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

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.

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.

Foggy Flying Again!

Well, tis the time of year again for fog, cold, grey skies, late starts, ie crap.  Had to go later to the field due to fog and cold temps.  I left the house at almost 9AM and 39F.  Got back home around 12:30 and 54F.  That just gives an idea about the temp and how it slowly increases to bearable.  Fog was still around when I came home but definitely much better than at 9AM.  I had to stay low and close on my first 5 flights.  Finally on the last two packs, I could air the G630 out safely.  Not all is lost on that closeby flying though...the stick time is still good, and it forces me to be in tighter control.  Also I practice more hovering orientations.  Got in four flights of the X5 and three of the G630.

Note the foggy background!

Followed the heli flying with three flights of the Aerostar 40F.  Always a joy to fly in any conditions.

Definitely better visibility now.

Catchup catchup catchup!

Been a lazy man and haven't been posting my flight days.  So many days have gone by that I cannot recount exactly, but this will have to serve as a catchup to fill the time between July 14 and today, August 8!  I have been flying lots.  Cousin Ron visited July 21-31 and I was flying helis lots in prep for that visit.  Then he came and we flew for 8 out of the 9 mornings available to us for flying.  Up at dawn, out at the field by 7:15 every day!  Kinda grueling at first but then just lots of fun, lol!  Then after he left, I was in the habit of getting out there so early and here we are over a week later, and I have gone to fly probably everyday but two since he left.  Been doing much with helis, flying all of my heli fleet while Ron visited.  Typically I flew about 5 or 6 heli flights everyday, and then another few plane flights.  Tad came out two days of Ron's visit, Jer two too, and Quang also two, but not all the same two days for each of them, except once.  Those days when the boys played with us, we flew Battle Wings like crazy and just had a ball.  Many midairs were experienced, and some videoed by Jer!  Nothing was damaged beyond repair.

Before Ron came, I bought another Aerostar 40 from Dick, this one with flaps.  Very cool plane.  I let Jer fly it and for some reason the plane became unresponsive on final about 30' high.  It just nosed over into a dive and crunched resoundingly.  The motor nose housing area completely came off the fuselage, and the structure between there and the forward wing bulkhead was obliterated.  Jer and Ron retrieved the plane and brought back every piece of wood they could find.  I did my forensic post crash analyses and guessed that there were elements of a perfect storm that caused the crash.
1.  Plane head on to pilot where receiver was blocked by large airborne battery pack.
2.  Large sprinkler system down runway edge, the one on wheels, running from pilot to past the plane.
3.  Steel fence posts and rails running in front of pilot towards the plane.
4.  Pilot holds xmitter with arms hanging low and xmitter pointing down and out.
Altogether, this led to blackout to the receiver.   Jer said there was full control of every surface and the motor at the crash site.

After a few days I decided to start repairs and see if I finished or just would give up on the plane.  I got her done, and it looks better than new, lol!  And today I flew it with the same receiver because I figured the same four conditions would not ever occur again, mostly because I don't hold my xmitter low like Jer.  As added precaution, I relocated the receiver up higher in the fuselage.  Due to one or both changes, there was no issue today with reception.  The plane flew fine...actually better because during the repair, I added a couple washers under the right side of the engine mount to reduce the right thrust built into the firewall by Dick.  It was too much, causing right turns under power.  Glad to have the new Aerostar 40 repaired and flyable again because it is a beauty and flies well.

For planes during the delinquent period, I flew the Battlewing, Aerostar 40F (flaps), Mini Aerostar, StarStream, Star, RV-8, Toledo Special, maybe something else!  And finally, I sold the Aerostar 40 to new guy at the field who could use it.  I don't need it now with the new Aerostar 40F in the fleet.

That will have to do as catchup for the several weeks of failing to report the flight log!

Flight Log: 07/01/2017

For the first time in many months, Tad and Quang came out to fly helis!  It was good fun like the old days.  I got in 4 flights on the G500, 2 on the G630, and 2 on the 690SX.  Felt nerves but did not do any dumb thumbing, and everything is still in one piece.  For some reason, my nose in hovers are getting very iffy and making me nervous.  Gonna have to practice those up high and bring the heli lower and get comfortable again, or maybe I never was!  Tad had four flights on his G570, getting smoother with each flight after the long layoff since last September!  Quang was crazy man as usual, and flew his G770 stretched to 800, and his nitro T-Rex 700.

