A couple of things.

My die grinders on off switch finally failed a week ago. It is a little thing that has to be installed through the motor stator. This means the grinder has to be taken apart. I did it once before and barely remember how to do it. I bought a switch from Ace True Value and it was too big. While at the auto parts store I asked just for the fun of it and he had one that fit. I figure I can use the larger switch to turn off the fan motor in the El Camino. I believe back then some cars had fans that ran all the time on low. There is no off position on the heater control panel.
I started painting the latest plane and it's drying. I have to let it set for a day or so to be safe. I plan to use Krylon over Rustoleum and sometimes the two don't mix. I tested a patch and it didn't ruin the white so I'm giving it a go. I also trimmed the landing gear down and removed the wheel pants for a weight savings of 1 and 1/4 ounces. Probably the same weight as the paint I'm adding. I still can drop an ounce or two with a tongue muffler instead of the stock one. It'll be a day or two before I can take pictures.
We called the insurance and got the El Camino on the policy. They are mailing me a card. They did show their lack of how CT DMV works. They said if I go to the DMV and have the DMV call them and give their fax number they would fax the card to the DMV. The clerk would have a one word reply to that request, Next!!!

Ready to go.

I bought the new battery this morning and installed it and ran the El Camino out of and back into the garage. A mud wasp had built a nest on a rafter above the project vehicle and was hosed down and scraped off the beam before driving back into the garage.I checked all the lights and they all work. The front end needs to be aligned and it's road worthy. Insurance first though. I left the horns disconnected and will disconnect the heater motor as it runs all the time and it blows warm air. Don't need that now.
I aligned and glued the wing and tail on the new fuselage this morn. also. I promptly glued my fingers to the fuse. when the super glue ran out of the joint and onto my fingers. I didn't notice it until it was too late. I lost a little bit of skin when I peeled the fingers off the fuselage. I decided on a white wing with red and white checkerboard on the wing tips and blue stripes along the leading edge. I don't have any white or blue dope paint so I'm testing some rustoleum and krylon to see how fuel proof they are. The fuse. will be blue under the wing and a white top. Total weight to this point is 39 to 40 ounces. I will need to use a smaller muffler and lighter landing gear to make my planned weight.
I went to the school with the Ringmaster and got in two flights to test the repaired pushrod. All went well, good engine runs and clean cut offs. It still won't stay on it's wheels when it lands in the grass. It was mowed today too and just as it stopped it tipped over. Bigger wheels maybe or move the gear further forward some more. Mid 80's clear sky and light wind. Perfect for flying.

Next please.

All went well at the DMV today. The place was packed, it looked more like a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving. I got the forms I needed and what I have to do next. I changed the water pump this afternoon and when I tried to start it the battery was dead. 9. something volts. I got a new one on the hook and will get it in the morning. I kind of suspect the horn relay or some part there of may be draining it but I'm not sure. I got the horns unhooked just in case. I'll probably get a new fuel pump while I'm at it. The old one seems to be fine but it's old and hasn't been in use for about 10 years. I tried a new technique on the latest plane today. I thinned some epoxy as usual and brushed it on a small area. Then I scraped it off with a freebee credit card. I was able to do the whole fuselage with one third the epoxy as before. I put on two coats this way. So far so good. Now I need to come up with a color scheme.

Next please.

Houston, we have horns and a problem.

I went flying with the Enya powered Ringmaster today. I re installed the original carb. and wired it open. I backed off the spray bar a turn and that made a big difference. Nice engine run this time. On the way home I figured I could use more line spacing at the handle. After inspecting the control system I found a loose wire in the carbon fiber pushrod. This allowed non linear movement from the handle to control surface. I re glued the pieces and added reinforcement to the joints. I ordered a pair of horns from the local parts store and installed them this afternoon. One horn wouldn't work and has something loose inside. After some testing it started to work and got installed. Push the button and toot the horn. Tomorrow I plan to go the the DMV and get the paperwork and advise to register the car. Cover me, I'm going in.

