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: 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!

Flight log: 07/21/2019

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

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!

Deja vu!

It has been a week since flying due to wind and rain and busyness.  It was foggy again, so we spent time huddled around the heater like hobos until the fog lifted enough to fly.  I got in 2 flights on the X5 plus 2 on the Toledo Special.  Nice day of flying with the die hards Don, Ken, Gary, and Bob.   I didn’t get to venture much with the heli due to the fog on the first flight, then discomfort on the 2nd...I think the X5 is too quick and small for the inverted forward flight attempts after my RF sim training.  Gonna try with the 7HV next time.

Foggy flying!

Flew in medium fog this morn.  Too low to do my dirty birdy...did it once and the plane almost disappeared on one half loop back to me.  Flew the x5 twice.  Getting more relaxed with side flip to inverted, due to sim time.  Die hards Don, Bill, Ken, and Gary were there, but only Gary and I flew. They didnt like not seeing my dirty birdy in the fog at times, lol.

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.

Flight log: 09/23/2018

I had a nice five flights on helis this morning at the keizer field.  First up was the G500 twice, then the G700 three times.  Still just not feeling the cajones to go for forward inverted coordinated turns.  I don't fly enough to build the stick time to get her done!  At least i got her upside down many times and keep trying to get familiar.  Not getting the throttle feel while inverted, dummy.  Anyway, no crashes and it was fun.  Didnt fly at all last week due to major field renovation at the Dallas club.  I worked there T, Th, and Sat.  Work took place Monday through Saturday!

Eleven!

I got in 11flights at the Keizer field today, and I did it very quickly because not a single soul came to fly today!  So I put up 4 flights on the X5, 4 on the Aerostar 40F, 2 on the Aerostar 76, and one on the lil Ascent electric glider.  Not really liking the Asssent much so I might return it to Jer with a free orange receiver in it so he can fool with it in parks or schools where he lives. It was a ball flying the heli and the planes.  With the X5 I did a whole bunch of flips and rolls, and I put it inverted frequently.  Just gotta keep doing it and hopefully turning will come gradually.