Yakking it up

Flew my X5 for 5 packs first thing in the cooler morning air, just around 7:30AM.  Next up was my Yak-54 interspersed with Apache flights.  The Yak was super good like days of old.  Steady flight speed on the slower side allows closer in controlled flights.  Landings are just so slow and pretty with the Yak.  THere was some light air but no boomer thermals while I flew the Apache.  Unfortunately the elevator servo started to be unresponsive, so after a shallow dive into the north field, I stopped flying it.  Great fun today with all three aircraft.

13:48

The Apache DLG clocked a long flight of 13 minutes and 48 seconds today.  I hopped into a couple big thermals that I had to bail out of due to height or proximity to the full sun.  Also had two 3 minute flights and host of short ones.  There is nothing so pure as hand launching a glider and then hunting, finding, and working thermals for good duration flights.

My 9 battery packs again split 6/3 for 3 flights on the G630 and 3 on the X5.  Lots of fun, and I am getting lower on my inverted and flips, but still not making many turn attempts.  I am not flying enough to feel comfortable on the first flight, so I take many flights just to get acclimated again before trying anything new.

And while I had the mini Star and xmitter, I forgot the batteries exactly where I left them at home, bah.

Dum Dum

Went to fly on Saturday with the Giles and Apache.  When I went to assemble the Giles at the field, I had the wrong wing tube...the Yak tube instead.  Dum dum!  So I flew the Apache about 30 minutes and it was too early to have thermals.

Today/Sunday I made sure I had the right tube.  Got in two nice flights with the Giles.  Such a good flying plane and powerhouse engine!  Too bad the pitts style muffler came loose again so I had to stop flying after two full flights.  I again flew the Apache perhaps 15 minutes, and again it was too early to have thermals.  Got my exercise though, lol.

Update on 08/25/2014:  I removed the muffler bolts, cleaned them and the holes with alcohol, then retightened with red threadlocker.  Hopefully that stops all three bolts from ever moving again..

Flight log: 08/06/2014

I flew my two 450 helis today, along with the Factor 3D and Apache DLG.  All went well.  The helis were pleasantly easier to fly than usual, and I think I am just getting better with more and more stick time.  The bigger helis are easier to fly, and I was surprised the little ones were not as squirrely as I tend to complain about.  Flew the FBL twice and the DFC twice.  The FBL is smoother but the DFC is very acceptable.  I was able to flip them and loop them both easily.  Never lost orientation with them today.

The Factor flew better owing in all likelihood to additional 1/2oz of nose weight, and more expo dialed into the ailerons, elevator, and rudder.  It was still easy to hover though. Ran 4 packs through it today.

The Apache flew fine but I did not find any big thermals.  I found some small ones but never rode them more than about a 100' high.  On the best one, the mower was approaching, so I left the area and lost the lift.

Quang arrived after I had several flights on the Factor and 450's.  I got to see his new Toyota RAV!  Very pretty car in dark grey metallic.  Anyway, he brought his Goblin 500, and I told him about my catastrophy with the swashplate.  So we checked the swash on his and found it is the old design with one retainer screw on the ring.  Further inspection showed the assembly sitting slightly cockeyed in the ring, but Quang took a flight anyhow, crazy guy.  He had a great flight but stated that while inverted the heli tends to drift to the tail.  Anyway, I surmised maybe the loose swash is the cause, and it sounds like he will get a new swash since his is coming apart, and it just might correct that inverted drift.  Hope I saved him his heli!

Triple Treat

Had lots of fun this morning.  I call it a triple treat day, flying a glow plane, electric heli, and a hand launch glider!  I ran 5 packs through the Gaui X5, had 3 flights of the Intruder pattern plane, and launched the Apache discus launch glider about a dozen times.  It was a gorgeous day, with very little company.  Rudy came out for a few flights before going to have his teeth sharpened.  Dean flew his Yak-55 a couple times.  And that was it, just three of us.

The X5 continues to be a real joy.  Stick time is piling up, and I am feeling more comfortable with the big helis each time.  I did my practice move a couple times, tried some more inverted hovering, and executed many flips...back, front, left, right.  I am trying to prevent myself from favoring one direction like I do with planes.  No misorientations today!

The Intruder was its old self.  The OS 91 four stroke sputtered a little on the first flight.  With one click of the needle to richen the mixture, the engine ran nice and smooth for the other two flights.  Sure is fun doing slow rolls, point rolls, and large loops with this plane!

I caught a 5 minute ride on one launch of the Apache, but that is the best I could do today.  No boomers for me, shucks!