Latest blessed addition.

I just finished framing up the results of the damage done at the contest. The plane that didn't fly well has donated the tail wheel asm. I sheeted the cored out fuse. with 1/16" balsa on a 45 degree bias so the grain forms an 'X' side to side. weight as it sits with engine and stock muffler and 6 oz. plastic tank is 34 oz. Some weight will be removed when I sand the fuse. but will be added when I re do the wing tips. I'm looking at high 30's for final weight and I have the muffler and wheel pants to play with to lighten it a tad more. I forgot the propeller so add one ounce to the total.
A couple pictures of the ARF El Camino too.

To crash is a blessed event?

That's what an old guy said to the other beginner at the contest in Wrentham MA. He drove a new plane straight in from high up, 60 feet. I had wopped the ground but didn't notice the broken fuselage until after my official flight. After assessing the damage later,I figured a new fuse. would be the best bet. The wing was cut out and saved. I had another plane that doesn't fly all that well so I figured to remove its wing and mate the fuse. and the saved wing. Didn't work out. Now I have a saved wing and a junked plane that didn't fly well. No great loss. I rummaged around and found the plans for my 125% ringmaster and started building. I slimmed the fuse. down about 3/4" and now it's 5/16" thick. Should have been 3/8" but I didn't have any 1/8" to laminate, thought I did. I drew the new airfoil on the fuse. side and lengthened the fuse. 3/4" for good measure. A little band saw work and table saw work and the new fuse. and motor mounts are being glued together. I plan to core the fuse. to save weight and skin it with 1/16" balsa. I'd better see if I have any. The wing will have about 555 sq. in. when I'm done putting some kind of wing tip on. It's 545 sq. in. with out.
I checked the DMV web site and registering the El Camino shouldn't be much of a nail biter. But you never know. I have the title from TX in my sons' name so I will try a family transfer to save money. I still need to get a horn or two and an insurance card to get temp. plates. I added a fillet of urethane adhesive to the front and back windows. It will seal them real good. Made a mess of my hands when I used thinner to get it off my hands. It melted the urethane and drove it into the pores on my hands. It's wearing off slowly.

Tires are us.

I drove to Groton this morning and got the tires. I stopped at NAPA here in town and got some lug nuts. I needed 20. The things are packaged in 4s. 6 something for four. Times five. I got a second tube of urethane adhesive for the rear window. It took it all. They shouldn't leak anyway. I went to the school and tried one of my Fox .35 on the ringmaster. It didn't go well and I removed it and re installed the Enya and took the popsicle stick out and one of the head gaskets. It's back to the way it was. It didn't burp but it wouldn't run inverted either. Not to mention the thunder storm that came up just as I was going to start the engine. I hid in the dugout until it ended. I installed the seat belts in the El Camino, the horn is next. I've been told that registering it in CT shouldn't be much of a problem. We'll see.

New Tires.

I was notified today that I can pick up my new tires for the El Camino tomorrow. Now I need to get some lug nuts that fit the wheels. I finally got the Enya .35 running today. It has given me trouble since it vibrated loose twice. I did find a small metal chip in the fuel nipple and that seems to have cured it. I'm using the Ringmaster as an engine test bed. I've performed a mod. the some Fox .35s to help cure the hesitation the engine has when mounted sideways on a profile fuse. Everyone says it's because the transfer port in the engine is too big. I did the recommended fix and put a popsicle stick in the port to reduce the volume and keep the gas velocity up. I found an ARF Nobler kit on ebay for 99.99 and free shipping. The Tower hobbies price is 99.99 and has shipping added on. So I ordered one. I had built three or four Noblers from kits many years ago. I never knew what I was doing back then. Now it's 95% built and covered so all I have to do is fly it.

Beginners luck.

