8 to 10 inches of global warming.

My balsa order came in yesterday and I dug right into it. I finished the wing today and sheeted the hollowed out fuselage . I drilled motor mount holes and the Enya .35 sits nicely in the nose. I have to put a cheek piece on the side opposite the engine to help with vibration. Then sand the corners round and start the finishing process. I decided to get a Gold medal ringmaster kit from Pat Johnston and Dee Rice. I plan to build it as an ARC and sell it. Pat suggested making it a take apart as no body makes that version. He said lining the wing opening in the fuse. with 1/64 ply that sticks out a bit on each side will hold the wing. Plastic electricians tape wrapped around the joint. I don't think it will work in this case as the exhaust coats the wing and the tape wont stick that good after a few flights. But the same ply lining with a dowel in the wing leading edge butted against the fuse. and maybe a nylon screw at the trailing edge would hold it in place. The stab and rudder sit on top of the fuse and will be easy to make removeable. We will see what happens. It started snowing about 9 this morning and just started to stop at 4 pm. The wind is gusty and blows the snow all over me when I'm using the snowblower. Real misery. When I came home after coffee I turned into the drive and slid onto the lawn.

Slow progress.

The weather has been windy but lots warmer. The snow is all gone and that's good. I ordered some balsa from a supplier in Mass. I saw them once long ago at the WRAM show but never got balsa from them. My normal supplier burned about 6 months ago and I had no choice. I ordered some cheaper wood that is stained but usable. I'm supposed to get notified when the order is shipped. Nothing yet.I had enough on hand to almost complete the new wing for the Magician I'm scratch building. I need a 3 footer to finish it but I'm out of it. All that's left if the fuselage as I've made all the other parts. I've been running the Enya .35 to test venturi sizes. I think it will fly well with the opening in it now.

Snow storm part 2.

I finally stopped snowing yesterday. 3 days of snow. It's the longest period of snow I can remember. Well over a foot fell and there's a foot on the ground now. Temps in the low 20's with rain for Tues. night into Wed. Selling of ebay is going OK. I have another non payer, this time from Hawaii. I contacted the next bidder and offered him 4 of the 5 items Dave Miller didn't pay for. A lot lower price and free shipping. I sold my JR century 7 radio and I put a 4 channel Futaba I got from somebody up for .99 cents. My grandson gave me a red bag that has "you've been naughty" on it. Inside are three lumps of coal. I got the new dash ready to go in the El Camino. I had to repair several mounts for things that were cracked and wouldn't hold a screw. I'm waiting for better weather and the new heater unit from Vintage Air. After the new year they said. This could get ugly. I did find a dead mouse in the stock heater. Maybe I can put it on ebay, the heater not the mouse.

Snow storm.

We got at least 10 inches of snow last night. Another inch or two is still falling at noon today. The temp. was 30 last night and 16 this morning. It's only 20 at noon. I tried driving to East Hartford but turned around less than 5 miles from home. State roads are real bad but town roads are much better. Winter's here a day early.

Tried a new flying spot.

The temp. got into the low 40's today so I grabbed the Magician and went to the Shepard hill rec area. The spot is a hard ball field and is close to 300 feet square. i stood next first base and launched the plane from the warning track near the dugout. The base paths are still muddy for the heavy rain of last weekend. Being 90 foot bases I had tons of room. Not good in the summer as it's used for baseball and at odd times the sprinkler system comes on. I'll have to use the softball field then.

Ebay is getting greedy.

I've been listing items on ebay and not getting any extra things that cost me more money. Ebay lowered my rating because of "excess shipping charges" and wanted me to give free shipping for the holidays. I called ebay and complained. I figured that all the stuff ebay wants costs more money and they are not making enough off me. I listed some old King videos as buy it now free shipping. Total cost is $0.45 up from $0.35. I hope ebay is happy. It took 45 minutes to finalize the listing as I kept remembering things that would make me loose money. Like no bidders outside the US. I didn't see the lowered rating page pop up this time either. I checked the Senior Pattern site and my ad for planes isn't there. A senior moment at the Senior Pattern. Maybe it's only for members but it doesn't say. My laslistings on ebay went well except one buyer hasn't been heard from yet. This one is from Hawaii. I gave the "black spot" to someone from Italy on Tues. for not paying. So I know how to do it. I'll send a reminder on Friday and if nothing by Monday I'll flie a complaint with ebay. The first flight on the Magician showed a right wing high upright and low inverted situation. Meaning a warp in the wing requiring a tab. I prepared a tab but before adding it to the wing I put the incedence meter on the wing and found the inboard (left) wing slightly twisted. I took the heat gun and twisted the wing against the warp and re shrunk the covering. I got in a flight last Sunday and the wings are level. I'm happy. The plane feels good in flight too. I haven't done any thing fancy but I'm on the right track. Too much wind. Someone has chained the gates at the dog track so I can't use that any more.