4 Transmitters!

It was a rare occurrence to go flying today with a selection of aircraft that required 4 different transmitters!  I flew the Apache DLG, Star, Factor 3D, and Gaui X5 heli.  The latter went for 5 packs and was rock solid.

X5 photos courtesy of Jer!  This one is my new wallpaper
for a little while.

The Star was its usual self and flew for 5 packs.  I had three more, but the transmitter battery ran low, durn it, so Jer did not get to fly it again.  At least he got to fly it for one pack earlier.

The Factor 3D was not too impressive on its maiden day.  Power seemed lacking and I will change from the 9x4.7 prop to a 10x4.7.  I would try 10x3.6 except I don't have that prop.  On the second flight, I removed 1/2 oz of lead from the nose, without much effect.  I landed the first flight on the mat, and this time thought I should see how it lands on the grass with the small wheels and flimsy wheel pants.  The landing should have had just a bit more airspeed to land softer, but it landed a little too hard for the LG which collapsed and ripped out from the fuselage.  While the landing could have been better, the LG should have stood up.  Typical ARF weakness.

The Apache ailerons worked fine again with the repaired Y harness.  Caught some light thermals on one of the tosses and enjoyed playing in them.  Jeremy broke his rudder on a too hard landing so that put the Colibri out of commission for the day.

Jeremy flew 3 packs through his Warp 360 like a madman.  Fast and quiet!  Also flew his foam Yak 54, and his Blade 130x mini copter.  Colibri as noted lost to broken rudder early...nobody had CA for quick repair to make it fine again.

Warp 360 on left, Yak 54 in able hands of Jeremy

X5

Flew the X5 through 5 packs this AM in slightly breezy air, around 5mph.  Great heli.  Before that I threw the Apache up for a test hop, and it came spiraling down to terra firma.  Luckily the spiral was not too tight, and it appears no damage was caused by hitting the right wing tip thence cartwheeling!  I traced the culprit to  a spotty connection in the Y harness to the ailerons.  Upon inspection at home, I found the connections are crimped ONLY, with no solder!  One was definitely loose.  I cut them all out, shortened the too long harness to maybe 6" total, and soldered all the connections.  Reinstalled and tested, the Y harness is solid, and the commands to the ailerons are positive.  Lucky to have not incurred any damage!

Sunny Skies

What a nice day with mostly sunny skies, light winds from the North, and cool temps at first, then very mild warmth.  I flew my RV-8 and Tad flew his Kaos in prep for doing a duet at the WOK in two weeks.  We intend to just make a lot of passes together, and do some mild aerobatics on  the downwind leg that is a hundred yards out, such as slow rolls and loops.  It should be entertaining enough for the spectators.  Both planes flew well, the engines ran perfect and started easy, and we incurred no damage today.  Lots of fun.  I took my Blade 400 and Tad and Quang tried to get it trimmed and tuned in, with various fixes, but in the end the engine decided to die and we all gave up on it.  I think it might be ready for the boneyard, and if so I will just pull out the new servos I installed just yesterday!  Bummers.  Quang and Anthony flew their Goblins very well.  Roberto trained Teo via buddy cord.  Ashton flew his Uproar.  Al flew his Twist and Escapade.  Mike came to socialize and did not even bring a plane out of his van.  Joe came late and flew his new used Stinger 60 and BalsaNova, a pair of good looking acquistions!

For the first time since last Fall, I flew my Apache for a handful of launches but found dead air only.  It did catch one huge thermal while it was turned off and laying under a flight table!  The thermal picked it up, rattled it over the RV-8 and dumped it back on the ground 10 feet away near the grass taxiway.  Luckily no damages were incurred by either plane, except a very small tear in the covering on the wing of the Apache.  Whew!  :)

AW Ultimate

With some hesitation, I took the AW Ultimate to fly today, just a few days before our trip to HI.  I did not want to damage the plane and spend a few days fixing it just before the trip.  Luck was on my side and the plane flew beautifully and I did not bung up any landings.  I had 3 flights and I feel like the plane is getting more and more dialed in.  I did not change any trims or mixing today.  The only adjustment needed was to richen the high needle about 1/8 of a turn or less.  When I first started the engine it was missing at full throttle, I let it run a minute then tried full throttle again, but it still missed, so I killed it.  After the adjustment it ran fine all day.  Attribute it to the colder temps today as Fall is upon us.  I did many slow rolls and point rolls, stall turns, a few rolling circles, avalanches, cuban 8's and reverse ones, some harrier flight.  All went well.  Landings were perfecto from the left, over the nearby wheeled irrigation pipes, and onto the runway by carrying some throttle all the way to just a foot above the ground then idle down and flare out.  Did a left circle in harrrier, the smallest one I have done, and it looked good.  Constantly pulsing the throttle sure works.  I think this plane has become my fave in the fleet.  Why?  Definitely it has the most presence of any of my planes, not just because it is one of the largest, but because it has great lines and a beauty of a color scheme, probably my prettiest plane.  And then there is its presence in the air...BIG looks good, is easy to see, and the DLE-55 roars as the plane does fast low passes.

