivers due to reliability issues in my book, but the glider is low risk....i.e. dispensable.  With the orange housing removed, the receiver was not overly large and I slipped it under the servos in the fuse.  I found a couple 500mah 3s lipo packs, charged them up, and one slipped into the fuse easy enough, with decent CG.  The plane flew ok but needed much right rudder.  This is just a rudder and elevator ship.  At home later, I found warps in the wing and elevator, plus the wing and elevator are not parallel. I added 1/64th ply to the right side of the fuse wing saddle with CA, and used a heat gun to easily remove warps in wing and stab.  Also, on the last flight, the rudder pulled out of the fin on landing, so I replaced one CA hinge and glued both in good.  The Ascent should fly better next outing!

I also made one flight with the Goblin 500 which behaved nicely.  Robert was there, first time in a long time to see him again.  Not sure what his problem is but all he did was complain about the three 450 size helis i sold him last year.  He complained that the blades were junk on the Forza 450 kit, that two cyclic servos on one of the Trex’es were different brands from each other, and maybe something else.  Mostly I ignored him...I gave him a good deal so tough!  I sold the helis to him in good faith.

Flight log: 09/06/2018

I flew yesterday and today.  Got in three flights on the good old Goldberg Ultimate 10-300.  Since last flying it, I changed props from 16-6 to 16-8 to get a lil more speed.  The plane indeed seemed just a little faster and groovier.  Idle was still good for slow landings.also today, I dialed out some up elevator that kicks in with right/top rudder during the four point roll.  Basically I zeroed it out.  There is still some up elevator mixed to the left/top rudder.  Looks like the knife edge on either side is pretty straight now.

Yesterday I flew the P-47 twice and it was plain old fun making all kinds of low passes over the field.  Plane flew great, with no issues, and the retracts worked fine yet again.

Back home!

I laid off flying while on a week long cruise to Alaska with wife and many family members!  Actually I tried to fly yesterday but I assembled my planes at the dallas field only to find I had not brought the battery packs I had charged for the day!  Dumb dumb dumb.  Today I returned to the field with the batteries  and flew by myself the whole time.  Two flights on the Aerostar 76 and five on the Aerostar 40F.  I just took it easy with many touch and gos from both directions, and many long ascents under full power with flaps deployed, then slow gliding descents with no power.  Fun stuff!

Flight log: 08/23/2018

Flew yesterday and today.  Yesterday I got the Toledo Special up three times.  Today it was the Dirty Birdy twice.  Tomorrow is declared big bird day and I am prepping the good old Bravata for three flights...it is my biggest bird.  Yesterday and today I tried something slightly different but new for me...medium speed roll to the right to inverted then immediately reversing to left roll to upright.  Not that easy yet but it will come!  OF course it was easier to do it today with the DB than with the Toledo Special yesterday due to the pattern plane being what it is...very neutral with little coupling.  Good fun, I need to up my game.  I feel like the Dallas guys are trying to expand their aerobatics as they watch me go for it all the time.  Been there over a year and really like the gang and the field.

Flight log: 08/19/2018

Had a good morning of flying today.  Four flights of the Goblin 700 followed by two of the Shoestring.   Conditions were great...mostly calm, sunny with light haze, cool but not cold.  Got some decent inverted turns going with the G700...left turns so both sticks towards the center.  Only did it a couple times...cajones are hard to grow!  I am liking the G700 for this due to the big size for visibility, and the lighter disc loading that doesn’t feel like the heli is zooming around too fast.

The Shoestring flew great, perhaps best ever.  Many, many full throttle, low passes/circuits over the field were made.  That is exhilarating and entertaining!

Two only

I went to the keizer field early to just get in six heli flights.  My plans were foiled.  I arrived to find two dozen JB workers starting to lay the netting over the new seed.  While they were at the south end I could tell they would move pretty fast northwards.  And on the north field where cauliflower is growing, there were an equal amount of workers doing their weeding!  I put in two quick flights on the G500, and called it quits.  I was going to fly the G700 four times, but it requires much more airspace, which I did not want to consume with the workers only getting closer.

