SNAFU and Ultimate

I flew the SNAFU yesterday three times.  Took it due to the ease of short landings to ensure I would not have issues rolling off the runway mat at Dallas.  Never touched the dirt shoulders or ends with the plane, yay.  It flew well with the change in prop from 12.5x3.75 (yes a weird prop for 3D applications) to a typical 12x7, both APC.  The OS52 FS ran like a top.

Today I flew the Carl Goldberg Ultimate 10-300 twice.  With landings into the wind (and under the very low rising sun), the plane landed once completely staying on the runway mat.  For the second landing, I had a little too much speed so the bipe came to a stop beyond the west end of the mat, but no harm was done on the dirt or gravel.  The plane flew great.  Starts were not real easy even with the new Align super starter!  The OS120Surpass tended to want to die when idled low enough to not roll on the mat, so I had to keep the idle speed up a bit.  Still, good flying!

Flight log: 09/06/2018

I flew yesterday and today.  Got in three flights on the good old Goldberg Ultimate 10-300.  Since last flying it, I changed props from 16-6 to 16-8 to get a lil more speed.  The plane indeed seemed just a little faster and groovier.  Idle was still good for slow landings.also today, I dialed out some up elevator that kicks in with right/top rudder during the four point roll.  Basically I zeroed it out.  There is still some up elevator mixed to the left/top rudder.  Looks like the knife edge on either side is pretty straight now.

Yesterday I flew the P-47 twice and it was plain old fun making all kinds of low passes over the field.  Plane flew great, with no issues, and the retracts worked fine yet again.

Dirty Birdy

I felt the need...the need for speed!  So I flew the Dirty Birdy with the Dallas gang.  It ran well, flew great.  Did some crazy low flybys, what exhilarating fun!  Just took two flights...lotsa time there is spent sitting with the guys and joking, plus commentating on whoever is flying, lol.  The regulars were there...Don with the Pulse, Bill with big stick, Ken with Chipmunk, Dougie with Carbon Cub, and Gary with the giant Sportster.  Walt brought his cute dogs Bear and Lily.  Went to snack at the Dallas McD with Don, Ken, and Bill.  I had a senior coke and a sausage burrito for a whopping $1.80!  Fun talking to the guys.  Was home by 11:30.

YESTERDAY, Tad and I flew at Dallas too.  It was his first time to try it out...he flew his G570 twice nicely and impressed Don.  Tad says he likes the field, so it looks like he will join too at some point.  I flew my Ultimate three times.  I think I will change props to try get a little more speed out of the plane.

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.

I quit flying RC!

Hahahahaha, no way Jose!  I have been flying lots since early June when i last blogged here.  I have just been too awful lazy to make entries. I have flown at least a couple times each week, and often 3 or 4 times.  Been flying the pants off my planes, very little on helis but enough to avoid completely rusting out!  I cannot be too rusty because Ron comes in a week formthe annual visit of ten days or so t fly, fly, fly.

So today i flew the CG Ultimate three times.  Love that old bird, now 26 years old!  A few weeks ago it would not take on fuel. The old Robart fueler was plugged.  This is the second one to go bad in that plane.  While i got the plug out, i decided the design is poor and just chucked it.  I ran the fuel filter externally on the bottom of the cowl, and it is now a simple matter to unplug the line, fuel up, and reartach the fuel line to the filter.  KISS METHOD WORKS BEST!  Also, the bearing replacement is working fine...the engine is hauling butt like it used to.

A couple weeks ago, i completed my first new ARF in years, the beautiful Joe Bridi design,the  Dirty Birdy!  I maidened it with two flights the first day.  Took it out yesterday and had three flights.  On maiden day it only needed a few clicks of right aileron.  With no changes yesterday, it flew great again.  Even knife edge is real satisfactory right now, with no obvious tuck to either the LG or the canopy.   It is very much a joy to fly.  Landings are cool with a nose high touchdown.


One last update!  I sold my AeroWorks 50cc Ultimate to Joe a few weeks ago for $900!  He had fun with it a couple days then during a low roll the plane just failed to respond and it demolished on impact.  It always flew fine for me.  Joe thinks the battery packs may have slipped and disconnected.  I do not think so as he said he used servo safety clips like i did, and what are the chances of both unplugging at the same instant?!  I would investigate his receiver.  That is the only component inside the plane that changed with the change in ownwership.  I kept my Airtronics receiver and he installed a Futaba.  Of course the other diffs are the transmitter and operator.  C’est la vie.  I am sad it is no more.