The weather wasn't as hot as Sat. but it was warm for the regular stunt contest on Sun. I signed in and set up for a test flight. Everything went well until I got ahead of myself and couldn't decide weather to pull out of a loop inverted or upright. I pulled out about one foot below ground level flattening the landing gear. I straightened it back out and made my flight for the judges. The plane didn't respond to control inputs like it did before the belly flop. Loops were very big and close to the ground. I finished the flight by flying level and landed when the fuel ran out. I looked at the plane and found the fuselage split behind the wing and quite twisty. No wonder it didn't fly well. I'm lucky it didn't come apart in flight. The other flyer in my class tried to do the overhead eights and lost it. A brand new model went straight in. Total loss. I thing the engine survived. I pulled out my Primary Pupster back up plane and found that I had to use the same plane I started with. Which didn't matter as I got more points for not crashing than the other guy on my first flight so I won. I did get a flight in after all official flying was done. I flew well and didn't get fancy. I found that the muffler on the first plane had broken off and got lost. It tore a mounting bolt hole away from the engine block but that won't affect the running of it. I need a tongue muffler for it now. I'm watching some on e bay. The contest site is 52 miles from home. An easy drive, easier than going to Simsbury, CT which is 67 miles.

Hot and humid again.

I got a flight each on two planes the other morning. The Ringmaster/Enya combination didn't run right. I think it was too lean as the times were 4.1 second laps. Inverted maneuvers caused almost engine flame out. The Stunt Pupster/ Fox .45 combo worked well. I put an APC 12 1/4 X 3 3/4 prop on and the plane flew very well. I had designed the plane for this engine but changed it because of weight and balance problems with another that had a .40 in it. The weather for the contest on Sunday is supposed to be as bad as today. Very little wind lately too.
I have to get some urethane adhesive to pack around the front and back windows. I have to lay it in like glazing a pane of house window glass. I'm still thinking on this one.
Fed Ex dropped off a glider swing type chair today. It's made out of recycled plastic and looks like the building material Trex. Should last a while. Assembling that, making a rope swing for the grandson, making a tongue muffler for the Fox .45 out of its broken stock muffler, emptying the de humidifier barrel onto the horseshoe pits, 10 gallons each, taking a look at the lonely motorcycle and sending a check to the hot rod insurance co. The policy isn't in effect until they get the money. They wouldn't take a credit card over the phone either the miserable pricks. I'm not at all happy with their service this season.

Taking shape

I installed the new radiator with new hoses and anti freeze today. I had to make new mounts for the fan shroud. The new radiator is thicker and newer. I installed the windshield wiper rest that is below the windshield that the wipers retract onto. A tweak on the choke and it starts easier too. I tried to get the hot engine light to work but couldn't. I had changed all the bulbs earlier andheated the sender with hot water and a heat gun. Nothing. I had an old temp. gauge so I installed it. I was going to get some horns but forgot. Horns and tires and it's ready to run.
No flying today as it's 90 in the shade. No clouds either. Tomorrow morning, I have to test some changes I made to two planes before the contest Sunday.

While I was making changes to the oldest Primary Force my son in law arrived with the El Camino. The exhaust, windshield and rear window was installed. The new HD radiator is in the bed in the box. New shocks and some loose bolts tightened. I backed of the roll back and into the garage. I installed the windshield wipers and they work fine. The mufflers are 2 or 3 chamber flow masters as I wanted stock items. Oh well. Good solid pipe too.I removed the old radiator and dumped about a quart of anti freeze on the floor. I bumped the timing up a twitch and now I got a wrench on top of the tranny someplace. Two new hoses and a pair of horns and a gallon of anti freeze should do it. The tires should be ready next week or so. Richard took the car for a ride before bringing it here to test the rebuild on the trans. He said it worked fine. So far so good.

