January Flying Reports

Sorry... Nothing to report for January 2000.

February Flying Reports

The First Sunday Flying After the Snow

Sunday, February 6th - You should have been there! We had a great adventure. When I arrived at the field, Bruce Utne and Jay Jennings were already there. Someone had locked the gate incorrectly and we couldn't get it open. Jay called the rangers to open the gate, but Bruce had already decided to carry his plane and walk to the field, he was already at the field by the time I got there.

Bruce flew his ACE Simple series Mustang for the first time. With just a light hand toss, the Mustang climbed steadily and performed any maneuver you could ask. Bruce also pulled out his House of Balsa Chipmunk, but he lost a cowling blind nut and had to put her away for the day. I was out there with my Avistar and my Texan.

We also had a chance to meet Jeff and his son Alan. They came out with their trainer. They've been practicing on their flight simulator and it shows - they did great! As always, Owen Perkinson was there to lend advice, and an extra set of hands. Well, I almost didn't bother to go out there today, but I'm glad I did.

Swap Meet

Saturday, February 12, 2000 - Well, I thought I was going to go flying Saturday, but mother nature had other ideas. Since I couldn't fly, I went to the Tidewater Swap Shop instead. I'm really glad I did!!!

I bought a few raffle tickets along with my admission. I was still filling in my name on the back of the raffle tickets when they called my name! I won a $10 gift certificate to Stream Hobbies! That made my trip to the Swap Shop free.

I enjoyed walking around and looking at all the things people had for sale. I particularly liked the display of old model aircraft engines, cars, and even an old boat. While I was there, I ran into Jay Jennings, Larry Rash, Joe Lupton, John Philbrick, Ray Foley, Jeff Whippo, Alan Whippo, Norm Hayes, and Keith ( I don't recall his last name). I had a great time meeting everyone.

Wet and Wild!

Sunday, February 13, 2000 - Well mother nature does it again! The ground was still covered in frozen sleet this morning. Jay Jennings, the contest director(CD) for the Newport News Park R/C Club, decided to postpone the Frost Bite Fun Fly.

I went to the field anyway, because when Jay called me from the field he said there were three people flying already! I got to the field just before 1 PM and found Bruce Utne flying his Ace Simple Mustang! Jeff Whippo was also there with his son. Jay told me that Jeff had just soloed! Later, Larry Wall showed up to fly.

The field was very wet, and the puddles on the runway made for interesting taxi runs, but we managed some good flights anyway!

FROST BITE FUN FLY 2000

Sunday, February 20, 2000 - I can't believe how nervous I was! I felt like I was at the top of a roller coaster ride, right before the big drop. And then I advanced the throttle and took off. I climbed out and upwind. Once I had enough altitude to safely make a loop, I began making as many as I could. By the time my two minutes were over, I had completed 33 loops. Unfortunately for me Joe Adams made 34, Norm Hayes put out 38, and Norm's son, Cody, squeezed in 40!

The second event in our Frost Bite Fun Fly was the Mystery Spot Landing. They said I could land anywhere I wanted. I had this great idea I would line up nice, float across the field, and drop right onto the spot. I did everything right, except I forgot the float part. I landed more than 50 feet short of the spot, but it was a nice landing! Larry Wall came in closest to the number drawn from a hat, Jeff Whippo was right behind him, and Mike Arthurs pulled in the third place win for the Mystery Spot Landing!

Our last event, Touch and Go, was more than a little nerve wracking! Mike Arthurs was first up. I thought that his Kaos would give him a clear advantage over my Avistar, but his engine stalled with just a couple landings completed. I went up after Mike and did as well as I could. I had managed six landings by the time the judges started counting off the last 20 seconds. I whipped her around for that last landing and was only a couple feet off the ground when they called "TIME!" My six landings gave me a third place win for Most Touch and Goes in Three Minutes! Cody Hayes put in 7.5, and Norm Hayes managed 9.5.

Although the weather was a little cool, I think this Fun Fly was the most action I had seen at the field since last September. I'm glad I had a chance to fly, and now I've got to work to get ready for our April contest - Outlaw combat!

Underhand Launch Success!