Ultimate day

Flew the good old Carl Goldberg Ultimate 10-300 today for the first time in likely a year.  Only took one flight as the OS 120FS sounded like a tractor.  The bearings must be worn out and need to be replaced.  Prolly could have flown again but I did not want to risk the engine seizing up or dying, then having to deadstick back with my oldest plane that is also my last kit built plane, 1992.  It flew nice though and tracked as great as ever.  I will get the bearings out and seek replacements soon.

Better but not perfect

The G500 sounded quieter/better but still not like normal/perfect.  I think I need to replace both tail bearings with new bearings.  Will check stash to see if I have any.  Still gonna fly the sucker as is.  I got in 2 packs on the Goblin 500, 2 on the X5, and 3 flights on the G630.  Good to have the bigger Gobby out again.  Like em all!  Too dumb to be aware of differences in handling...I feel some but not mind boggling kind.

Also flew my Ultimate two good flights after having trouble getting it to idle, transition, and hit a nice top end.  Turns out my settings were off after taking the cowl off to get to the fuel tank.  But with a little fiddling of the needle and idle screws, I got her running and flying for nice flights.

Dick brought his new 75" Aerostar, that I call the SuperStar!  It has flaps, and flies so dang well.  He has a 6s 3700mah pack in it, but it can fly with up to 5000mah packs, so my 4000 packs would be perfect!  Pic does not show well but it has a semi-symmetrical airfoil, so it is more graceful in aerobatics than any of my Stars from Dick, all of which have flat bottom wings.  I was enthused about the plane, and told Dick I claim first right of refusal if he sells it, lol.  It could happen...I have three of the smaller versions!  Dick is however, preparing floats for the plane so he can fly it at the pond on Patty Rd, site of biweekly float flying between Salem and Amity, off 99W.

CG Ultimate maintenance

Maintained the Carl Goldberg Ultimate 10-300 yesterday.  After one flight a week or so ago, the plane would not take on fuel for another flight.  It felt like the tank was fully pressurized and fuel would not go into it.  A few days ago, I took the tank out...to do so requires removal of the spinner, prop, muffler, cowl, and both damn wings!  Finally got it out and replaced the fuel lines inside the tank, the clunk, and the lines to the engine and muffler...I guess that means all lines.  I did not find anything really wrong with what I yanked out other than blackness in the muffler line, typical.  At least I determined the tank itself is still sound.  With the cowl off, I found the Robart fueler was falling off due to a broken back plate and missing bolt (one of two).  Figured out a way to secure that without a new backplate.  And I repaired the biggest cracks in the old ABS cowl with FG cloth and copious amounts of thin and medium CA.  Someday this old plane deserves a strong FG cowl.

Anyway, I tested fueling of the tank with it out of the plane, and via the Robart fueler, and didn't really find anything wrong except if the lines are hooked up wrong to the the two nipples on the Robart fueler.  The back nipple must go to the tank for it to work.  The thing had to be hooked up right for it to work all these years until last week.  Basically I think I did not find the real problem but when done, the fueling worked, so I just have to try flying the plane this way.  It should work fine, but the mysterious issue remains mysterious.  Oh well, I got some satisfaction by doing the maintenance.

Tuesday Tuesday

Got in some flying on another exceptional Spring day.  Only one there again.  Flew the Goldberg Ultimate again.  Had a great flight.  Tried to fuel up for the next flight, and the plane refused to take on fuel.  Something in the tank or line has clogged and it has to be checked and fixed, durn it! So I flew the X5 for 4 flights, sweet ones.

Brilliant Saturday

Saturday was yet another perfect day for flying at the field.  Tad and I flew.  He had his G570 for 4 flights.  I took my G500 for two flights and X5 for 4.  Made a mistake due to a distracting visitor, of flying the X5 twice on the same battery, so it ran down in flight.  Luckily I heard and felt the motor drop in power and was nearby, so I switched to normal mode and made it for a landing safely.  At the end I had full positive collective and the  X5 bounced barely more than a normal landing.  Closest I have come to auto-rotation landing!  I had a full complement of 4 batts for each heli, but called it a day early to go home and eat Roth burgers with the fam and friends.