I have gotten several flights on 3 different planes this past week. Bad tanks, loose engines the usual stuff. Peter Hess set up a get together in Simsbury on Sat. (67 miles) so I packed 4 planes in the Stratus and made the journey. I had never flown control line with other control liners. It didn't pose a problem. I got in about 8 flights with 3 planes and only the loose engine showed up. I took it off and put on the engine I built the plane for in the first place. I needed some longer bolts to do the swap and had to take some from the Stunt Pupster. After that I put the Fox .45 on the S.P. as I had bolts that would fit and the plane could use the extra power, or at least that's what I figure. Too windy today to fly so I don't know how the changes worked out.
The El Camino has a new exhaust system and on Mon. it will have the back window installed and a new windshield and shocks and pinion seal. The new radiator is a heavy duty 4 core unit and is ready for me to install when it gets home. It still needs tires but that depends when the Trans Am wheels come in as I get the tires off the old rims.

Hot and windy.

I went to the school this morning with the two planes I choose for trimming. The primary planes engine wouldn't run more that 45 seconds. I put it away and brought out the heavy plane. It ran well but I couldn't get it to run the lap times I thought it needed. I need to narrow the handle spacing a bit as it's too jumpy where it is. It's stable but turns too hard for the handle input. When I got home I tried the balky engine again with a metal tank and it ran as it should. The plastic tank got taken apart and the only thing I could find was the fuel pick up was too close the the tank end. I shortened it and tried it again and it ran steady for the 4 ounces of fuel in it. When I go again I'll have a metal tank ready to install. Yesterday the plane of choice spit the spinner cone off in flight. Today the plane not of choice did the same thing. Both Goldberg spinners. The vibrations must be popping the studs out of the back plate. I'll have to get some Du-Bro spinners that screw into the back plate.
I got an e-mail from some one looking for people to fly with but he hasn't answered my reply yet. I have another willing to fly too but the other guy holds the key.

Another change.

I was reading a forum someplace last night and mention was made of a 56 ounce Nobler being the best plane this guy has had. The plane I set aside for being too heavy is about the same weight and a copy of the Nobler. I did some work to it and will give it a try. I have a larger engine ready to go in if it's under powered. I'll still bring the model of choice to try.
Good news on the El Camino. The windshield will cost less than $200.00. I broke the original trying to get it out.

Thinning the herd.

I have given up on the plane I have been trimming out. The engine run isn't what it should be and the wing can't support the weight. The airfoil is too thin and the leading edge is too sharp. I opted for it's sister ship but it's heavier and has a comparable airfoil. I then grabbed another with the Primary Force root airfoil all across and a Fox .40 engine. Weight is 40 oz., 13 or 14 ozs. lighter than the other ones and about 580 sq. in. so it should be all right. I liked the feel of the first plane but it was not consistant. The muffler broke a lug and vibrated off today. I saw it drop and picked it up after the flight. If this keeps up I may have to break into my good planes. 2 down 12 to go. The Shepard Hill elementary school is the field of choice right now. It was being mowed today.
We called the insurance co. for the hot rod today and will start running it around now that the El Camino is runnable. I don't have much to do with it in the shop and building season over. It's flying season. I could gunk down the FX too.

Off to the muffler shop

My son in law came with his roll back and took the El Camino to have the exhaust system made up, a windshield installed, a new radiator, front shocks and new pinion seal installed. I tried to buy a new exhaust system from the auto parts store but it's not made anymore. I need a pair of horns for it too.
I had thought I tried everything to get the engine of the plane running right the other day but as I was re-doing some other tanks to try I remembered muffler pressure. I hadn't thought of it at the time. It may have helped. Something to try next time out.

Another place to fly.