Monday, February 21, 2000 - I finally built up enough nerve to hand launch my Global ARF Texan, and came within a foot of loosing her! I had spent the morning watching Bruce Utne hand launch his Ace Simple Mustang, and decided that I could manage launching my Texan.

Since I didn't have a launch cradle, I used her landing gear as a starting stand. After I started the engine, I removed the landing gear and carried the plane to the flight line. I opened the throttle all the way and nearly lost my grip on her. That little OS 25FP really pulls! I launched into the wind and right across the runway.

She dipped toward the runway, and I barely pulled back on the stick in time to get her away. I spent the rest of the flight recovering from the launch, and finally brought her in for a smooth belly landing.

A Crowded Field, a Round of Combat, Spring in February!

Sunday, February 27, 2000 - I had a great time today! I couldn't believe how many people made it out to the field. And then we got in a practice round of Outlaw Combat!

Jay Jennings opened the gates to the field sometime before 10 AM. Over the course of the day, the field filled up with fliers and spectators. Larry Wall came out with his Kadet, and later, Larry's wife and daughter came out to watch. Rusty from Stream hobbies socialized for a good portion of the day. Joe Adam and Norm and Cody Hayes brought their trusty old Sticks, and their friend Keith came out to watch. Mike Arthur brought a biplane and an Extra! I don't recall the name of the gentleman that was flying with Mike, but he unfortunately lost his Stick today. Thomas Trant made it to the field with his 4 Star 40 and his son's Superstar 40. Jeff and Alan Whippo put in a few flights while Jeff's wife watched. Nigel tore up the sky with his Cap, and Ray Foley came out for support. As always, Owen Perkinson helped with engine set-up and the combat practice. There were a couple more people out at the field, but I didn't get their names. I brought my usual planes, and hand launched the Texan twice!

Aside from having a field full of flyers, we also managed to fit in a round of open combat! Joe Adam, Norm Hayes, Larry Wall, and I all put streamers on our planes. Owen Perkinson officiated. When Owen called, "start your engines," we all got our planes started and out to the flight line. Joe was first to take off. His white Stick rolled out without a problem. I followed him with my Avistar, and Larry Wall went next. Unfortunately, Larry's Kadet had a loose nose wheel, and he had to abort take-off. But he quickly removed his plane from the field, and Norm got his red stick in the air. The three of us in the air flew a left turn racetrack pattern until Owen called "COMBAT!" For the next seven minutes we zigged and climbed, and immelmanned, and rolled in an effort to get a piece of streamer. Despite our best efforts, none of us made any cuts before the time was up. On the other hand, we had fun and kept our planes in one piece!

If today was any indication of the fun the new flying season holds, then I'm excited! We even managed to get two new members!! I'm glad that had such a great turn out, and I hope we'll see more days like today!

Published Cartoons!

I received a phone call from Roger Smith, publisher of RC Excellence magazine. He called to let me know that my cartoon about an alien flying combat would be published in RC Excellence magazine. It will be included in the May/June issue. They publish six times a year, and this issue should be out around April. I hope the image comes out looking good in the magazine! If anyone has a subscription, let me know. I don't get this magazine and I would like to see a copy. I'll check the hobby store, but I don't know if they carry this particular magazine.

March Flying Reports

Great Fun and Crab Landings

Sunday, March 5, 20000 - Another great weekend! The temperature was up, the sun was out, and the flying field was full! Unfortunately, the brisk winds made some of the flying rather difficult. But despite the winds, we had a great time.

Jay Jennings and I discussed the field layout for open and scale combat. We found out that are field really is 100 feet wide, and that the distance from the flight line to the spectator area is 40 feet. This means we'll be able to use our field in its normal configuration for our combat events!

I only managed to get one flight in, but it was interesting. I practiced some inverted slow flying, but then I crossed-up my rudder and aileron controls on landing, and did the crab walk! I didn't damage plane, but I was really embarassed. It seems I have to practice my crosswind landings. All the regular fliers were out, and even Rusty from Stream Hobbies came out to fly! He brought a beautiful acrobatic plane. I don't recall what it was called, but it was big and beautiful.

I had a great time working with Carlos and his son Carlos. I have a feeling they'll be flying on their own in no time! I enjoy helping other people with their airplanes. Everytime I help someone, I end up learning as much as I am able to help. I seem to be seeing more new and old faces at the field! It looks like the flying season is starting early! I love it!

