Got a roundtoit.

Well not the r/c plane but the sink drain. I tried to get a union so I could open the pipe over and over but the store didn't have any. I got a coupling and started in. I hacksawed the pipe about in the middle of the run. Then tried to force a water hose inside. After a while I got enough hose in the lower half of the pipe to get it flushed out. The other half up to the sink was a bear. I had to take the trap apart and stick a hose in there. It backed up and clogged the pipe. I ran a snake up the pipe and hosed it from the cellar and again from the sink. The clog finally came out and I kept hosing and snaking to get all the crap I could out. It smelle the basement and house up pretty good but I opened up some windows and it's airing out nicely. I used a 54 gallon barrel to catch the crap water and put about 30 gallons in it. I had to use a 5 gallon pail to get the barrel light enough to safely move. I think I'll try to get a union at Home Depot or 4 of them so I won't have to go around the elbows with the hose next time.

Some progress on the new plane.

I've had appointments three days in a row and that has prevented me from getting in any flights. By the time I get home the wind has picked up and I end up trying to figure the best way to use the poly-crylic instead of dope paint. I started to apply the first coat to the fuse. this morning by dabbing a small amount on the wood and then scraping it along the sides with a credit card. That really stretches the paint over a large area. I applied tissue to the rudder and fin using the stuff and it has stuck pretty good. I need to get some white dope for the base color. The hobby shop in MA may have a can.

Nice day again.

I had an early dentist appointment and stopped at The Home Depot for some water based paint that the big boys are using for base coat and fuel proofing. They are supposed to be less stinky that dope.
I got in two flights at the dog track, the winds wern't as bad as yesterday but still I used caution. I'm still working on the Calypso it's not going as fast as usual. Lots of little things to get straight before closing the fuselage up.
We went to Roys and borrowed his roto tiller. We dumped a bunch of maple leaves on the garden and I ground them into the dirt. I had spread 50 pounds of fertilizer on it yesterday. Should get some rain tonight.

Warm and windy today.

The sun came out around 1000 this morning and I headed for the dog track. The flag said strong winds but the bushes said light winds, at the same time. I got in a flight anyway without too much trouble. I'm flying the plane that screwed me up flying the Padre before leaving for LA. It's a lot more stable coming out of maneuvers.
I labored for several hours getting the latest plane aligned close enough to tack glue the wing and stab on. I set the push rods to the proper length and took a few pictures that have to be down loaded yet. This is the one with Ed Avena's pattern plane foam stab.
I checked the stash of headlights and found two square ones but none with replaceable bulbs. One is a halogen the other regular seaed beam.

First flights in a week.

We went to the dog track this morning and I got in 3 flights after installing a new needle valve assembly. I bought 3 at the contest from Tom Dixon who I bought many Bolly props from 20 years ago. The spray bar has 2 holes instead of the normal one. I put one on the Primary Force too as the one in it broke on the inverted crashes. I noticed that the extra hold allows fuel to flow into the venturi and flood the engine if I'm not careful. After the flights I had the engine set about right.
I mixed 5 gallons of fuel and am about a third through the first gallon. It works well. I used to mix in gallon jugs and found that to be stupid. I did lots of figuring to get the right oil and nitro plus the spills. Now I put three gallons of methanol plus 10 ounces in a 5 gallon plastic can and 1 gallon minus 10 ounces of oil, 118 ounces, and 1 gallon of fuel that has 10% nitro and 22% oil. Mixed throughly. A lot easier and faster.
The storms that went through here last week tore a piece of siding loose from the house. I nailed it back in place.
I'm getting to the point where the first plane will be glued together soon. I deceided on the paint scheme from the Calypso pattern plane. Simple to do. Might even name it Calypso.

Loaded up and packed/truckin"

We got the bike loaded after bringing Kyle home. My plan to use the wall and the picnic table top worked well. I was pulling it backwards and Ma was pulling on a rope. After it was on the truck the wall collapsed. Wouldn't have bothered the loading as the table top was way longer than needed. After getting it tied down I started filling in the open spaces with tires and boxes of parts and plastic 5 gallon fuel jugs. Very little space left.

A few changes.

As it's been raining for a while I've been doing things on the Lightning wing. I added the trailing edge sheeting and cored both halfs. On the right side I added a web on the foam between the spars and glued it in place. The left side has the controls running through it so I added a web at the front of the cut out and at the rear of the cut out. I figure the lines would hit a web between the spars on that side so I left it wide open.
Friday I have to clean the truck and Saturday load it up. So far so good.

Need design help.

The foam wing on the Lightning 20-10 has a m0lded leading edge glued on already. I plan to sheet the trailing edge 1 1/2" wide. Without sheeting the rest of the wing what is the stiffest or what will keep the wing straight during about 10 G maneuvers. Some spars top and bottom, or a geodesic pattern with 1/64" ply?? Or will it hold up with just the sheeting on the l.e. and t.e.?? Regular rib wings seem to do fine with a spar top and bottom.
I looked at the Twister plans and it shows much less than I have on the foam wing. So I will go with a 1/4" sq. spar top and bottom. The landing gear blocks will butt against the spar and will meet at the root glue joint. I plan to add some ply to the blocks at the joint too. After glueing the cores together I will sheet the center section so there will be an unbroken wood across the joint. The bellcrank post will attach to the landing gear blocks for strength. Should work.

Getting back to normal.

After the Wrentham contest I needed to tweak the Padre a bit for some reason. I've been trying to get it back to the way it was ever since. Flying the PT-23 changed the feel a lot. I gave up on it and only flew the Padre for the last two weeks. Yesterday we went to the new school in Sterling and the winds were not that bad. I lost line tension several times and the lines snagged a weed on takeoff causing the plane to fly across the circle and regain tension a bit before crashing. I had engine run problems between upright and inverted so I re did the fuel tank and the prop had some minor damage on the ends so I put on another new one. The old one lasted all summer. I went to the dog track this morning before the winds got out of hand and got in a flight. The engine run was very good and line tension was very good all through the pattern.