Flight Log: 06/26/2017 and 06/29/2017

I flew on Monday with the Dallas club.  Took the Yak 54 up for a couple flights.  Spent more time watching and fraternizing than flying, but the guys are nice, and I am trying to learn the customs there.  They seem to like my flying, and I think its a good fit for me!  Good fun.

Then today I went to the old KRCA field and flew my helis.  Four flights on the G500, 3 on the G630, and 2 on the Logo 690SX.  All flew well and came home in one piece, yay!  I was relieved to get the 690 back successfully just because i have not flown it in a very long time, since Sept 2016! I got in a zillion flips to inverted and built more comfort with bailing out of inverted with side, back, and forward flips.  All good!  Breeze was 5mph+, which was not an issue at all.

Fathers Day flying

Nice weather for fathers day!  Nobody there even today, lol.  Took all 14 of my 4000mAh packs.  Took 4 flights on the G500, 3 on the G630, and 2 on the 7HV.  Lots of flips, loops, and rolls.  Many times flipped into inverted.  Getting more comfy.  Coordinated turns while inverted coming soon!

Flag Day flying

Flew at the KRCA old field on June 14, Flag Day, all alone, just the way I like it, lol.  Got in 2 flights on the X5, 2 on the G500, and 3 on the G630.  All went well enough since they all came back to terra firma in one piece, LG on the bottom.  Had a very nervous moment or two when I flipped the 630 to inverted a little low, and went brain dead.  Had to think fast and remember to hit full negative pitch to gain altitude, and push forward on the right stick to get the nose up.  That zipped it up to 100' quickly where I flipped upright and stabilized the heli and my brain, lol.  I just am not flying enough to reflexively correct properly.  Thinking takes too long and begets crashes.  Oh well, still a success, and still fun.

Three Heli Day

Got out for some fun flying to get through my damn root canal postop recovery, so I call it.  Anyway flew the X5 twice, the G500 twice, and the G630 thrice.  FUN, FUN, FUN seven flights.  All well, all ended in one piece.  Only one brain fart or two where my heart shuddered, lol.  Got in lots of flips, loops, and inverted straight plus hovering.  Getting more stick time to be able to makes some turns soon.

Neat jet trails to the north, showing approach to PDX from the south.  Must be a wind change up there!

Flight Log: April 28-29, 2017

Finally got out to fly again, and managed two days in a row!  Both times were at the KRCA field.   Nobody was there either day, prolly due to the poor condition of the runway...all mud and moss, lol.  I got to fly my X5 four times and 7HV three times yesterday.  Today it was again four flights on the X5, but three on the G630, followed with two flights of the Aerostar 40 electric.  Conditions both days were primo, with very light to no wind, sunny skies, and cool 50F temps.  And I liked having nobody there to take turns with, haha.  Here are some pics:

The good outcome is that I did not crash anything, lol.  Loved being able to fly the helis again with pretty good level of comfort, even inverted.  This is the year I swear I will do inverted circuits.  Last year I had good progress, being able to fly straight inverted, stop, pyro 180, and fly straight again.  This year I will make forward inverted flight with banking a reality.

Gobbies and Gobbled up!

What a great day of flying even though it was mostly foggy.  I took both Goblins today, and got in 4 flights on the 500 and 3 on the 630.  Due to low ceiling and limited visibility, I stayed pretty close with both and had much fun doing lower than usual flips and inverted hovering.  When I was done with helis, the fog was dissipating and it was much fun to fly the Aerostar 40 low through the pockets of mist, and up high where the Aerostar 40 turned to a ghost.  I got carried away though as pics will attest!  I was having too much fun flying low and damaged the right wing tip of the plane.

Rats, on my last flight, I got too close to the Private Property sign!

If just 3/4" higher, or 6" closer to me,  the plane would have missed the sign post.

The plane actually hit the top tip of the steel post, not the sign itself.  Cuts balsa like butter!

I went home and immediately got at repairing the plane.  It is ready to fly again!  With a slightly different color scheme, lol.

Actually in this one, I already cut away  most of the torn covering, and shredded balsa.
Also, I already glued two pieces of recovered LE back in place.  Good that I collected them at the field!

Repairs to wood completed.

Repairs done.  Note perfect match of newly covered area to rest of wing.
Had to use transparent orange since I don't have transparent yellow.