Ah the life!

Yes life continues to be good, thank you Jesus!  Few aches and pains are nothing to complain too much about, they are meant to help me keep in touch with God.

Today I flew yet again.  This time the RV-8 had the privilege of gracing the skies, and risking its life, lol.  It started up well and flew better than I recall it ever did.  Why is that!  Dunno.  Just appreciating it more maybe.  I did add a click of down trim to keep her from climbing much at all at WOT straight and level.  The Saito FA-82a started with just a finger back flip, not needing the starter at all.  It was actually too easy on the second flight.  I was just moving the prop to the position I like for commencing the back flip.  The prop just fell in the direction for the back flip, and started up immediately.  One of the guys saw me yank my hand away, startled.  I have a healthy respect, a fear, for these props and engines.  All was good, the engine ran well, the plane flew on rails for the two flights I made with her.  Oh landings were nice with flaps nearly fully deployed.  They are sure effective for slowing the plane on final as I power her to the strip, and then to gently level for touchdown.  Score!!!

Bill and his Ugly Stick.  Three of them in this pic!

and a big 35cc Ugly Stick in this one!

Must've been Ugly Stick day!  Ken and Bill had their glow 40 size sticks out,  Pat had his smaller electric version, and Mike had his 35cc big boy out.  Don flew his venerable Pulse with Saito 115 in it...dang I love the combo he made.   The 115 is super powerful and mated perfectly to that airframe.

Dirty Birdy

I felt the need...the need for speed!  So I flew the Dirty Birdy with the Dallas gang.  It ran well, flew great.  Did some crazy low flybys, what exhilarating fun!  Just took two flights...lotsa time there is spent sitting with the guys and joking, plus commentating on whoever is flying, lol.  The regulars were there...Don with the Pulse, Bill with big stick, Ken with Chipmunk, Dougie with Carbon Cub, and Gary with the giant Sportster.  Walt brought his cute dogs Bear and Lily.  Went to snack at the Dallas McD with Don, Ken, and Bill.  I had a senior coke and a sausage burrito for a whopping $1.80!  Fun talking to the guys.  Was home by 11:30.

YESTERDAY, Tad and I flew at Dallas too.  It was his first time to try it out...he flew his G570 twice nicely and impressed Don.  Tad says he likes the field, so it looks like he will join too at some point.  I flew my Ultimate three times.  I think I will change props to try get a little more speed out of the plane.

Pau MAD

Hahaha, the title is just a salute to pidgin spoken in Hawaii!  It is the day after MAD, so all pau MAD!  Flew again at Keizer today.  Got the helis in action again...2 flights each on the G500 and X5.  Also put up three flights on the Stinger II plane.  The YS63 ran sweet and made the plane whistle by. Great fun doing high speed low flybys over the flat dirt plain which is the sod farm with no sod on it at this time.  It has been seeded but not netted or irrigated yet so absolutely no grass is on it. More guys came out today with the much lighter winds than yesterday.

NATIONAL MAD!

Today is National Model Aviation Day!  But we had no special event at the Keizer field.  I flew my Aerostar 76” twice and my SNAFU three or four times in the wind of over 10mph per Don’s wind meter.  It was mostly out of the south, so that made it fun to do very short landings from the north onto our so called north-south runway.

Don flew a few times, Jerry once, Dan none, later Mike came and flew once.  Too windy for most of them.  Will try again tomorrow.

Also sold my Mini Aerostar to Jerry for $100!  This week I sold that plane and the Factor 3D to make a little room in the garage...I hardly ever flew those so why keep em.  Say goodbye forever:

Gotta Bravata!

Went to Dallas and flew with the usual suspects of Don, Doug, Ken, Bill, and Gary.  Lotsa the typical banter and  fun!  Flew my Bravata twice, loving it all the way.  It sure feels good when the DLE-30 props over and coughs quick, then starts up right away with choke off. I did notice a little miss in the high end today so I might have to tweak the needles if it worsens.

