Bedliner installed, $400.00 cheaper

I followed the directions and bought some acetone and rubber gloves before starting the process. The first coat was thin, I didn't have to do anything special to get it thin. The second coat filled nicely and the third coat really did the trick. I bought an extra quart and it was enough to do the third coat and the touch up. It's drying and will be usable in a few days.

J. C. Whitney to the rescue.

The Herculiner cane in today. I have to get some xylene for the cleanup and thinner and wipe down before applying the coating.
I got some shelving from Wood's Auto, it will help clean up some of the clutter in the garage.
The 'Easy ' is coming along. I've figured out how to get the fuselage together. I got the bellcrank in the wing. installing the pushrod will be another problem as the bellcrank will be hidden when installed in the wing. I'll probably use a straw as a guide for the push rod as it threads into a fitting on the bellcrank.
We found out that ATT never set us up for the fast service when we ordered it. The repairman said our service is slower than the slowest ATT offers. We should be getting a rebate check for the difference. He matched the computer with and ATT service and were back in business.

Almost everything is here.

I installed the seat covers yesterday and I had to go back and re read the description on ebay. The covers are for a seat with the fold down arm rest but don't come with a cover for the arm rest. The picture on the box shows a blue seat with the covers installed but nothing on the arm rest. Oh well, for $4.99 it was a bargain.
I washed the bed with Superclean and then with dish soap then wire brushed the whole thing to get ready for the Herculiner that is supposed to be here today.
The 'Easy' is coming along. As usual I didn't get enough balsa to finish the wing but I can get some more tomorrow. I think I'll extend the fuse. an inch or so for balance and flyability. Nothing matches on the plan so I'll make it 'look' right. Dickiepoo should be ashamed of this drawing. I think he copied it from the old magazine verbatim. The 6 inch scale is oversize the wing is oversize and the fuselage is undersize, way to go again Dick. It really is a full fuse. model except the engine is side mounted like a profile. The fuse. is two pieces of 3 inch sheet with no canopy or anything. The rear tapers to a point and that's it for style. The rudder has a sub rudder that drags on the ground for a tail skid. I think I'll incorporate a wheel somehow.

Back to Explorer.

We had to go back to the old server as Norton kept messing Mozilla up. Several hours of running cleanup programs and we seem to be back in business.
In the latest issue of Model Aviation Dick Sarpoulos did an article on an old time stunt model. The 'Easy'. It's a profile almost. 50 inch span. Good for the engines I have. Anyway I started to make parts for it yesterday, all the ribs and I had to change the leading edge airfoil a bit to make it more blunt. I went to Staples and had the page size plan enlarged to full size. My calculations were correct in that the parts on the plan were not the same size. The wing at 530Percent is an inch and a half longer and the fuselage is a bit shorter than it should be. Way to go Dick. The strange part of the old design is the fuselage is 1 1/4 inches thick. Normal profiles are a half inch thick max. It's a straight 3 by 1 1/4 box 34 inches long. The plans show practially nothing as how the construction goes. Dickypoo's article must have been edited into oblivion as he generally is quite thorough. He built his model using r/c style techniques as it came out at 44 ounces. 1/8 inch ribs, 1/4 inch fuse sides. I'm using 1/16" ribs and 1/8" sides. Should come in below 40 ounces. The fuse. is hollow from the c/g point back to the tail. He also used 1/4 inch for the stab, and elevator, I'm using 3/16. This will replace the plane I gave up on as an old time stunt model.

Stupid computer.

I posted yesterday and stupid mozilla and microsoft had updates and yesterdays stuff is gone.
The seat came in and it was in pieces for shipping. I got it back together and cleaned up in a few hours. The buckets came out, I found the bolt holes and bolts for the right seat and plopped it in. Looks good and will fit when the darker seat covers arrive. $4.99 on ebay.

In the ball park.