Flight Log: 10/28/2016

Flew today with the X5 six flights, and 4 with the Starstream.  I had the 7HV with me but forgot the battery tray, so 2 of the 6 packs went to the X5 instead.  Could have flown all 10 packs in the X5 but just did not want to.  Flying was good in just over 50F, calm air, and actually mostly sunny skies!  How weird is that for Fall in the PNW!  Did much fun inverted flying and noted some craziness to flip inverted even lower than usual.  Perhaps the stick time is breeding some comfort in going inverted.  The Starstream was fine...noted much up trim due to shrinkage of the plastic control rods in cooler weather.  Also noted that straight and level comes with slight down elevator trim, so later at home, I added about 1/3 oz of weight into the nose of the plane.  Tested balance of wings and seemed close enough.  Anxious to try it again.

I flew another day between last post and this post, but I am not sure of the day.  I do recall flying the G500 four times, 7HV twice, and G630 twice.

Flight log: 10/03/2016

Great time flying before the rain actually began as I drove back home!  I took 12 packs that gave me 4 flights on the Goblin 500, 3 on the 7HV, and 1 on the Goblin 630.  Skies were mostly overcast but bright enough for seeing the helis good.  Nothing new to report as my program remains the same...lots of flips to inverted and back to upright.  Still connecting straight inverted with shallow stall turns.  Doing the same with all helis.

Gobble gobble

Flew the two Goblins today, 500 and 630.  Four flights on the former, 3 on the latter, ten packs in all.  Fun in mostly clear skies with good light and visibility.  JB was already disking the soil even though they still need to harvest some of the sod, but they are nearly done.  I did not fly my Yak 54 due to the disk tractor making passes close to the runway at times.  The helis flew well before JB got close to the runway.  Good passes inverted, very fun, getting relaxed and likely overconfident, so expect a bad report in the near future, lol.

Weekend flying

Yesterday was the KRCA annual picnic and fly-in, so I took just my Toledo Special and Aerostar 40 to fly.  Got 3 flights on the Aerostar, and maybe 4 on the TS.  I forget!  Hamburgers and hot dogs were great!

This morning I flew helis with Tad.  I charged all 14 of my 4000 mah packs and got in 2 flights on the X5, 2 on the G500, 2 on the G630, and 3 on the 7HV.  When Tad came at 8AM I had 4 flights in on the smaller helis, and then we took turns from then on.  Tad had 4 flights on the beautiful Forza 700.  I did a lot of inverted practice again.  Keep on piling on the time and something is bound to improve, lol.  Tad said my pullouts from inverted were lower than ever, so that shows more confidence.  Or stupidity!  Great fun flying with Tad in the perfect weather, with no interruptions from JB or other fliers today.

Monday sun day

NICE day again...so sunny and clear but crispy cool around 60F.  JUST PERFECT!  Loved the flying.  I got in 8 flights using all 14 of my  6s 4000 packs.  2 on the G500, 3 on the G630, and 3 on the 7HV.  Yes, same helis as yesterday since they were so fun.  Also I reduced tail gain on the 7HV by one point, and I wanted to see the effect today...it was great...no funny hunting sound on fast straight line passes.  All helis behaved well, as did my fingers and brain.  Lots of inverted practice with the usual 180 pyro stall turns, hovering, flip outs via forward, backward or right, and some at altitude and some lower.  Also did some coordinate half turns and those are getting better.  Right now they are pretty flat and big.  I want to tighten them up to stay in view better.  I can tell things are coming together.

7HV on the H spot upon landing, lol!

Sunday funday

Mighty great flying day with Tad.  Flew 2 flights on the g500, 3 on the g630, and 2 on the 7HV.  Did a lot of of inverted practice....stick time just has to be acquired to build the muscle and brain memory.  Also flew the Ministar four flights.  Tad impressed as usual with 4 flights on his g500 and 2 on his Forza 700.  While JB was harvesting, they were far enough away that we hardly had to stop flying.

Tad doing low inverted hover with Goblin 500...NICE!

Funtastic 4

Flying was exceptional this morning, again early bird style.  I was there by 7 and home by just after 9.  Got in 11 flights.  Eight were on the helis, with two each on the X5, G500, G630, and 690SX.  Gosh they all flew good.  It was clear and cool with JB way out on the south end of the farm.  Nobody else came to fly.  Flying was better than normal for some reason, perhaps due to no extraneous distractions, workers or other pilots and aircraft.  Felt very comfy doing inverted practice as usual.  Seems I might be getting a little lower at times due to the comfort level rising.  I practiced coming out of inverted by all means I know...pull half loop, flip forward/outside, roll right, and today I did many roll lefts too.  I can feel coordinated inverted turns coming soon!

 
I also flew the Aerostar 40  three flights.  Love that slow silly plank.