Flight log: 08/08/2018

Main news today is I sold the Factor 3D to Eric at the Keizer field this morning.  It was a good plane but not my fave so I let it go to make space in the garage.  Just $65 for the airframe in great shape plus the motor and ESC.  I had scavenged servos out of it for other plane repairs.  Eric and I were both happy.

I flew the G500 twice, then the G700 four times, and the Osiris twice.  All flew well.  Notable is I flew the Osiris on the usual 6s 4000 pack for four minutes, then with my sole 6s 5000 pack for perhaps just under five minutes.  Both checked out at about 3.84v per cell after flying.  The plane seemed to handle the extra weight without issue.  Landing was same as normal.  The 5000 pack was one of a pair from Tad when he sold me the G7000.  One cell in one pack did not hold a charge well, so I disabled and chucked the pack, thus just one 5000 pack remains.

Fun flying with Eric and Dave today, funny guys.  Too bad Dave lost signal to his electric Funtana, and it augered into terra firma with finality.  I hand launched a new plane for Eric today...some small foam racer style plane with no LG.  Gawd that thing lept out of my hands and proceeded to fly about 100 yards at 6’ while Eric wrestled with the sensitive ailerons.  Finally he got enough control to climb to safe altitude and then blew our minds with the sheer balls to the wall speed!  It carved up the sky and quickly became tiny at the end of each pass!  Eric managed a perfectly flat touch down in the middle of the runway, whew.  Wish i had pics but my dumb iPhone was out of memory.

Flight log 08/04/2018 and 08/06/2018

I flew Saturday at Keizer with Dave, Ted, and Dan.  Got in 2 flights on the G500, 2 on the G700, and 4 on the Aerostar 40F.  All flew well, no probs.  Got lower on inverted stuff, just trying to wiggle the tail more, stabilize, and do it again until I can turn while holding altitude and not dive or climb.  Tendency now is to climb for fear of diving all the way to the ground!

Today four of us from the Dallas club went to the McMinnville field to fly there.  Three of us are actually members...doug, Doug, and myself.  We had fun there....no locals showed up to fly...weird on a gorgeous day that was not too hot.  It was weird flying with a very closed in or confined feeling although it is not really that tight.  The brain just takes over.  Nobody crashed, we hit the runway on landings, and we hopefully did not overfly the owners fence around his home.  I flew the Toledo Special and Kaos twice each.  Nice to have the Kaos stay upright through complete landing rollouts, lol.   No pics..I had my iPhone but as per usual the darn thing said storage full fool!

Here is one pic I snapped at home...my new hat for $20 plus ID badge for $5.  Badge is nice 3D printed one that costs almost nothing to print, lol.

Lots of flying and no blogging!

I have flown lots since last reported two weeks ago.  Can’t remember the days nor exactly what I flew, lol, and I am getting tired of this blogging. Attempting to sum it up, I have flown the helis (7HV, G700, G630, G500, X5 all at least a few flights each), plus a host of my planes including the Intruder, Dirty Birdy, Yak 54, and the  Bravata.  Yesterday the Bravata was just sublime for three glorious flights at Dallas.  What fun...it  started nice, ran well, flew brilliant.  That is indeed my favorite plane at this time.  It may not do great aileron rolls or inverted flying, but it is just a sweetheart plane that does its share of aerobatics gracefully in slow motion.  Playing with the flaps is so satisfying.  

Today I flew helis at keizer.  I have hit the wall on improvement.  Just cannot get the balls to do turns in forward inverted flight.  I got inverted many times today with the 500 and 700, did 180 or 360 pyros, then rolled or flipped out.  I tried to just yaw the tail each way and hold altitude and location, but doing a full circle inverted at one altitude is super hard for me.  The good news is I did not get disoriented and did not crash.

