The oldest plane.

I mowed the lawn this morning after sending the wing to LA. Fedex again.
I had redied the P-51 the other day and took it to the dog track this afternoon. The muffler came loose and fell off on the first flight. The engine didn't run right either and I found the mounts loose. Second flight the stoodge didn't release and I stood at the ready until the fuel ran out. The line came off the release pin. I tightened everything up and got in a third flight. The engine still didn't run right but the plane flew very well. I haven't flown this plane in 2 years. Even then it only has 3 or 4 flights on it. I have changed engines several times and bench trimmed it more than once finally setting it to the plans. It turns corners better than the Primary Force and turns harder up than down which is opposite of the other planes. I may take this one to the Wrentham contest next week.
I also bought some weed killer and sprayed the grass in the cracks at my flying circle. I did about a quarter of the circle and will work at it each time I go.

Dodging the rain in NH.

Everything went according to plan at my Mothers house Fri. $144900.00 for the place on one acre.
We packed up and headed for the races at Loudon, NH. The weather on Sat. was all right and I first stopped at the drag strip in Epping, NH where I bought 5 gallons of methanol for the model engines. We watched the action for an hour or so before heading to Nashua to get a pair of shoes and the hotel. On Sun. it was misting again and we headed for the dog track parking lot north of the race track. It didn't stop misting until we got off Rte. 93 at exit 20. The rain held off until about 5 pm and the race, being well past the half way point, was called and Joey Lagano was awarded the win. He is now the youngest driver to win a cup race. He's 19.
The chance meeting of my thumb knuckle and the back side of the spinning propeller produced an injury that is starting to heal. I stopped in at the first aid tent at the races andgot a fresh bandage put on.
I mowed the lawn of Fri. and it needs mowing again 3 days later. Maybe today. If it don't rain. The sun came out yesterday and the temp. shot up to 75. We were suffering from the heat. If you can call 75 degrees heat.

A retirement.

After belly ing the Primary Pupster several times I re set everything and gave it another try. Still it wants to stall out of maneuvers but I kept it in the air for 4 flights. I finally gave up and took the engine/tank off and hung it up in the basement. It's still good for the beginner pattern but the expert is too much for the plane.
Now that I have a spare engine I brought up the Snow Fox that was made for the same engine. Almost 12 ounces lighter and designed to be a stunt plane it should fly better. I have to find a tongue muffler for it as it's a little nose heavy now.
I finished up doing what I could do at my Mothers house today. I capped off some wires and put the ends in a junction box for safe keeping. I stomped down the junk in the dumpster so it doesn't stick up over the sides and washed the floor. We are planning on meeting with the realtor on Fri.

House cleaning.

Probate on my Mothers house is complete and my brother got re married and moved in with his wife at her place. My older brother and I have been cleaning the place and the grounds for a week now with good results. I washed the siding with TSP and bleach, helped fill a ten yard dumpster, raked the leaves from the foundation and helped remove limbs trimmed from the trees. My wife and I are washing the interior and removing whats left of the furnishings. Some little things are getting adjusted and painted and swept and vacuumed. I should end it today. There are wires going to the garage that need fixing/removing and I'll look into that. Lots of poison ivy that needs killing but the rain has delayed that project for a month now. I had to use lacquer thinner to remove a bunch of deck paint over spray on the vinyl siding. That took 2 hours and removed most of it. We may have to have a well drilled in order for a buyer to get a bank loan but we will see.
I have the replacement wing for the green Ringmaster finished and boxed up. I put it in a box and then put that box in a bigger box. Nicely padded too. Then I used Elmer's carpenter glue and glued all the flaps down. I added Scotch packing tape to insure everything holds together. The outside box is from Year One and is double wall and very strong. We will see if it's Fedex strong soon.
No flying lately as the wind and rain really kicked in around here. The rest of the country is roasting and I'm freezing and wet and windy. Thanks Al, you asshole.
I think I mentioned that I brought all the trim and weather stripping to the body shop so it can be installed properly. When we pick the car up it will be just about complete on the outside. Just the upholstery to go.

It's painted by now.

We went to see the El Camino paint color the other day and it wasn't what we wanted. We selected another color and went to see that sample today. I also brought the trim pieces for them to install for me. Next week sometime it should be back together.
I have spent several days cleaning up my mothers house and yard. We hope to have it on the market in a month. I still have to wash the inside and throw some cabinets out. We almost filled a 10 yard dumpster already. A few electrical things to take care of too.

Moving on.