A Call to Arms!

Thursday, March 9, 2000 - The battle lines have been drawn, and the big day rapidly approaches. The first battle over Newport News is three weeks away! Enemy troops and planes have been sighted to the north, massing for battle! Chris Shepherd and Jack Lewis plan to come down from northern Virginia to battle in the Fool's Folly Open Combat.

Jack, of Check Six Plans, and Chris plan to clean up the competition with their Battle Floyds. Additionally, Chris said that they would bring their RCCA approved 2610 scale combat planes, and put on an AMA rules 704 demonstration! While they seem confident that their experience and specialized planes will carry the day, I'm betting on the enthusiasm of the local flyers to stop their advance! You can get a peek at Chris's fleet by visiting his personal webpage at http://www.visuallink.net/csheprca/ You can also catch a glimpse of some of Jack's work by hitting his webpage at http://www.checksixplans.net/

In preparation for the combat event, Larry Wall has begun to produce Outlaw class Simple Plastic Airplane Design (SPAD) fighters. Follow this link if you'd like to know more about the SPAD fighters http://www.feist.com/~mcmcginnis/SPAD.htm/ I talked to Larry earlier this week, and agreed to purchase the first model from him. The airframes are made from cheap building materials available locally. All flying surfaces are made from cut and folded coroplast, and the fuselage is a PVC downspout. While she won't be as pretty as a built-up balsa model, at a mere $20 from Larry, I can fly combat without fear! I hope to get my SPAD in the air this weekend and put some combat practice in.

I hope that the other club combatants are up to the challenge! I'll see you at the field, warbird at the ready!

NEW MESSAGE BOARD

Saturday, March 18, 2000 - I'm having a great time writing items for my webpage, but I thought some of you might want to get in on the fun too. So I've created a message board we all can use to post our comments about this website, flying, building, or anything else we're interested in! I think the message board I've chosen is easy to use and looks pretty good too. You don't have to register with the host to post your messages, but if we get a lot of inappropriate posting, I can turn on the "password required" feeature. To view, post, and read the message board, just use the link on the left side of this page, or click on this link. Message Board

Sunday, March 20, 2000 - Bruce Utne wrote me today...

Hi Bill,

Well, I went out to the field this morning (should have stayed home), to try to get in a few flights. I got there about 0930 and set up to fly the mustang. The wind was blowing pretty strong out of the northeast shifting to southeast and back. I brought my Garmin GPS unit with me and decided to check out the orientation of the field. Walking out to the windsock from the end of the fence next to pad 3, the bearing was approximately 55 degrees magnetic. Therefore I have to say that I was a little off when I estimated the direction of north. I also walked the length of the runway and it is orientated northwest to southeast, approx.

That done there was nothing left to do but fly the plane. By the way, the wind would drop occasionally to a somewhat reasonable level. The launch went well and, the flying was better than okay. The little ship doesn't seem to be affected by the gusts; it slows down, of course, but doesn't bounce around a lot. I had worked on the low speed setting so that it would shut off at minimum throttle setting, so I had intended to fly the plane down and cut power at the last second. Well it cut off earlier than expected, and the wind kinda grabbed it and tossed it to the ground - the impact was heavy. It's all fixed now and ready to go again.

See Ya, Bruce

Well, Bruce, I'm glad to see you got some flying in! I also went out. But I had some work to do on my control surfaces before I could go. So, I didn't get to the field until 1130. Larry Wall showed up about an hour later. We flew until 3 PM. It was very interesting flying in the wind. I had plenty of chances to practice my crab landings. I seem to be getting better. Larry also did well. He did, however, have one particularly hairy encounter.

Larry was attempting to land slow and steady, like normal. But just as he approached stall and flare, a gust came along and grabbed that huge wing of his. It blew his plane off of the runway, towards the road about thirty feet shy of the fence near the pits. With near zero ground speed, and only a few feet off of the ground, we thought he was going to crash! But Larry applied throttle and started climbing out. Fearing an impending stall, he pushed the nose down, and flew back towards the runway. Well, he got it back to the runway, and on the ground - cross-field! By now he had built up some speed, and he was rapidly approaching the far edge of the runway. He decided that he should just hold the plane down and head off into the bushes. He looked like a lawnmower!