Penultimate Flying Day with Ron

Flew again today, in better conditions....light wind at first, sunny skies, and temp near 75F.  Got in one flight on the X5, two on the 7HV, two on the G700.  Three flights on the only plane i brought...the Osiris.  The great thing is all aircraft used the same battery size...6s 4000mah.  Everything flew great.  Very pleasant flying the new Goblin 700!  I just at this time fly the G700 for 4:00 vs 4:30 on all other helis. Another observation is that the Osiris flight time needs to be about 3:45 or else the cells check out at about 3.5V when flown 4:30.  Will try the 5000mah pack i have next time out; that pack was intended to be used in a pair in the G700, but one pack went sour, thus the need to use 4000mah packs in the G700 instead.

Also need to report we flew yesterday at Dallas.  Due to the winds not many flights were taken by anyone.  I just had one flight on the Osiris and two on the 7HV.  Ron had two on his Slick but busted one side of the main landing gear due to a rough landing strong crosswinds.

Goblin 700 maidened!

The Goblin 700 maidened today...Ron took her up for me and said she flies good, so I flew her the next three flights.  She handles light, much lighter than the 630, and she also runs quiet.  I used 4000mah packs today because i discovered when charging this morning that one of the 5000 packs has a bad cell...five cells were up near 4.2V one was at 4.05V.  That will be dumped.  With the 4000 packs, the batts were reading about 3.82-3.85V per cell after each 4 minute flight.  That is ample and i might be able to go to 4:15 easily.  Normal for all my other helis is 4:30.  NICE HELI!  Thanks Tad for selling it to me real cheap!

 I also flew the X5 once and the Aerostar 40F twice in breezy and very grey conditions today.

Lotsa flying!

Been flying super lots since last posting, especially the last five days with cousin Ron here on his annual visit to fly , fly, fly.  We have flown everyday so far but will skip tomorrow for the annual Spirit Mountain trip with him.  Not much to say except I have flown lots of Ultimate, Dirty Birdy, etc.   Over the weekend we flew lots of Battlewing missions...with Jer and Alex on Sunday, with Tad and Quang on Monday.  At least a few heli flights everyday with Ron, but six today...two each on the X5, G500, and 7HV.

Today Ron set up the G700 on my transmitter for me.  Now it is ready for me to fly after having it about two years.

Dirty Birdy

I need to document completion of my first new ARF in a few years...drum roll...the Dirty Birdy by Great Planes, their rendition of the famous design from the 70's or 80's by Joe Bridi.  I bought this thing perhaps five years ago and finally got the desire back to keep it and actually finish it a few months ago.  In the interim period I lost interest in it because I had wanted to power it with a four stroke engine, but that would entail replacing the stock tank with a larger fuel tank to feed the thirst of a four stroke engine.  That hurdle turned off my interest and i actually even tried to sell the ARF as NIB!  Lucky I had no takers.  Then a few months or so ago, I traded Don for a beautiful Kaos that he had finished but decided not to fly.  That bird rekindled my interest in the DB, and so a few months ago I started assembly of the ARF.  Of course I am horribly slow, so it took me til just a few weeks ago to complete the DB.  It is powered with a brand new OS 65AX two stroke engine so that I would not need to replace the stock tank.  I kept the fixed LG for simplicity.  The servos came from my T-28 that died last year.  I had a new 617 Futaba receiver.  Pics follow.

I maidened the plane a couple weeks ago.  It only needed about three clicks right aileron for straight and level flight.  Balance is per the manual mid range with 1/2 oz lead weight on the tail.  Wings are balanced with 6 nails buried in the light wing tip.  AUW is 7.5 pounds dry.  Still running slightly rich as the engine has just 5 tanks of fuel through it.  Knifes like a dream right now with no obvious tuck to LG or canopy.  Just flies straight and true.  Does arc to nose down when I do KE on a slight climb, so might be nose heavy a tad.  While I can try to trim that more, right now I am just having fun with it.  For me it is just an excellent sport plane...I am not pattern contestant.

