All Us intermediate pilots, Lets Share

[farmflyer]

Man I'm jealous of you guys that don't have wind. 97 degrees with winds 20to30 sustained gusting over 40 here for the last few days. We have a few wild fires on the region but none close to me. I can't imagine being able to fly every day for a week much less for 100 days in a row.

[Oxotnik]

WOW!!!
:p:p:p
Here in Wyoming its the opposite, If I can miss flying for 16 more days it'll be 100 days of no flying!
Well, at least it feels that was sometimes!

Grossman56

Gman, it sounds like you need to load up your toys and drive South for a while. We've been having great weather, albeit drought, for quite a while.

[Dewey H Lee]

Weathers been great here in NC since Mathew blew though. Just can't fly for having to clean up after it. Hope you get better conditions soon Dan.

[Grossman56]

Going to have to learn just to fly in stronger winds I guess....

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Well, try try again, and still....
Winds were strong enough to blow planes into the air , we both grabbed the Pandora and fought it back onto the truck. Dang wind!!!!

Grossman56

[Dewey H Lee]

I know where your coming from Dan. Finally a day off and the wind at 30 mph most of the day.. Even went looking for work. Should have put the sequencer in the snoots sniper but I've just been so frustrated with it.

[Grossman56]

Okay, let me bask in the moment..........
Beautiful day, and no wind! Guess where I was?
Had some great flights with the P40 and P-One. Basically to discharge batteries but now I wish I'd charged more. There were three other fellows out there with Quadcopters, a first for me, and they were great guys plus new members, all interested in flying planes as well so I got a chance to instruct and demonstrate. Sweet landings with both planes and before I knew it, no batteries left and still no wind!!
Still basking in the glory !!!!

Grossman56

[OV10]

Okay, let me bask in the moment..........
Beautiful day, and no wind! Guess where I was?
Had some great flights with the P40 and P-One. Basically to discharge batteries but now I wish I'd charged more. There were three other fellows out there with Quadcopters, a first for me, and they were great guys plus new members, all interested in flying planes as well so I got a chance to instruct and demonstrate. Sweet landings with both planes and before I knew it, no batteries left and still no wind!!
Still basking in the glory !!!!

Grossman56

Yep, and all that windy crap that you had comes east and since last Wed and now through the next 10 day forecast for my neck of the woods in upstate NY the winds have/will be 15-30. GROAN.............. Have already succumbed to that fact that it is the start of the winter layup period where I start doing mods and plan strategic new acquisitions. Gotta get some oleo's on the F6F and F4U as my first planned mods. Enjoy the basking Dan

[Grossman56]

Hey Charlie, don't know if you subscribe to Model Airplane News, but this months issue was tailor made for you,
Phil Clark's monster Skyraider (180 inch wingspan)
and making fiberglass parts featuring an OV10
Couldn't help thinking of you

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

hey, yesterday was the complete opposite, had to sramble to et P-One back in the truck!

Grossman56

[F106DeltaDart]

This weekend was also pretty windy here as well. Flew the B-17, F-14, F-104 and P-39 in around 10-13 mph winds. Luckily, they were pretty much straight down the runway. I think this help finally nail the landing on the Tomcat on Saturday. The P-39 and B-17 slowed down to a walking pace on low passes, and made for some nice photo opportunities as well. The 104 is definitely in need of some more expo on the ailerons. The little guy can really roll like a drill!

I am also getting ready for winter projects, although here winter is the best flying season anyways! I just unpacked my Hangar 9 20cc Corsair, and have a VTOL XC-142 on the way. Also have a 450 Huey and 500 Apache I will be trying to get in the air. Just need time as always..

[Grossman56]

I remember watching a CF 104 in Canada go from one end of the field to the other, rolling, rolling, rolling, just as fast as you can say it, amazing to see.

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Again a perfect Sunday for flying. A bit cloudy but barely any air movement.
Played around with the Pitts, readjusted the rudder throw and expo in low rates for takeoff and she was fine. Such a great plane.

I was having some trouble with the Spitfire L/G one side would jam up in the up position. If I back off on the rear screws that hold the retract to the wing, it will start working again. Strange. Anyway, thought I had it working and it did for the first couple of flights. The last flight, however, it wouldn't come down. I tried pulling up steeply while I deployed, rolling, nothing would work. Oh oh!
One great thing about the E Flite is that it doesn't tip stall, so I deployed full flaps and retracted the good L/G and prepared to belly land. Got it of the open range, just off the runway (there is no grass, just sage brush and dirt) at minimum speed about a foot and an half off the ground. Nudged the stick back and stalled her and she hover landed onto the deck. I thought I'd at least break a prop or tear off a rad, but nothing. Dusted off a bit of dirt and that was it!!
The moral of the story, never stop flying the plane.
The plus side of this situation was that I still had power, flaps and a plane with no belly scoop to worry about, so basically I landed as you would a Rare Bear type of plane and got away with it.
Funny, but I was listening to a lecture that Bob Hoover was giving just the other day and the thing that he did in an emergency was to take stock of what was still functioning and use it to his advantage, thanks Bob wherever you are, you message stuck with me.

So, I don't know whats up with that retract, but I have a spare so I'll change it out. Anyone else run across this? Anyone know what would cause this. I can take it out of the wing and it will work fine, but when I anchor it to the wing, nothing.

Strange

Grossman56

[OV10]

Dan,
Usually one of the sides that the etract mounts to is not in parallel with the other side which is confirmed by you loosening screws as you mentioned which takes the twist out of the side frame of the retract. That twisting action is enough to trip the stall current sensor on the circuit in the etract. It really happens quite a bit on Dynam and occasionally with Freewing(FlightLine)

[Grossman56]

So what do you do in a case like that?