While there were certainly some scary moments, overall I think that it was a good learning experience. I've seen pilots lose their plane in calm flight conditions, and I have to applaud Larry for not giving up! He flew the plane the entire time! None of us wants to be unsafe, but I think that Larry and I both learned two important lessons from our flying this past Sunday. First, if you get into trouble, keep at it! Fly your way out. Second, learn to match your flying techniques to the flight conditions. Larry's subsequent landings were uneventful. He made the remainder of his approaches hot - flying the plane all the way to the ground.

First Flight of the Cub

Sunday, March 26, 2000 - Here is the letter I received from Jeff Whippo about the maiden flight of his Thunder Tiger powered, JR controlled, Cub...

Hey Bill,

How's it going? Alan and I made it out yesterday for the maiden flight of my Cub (finally). I stayed up until 4 AM Sat morning to finish it - no decals or anything, just enough to get it in the air. Wind was from the west so it wasn't a good flying day. I did manage to get the Cub up for one flight. It flew pretty good considering all the wind and I managed to get it down in one piece. A list of other parts that came down before it:

1. Right wheel strut fairing
2. Left lower engine mount screw
3. Right lower engine mount screw (that's right - no screws left in lower engine mount @ firewall!)

I even used locktite on those screws. Guess I'll use even more locktite and REALLY crank them down tight.

I put a ThunderTigre F91S four-stroke in it with a 14" prop. Half throttle was the most I took it up to -even for takeoff. It's running great. I broke it in on a test stand before flight.

I ended up buying the JR XP652 radio. I love it. It was very easy to set up the servos. I need to work on the dual rates because I think the ailerons were a little too sensitive. Winds are supposed to be N 10 around 5 PM today, so I think we may give it another try after Allena's done with me in the yard. Take care and hope to see you soon...

Well, it seems Jeff and Alan had an adventurous weekend! I wish I had been there. I was away at my sister's wedding in North Carolina. If you have any tips on how Jeff can ensure his bolts stay in his motor mount, you can post your ideas in the Building Forum on the message board! Click here to go to the message board. Message Board

Breaking in the Engine

Monday, March 27, 2000 - Owen Perkinson wrote me today about his experiences breaking in the engine on his new Sig Something Extra...

Well Bill you didn't miss much this weekend. The wind was such that I didn't go out to the field. Saturday winds were measured at over 22mph and Sunday wasn't any better - not the kind of conditions for test flights.

Friday afternoon I ran the engine for a total of about 35 min. It's not broken in yet, but it's getting close. They recommended using a 12-6 prop for break-in. All I had was a 12-7 which at about a half turn on the needle from being leaned out is taching 11,000 rpm. After standing there with the horizontal stab pulling against the back of my ankles for all that time I had red impressions which hurt. This thing really pulls! With a smaller prop and being leaned out it should have vertical acceleration. In all the engine was run three times with the second starting being by hand and requiring one flip. So far I've been impressed with this O.S. knock-off, I hope it continues. If it does I will have made one of the best deals of my R/C history.

This engine, a Magnum, made by Thunder Tiger, which sells for $99 - $119 depending on where you get it, was on sale months ago when I got it at $79. That's the price of many off brand .40s and it's a .61 with ball bearings and remote needle. First flight should be soon.

Progress on the 300s has halted until I receive my latest order from Towers. Some of the hardware with the kit was what I consider substandard and will be replaced with new better quality components. Well that's about it on this end. What's happening out there guys?

W.O. Perkinson III

Would you like to talk about engine break-in? Or perhaps a comparison of the Thunder Tiger engines? Why not post a topic on the message board by clicking on this link... Message Board

The Walls have a NEW BABY!

Thursday, March 30, 2000 - Larry Wall has been waiting for this day for a while! He wrote me today to tell me about the birth of his new baby girl. Larry gave me the vital statistics:

"Well it was history revisited. Caitlin Amanda Wall was born on March 29, 2000 at 2120 (9:30pm for those non military types) at 7 pounds 15 ounces and 21.25 inches long. She looks just like Courtney with strawberry (redish/blonde) hair and blue eyes." - Larry Wall

Congratulations Larry and Marlene Wall! We all wish you and your new family member the best.