A couple of years ago the town of Plainfield, CT built a new high school. It's sited on a low hill close to the old school building. I never looked at the ball fields and other fields until yesterday. No wonder our taxes are high. I brought a plane and the grandson to the playground at the elementary school next to the fields. The first place I tried had not been mowed in a week and it took half a lap to get off the ground. I moved to a softball field with a 220 foot fence. 60 foot bases and 60 foot lines equals plenty of room if I don't roam too much. I got in two more flights and got some info on the trim changes to make. The hillside has been terraced in many areas to make level ground for the ball fields. The fields are fenced in so no one is likely to walk too close while I'm flying. The outfield needs mowing but works for landing. I took off standing in back of second base with the plane near third. The portable wind indicator with the spike in one end to stick in the ground worked flawlessly. And I didn't hit it this time.

Update

I checked the dome light and found a switch. I pushed it and the light came on. The previous owner must have cobbled this light in to replace the original. Anyway it works.
I forgot to mention that I have one more kit to build this coming winter. It is called Pathfinder. It's got trike gear, unusual for a control line plane. Pretty big wing at 54 inches, big because it may not fit in my car.I got it off ebay at the same time I got the Twister and from the same seller. Again for less than the kit price from Brodak. Being a Brodak kit if I fly it at the Brodak contest I get an extra 10 points. It could keep me from coming in last. I went to the Brodak contest to get ideas for color schemes. No such luck. All the planes were pastel in color. No red, white, and blue or black and white. Accent stripes everywhere. Not my bag. The only plane that attracted my eye was and ARF Nobler that was done in olive drab with invasion stripes. The finish was flat not glossy. I saw it fly and the pilot was real good on top of it. One of the Dixons I think. 11 months to build and come up with a color scheme, I should be able to get it done.

Last planes of the building season.

I have a few things to do on the red plane and it's ready for a first flight. The blue one is ready to fly. They are the last planes I will build unless I wreck several and have nothing to fly. I started to fly the second scratch built model I designed last fall. I plan to use them up in the order they were built. It's the one with a maple core in the fuselage. The blue one here is the Primary Force kit I ordered last Oct. 31. It arrived 6 months later through no fault of the kit maker. The other is a Sig Twister kit I got off e-bay for less than list price of the kit from Sig. I made changes to the kit as done by Ted Fancher in an article in Flying Models magazine many years ago. The fuse. is stretched 3 inches, a turtle deck is added to the fuse top and the rudder is shaped differently. As built both planes weight in the low to mid 30 ounce range and are powered by Fox .35's. I had a Twister modified like this before and it flew very well so when I crashed it I had to get another. I have two Primary Force kit built planes and one ARF. I have two others that were built as scratch builts that resemble the Primary Force. There is a contest in Wareham MA in a few weeks and I'm planning to compete in it. This will be my first time flying in a control line contest so I will start in the beginner class. The protocol is similiar to an R/C contest but different.
I replaced a brake hose on the El Camino that got stretched while putting the front suspension together. I'm surprised it didn't break as it stretched a lot. I'm still hoping it gets to Groton this weekend for the windshield and exhaust work. I have to trace the dome light wiring to find out why it don't work. I think I checked the bulb but will do it again to be certain. No word from the guy with the seats yet. So far all the gages are working which is good.

Nascar in New England

I went to the race at New Hampshire Int'l Raceway over the weekend. We brought enough clothes this time as we froze last year. The weather report was for rain showers all day. On the drive to the track it was raining but when we got to the track it wasn't raining. It was cool though so we put on all the clothes we brought. The weather slowly improved all morning and by race time the clouds were breaking up and the sun was shining through. It was hot now. Very little wind. The race made it within 15 laps of the end when it finally started to rain and the race was called. Nothing new as Tony Stewart was winning and stopped for gas just before the rain and ended up 13 th. Of course Jr. got wrecked late in the race as usual too. Kurt Busch won.
I put gas in the El Camino and found that the fuel gage works. I figured it did as I remember it working many years age. This weekend it should be in Groton for the final work to make it road worthy. There is new tires in it's future but other things have to happen in order to get them. The seats are still up in the air as a neighbor said he has a pair of buckets that will fit and will give them to me. But he has to find them or remember to find them. I got some in there from a Dodge Colt in the mean time.