Flight Log 07/17/2014

Good day for flying!  Got in 4 packs on the Goblin 500 which flew very nice and smooth.  Got in 4 flights on the Toledo Special.  Tried using some free fuel from Leisure Hobbies via Rudy, but it would not run in my Saito 82a in the Toledo Special.  Too old I presume.  Got one flight on the new Factor 3D.  I grabbed the wrong bag of lipos at home, which turned out to be used ones instead of the charged ones.  Dummy!  At least the plane flew better on the larger prop and calibrated ESC.  And the LG did not collapse on the only landing for today.

Mike maidened his new GB R-3!  Great looker and it turns out it flies great too!  Lots of power...with the DLE-55, Mike was cruising around at 1/3 throttle.  Landing was going to be good except the LG caught the new dirt curb created by JB around our runway, so the LG on one side got torn up a bit at the wing joint.  Durn it.

Prepping for the maiden

Takeoff roll

Landing approach

Almost touching down

Letting the nerves settle back down!

If the sprinklers are on the runway, it must be Sunday!

Durn it!  Like last Sunday, I took my Bravata to the field to fly.  Like last Sunday, the sprinklers were setting diagonally across the east end of the runway, shortening the runway and making it risky to fly the ginormous Bravata.  So I didn't!  I managed to squeeze all five packs in with the Gaui X5 between thunderclouds.   There was thunder and lightning in those clouds but little rain and wind.  The skies were ominous black and grey, with a few sunspots, the kind of lighting and background that reduces visibility and clarity for me.  I took it easy and did not stray far out except when the sun shone and allowed better visibility.   All went well, no crashes, and I got to satiate my heli appetite for the day.

In the afternoon about 5 blocks away from my house, lightning struck a 40' cypress tree, and the tree literally exploded:

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!

4 plus 4

Had the Gobby out for four packs and the X5 out for four after the Gobby.  Nice weather, but still breezy albeit not as bad as yesterday.  Once up there is no problem but getting down requires a little extra concentration, just a little more.  Good fun with sunny skies making for good visibility.  Few clouds and the kabana helped provide respite.  Threw in some inverted on the last couple packs with the X5 and felt good.  Mostly did the usual ff flight, stall turns, and loops.  Hovering orientations at different altitudes and distances.  Still trying to stay within good visibility for my lousy eyes.

Due to reading a thread about a guy chopping his face up with his Goblin 630, I got a healthy dose of cautiousness overnight.  Pics were graphic and gross.  Today, I performed takeoffs and landings at the far reaches of the helipad mat.  Also I made all low passes about twice as far out as I used to, perhaps now at 40 feet ground distance.  These changes were easy to make and hopefully keep me out of harms way.  I have requested to Rudy and Bob B that we add more mat to double the area, adding it all to the west of the existing helipad mat.  I don't see why they would resist, and it should just be a matter of availability of more mat.

X5 X 5

I flew the X5 five times this AM at the field, in 10mph winds, the windiest conditions I have ever flown a heli in.  Helis seem to handle wind easier than planes IMHO.  The rebuilt X5 flew well even with the slightly bent frame.  The crack/break in the frame does not affect the main shaft alignment because it is just above the rear LG brace.  Did not sustain any inverted flight, but kept to simple forward flight with stall turns and loops.  I did not want to get confused by the wind while trying inverted hovering.  The heli seems to fly as good as it ever did.  One interesting change is that the main rotor seems to freewheel easier and longer than it used to!

New Mango canopy by Fusuno, new blades by Rail/Botos.
I can say I have Big Botos now!  LOL!

Can you see my XB in this next pic?  That will be my fave parking spot, if available, whenever I bring a gas plane that I typically set up on the grass at that end of the pits.

Check out the new tent shelter on East end of pits, next to our shed.
Frame has been sitting for years in the shed, and the tarp roof is new.

While I took the Bravata, I did not fly it due to wheeled sprinklers running across the east end of the runway, and this plane needs all the runway space due to its size.

Back again

After a 9 day layoff for a trip back home, I flew again on Sunday July 6th.  Got in 4 flights on the Star and 4 packs through the Goblin.  All went well.  I kept to simple flying on the Gobby with just some piros, loops, and stall turns.  Did not do any sustained inverted.  Did not bring the X5 since I did not have enough time to get more packs charged.  I was flying just 9 hours after getting back to Salem, on 4 hours of sleep.