Maukaonyx's "Life is GOOD!": Citabria

Aloha and Welcome to my small speck of cyberspace! Dec 8, 2010 is the birth date of my blog. Never had one before, but my son encouraged me to have one, and it seemed like a good way to at least keep a log of my RC airplane building and flying. With the initial design kicked off by my son, I'll carry on from here and have fun with it. Now that I have it, I will use it to also keep track of my oil painting efforts, and any other ideas, hobbies, travels, or whatever else that come up. LIFE IS GOOD!

Update on 02/25/2011. It's been a few months since I began this blog, and I am enjoying creating and having it! I like documenting the things I have done in my hobbies, and sharing with my small family. I think Jer and Tad actually view it fairly regularly, as a means to see what I've been up to lately. At worst, it serves as a reference for my own use.

Update on 12/22/2011. This blog stuff is habit forming. My blog is a year old now, and I make an entry about every other day or so as that seems to be the frequency of doing something in one of my hobbies. Like my hobbies, this blog is a lot of fun, and it has become in itself another hobby that I enjoy.

Years are flying by...update on 01/11/2013. Still enjoying maintaining this blog even though hardly anyone sees it. I don't advertise it anywhere or to anyone, and it is mainly just a way for me to keep my own notes and thoughts on my flying, painting, and cars. If a stranger happens upon it, I think it is by pressing NEXT at the top of the current blog they are visiting, lol. It's a great device for me.

August 2014: still here! Took up flying RC helicopters one year ago and got hooked. Had flown micro Helis up to then, but got serious with 450 size for a couple months, then bought the Goblin 500 and Gaui X5 . Also got my Boxster in April 2013. Most importantly, Ariel was born 12/02/12 followed by Skylar 07/20/13, and they are little beacons of joy in our lives. Life is indeed good!!!

March 2025: we’re up to five grandkids! Jack born 11/15/2016, Carter 01/14/2017, and Noah 04/22/2019. And Alex and Robin married on 09/25/2021!

Showing posts with label Citabria. Show all posts

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Flight Log: 03/08/2012

Wowser what a gorgeous day! Between 50F and 60F with little to no wind, it was just fine for flying. I had 3 good flights with the P-47. Unfortunately takeoffs still suck, and landings always end in a nose over. The plane lifts off sooner than I would like...I need to ease off the up elevator sooner while on the takeoff run. On landings, I think a little tail weight is in order to prevent the nose overs. The plane is not sensitive to elevator while in the air, so I am going to add 1/4oz of stick on lead to see if it helps and if the plane gets too touchy. When it gets too touchy, I will back off the lead.

I crunched the Citabria pretty good on a hand toss takeoff. I did not get my right hand back to the xmitter fast enough as the plane glanced off some slight wind and headed to the turf. Oh well, the plane was much too fragile and somewhat touchy in the air, so I won't miss it. I will get the Tensor ready to replace it. BTW next time I will take off from the dirt road till completely comfortable with one of these light electric airframes.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Flight Log: 02/12/2012

Turned out better weatherwise than yesterday, due to more sun and less wind, but it was still a two hand warmer day. My Intruder was great fun for 3 flights, and the Citabria for 2 flights till I broke the tail skid and some foam off. Also managed to dislodge the control rod guides from the fuselage, but all is well now after a brief repair session with foam safe CA and accelerator. Loved the Intruder and its whoosh and precise rail-like handling. Landings were steady all the way down the final path to touchdown just the way I like em. Hardly anybody came today...Dick Smith, Doug Brown, Mike, Brandon and Bruce, then Joe as I was about to leave. Oh, Chris and Nick came for some lessons from Mike...both are doing well. That sounds like a lot, but very few were there at the same time.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Flight Log: 02/11/2012

It was calmish but dry and not too cold at 45ish, so it made for a good day of flying with a hand warmer in each front pocket of my jeans. I flew my new foamie Citabria gifted to me by Joe, my Toledo Special, and my Stinger II. I had 3 flights on the TS, 2 on the Stinger, and 2 on the Citabria. I let Jer fly the Citabria for the other two batteries. Both batteries (350mah and 500mah) provide the same punch. I like the 350 for being lighter though. Jer liked the plane too and of course can do much more with it than me, but I am going to practice on it a lot. Bad news...Jer crashed his Yak 54 on a low knife edge over the runway, and it rekitted into many small pieces, including even denting the muffler of the OS 70 Surpass II! I missed the crash as I was refueling my plane with my back to the runway. I heard the plane flying by on the low pass, then the crunch, and the ensuing silence. Argh, too bad. He checked the radio afterwards and the receiver and servos seem to working fine. Jer does think it was just a high speed stall and dumb thumbs.