Record low temps expected tonight, thanks Al you asshole.
UPS managed to mangle the plane I sent to LA. I filed a report and it is in the works.
I bellyed the Primary Pupster in again today. This makes about 5 times. I think I will retire it and take out one of the Primary Force kit built planes I have. They should fly better. I have one with a .25 on it and one with a .35. Flight testing will determine the engine to go with.
I have been helping clean up my Mothers house for sale lately. Lots of stuff to be thrown out and lots to be cleaned. I washed the outside with TSP and bleach, it looks a lot better now except for the over spray someone did while painting the deck. It didn't come off with thinner so I don't know which plan to use on it. The inside needs a washing too and airing out. Probably painting too.
I have a replacement wing for the Ringmaster almost built. It still needs some sheeting and covering. It's a sleeper wing as it's 3 inches longer than original but shouldn't be noticeable.

Natures way of thinning the herd.

Al Gore is still an asshole. Still 20 below normal and rainy. Go talk to the North Koreans you dope.
I plowed the Stunt Pupster into the asphalt this afternoon. Didn't hurt the engine too much. Back to the Primary Pupster. I used the now spare engine to test the new fuel mix. I like the way it ran. One full turn of the needle in and the engine purred like a kitten. It runs longer to boot. I'll have to get more at the drag strip when we go to Loudon for the Nascar race.
Saw the movie 'Up' today. It's worth seeing.

Neither rain nor snow.....

Al Gore is an asshole. 20 degrees below normal and rainy here.
I went to the dog track during a lull in the rain and had to wear a coat. 3 flights and the Fox .45 ran 7 minutes 22 seconds on 4.3 ounces of fuel or 135 cc's I didn't expect that brute to be fuel efficient.I counted 50 laps after finishing the 300 point expert pattern. I put a four ounce tank on and twiddled with the elevator neutral setting as it still turns harder with down elevator. I may trim the outboard flap and make a tab out of it.
I met up with Dave Miller and bought a gallon of methanol from him. I mixed up a quart of fuel and will test it in the morning. What time depends on how much noise the people across the street make tonight. I put 7 ounces of oil, 1 ounce of 20% nitro fuel and the rest methanol. I figure 22% oil and a tad of nitro. Less than 10 dollars a gallon if it works.

Back at the dog track.

I checked the old school yard in Oneco and it hadn't been mowed so I took my oldest plane and went to the dog track. There is a picture of it way back in the blog someplace. It's the yellow one along side the red one. Anyway I had tried to set the balance to the print but the print didn't show a c/g. I also re-installed the Fox .45 instead of the .40 as I needed the extra weight for balance. It proved to be a good match as it flew quite well. I had flown it a bit after I built it but never got it right until I added the bigger engine, which I had installed on it at first but changed it to the .40. Lap times are slower than I'm used to at 5.4 seconds but the lines stay tight. I moved the leadouts forward a little as I could see both wheels in flight. I tweaked the flaps to get the outside wing lower too, may need a tab. It turns better with down elevator that up elevator so I made a change at the handle to try and even things up. With a 12 x 4 Zinger at 10300 it uses 1.33 ounces of fuel a minute so I put on a 6 ounce plastic tank to get in the whole pattern or my interpretation of it. I'll give it a try again tomorrow.
My brother gave me a Homelite weed wacker and a 22 inch mower with a 3.5 hp Briggs engine. The Homelite wouldn't run unless the choke was almost full on and the mower has a bent blade shaft. I removed the carb. from the homelite and cleaned the dirt out and it runs fine. I rotated the blade shaft on the mower and found the high spot and hit it with a large hammer. Only once. It runs smooth now and cuts very well. Dont tell my brother.

Trip report.

We got to LA on time and I assembled the Ringmaster. On Fri. we headed for Iola, TX. 365 miles of mostly hard top roads but there was some dirt as we neared the flying site. I had put two planes in the Durango and a tail wheel poked through the Ringmaster wing. Some epoxy and a Subway sandwich wrapper patched it up. On Sat. I flew in the stunt contest portion of the Roundup and came in second in my class. Lots of pictures at http://www.brotherhoodofthering.info. We got back to Slaughter,LA Sun. afternoon and proceeded to cut three trees down to make a flying field in the back yard. We missed a limb but the Ringmaster didn't. Took the right wing off. It's repairable though. I spent the rest of the week visiting with a friend down the street and we got in some flying and '72 Volkswagon bug repairing. My son and I and my friend installed a wiring kit to upgrade it to 12 volts. A bit tricky as the kit was for US made cars but it worked. The trip back to CT was on time. I got in some flying and today I went to a grass field instead of the dog track parking lot. It's a good thing as I bottomed out in the square eight. Took the fin off but no other damage. I flew it again and it seemed OK. I'm planning on getting some methanol and mixing my own fuel. Some drag racing friends have some and maybe I can buy a few gallons from them. If not I can get some at the track.