I flew the Apache after the Ultimate, but found no thermals.  There was some light air here and there but I could not buy a thermal today.  Sometimes when it is so calm, the thermals don't form, or they don't drift by. I seem to be much more successful when there is wind up to 5mph.

Ultimate and Apache Flying Again

The winds looked iffy in West Salem, but I gave the field a go anyhow, and am glad I did.  The wind was most times non-existent, and sometimes just spotty and always less than 5mph!  Flew the CG Ultimate three flights and the old Sullivan tail wheel bracket replacement works great.  While it makes the tail sit up higher, the takeoffs seemed unaffected.  It's a great flying plane.

The Apache flew with the new transmitter than it has in a while.  It had been touchy to trim and I never thought about it, but the new transmitter makes the plane easy to trim and much smoother in the air.  While I did not catch any boomers, I did find several small bubbles of light air for some nice flights.

Flight Log: 10/07/2012

Arg, it was a short session of flying on a perfectly beautiful and calm day.  I had my CG Ultimate out for the day, and messed up the landing on the 2nd flight.  Came in too slow, added power, had to adjust quickly as wings tipped, and started to envision a cartwheel down the runway.  Luck was with me and the plane righted in time, but bounced around enough to flatten the main gear a little, and break the tail wheel bracket.  I expected to see broken FG wheelpants, but they were fine.  Expected to see dents in the bottom of the wing due to the wheel pants, but there were none.  The tail wheel bracket is plastic/nylon and the plane is 20 years old, so I think it just got old and brittle enough to break under a bad landing, lol.  I then wanted to fly the Apache, but the elevator servo was real touchy around neutral and would not return to the same position often, and I mean it was 1/8" off...pretty bad.

I came home and got to work fixing both planes.  Finished the Ultimate first.  I could not find another identical CG tail wheel bracket anywhere in my parts, so I went with a used Sullivan tail wheel bracket that I fortunately kept.  I had to straighten it out, but I got it on and it should work well.  I did not use the coiled spring connection between the bracket and the rudder because I have seen enough of those hopelessly bent, so I substituted in some thicker piano wire.  For the main LG, I removed both, along with the leggings, and bent them back and more with my adjustable wrench and body weight.  I got them pretty even and had to go back and forth between them, and trying them on the plane to test for level stab/wings.  Came out good, and I mounted them back on with the leggings too.  She is ready to go and show who's boss again.  (I do think this Ultimate flies truer than the larger AW Ultimate which has fair amounts of roll and pitch coupling when rudder is applied in KE.)

For the Apache, I thought the servo was worn out at neutral, so I removed it, and found another HS-55 which had stripped gears.  I switched all the gears out of the stripped servo, and put the good gears inside.  Mounted it back in the Apache and expected success.  The servo still acted the same way yet it had been fine on my servo centering device!  Humbug!!  Aha, the transmitter became the suspected culprit.  I switched the crystal from the transmitter to another one, and sure enough the elevator servo acted smoothly at neutral and all other deflections.  Joe gave me this brand new transmitter years ago to try with the Apache because it has basic programming capabilities.  Well, it came in very handy today!  While in the Apache, I noticed the servo tray was loose from one side of the fuse, so I CA'd that back in.  Also, the sliding canopy was getting loose, so I used CA to build up the bump inside the canopy that holds it from slipping off the fuse.  These planes do need TLC routinely to ensure they treat the pilot nicely!  The Apache is ready for the warpath to thermal heaven again!

Sweet Sbach

Tad and I went flying this AM and had a nice time.  Only Rudy showed up today, and no one else on such a gorgeous Fall day!  I flew my Sbach 4 times and Tad did the same with his Kaos Two.  Got the Sbach dialed in a little better by removing some down elevator mix when left rudder is applied in right KE.  All in all, I might need just a smidge more nose weight, but the plane is flying fine right now.  With the rearward CG it sure can land slowly, which I am getting better at by keeping more throttle on during landing approaches and cutting it just inches before touchdown.  My AW Ultimate requires the same treatment.  The Sbach can harrier upright pretty easily using the throttle pulsing like with the Ultimate, but the Sbach just wing rocks more readily.  On the other hand, hovering seemed easier today with the Sbach than the Ultimate yesterday.

