Flight log: November 8, 2020

It was a cool day but 45F+, and breezy at 5-10mph but sunny.  The forecast is for over a week of wet, windy, cold weather, so I went to fly at 11:00, not expecting any one to be at the field.  It was nice to see a couple bodies there from a distance...Doug Brown and Andy.  Doug flew his new Assassin wing and of course one of his many Nexstar’s.  I flew the Tower Kaos 40 twice and the G500 once.  It was all uneventful and pleasant.  Landings were on the runway which is good in the crosswind breezes we had today.  Mission accomplished.

Flight log: November 1, 2020

 Good rare day with Tad at the field .  He flew his Avanti S twice...did it well, all good takeoffs and most importantly landings, with good stuff in between such as many rolls and low passes.  Should have brought more than two packs!  I flew my 7HV and Kavalier three times each.  Most of the core group came in later   in the day...we missed them.

Flight log: October 29, 2020

 Supposedly nice all day, the morning had a thick wet mist almost a steady drizzle but not really falling.  But walking through it, I felt like being wet misted!  That postponed our morning flying.  Doug and I decided to fly at 1PM.  It looked grey and like it was just after dawn but by then the wet mist was gone and it was as calm as could be. Cool but not cold.  Doug really wanted to fly his 550 , and he successfully got through four packs without damage.  A couple landings were rough with the tail rotor sliding into grass, dirt, or the runway berm.  One was just in the ryegrass, but no damage!  He even got in some forward flight back and forth parallel to the runway , never nose in to us.  Gutsy guy did well.

I flew my 7HV twice and my Osiris twice.  No probs.  Dang Turnigy 4000 packs Must weigh all over the place because the plane behaves different in KE with almost every pack even though I place the packs at the same mark each time.  Too bad the pack doesn’t go right at the CG!  Fun flyer nevertheless.

Flight log: October 27-28, 2020

 Pretty sure I already missed logging some days again, lol.

Flew the Ultrastick yesterday three flights.  Gaui  X5 twice.  Note that prior to going to the field, I tightened the mesh of the gears in the tail.  It got rid of an unwanted sound back there.

Today I was very happy to get three flights on the Bravata.  That plane flies so nice and easy but represents the biggest hassle in my mind to haul to the field.  Requires no tonneau of course plus the tailgate has to remain down/open.  It’s a mental issue of not wanting folks on the highway to see my plane back there.  The plane flew great.  The DLE-30 always takes a bunch of flips on that first startup...about 40 this time before the first bark.  But then it started after about 7 more flips.  It however ran very unsteady as throttle was advanced.  I varied throttle back and forth and gradually it ran steadier and steadier.  Perhaps some gunk worked through the carb.  It ran perfect after that for all three flights.  No hesitations in rolls, loops, nor inverted.  All landings were nice and easy on the runway too.

The X5 went up twice again today and was nice.  The unwanted noise in the tail came back but much less than it used to be before tightening the gear mesh. 

Flight log: October 22, 2020

 Goblin 500 three times.  Sbach once.  All well.  Helped Dougie and Gary with their new Blade Fusion 480’s, stretched to 550.

Flight log: October 20, 2020

 Finally got this heli out again just to be sure it still runs, lol.  Haven’t flown it a couple years!  It flew fine, 2x.  It’s my lightest flying 700 size heli, so I have been saving it as my fave.  Time to fly it more before it’s more obsolete, lol.

Flight Log: October 19, 2020

 

Fantastic day flying.  Only Gary showed up today.  It was kinda great having the company but being able to fly almost continuously by just having a short rest while the other guy flew.  I flew the compass 7HV three times and the Ultrastick FOUR times.  Both are sweet .  The US was fine with the 20-10 prop on it again.  I had this prop on it for the plane’s maiden and it seemed the plane wouldn’t slow down enough to land on three points.  So I switched to a 20-8.  Since then the plane has had at least 20-30 flights and the VVRC 40 twin has likely got broke in.  I broke the 20-8 last time, and had to put the 20-10 back on for lack of another 20-8.  I was able to drop the idle lower and land the US three point style easily.  Must note also that the plane now has three ounces of lead under the fin.  It wasn’t there for the maiden and first few flights.  Been adding an ounce at a time to improve KE.  Likely it’s improved landings too.  What a great plane and engine combo!  That engine sounds so good, starts so easy, runs smoothly.  It’s so powerful and gives the plane unlimited vertical.  I can keep it quieter because it doesn’t have to run at WOT.

Flight log: October 16-18, 2020

 So easy to forget to post my flights!

10/16: Sbach once after enough morning fog lifted.  Also once in the compass 7HV.

10/17: once on the Goblin 500 and once on the Kavalier.  It was a great day because Jer came and brought Ariel (7) and Jack (4) who were anxious to fly a real RC plane after playing on the flight sim at home.  They flew my Aerostar 10 electric plane and really did well!  They flew parts of three battery packs with Jeremy’s arms wrapped around them from behind.  Awesome!

10/18:  flew the G500 once and the Aerostar 40 F once.  I spent the majority of my time helping Gary and Dougie prep their new Blade Fusion 480 helis, stretched to 550.  They did real well but both helis drifted left, especially Gary’s one, which I hovered a few seconds.  His also was really insensitive near center stick, too much so, so he will try to program for more response eventually.  It was great they both had successful maidens and went home with whole helis!