WARBIRD SATURDAY @Dallas Field

28 Warbirds for the Dallas Warbird Saturday!

That was a lotta fun, 7 hours of flying, friends and food at the Dallas Field for Warbird Saturday.  We had 28 planes for the kodak moment on the runway, from WWI dawn patrol bipes to a Phantom jet.  Most numerous were the WWII warbirds.  I flew my P-47 to my delight, lol, and hopefully it was equally entertaining to the guys.  Four of my fellow krca pilots participated, which was welcomed and appreciated by the Wingdingers.  They really enjoyed the 3d printed Spitfire that Dave brought, and after his retract issue was resolved, Dave and the plane flew well.  His T-28 with engine sound system was also enjoyed.  Jerry’s electric glow lil stick got a good laugh from everyone when they realized the motor was plastic and just a decoy over the electric motor, lol.

Loved the fat Hellcat that Don flew...just one flight and he made a great landing except 50’ too long.  In other words he landed in the mowed rye grass with no damage.  I helped Bob carry his new P-51 Blue nose P-51 for its two flights.  Very sweet plane with a strong Saito 125 up front.  Has cool keleo scale exhausts...nice but they sure spat fuel all over my arms and t shirt each time the Saito started up!

Couple of crashes.  A bad one was an AT-6 Texan that landed dead stick in the  rye grass, snapping the wing off.  Maybe it was just the wing bolts...i did not inspect it.  The other was Joe’s Phantom EDF.  He had assembled it just for the photo shoot, without wing tubes.  Then he flew it that way...yikes!  The wing collapsed and the jet dethermalized to the ground in a real flat spin with motors still running.  Not much damage due to the very slow flat spin into the rye grass.

Food was great....hot dogs, hamburgers, beans, pasta salads, desserts, cookies, chips, pop.  What a great day.  What more could an RC addict ask for!?

I quit flying RC!

Hahahahaha, no way Jose!  I have been flying lots since early June when i last blogged here.  I have just been too awful lazy to make entries. I have flown at least a couple times each week, and often 3 or 4 times.  Been flying the pants off my planes, very little on helis but enough to avoid completely rusting out!  I cannot be too rusty because Ron comes in a week formthe annual visit of ten days or so t fly, fly, fly.

So today i flew the CG Ultimate three times.  Love that old bird, now 26 years old!  A few weeks ago it would not take on fuel. The old Robart fueler was plugged.  This is the second one to go bad in that plane.  While i got the plug out, i decided the design is poor and just chucked it.  I ran the fuel filter externally on the bottom of the cowl, and it is now a simple matter to unplug the line, fuel up, and reartach the fuel line to the filter.  KISS METHOD WORKS BEST!  Also, the bearing replacement is working fine...the engine is hauling butt like it used to.

A couple weeks ago, i completed my first new ARF in years, the beautiful Joe Bridi design,the  Dirty Birdy!  I maidened it with two flights the first day.  Took it out yesterday and had three flights.  On maiden day it only needed a few clicks of right aileron.  With no changes yesterday, it flew great again.  Even knife edge is real satisfactory right now, with no obvious tuck to either the LG or the canopy.   It is very much a joy to fly.  Landings are cool with a nose high touchdown.


One last update!  I sold my AeroWorks 50cc Ultimate to Joe a few weeks ago for $900!  He had fun with it a couple days then during a low roll the plane just failed to respond and it demolished on impact.  It always flew fine for me.  Joe thinks the battery packs may have slipped and disconnected.  I do not think so as he said he used servo safety clips like i did, and what are the chances of both unplugging at the same instant?!  I would investigate his receiver.  That is the only component inside the plane that changed with the change in ownwership.  I kept my Airtronics receiver and he installed a Futaba.  Of course the other diffs are the transmitter and operator.  C’est la vie.  I am sad it is no more.

Two more days of flying

I flew yesterday at Dallas.  Got the Toledo Special up for three nice flights.  Still movin and groovin good with Saito 82a and airframe holding up well enough.