Remembered the Senior Pattern group.

While discussing selling some of my r/c planes I remembered this group and went to their web site. I took some pictures of the pattern planes I have left and put in an ad. I should have read the directions as the pictures don't go in the email. Poo. I put in a plug for the stuff I have on ebay while I was at it. They are right in that era.

A different toy.

Uncle Roy stopped by last night and brought a engine powered R/C car. I got to it this morning and loosened the engine with some fuel, decent compression. I checked the glow plug and it worked. I flushed the tank and lines of the residual oil and the thing started first pull. It has a pull cord starter. I think the engine is a .25 and it has a tuned pipe exhaust. I put on new tires that came with it and washed some of the oily dirt off the internals. The radio works fine too. There is a half gallon of 20% nitro fuel with it but I mixed it 1 to 1 with the 5% plane fuel. It's been snowing all day and melting so I can't get the thing outside to try it out. 4 wheel drive too.
Six items ending on ebay around 3:30 today and I have 13 more to put on to end next week. I can almost see the wall of the storage room now. The last item I have is the big box of balsa pieces I've collected in the last 30 years. About 9 pounds of wood.

First flight report.

After some reworking to get new wheels to fit right and some engineering to get a needle valve and spray bar to fit the Fox .35 I ran the engine on the picnic table. The new valve seemed to work well. I hemmed and hawed for a couple hours as the wind came and went but then took the plunge and headed for the dog track. The wind was just about perfect for me and I added 60 cc's of fuel and fired it up. It flew quite well but needs a tab to get the wings level. I removed the heavy APC prop and put on a Top flite wood to get the balance closer. I think it's too nose heavy. I only got in one flight but it was encouraging. Moving the stab back 4 inches didn't ruin the way it flys anyway. The .35 only has a "stuffer back plate" but I have the hemi head coming. There was enough power and the engine ran steady.
I found a source of the leak on the El Camino. The oil filter needed tightening a bit. I thought only the master cylinder was leaking but it was two things.

Pictures at last.

The UPS truck came this afternoon and I applied the new decals and wheels. I lightened the lite flite wheels even more. They are flat like a drag slick and made of a foam material. I put them on the belt sander and rounded the tread like a motorcycle tire. I had soldered some washers on the axles and they have to be moved back a bit so the collars will be on all the way. I ordered a hemi head from Fox for the .35. I have the hemi kit on another .35 and it works well. Test flight soon.

No new pictures.

When the roundel w/star insignias get here I'll take some final pictures. I got some wheels coming too.

Ebay rules.

I spent the morning yesterday carbing up for my items ending on ebay. I ordered the emblems for the Magician from Tower. The plane is a bit tail heavy thanks to moving the stab. back 4 inches. I put a heavy hub on the engine and with most all stuff installed the balance is close to the plans. Weight is under 35 ounces so that came out right.
I put all my items on ebay with in an hour and they ended in a flurry. I spent 4 hours getting the cheapest postage and the listings said US and Canada. So I had buyers from Brazil, Canada and Italy. The tectonic plates are moving faster than I thought. Any way 6 big ones richer. I have several other r/c engines to put up along with some NOS parts for YS engines and 3 tuned pipes and a Super Tigre header. Plus some Cox 049 glow heads. And my big box of balsa scraps and sticks. More room for more planes.
The El Camino brakes are in limbo but I think I found the problem. I put a rubber boot on the end of the second master cylinder and it jammed the push rod which held pressure on the brakes. It's been raining lately so I haven't been able to test it but the wheels turn now when the pedal is released. NAPA didn't have the right part so I had to re install the one I had. I hope it don't leak like the first one.