Grossman56

[OV10]

Determine the offending corner and then shim it with an appropriate thickness washer.

[Grossman56]

I think I've got it figured, so strange though.
Speaking of strange, wait 'til you see the control board in the F8F. WTF!
You plug everything into it and all it has for outputs is the ailerons and flaps??!!
Of course the instructions don't help at all. Going to check Ryan's video again.

Grossman56

[Grossman56]

Wow, been a while since I messaged here, I usually save it for special moments, at least special to me. The 2900th post.
First of all, as you may have gathered from other posts, the weather here has been unusually warm and windless for the most part. I didn't think I'd get the Bearcat in the air this year, but, Lo and Behold, put the ninth flight on her today and plan to get some more on the weekend, as long as the weather holds out.
I finally got Old Crow back up in the air for a brief flight. L/G gave me trouble, forgot that with Freewing P 51's, hold the speed back until they're retracted.
With the 650Kv up front now, it doesn't take long to build up some speed. Also had some gyro issues, too much gain, but it was fine at lower speeds. As I was saying, one L/G got hung up on the clam shell door from what I could see. I cycled it a few times and rocked the wings and pulled a few G's and it corrected itself, one great thing about those landing lights, you know if you have both sets of gear down!! I didn't relish the idea of bellying in a P 51, so thankful that I didn't have to.
Anyway, got her on the ground safely, dialed back the gain on the gyro, cycled the gear a few times and taxied out for another attempt. Had some tail wheel issues this time as she was moving around and I couldn't get to the screw that supposedly locks it in place. So, I put her away and brought out the Bearcat.
Now, there's an interesting side by side comparison. One plane has been a pain from the get go, the other just the opposite. That little Blue Rocket is my new best friend. This plane, right out of the box, is just great.
I always spend a lot of my build time on the setup, as there really isn't any build time with the Bearcat anyways.
I take the time to make sure my control surfaces are all lined up properly, that my flap settings are at 15 and 30 degrees (yes Charlie, I did it the proper way this time,can't believe I missed that!!((CB is my best buddy as well)), my throttle is calibrated, L/G is working, all the little things that can jump up and bite you.
Make sure your gyro is reacting in the right direction and your control surfaces are moving in the correct direction.
You know, all the usual things, then I take it out and rattle it around the drive way or over to the school and let her taxi around, I'd rather anything that's going to come loose do it while I'm still on the ground! Then check everything over again.

All this pays off in spades when you get to the field. Some slight trimming and she was off like she'd flown for years.

I don't know whether you know it or not, so I'll state it right here.
As a moderator, I get no special deals or anything like that, in fact, Doc and I aren't eligible for the Sweepstakes when we had them, so...
Having said that, just so you know that this isn't some Motion R/C paid endorsement or something, given a chance to buy another airplane, I jump at any of the Flightline birds as this one has made me a believer. Fantastic plane, she flew in 5-8 mph winds today with no trouble at all, she lands like she knows what she's doing and so gently that the time you have to consider landing is huge, I mean , if you're into spot landings, this may be the plane for you. That wide L/G makes her so stable.
The only fault, and I'm racking my brain for any faults, might be that she likes to bounce her tail wheel while taxing, which is nothing unusual for a smaller plane, just try to remember to keep the elevators back so they help to hold the tail on the ground, We have some rocks and dips in our runway, so I'm careful to keep my taxing speed down until I know I'm clear of all the rubble.
I was flying with the 4000's today, all the way forward. Got her up and gave it two clicks of nose up elevator and she was in the groove again. I'll probably experiment around with moving the 4000's back slightly, I'd like to get the CG spot on, just for the fun of it.
So there you have it, post 2900. Got the batteries all charged up for tomorrow and hoping for great weather.

Happy flights guys!!

Grossman56

[OV10]

Send that good weather onward to upstate NY, I haven't had a flight in two weeks because of temps and wind.

[F106DeltaDart]

The weather here was perfect this morning! Put 1 flight on my new 90mm F-16, 1 on the 70mm F-104, 2 on the Bearcat, 2 on the F-86, and 1 on the P-38. All nice and smooth flights, and somehow made it back with nothing needing repair. I maidened the F-16 yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at how it flew. There was roughly a 10mph headwind, which really helped to shorten the takeoff and landings. First takeoff, it bounced on our less-than-smooth geotex runway, and took off fine, but left the nosecone sitting on the runway. I brought it around and landed without any issues, reattached the nose, and took off again. One of the things I really love about this model is that it stays locked in at an AOA for landing. Makes shooting approaches extremely fun and rewarding. And besides, F-16s just look awesome on those low and fast flybys. Could use a bit more vertical, but the stock setup will do for now.

The F-86 and P-38 were the relaxing flyers as always. I was trying to practice some of Bob Hoover's routine on the F-86 and it was loads of fun, and my little tribute to the man himself. Managing the airspeed-altitude trade-offs was great, and allowed me to push 5 minute flight times.The F-104 is the unique one that will really reward you for flying it scale. Huge, wide sweeping turns and low passes look great and are exactly what it is designed for. Full flaps even slow it down very nicely for landing.

And then there was the Bearcat.. When adding my tail retract I messed around with the rudder pushrod, and it was no longer centered. I was going to fix it, but it totally slipped my mind. When I took off, the Bearcat tried to roll and crab hard left, but I got it up high and started working with it. After getting it trimmed reasonably, I landed and inspected it. The rudder had been initially deflected about 30 degrees. Lesson to all, double check your model after modding!! I certainly won't be anytime soon..