The DLE-30 started everytime easily.  Of course on the first try, it took longer since the plane has been sitting for a few weeks after its last flying day, but it started in under 20 flips.  Subsequent starts were on the first or second flip with no need to choke the engine.  I leaned out the high needle just the width of the flat bladed screwdriver because the muffler is still spitting out black on the underside of the plane.  Nothing bad happened, so I will keep the needle there for a few more outings to see if the black decreases.  Nice engine.

Gave the Apache a bunch of tosses and found no thermals.  Tad flew the plane a handful of flights and said it is touchy and hard to fly, haha.  He will get used to it when he gets his own DLG.

Apache Airtime

Went to the field to mow, but took the Apache along for a few tosses.  After my therapeutic mowing, I flew the Apache and only needed about 4 launches when I found a few very light thermals emanating around the pits.  The air was light, nothing real vigorous, but the Apache shows light air very clearly when it is tipped away or when the whole airframe bobbles upwards.  After I rode the first thermal, I decided as an afterthought to turn on the timer.  I landed with over 8 minutes on the timer, and I think I had at least the same time before I even switched it on, so I am claiming a 15-minute flight, lol.  After the hand catch, I dissassembled the plane, put her in the back of the xB, and headed home.  VERY SATISFYING!!!

Airworthy Again

I got the AW Ultimate out for the first time after the irrigation pipe debacle.  The plane seems to fly pretty much the same, perhaps a wee bit tail heavy due to the repairs to the fin and rudder, so I might add a little more weight to the engine box.  All in all though, I am pleased to have it flying again, and looking about the same.  The JB workers moved the irrigation pipes right up on the runway after I had completed two flights.  After that I put away the Ultimate and assembled the Apache.  In about 20 launches, I found zero thermals, so I packed it up and headed home.

UPDATE on 09/25/2012:  I noticed the muffler could move a little when forced during disassembly, and made a note to self to retighten it.  Yesterday I took off the cowl and found both muffler bolts were slightly loosened.  I removed them and retightened them with a little bit of red threadlock this time.  While the cowl was off, I took the opportunity to add an ounce of lead on the engine box, to compensate for any weight I added due to the fin and rudder repair.  I weighed the lead bundle and it now totals 5 ounces.  Checked all other screws and bolts and tie wraps and everything looked good under the cowl, so I put it back on and the plane is ready to fly.  Hoped to fly today but it is windier than it will be tomorrow, so I am choosing tomorrow to fly.

3 Days of Flight

After being in LV for five days, I sure needed to go flying.  On Friday, I took my Toledo Special and had a few flights with it, all smooth as glass.  On Saturday, I took out the Imagine 50 and had 5 flights with it, very smooth like butter.  And today I took the Intruder out and had 4 flights, smooth as grease!  Don't ask which is smoothest...glass, butter, or grease, I just know all three flew real graceful and in harmony with my brain and fingers.  Enjoyed it immensely, and had no mishaps.

On Saturday, my three sons flew too, and made it a real nice experience.  Unfortunately Alex slightly cartwheeled his plane on his first landing, jarring his nose gear loose, breaking the stock 3-blade prop, and cracking some of the fuselage wood that holds the tail group on.  That ended flying the Alpha 40 anymore for the day.  Later though, he and Tad got to fly Rudy's electric mini Ultra Stick, and had a ball with it.  It looks like Alex is already ready to advance to something beyond a high wing trainer.  At home in the afternoon, Alex and I repaired the Alpha 40 and it is ready to fly again.

I flew my Apache DLG on Sat and Sun too.  Caught small thermals for 5 minute flights a couple times on both days.

Best Flying Day

I think today was my happiest flying day ever.  Why?   Because I had all THREE sons at the field, flying for one of the first times.  Alex is the impressive addition to the Young Team.  We brought his Alpha 40 and he got 4 flights with it today, after a forgettable beginning...after assembly  Alex said the rudder servo was not operating!  We thought we had a binding nose gear after the last outing, we fixed it, and the rudder servo seemed fine then.  Nope, not today.  Luckily, Sandy and Rachel were heading out from home soon to shop and would be passing near the field so we phoned them and asked them to bring a servo to the field, which they did.  Al and Jer got it in the plane, it worked fine, and Alex got to fly. He soloed two flights and did WELL again.  He is really good very early in the game.  He did more loops, rolls, and inverted flying, and a bunch of landing approaches.  Really good stuff.

Tad maidened his Kaos Two that he completed in the wee hours of the same morning.  After a 10 minute break-in on the ground, he successfully maidened it and flew another flight or two after that.  The plane is a fast and nostalgic bird!