I took the rebuilt plane to the new school in Sterling and got in 3 flights. The first was way too fast. I slowed the engine down to 10700 rpm on the second flight and it was still too fast. 10200 rpm on the third flight created a usable speed. I did the pattern and timed the extra fuel and got 45 seconds after the last maneuver to engine stop. That's 3 ounces and should bet better as the engine gets more time on it.
I took the Nobler to the dog track yesterday. The inverted engine was trouble to tame down. It took 3 flights to get it slowed down enough to be usable. It does fly nice, slows for landing more that any of my other planes. Wings were level but the handle spacing is too narrow. I took the engine out and put it back in the first Primary Force kit I built. It's next in line after the Primary Pupster. Which flies very nice. I need to try the outside squares as they create the most carnage in my mind. The whole pattern has several in it. I want to practice them over grass but the old school field is locked and I can't get in. Grass creates less engine damage when you hit it.

New carb. set up.

I've been looking for the carb. that came with the $20.00 Fox and after two days I found it. I installed it on the engine and locked the throttle open. The venturi is the same dia. as the c/l venturi but the needle valve is a lot smaller. I went to the dog track this morn. and got in 4 flights. The new carb. runs better. I clipped the pavement on the third takeoff and split one blade in half radially and trimmed the other a half inch or so. 3 minutes of kinda slow laps. With a new prop it was back to speed.
The plane I gave up on is back on the gave up on list. I built it using r/c practice and it's too heavy and tail heavy on top of everything.

Baton Rouge contest.

Oct. 18 and 19. Where is "Brunet's" rest. Gil says the group goes there for eats and drinks Sat. night.
I found some screws loose on the $20.00 Fox .40 yesterday. The coverplate screws were loose and one fell off just as it fired up. I replaced it and the one that was lost. I also replaced the tank and the engine run was much better. I'm using 3 inch spacing on the handle, up from 2 3/4" and 1/8" shorter elevator control horn for more control movement. I'm working on a plane I gave up on last year.

Found the source of the confusion.

I remembered having seen something on the takeoff and level flight question someplace and I finally found it. I looked at the sample score sheets I got off the PAMPA (Precision Aerobatics Model Plane Assn.) web site and on the "Old time stunt" score sheet is Take off on one line and Level flight on another. This is the one cited by the judge. It amounts to the same thing as the AMA rule but the AMA rule can't be used for Old time stunt flying. 5 laps vs. 6 laps. Old time stunt and Classic stunt are not part of the AMA contest rules but are flown at sanctioned AMA contests. It's mostly a PAMPA thing them being a special interest group to the AMA for c/l aerobatics.
Any way on Sunday I didn't heed the advise of Red Green and failed to put some tape where the cut was going to be. Fiberglass prop plus bare finger equals cut finger.

Envelope please.

And the winner is,,,,,// Me. Two stunt contests this year and two wins. I finally did the proper complete beginners pattern on my last flight. I didn't realize that the take off maneuver consisted of two parts. Takeoff which is one complete lap and level flight which is two level laps for a total of three laps. Then two more laps between the takeoff and level flight maneuver and the start of the wingover. The judge told me that I should do six laps with the third and forth lap being judged as level flight. That didn't sound right but I didn't make a fuss. I checked the rule book on line and it said different from the judges interpretation. I asked a question on the stunthangar forum and got the right answer. The first three laps are judged and the second two are the get ready for the next maneuver. Two of the biggest names in the business helped out on my question, Brett Buck and Ted Fancher.
I went to the dog track this morning and weed wacked and painted a circle. I took the plane I built from the wreck at Wrentham and the new Fox .40 engine I got for $20.00 on ebay. I got in four flights and the needle was turned in more and more each flight. Still breaking in I guess. I got some trimming to do on the plane, handle spacing or tail weight as it turns too slow. It will do the beginner pattern but not good enough for the complete pattern.
The ARF Nobler is coming along, engine is mounted and the nose is stiffened. Cowl is cut out and drilled fuel tank plumbing is next then glue it together. OS .40 for power.

Moving along nicely.