Oh, I had the Goldberg Ultimate with me.  Got in one flight to make sure the OS 120 FS still ran, which it did fine.  Had to work to get it started with mid throttle to get the engine started and stay running, but after a couple minutes of running like that, the engine was able to throttle back and run slow again.  I wanted to fly it for guests but by the time they came, the JB guys had two vac tractors running all around the field and I could not fly it.

No pics cuz I forgot to take my cell phone/camera to the field today!

Maintaining the Ultimate

I did some necessary maintenance on the CG Ultimate 10-300 today in preparation for flying it again this season.  I tested it over the Fall last year and discovered the flight battery is dead, so I wanted to get that changed.  That was pretty easy but necessitates taking the bottom wing off, which is a slight hassle.  I put in a never used (but at least a couple years old) 6V 2000mAh NimH pack after removing the old 4.8V pack.  Testing the controls out with that new pack, I found the rudder servo spinning but not turning so it must have some stripped gears in it.  Luckily it is a Futaba 3152 servo, and I have some new ones, so it was easy to switch out.  And while testing the throttle control, the linkage to the servo broke, so I had to remove the old brass linkage and clevis, and solder in a new one.  Since the new linkage is longer, that required removing an old ply brace and relocating and installing a new balsa one for adequate support of the flexible control rod.  I was just glad all the unanticipated repairs showed up while I already had the wing off for the battery replacement.  Should be good to fly now, and I just hope the engine runs after a couple years in the hangar.

Messing with the DLE 55 on my AW Ultimate

Drove me nuts to assemble and disassemble this and not get the engine to run right that day!

After the failure to run at the field again, I tried to solve the engine problems at home.  Over the next couple days I tried to figure out the AW Ultimate problem...what is bugging that engine!  I found a new RCXEL optikill at home, so I swapped that out with the 42% optikill in the plane.  Tried running the engine in the backyard.   No joy...same bad behavior from the DLE 55!  Rats.  I left the new optikill on the plane and will put the 42% away for future reuse.

While messing with that swap, I noted that the optikill light would go out by using another toggle besides the button I assigned the task.  Also found that when the throttle is high, the button would make the throttle servo go to low idle while also killing the optikill light.  What the!  So I ironed out the programming issues by comparing the Ultimate channel and switch assignments to those for the Sbach and Bravata.  Finally got it working right in a couple hours of frustration.

Next up I decided to try a new ignition by borrowing one from Tad's DLE 35.  Problem, the printing on the ignition says for the DLE 35 only!  Nevertheless I swapped it for mine on the plane.  Sure enough, no joy.  The engine would not pop at all.  I did note that the spark plug would spark in my hand while holding it and propping the engine.  WEIRD!  Must be timing or some such thing is different between the sizes of DLE engines?  I took Tad's off and put my ignition back on the plane.

And finally, while the cowl is off, Tad suggested swapping out the ignition battery.  I thought that sounds dumb because I tested the battery on the plane and it was reading a healthy 5.25V.  But this is a simple swap so I put in an old 6V nimh that was in the garage where I was working.  Bingo bango bongo the engine started up and ran strong!  I was overjoyed and relieved to not have to tear into the carb of the engine.  With that, I swapped in a brand new 6V nimh from my bonus room stock.  I took another hour to zip tie everything back, add connector safety locks, and mount the cowl, prop, and spinner.

What a journey.  I discovered the old nimh on the plane is only 4.8V and I thought it was 6V.  It was reading 5.25V due to charging with a 6V charger.  Maybe over time that damaged the battery.  Very weird.  That old battery went to the trash.  Still can't believe that battery caused the hard starting and erratic running of the engine.  Wish I had tried a new battery in September when the Ultimate first exhibited the nutty behaviour at the field.  Well, I am now really ready to fly that plane again with its fully operational engine that might just need a few needle adjustments due to the fiddling with them to try to get the thing to run right since September 2014, haha.  Looking forward to a positive report after that!

Failure to Launch Redux

Crap, I took the AW Ultimate out today and it again failed to run properly.  This means the fuel tank tubing was not the issue last Sept when I tried and failed just like this to fly the aircraft.  I am sure the fuel tube replacement was not a wasted effort, but it just was not the issue with the engine not running properly.  I noted today during assembly that the optikill switch was hanging loose inside the fuselage, not stuck to the wood like it was installed.  I also observed that the optikill light stayed on all the time, and did not go off when I hit the kill button on my xmitter.  To me that is an indicator that the optikill is malfunctioning at least in that respect, and likely is the cause for uneven running of the DLE-55 engine!  So I am going to replace the optikill with a new one I found at home later.  We will see if that solves the issue.