Today I took only electrics to be able to fly early and often.  The Aerostar 76 went airborne for two flights while the Aerostar 40F had four in really clear skies and little to no wind.  A good day!

Flight log: 05/27,28/2018

Flew Sunday at Keizer.  Took two flights each with the X5, 7HV, then G630.  Very good comfort level coming back with helis.  Not normal yet but getting there.  Also flew the SNAFU for four flights.  Then on Monday, I flew with the Dallas gang.  Only took two flights with the SNAFU just due to talking lots with the guys, and enjoying the banter and other planes.

SNAFU

Action down the flight line.  Gary's Kaos in front.

TEN!

Yes, i got in ten flights spread over four aircraft this morning at the keizer field and was home by about 9:30AM!  Here’s how it went! First up was the X5 with two flights...that is always my warm up heli, being most dispensable, lol.  Next up was the G500 for two flights.  Felt sensitive but i know it is just my lack of feel for it due to lack of flying.  Then i flew the green watermelon 7HV for two flights.  Felt like a beast, in a good way.  And then i flew the Starstreak plane, another aerostar variation from Dick Smith, just for pure relaxation.  Planes are too easy, lol.  I tried to take pics of the aircraft flown today but my iphone memory was full.  When done, i was very satisfied, and relieved that i did not crash any helicopters!

Been flying!

Just been too lazy to blog!  Flew today at Dallas field.  Got the Giles 202 up twice for fine flights.  I even got applause after the second flight, lol.  The plane flew great, and the OS 160 ran strong.  It started by hand for the first flight, but would not do so for the second one, so i borrowed Mike’s strong Align starter and got her going easily.

On Sunday, I flew at the Keizer field, doing four flights on the Aerostar 40F, and two on the Aerostar 76.  Great day for flying after the JB workers completed their harvest for the morning.  Three guys crashed their planes today, totaling all three aircraft.  Ted went first and spun his mini Stick all the way to the ground.  Ryan was next with a nice new MXR, or whatever it is called.  Overpowered and with higher wing loading than his previous planes, he did not fly it well.  It ended in a million little pieces also from a spin, but i believe this one was caused by a stall in a high banked turn...it spun all the way to the ground too.  And finally Mike maidened his new Phoenix Sbach all the way into a full rekit after a nice takeoff with his aileron controls reversed!  Shouldn’t happen to an experienced guy like him.  Oh well, after seeing these three crashes, Don, Dave, and I said we quit for the day, lol.  Oh, i got a lot of exercise walking out to help the pilots retrieve all three planes.

On Saturday it was my birthday!  I flew the Aerostar 40F for five packs and the Starstream low winger for four.

Last two days

Flew yesterday with my pattern planes, the Kaos and Osiris.  I put in one flight on the Kaos, with a nice successful landing on the retracts, without the axle spinning to trip up the plane.  Finally!  I didnt however, taxi back.  I just went and picked the plane up at the end of the runway without trying to taxi on the grass, lol.  Then i put up three flights on the Osiris.  Both planes flew well and i was pleased.

Bravata is back

Well it was never really that far gone.  I damaged the left wheel pant on landing last time out.  I had crosswinds at the time, and anyway the plane got too far along the south edge of the field whereupon it hit some of those damn thick and hard clumps of tall grass that have sod foundations that stick up above the grass like a brick wall!  Anyway that ripped some cracks into the pant but upon inspection at home I found damage to the fuselage right around the left LG mounting plate.  Just this week I finally got around to taking the Bravata upstairs and cutting off the covering to see what repair was needed.  Turns out it was just cosmetic due to soft pulpy 1/16" balsa used.  I took pics that need to be added to this post later on.  Removed balsa, added backing plates, installed new basswood sheet replacement, sanded, covered with matching covering that came with the AeroWorks ARF.