Flight log: October 13&14, 2020

 Great day of flying with Tad yesterday.  It was foggy at first, mostly on the East half of the field.  We flew anyway, mostly on the west side!  Tad got in three nice flights with two great landings and one slight bouncer on his Avanti S, sporting the new fuselage replacement.  I had three flights on the Ultrastick, ending with a busted Xoar prop (there goes $27.00) when I somehow made a bouncy landing with the fuselage horizontal to the ground which means low prop clearance.  This plane needs slow nose high three-point landings to save the prop.  And this is with 5” dubro tires instead of the stock wheels of maybe 3”.  Also am using a 20” prop instead of 21” recommended for the VVRC 40cc twin.  Came home and put on a new VVRC 20-10 prop cuz I don’t have another 20-8.  Also had two G630 flights yesterday.

Today was a perfect flying day with calm air, sunshine, no rain, NO FOG!   And nobody came out to fly!  My only company was two coyotes to the East in the low cut farm field, making their way to the woods.

I flew my 7HV twice and the Kavalier three times, all good.  These pics of the Kav show new ailerons I added to the plane a couple months ago.  Originals were thinner stock, very flimsy, and fluttered lots at higher speeds.  The new ones work much better but I still hear flutter once in awhile at the very highest dive speeds. Good enough!

#102

 Just want to add this painting to the blog.  I did it just after the last three many months ago, but I see I forgot to document it, so here it is!  It was an effort to work on deciduous trees located in the right side of the mid ground.  Not bad...still need to practice.

Too Much To Catch Up!

 I can’t believe I haven’t added RC updates to this blog since Dec 2019!  How delinquent is that!?  I have had a good flying season in spite of COVID-19.  We have been flying and trying to maintain distance at the field.  Most guys fail to do so, and I am usually the only one to wear a mask.  None of us in the small group I fly with have got sick, so we continue to fly, trusting that each guy is taking care to stay well.

Wow, I can only summarize the last almost ten months since I sure cannot remember everything that’s happened in my RC world.  

First, I got some new planes!  My Stinson Reliant is completed and flying wonderfully.  It’s been out to the field several times now.  I think it might be a wee nose heavy given the way it seems to lower its nose in tight turns.  It rolls so axial to the right that it reminds me of a pattern plane, lol.  So I am still working on flight trim, might try a little tail weight.  Power is a DLE-35RA that runs great.

I got the Hangar 9 Ultrastick 30cc  from the boys for my birthday!  It is also completed and is a real go to plane because it fits under the tonneau cover so it’s easy to haul, and I love the VVRC 40cc twin in it that sounds great, starts easy, runs solid.  Still working on flight trim too.  I want to get the CG more rearward so it will do KE without so much down elevator mixing.  What a joy to fly even as is.  Spins like the devil.

One more new plane is a refurbished one by Don and I bought it from Cliff.  It is a cute old vintage SIG Kavalier.  I installed the engine and servos, receiver, battery, etc.  After trying to eliminate a fluttering sound by various means, I think the flutter is gone at all but the highest dive speed.  These means included filling the wing/fuse gap with hot glue, replacing the elevator control horn, and finally replacing the very thin ailerons with thicker stiffer stock.

Another new addition is the Robinhood 80 by Old School Model Works.  It’s my first kit in 28 years and is still under construction, but framed up!  It will have a Saito FG-21 gas four stroke engine it.

I’ve been converting all the gas tanks in the gas planes to the clear ones sold for $25 by VVRC.  I just had too many gas tank probs in the season with the white tanks provided in the ARFs.  The clear tanks have nice aluminum fittings , felt clunks, stiff fueling/defueling fittings that eliminate fuel tank issues.  I’ve been using only the 12 ounce tanks since the larger tanks were always too large for my flight times...I always land with more than half a tank left.

I sold several planes to make room for the new ones!  Gone are the Hangar 9 RV-8, the 76” Aerostar, and the small 50” Aerostar (Starstreak in my flight log reports).  It turns out I don’t miss them at all.

And lastly, today I did some small things for next flights on some of the planes.  I added another ounce of lead to the tail of the Ultrastick, as noted earlier for moving the CG back.  I changed the gas tank in my Sbach 342 from the old white tank to the new clear VVRC 12 ounce tank.  And I programmed more exponential into the RV-4.  The plane is sensitive in pitch and roll so that should help both.  If it is still sensitive in pitch, i might actually need more nose weight. 

That’s the best I can do to catch up after the long absence.  Been flying a lot but just too lazy to post!  suffice to say I have flown every plane and heli in the fleet with just a couple exceptions, and I have been enjoying the heck out of them all.

More happy accidents ....finally!

It was a very long lay-off from painting due to selling weathered and detailed HO train buildings, and building and flying RC planes and helis.  Perhaps over four years?  During this covid nightmare I decided after building two new planes to finally paint again, ala Bob Ross.  A few weeks ago I did #99.  A week ago I did #100, and a couple days ago #101.  I was happy and surprised they came out pretty good.

#99

#100

#101