Jer helped Shane maiden his new GP Extra 300SP, same plane that Jer has.  Shane's though, has an OS 55 AX motor that really halls arse!  Jer put it through the wringer and the plane passed with flying colors, pun intended, lol.  Shane was happy but doesn't think he is ready to fly it himself.  He wants to work up to it with some other planes.

I flew my Giles 202 for four flights.  With the cool temps today, I had to keep leaning the engine a click or two each flight.  By the 4th flight it was really sounding great and moving like lightning.  Great flying with it today. I must have been performing good because I got a couple compliments from Dick et al about the nice flights and landings.  :)

Jer and Tad also flew their little red Migs along with Joe's Sabre.  Cool little bullets made for great entertainment and low fly bys over the runway.

Lastly, Jer, Joe, and I flew our DLG's, finding some light air here and there, but not catching any boomers.

In summary, it was a day to remember, really because I had my 3 sons there together with me and enjoying the day together with our common hobby, and making some everlasting memories.  Oh yeah, we ended by going to a new Mac Donalds at Keizer Station, Joe included, and I treated the gang.  Super FUN day!!

Flight Log: 09/01/12

Here we are already, first day of Sept 2012!  Took the Sbach and Apache DLG out today.  Jer had his Colibri, so I that is what instigated getting the Apache out again, first time in a year?  Had 3 nice flights with the Sbach, but it was quickly growing windier by noonish, so the last flight was not real pleasant with heavy crosswind on takeoff and pretty bumpy air.  Sbach handled nicely for the first two flights, and Jer commented that the rolling circles were looking smooth, so that is encouraging.  The DLE-30 started nicely and ran well, but seems touchy on idle for some reason.  Had a bunch of launches with the Apache, and ended with a nice thermal or two on the last flight.  I bailed out of the good air as it drifted south, and because the farmer on the North field was fumigating with some gawd awful stink yellow chemical.  Jer was flying too, and we could taste the bitter "poison" in our mouths.  He said it was making his eyes sting.  I landed and we put our stuff away, and sat in the car when the tractor made another pass.  After that, we went home to avoid any more chemicals in our lungs.

T-28 and Apache

Had a good day flying the T-28 and Apache. It was sunny, warm in the afternoon again, and hardly any breeze. Think I had 4 flights with the T-28, and a bunch of launches for the Apache. The Apache caught a strong thermal and rode it up for about a 14 minute flight. The thermal seemed very narrow, like a column just 5' across. I kept doing figure 8's to try to cross the thermal as much as possible and to keep the column located. The Apache rode it up till pretty much specked out for me. Any higher and I would lose wing and fuselage orientation easily. Only Anthony, Bob Ross, Mike, Rudy, Joe, and Stan flew today, but hardly anyone was there at the same time as anyone else.

Giles 202

Took out the Giles 202 for a day of fun in the sun. It was a very calm wind with nary a breeze, not even crosswind! Had 4 flights with the Giles; the OS 160FX was on the money today, very powerful and smooth with a touch of smoke trail. I flew it a little tighter than usual. Only gaff today was the remote needle nuts loosened so the needle valve was wobbling around in the cowl when about to take off for the 4th flight. I noticed it and killed the engine. I had to take off the spinner, prop and cowl to get to the nuts to tighten them. After that I had one more flight with the plane but am a click or two away from the sweet setting. Jer and Joe both had muffler probs with their big Extra's, and were grounded after Joe's muffler lost both bolts in the air, and Jer's completely fractured off and fell of the plane during flight!

I also flew the Apache, and had some bubbly air a couple times, but nothing to brag about. Launch height seems below normal, and might be due to me relocating one aileron servo, and causing both ailerons to flex down a smidge. I think it dirties the wing, and I need to reset the aileron servo again.

Flight Log

On Saturday, I flew my Apache, CG Ultimate, and Shoestring. All went well. First off the Apache had two long flights. The first one was about 10 minutes, the other perhaps as long, but the amazing thing on that one was that I apparently launched it right into a boomer thermal. I swear that in a minute, the Apache was as high as I can comfortably see the plane...way way way up!

I was anxious to try the Shoe because I added another ounce of lead under the stab to move the CG back about 1cm. This was done to slow the plane on landing, and it worked. I landed it easily today on both flights with NO flaperons which I normally use for this plane. The CG is on or nearly on the rearmost CG location recommended in the manual. Interestingly the plane did not need any elev trim change in the air!

The CG Ultimate flew great, like it always does. 3 flights on that one. Will fly the AW Ultimate tomorrow!