Good as new, I flew it twice today and wowed myself and the guys.  We all enjoy the big bird that flies better than a big slow high winger should.  The DLE 30 does a great job pulling it around, even enough power to hover vertically and stand still!  My landings were better, with a little speed to avoid crappy almost stalled landings!  WHAT A GREAT PLANE!  Makes me look good everytime.

Flight log: 04/28/2018

Logged four flights of the X5 today and two of the Aerostar 76.  Had the 7HV with me but I forgot the battery tray at home, so I used the two packs in the X5.  Still feeling nervous with the heli due to lack of frequency flying them,  been just concentrating on planes with the Dallas guys.  Nonetheless I force myself to make the heli flights or I will lose all muscle memory for sure, lol.  Got in a few back flips when I got comfortable enough.  Never lost orientation.  Good fun anyhow , all alnoe at the KRCA field.

Flight log: 04/25/2018

Logged four flights on the Aerostat 40F and two with the Aerostar 76.  Nice day of relaxful flying with the electric biggish birds.  Just socialized more with the Dallas guys!

Third good day in a row!

Flew for the third day consecutive at the Dallas field.  Got in four flights on the Starstreak, and just one on the Kaos.  The Kaos had a simply awesome flight from takeoff to almost landing, lol.  I mean it streaked high and low on a rope, looking great with the LG retracted.  Upon landing, it was just a little fast , but the axle on the right strut twisted inward on contact with the ground, and just nosed the Kaos over.  At home, i determined that although the strut has flat spots for the set screws, i think i accidentally set the axle outside that flat spot.  So i dremeled the flat spot larger on the strut such that now the set screw should really hold the axle from torqueing offline.  While at it, i bent the struts forward as much as possible while still laying in the wing properly.  Hope these actions solve the problem of the nose overs on landings.

Two good flying days in a row!

I flew yesterday...the only one there likely due to slight winds, lol.  Got in three flights with new 3000 packs on the Aerostar 76, and four flights on the Starstreak.  These were the maiden flights for the Starstreak.  Found it to be passable on power with 3s packs, but it could use 4s for more fun.  I do like its stance on take off and landings...reminds me of an F-18.

Today I flew its low wing brother, which i call the Starstream.  Took it up four times and i must say the thing is growing on me the more i fly it.  Very quick, maneuverable, and light on its wings and the landings.

Also flew the Shoestring 60 twice and loved it.  Engine ran good, and it felt like a warbird...i made many low passes at full throttle.  Not super fast but very enjoyable!

Bravata

I forget what day it was but I recently flew the Bravata.  Had three flights at the Dallas club field.  Slight breeze, otherwise nice.  Got too slow in a couple crosswind landings and rubbed the left wheel pants against thick clumps of mud and tall grass on the south edge of the runway.  That cracked the pants in a few places, no prob to fix with fiberglass cloth and CA, which I did later at home.  But upon exam at home, I found the balsa or light ply around the LG mount was crushed or creased or cracked, per wrinkles in the covering.  Due to the ply plates for RC gear inside above the LG mounts, I cannot access the damage from inside.  That turns me off, but I have to cut away covering and do the repair from outside.  Waiting to do that another day. 

Other than that, the Bravata started up easy and flew like a dream, like it always does. 

Unconfident

Took helis and the Aerostar 76 out to Keizer today.  Flying the Gaui X5, I just felt total lack of confidence in my brain and fingers.  After two flights, I quit flying helis for the day.  I brought the 7HV for three flights but it stayed grounded.  Flew my new to me Aerostar 76 twice and enjoyed the total relaxation of a plane.  It flies great and is a keeper for now!

Pattern birds day

It was pattern birds day to me, so I took the Kaos and Osiris out for fast fun.  Got in three flights on the Osiris and two on the Kaos.  Had trouble with the LG on the Kaos...the axle kept slipping on the strut, and I could not get the little hex nut tight due to L wrench slippage.  Got it home and used my good heli set plus some blue threadlock to secure it, hopefully for good.  The Kaos nosed over on both landings, but that could have been due to the turned axle, or the retracts being too close to the CG.  I changed the ply shim on the back of each mounting plate from 1/16" to 1/8".  that moves the wheels forward another 1/4" and hopefully that is enough to stop the nasty warbird habit of nosing over on each landing.  So ungraceful and disgraceful after a sharp flight!