I e mailed the seat person and he said it was being shipped Friday the 15th. I got in touch with the dash guy and it will be shipped very soon. He didn't believe I would pay the shipping as he don't have an account with anyone for large items like the seat guy has. Anyway I convinced him and he got me the price and he's paid. The dash pad came in Friday and I did a buy it now on some seat covers a few minutes ago.
I removed the carb. from the weed wacker and took it apart. It looked clean but I hit all the holes with carb. cleaner anyway. I put it back together and no change. I took it apart again and was going to change some gaskets when I found a gasket I hadn't removed the first time. Under it is a screen filter and it was clogged with mush. I cleaned it out and changed the filter and put it back together and it ran quite well.
A model airplane contest tomorrow, Sunday, in Lee MA. That's off exit 2 of the Mass pike. Pretty close to Lebanon Valley drag strip.

El Camino gets used.

With the softball field messed up I went to the old dog track parking lot to fly. Weeds have grown up through the cracks in the asphalt and needed to be cut. I loaded up the plane and equipment and the weed wacker. After a few minutes of running the engine started losing power and I ended up pulling most of the weeds out by hand. I have to take the carb. apart see what's going on.
I got the Fox .40 I won on ebay and had a time getting it started. It did start and I ran several ounces of fuel through it. Sounded good at 7 pm. Smoked up the bugs in the neighborhood too.
The seller is having a time getting the dash shipped. I suggested rolling it in some cardboard like a burrito and sending it that way. It will probably taste better. Still waiting for the seat and dash pad too.

New instruments.

I won the bid on a complete dash assembly for the El Camino. Probably from Radar O'Rielly. It's located in Ottumwa IA.

On the road again (up yours Willie)

For the first time in over 8 years the El Camino is road worthy. I've put about 60 miles on it since getting the temp plates and permanent plates. It has a different feel than the new cars. The power steering is more powerful, a light touch turns the wheels. The suspension gives a nice ride not like the firm rides we get with todays cars. There's still a lot of tweaking to be done to get it the way I think it should be. I made a plane carrying board for the bed and tried it out with a trip to the Central school in Plainfield. There is a large field that is just right for flying all kinds of planes. I noticed that one of the engine holddown screws had broke off right below the head. I replaced it with a different kind hoping it will be stronger. I also noticed that the flap and elevator were out of alignment. It took three turns on the clevis to even them out. That may mess up the way it flies. I got the K&B back in it and it's running pretty good. A contest next Sunday in Lee MA. I have to get a flight or two on the Primary Pupster to make sure it's running right. No fooling around this time. I don't like repairing planes for stupid reasons. Although the last repair job produced a better plane. Crashing is a blessed event.

An even better day.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny here in CT. I was up at 0600 and got ready to do battle at the Putnam DMV satellite office. I arrived at 0730 and was second in line. The door opened right at 0800 by my watch. The lady who waited on me asked questions and luckily they were answered by the lady who waited on me Wednesday. I walked out with new Early American plates and $102.00 poorer. I didn't complain.

A good day.

I went flying this morn. and had two good flights. When I got home I found the aluminum pads under the engine were cracked. Off with the K&B and on with a Fox .35.
At 1330 hrs. I went to Townline Auto for the front end alignment and VIN check. When the person checked the VIN he wanted two places on the car. Luckily he knew where to look and after scraping off layers of paint the second location was found. I was worried to say the least. On the ride home it rained quite hard and the wipers worked well on both high and low speeds. Then to top off the day I won the bid on a never run Fox .40 engine on ebay. This morning I did a buy it now on a dash pad and am waiting it's arrival. I haven't heard from the seat people yet and I'm getting concerned. I still have a dash assembly to bid on. It's the same as is in the El Camino now and not the SS style.

First ride.

I took the El Camino out on the road Thurs. morning. Other than the steering wheel being close to 90 degrees off everything went very well. The car stopped straight with no 'pull' to a side. Kinda noisy with the flowmasters and a few rattles but a great first ride. I did a buy it now on ebay and got a new dash pad and I'm watching a dash assembly. The original has been cut up for a radio and age has weakened vent outlets.
I went to the school and found the infield had been scarfed up for softball playing and is now unusable for a runway. No weeds though. I went to my second choice the new school in Sterling with the paved track. Got in two flights with the new Twister. The K&B needs tuning as the lap times are in the high 5 sec. range. I may have to change engines but I'll try a bigger prop first.