A giant waste of time today!

I put away the Ultimate after spending all that time assembling it.  I got out my two 500 size helis and put 4 packs through each...the Gaui X5 and Goblin 500.  Nice weather and nice fun!

Here are a few pics of other aircraft today:

Don and Jerry new Dago Red foamie electrics...could not take off due to thick grass.
That and the fact they are typical warbirds!

John with new old timer!

It has an old OS20  four stroker in it.  Sounds awesome and flies that way too!

Failure to launch

My main bird was the AW Ultimate 50cc today, but it did not want to run right, so it never got off the ground.  The DLE-55 would start, idle, then would not take almost any increase in throttle.  The engine would continue to run, but unsteadily and sort of like at about 1/2 throttle.  It never died.  I tried various high needle settings and none worked any better.  So back it went into the truck, and I flew my Goblin 500 for two packs, all I had charged for it because I anticipated flying the Ultimate.

Later in the day at home, I figured I have either a carburetor problem or a gas tank problem.  Since the gas tank is an easier job, I went that way, and removed the tank.  I found that the Tygon tubes inside the tank were all as stiff as hard plastic!  I replaced all the inside tubing, and also the line from the tank to the carb.  Other tubes seemed flexible enough.  While this might be the cause of the situation today, I am not sure.  Only trying to start the engine will tell either way.  Probably will do that tomorrow in the backyard.

Ultimate and Star

Flew both planes in pretty ideal conditions today, except for it starting to get hot!  My first short hop with the AW Ultimate was a little hairy when the top right aileron came unplugged, most likely due to my failure to plug it in really tightly.  While in flight the plane rolled hard to the left momentarily a couple times, as the plug became looser and made intermittent contact. I landed safely in the sod farm, taxied back, and found the plug still in, but loosely, so I pushed it to its full depth and the aileron behaved properly all day.  The DLE-55 started and ran like clockwork.  I improved my landings today by coming in with more throttle and not so floaty.  The plane flew very well, and I probably had my best day ever at hovering it up high, and doing some harrier rolls.  Also ran through my usual pattern style aerobatics and felt good about it.  Flew the Star with two of the new Turnigy packs and they seem fine...a little more spunky but heavier than the older Hobby People packs.

Early Bird

Went to the field just past 8 with the CG Ultimate and electric Star.  I got in 3 flights with the Ultimate and two with the Star in very nice sunny conditions with very light NE breezes.  Not a soul was there and I was done by 10AM!  Both planes flew nicely.  No issues whatever.

SUMMER is HERE!

I went to the field early again today because we are having a heat spell for Salem, OR!  It was 90F yesterday and more of the same today.  At least it was only around 70-75F when I first arrived.  I got to the field around 8:30, first and only one there for awhile.  Got in a flight before anyone else came, then Mike, Gene, Rick, Harvey, and Joe came in the next hour or so.  I flew my AW 50cc Ultimate on this cloudless day...the DLE-55 started and ran like a top, and the plane was smooth.  Got in three flights and then gave up as the temps got higher and my brow got wetter.  Used my timer set at 8minutes, and the timer went off on all three flights either when I was in the air or having just landed.  For some reason, the engine quit on the runway after rollout, twice.  It kept running after the first flight only.   It's a minor but curious issue, as long as it does not flameout in the air.

Gassers

Had a good day flying the AW Ultimate today, with Tad bringing his AW Extra 300.  I advertised a Big Bad Boys Bash to the club members a couple days ago, and it probably made no diff on attendance, but a few other guys showed up with larger planes.  Mike brought his Giant Super Sportster, Al brought his Ryan, and John De G brought his Tiger Moth.  It was fun.  Later, Joe brought his ZEN 90, Rudy his new Vyper, and Dick with his electric planes.  I got in 3 flights with the Ultimate, no issues with it today.  Tad had 2 fine flights with his Extra, and we both got pics and vids of the planes.

Ultimate Day!

After a foggy/hazy start, the sun burned it off and popped through to make today as nice as yesterday.  I flew my CG Ultimate three flights. That old OS 120 Surpass is just puttering along with strength and reliability after 21 years.  I am amazed the bearings have not worn out like on the newer Saito and OS four stroke engines I have.  A good day.

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.