Hope that does the trick!

Sunshiny day!

At some point a couple weeks ago, I flew my Intruder for two flights.  Forgot to report that, then the rain and winds came, etc.  Now it is time to blog what flying I did today!

It was a great day weatherwise with no hand warmers necessary!  I took out my brand new Aerostar 76 which I bought from Dick last week.  As normal for Dick, he scratch built this beauty, then tired of it, and put it up for sale.  I maidened it today after setting it up with my xmitter a couple days ago.  The plane uses two 3s battery packs in parallel, meant for at least 3000 mAh packs to balance the plane properly.  I ordered some early in the week but they have not shipped yet, so I used two 2200 packs, plus a third one just for weight, lol.  Worked out great CG wise, and the maiden flight was uneventful.  The bird has a 76" wingspan, largest of my six (!) Aerostars from Dick.  But it flies crisply even on just 3s packs!  I looped it but the real test is how well planes with big wingspans roll, and this plane rolled quicker than I thought it would.  I am pleased with it.

It flies much like the 60" flap version, and is somewhat duplicative, but I am a real sucker for Aerostars from Dick.  He builds so clean, the planes look nice, they fly well, and I usually get them for a real deal after he tires of them.  He actually advertised this plane to me several months ago for $200 minimum.  I got it last week in a package deal with a 51" version of the Aerostar with symmetrical wings, plus a hybrid wood and foam Slick 55, all for $200.  My thinking is that I can always sell some of the Aerostars with ease because of the low prices I paid for them.

Getting long winded!  In closing, I also flew the Aerostar 40F (flaps) today four times and had a blast with the flaps, climbing high, hitting flaps, floating or diving for the field, doing touch and go's, etc.  And oh, I put a second full flight on the 76 for good measure.

Osiris

Flew the Osiris twice with the Dallas gang today...it was in the high 40F range and little to no wind.  Osiris flew great, but i think i was amped up and flying too fast, so my pattern was long, larger than i want.  Will try to moderate my speed next time.

Heli of a day!

I took only helis to the Keizer field today.  Got in 8 flights!  Four on theX5 and four on the G500.  All went well, but i was nervous to fly helis after not flying them for about a month...I always think I am gonna go brain dead from lack of stick time.  Just been flying planes lots lately!  All went fine though, and i got to throw in a number of inverted hovers and inverted straight lines up at a safe altitude.  Nobody was at the field...I think they were bargain hunting at the annual Mc Minnville swap meet!

Intruder

Just two flights today at the Dallas field.   Nobody was there albeit decent conditions.  Actually the worst condition was lots of clumps of moss on the grass runway due to either a mower or ATV making turns.  I managed to miss them all on landings but decided not to risk the plane anymore and went home.  Takeoffs were easily accomplished off the mat runway.

Mild winter day!

Ahhhhh yes, love the winter days that are sunny and calm , and at least 40F to fly without hurting!  Got in six flights of the  Ministar and five on the Osiris yesterday at KRCA field.  Five other guys showed up for the good flying weather.  My planes flew fine.

For the Osiris, I added one more percent down elevator mixed when rudder is deflected for knife edge.  I like the looks of the four point rolls better.  This plane is so neutral that i need to avoid hitting too much down elevator when inverted, or the plane climbs when inverted.  Dang it flies well.  Yesterday i tried to fly slower like i see the good electric pattern guys fly on youtube.  More fun and more challenging to do so, with lots of throttle management in play.  I love it though because then much more activity happens closer and lower in a smaller flight window.  Well, that at least is the way i like it.  I dont like pattern that happens so high and away that it becomes too hard to see and disconnected from me.  I even try to keep my faster and heavy glow pattern planes closer.