Houston, we have temps.

I went to the school this morning and mowed the infield. That should stop my lines from snagging on the weeds. When I got home I checked the mail and the insurance card for the El Camino came in. I hurried to the Putnam DMV and waited in line for an hour and came away with temp. plates. I called a close by garage and service center and used car lot who also does emission testing and VIN checks. The El Camino needs a front end alignment so I scheduled it along with the VIN check for Friday. The DMV gave me a paper that had the names of places other than the DMV who can do the VIN check. For $20.00 plus the alignment it's worth it not to be in line for several hours at the Norwich DMV. Possibly by Sat. or Wed. the El Camino should have plates.
I installed a Fox .35 on the newest Primary Force and an old K&B .40,converted to c/l, on the stretched Twister today. Weights and balances are in the ball park on both planes as built. I ran the K&B yesterday and it ran well. I had to shave a tad off the sides to get it to fit but it worked. Test flights coming up.

Got it.

I just won the bid on a bench seat with fold down armrest. This kind of seat came in the fancy packages. SS,GS and so on. $150. plus $95 shipping from WI. Now I can get the right seat covers for the stock seat and off we go.

I found one.

I chanced to check ebay for bench seats and came across one for the El Camino. It's in WI someplace and is shippable. It ends around 11 tonight and I'll hit it hard. Still waiting for the insurance card. I can't figure out what the red lights in the rear bumper are for. Stop lights for sure but it has some in the rear corners already.

Another close call.

I took the new plane to the field this morning. The grass had been mowed recently but the whole infield is dirt. Small grassy weeds are growing all over it. I set up and started the engine and took the controls. I pulled the release the plane started moving and the lines snagged on a weed. The up line of course. The plane got airborne and came in on me in a climb heading back out of the circle. I gathered up some line and the plane reached the end of the lines before hitting the ground. The impact of the plane reaching the end of the lines wasn't bad so I continued to complete the flight. I remembered that upon landing yesterday the lines hooked into a weed and turned it around. I didn't think about it until after the incident today. I checked out the new school in Sterling and the old school in Oneco both are usable until The weeds are taken care of.

Next week comes early.

In my last post the plane missing a piece of it's wing and flying inverted is the one hovering above the blue pool in the bottom picture.
Anyway I went to the school with the new plane and got in two flights. All went well. I put in 2 3/4 ounces of fuel in the 6 oz. tank and did the beginner pattern on the second flight. The engine runs were too fast and didn't want to slow down. I made a change to the handle spacing and opened it up to 3 1/2" from 3. I also changed tanks to a 4 oz. from the 6 and removed the spinner. The new weight is 38 ounces. Right where I planned it to be. A perfect day for flying too, bright sun and a little wind from the NW. Perfect for the softball field I fly in as I use 3rd base line to start and take off towards first. The plane has a nice glide and touchdown but in the grass it wants to nose over as the grass grabs the metal gear legs.

Big toys for big boys.

I went to see a model show at a nearby airport today. I didn't know what to expect. Some kind of giant scale show was in progress when I arrived. These planes are 40% or bigger and are way overpowered. Control throws are extreme to say the least. The people flying them are very good at it. One of the tricks was to dunk the planes tail in a wading pool on the other side of the runway. I didn't see what happened but got a shot of one of the planes flying around with half of one wing missing the other on the runway broke all to pieces. Many thousands of dollars down the drain.

Over and done with.

I finished painting the latest plane today. In between working on lawn mower engines I applied two coats of blue and the black canopy. I final assembled it and the weight with spinner is 41 ounces. Without is 39 so I met my goal of high 30's.I'll let it dry for several more days before a test flight. Balance is a bit nose heavy but that is good.