Flight log: 11/16/2021

Another nice break in the weather today…45-50F when I flew around 10-11:30.  Got the two big green machines out…the 7HV and the Ultrastick.  On the second flight of the US, I came swooping in with full flaps, and was pretty crooked to the runway!  Last second I saw I was heading at the bearcat weathervane but lower. I immediately pulled up and whack!  Miraculously only my prop hit the prop on the bearcat, knocking it off completely.  Yups!  So the plane was headed out to the field and I was going to cut power and dead stick but it wasn’t vibrating like nuts, and the engine still responded, so I nursed her 180 back and landed on the runway.  Inspected the plane and found not damage except the broken prop!  Pretty sure that if i didn’t pull up, my plane would be wrapped around the same pole as the bearcat, lol.  At home, I found a new Xoar 20-8 and installed it on the plane. 

Flight log: 11/13/2021

 We had a miracle break in soggy weather this morning….calm, over 50F, no wind.  Flew my 7HV twice and Toledo Special twice.  Both fine.  Nice to have company this time…Lucas and Brad, plus Gary.  Last week, I flew once with my Aerostar 40F. Alone that day, I got in four long flights.  While I had the 7HV that day, I forgot the battery tray and couldn’t fly the heli.

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 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!

Flight log: 07/21/2019

07/20/2019:  Skylars 6th bday!  7HV 2x, Starstreak 5x
07/21/2019:  Goblin 630 4x, Aerostar 76 2x

Flight log for many days

July 5:  2 flights of Toledo Special with the new aluminum spinner provided by don....good flights.  Definitely the front bearing is loosening up and causing the beginnings of the tractor sound.  Gonna fly it til it cries to be replaced!

July 6:  Warbird Day at the Wingdingers!  3 flights of the P-47 and one with the Val.  Oh so fun!  Best flight was my single flight of the Val in tandem with Bob’s blue nose P-51.  We had so much fun flying formation and zipping fast low passes.  A couple guys told me that was the best entertainment of the day.

July 7:   I arrived first...flew the X5 twice and 7HV thrice, plus the Starstream four times.  It’s a funny lil fun plane that flies kinda touchy yet totally spirited and controllable.   I like it lots but just wish the  3s 2200 packs would provide longer flight times than 3.5 minutes!

 Tad flew his Avanti three times, twice with Quang and his Avanti.  They might awesome closeby, low, and fast passes over the runway.  Actually Quang was too close, lol, but all went well.  Those jets took off in nay 2/3 of the grass runway.  They landed well too, but the grass makes good brakes.  Might be tough to stop on a smooth surfaces runway.

Still alive

Just been so darn lazy to add to the blog after my frequent flying days!  But today was perfect so here we go.  Preface by saying I have been going to the Dallas club field about 90% of the days that I do fly.  When I go to the keizer club field, it’s typical on a weekend so I can catch up with heli flying.  And normally my keizer flying is all electric while most of my Dallas flying is glow and gas.

Today I took the Osiris out for a spin with the 7HV, to keizer. Knocked out 11 packs...six on three flights on the 7HV, then five packs on five flights of the Osiris!  Everything was working today in the light breeze and slight overcast.  Heli was great, no brain farts.  Then the Osiris flew better than I have ever felt like I flew it.   Very smooth and precise.  I flew it mostly 3/4 throttle so it was very relaxing.  And I nailed all the landings by coming in higher like I recall Rudy did, with lil or no throttle, then flare just before touchdown...the plane doesn’t really stall this way.

It was a really GREAT DAY!

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

Exceptional Good Weather!

Blessed with exceptionally nice weather, i got to fly Saturday and Sunday!   I flew Saturday at the Keizer club field.  Had 2 flights on the X5, 2 on the 7HV, and 4 on the Osiris!  Then today I had 3 flights with the Bravata!  Great conditions both days with sunny skies after light spotty fog, and calm wind becoming light breezes over a few hours at the fields.  Temps were mid 40's at the start of each day, and mid 50's by the time i left the field...ultra nice and rare in the middle of January.