Saw a woodchuck.

The weather was good Wednesday and I got in some flights. The cleaned filter on the PT-23 did the trick. I had the Magacian/Evo .36 and new tank so I tried it with both new tanks. It ran fair but fast. I tried to slow it down but couldn't. I found a leak in the metal tank and it didn't seem to help. I may have to open it up and replace the clunk tubing as air bubbles are going through the line. I could fill it so the line is covered and watch if there are no bubbles early on and only appear when the level is below the line. When we first saw the fox he was on the wall watching what looked like a squirrel. But when it moved it looked more like a woodchuck. It went into a hole in the wall in back of the garage. Several years ago I had gotten a scope and put it on the .22. I haden't fired it since so I figured I'd better check it before I got a chance to shoot the woodchuck. I drew a half dollar size circle with cross hairs through it and nailed it to a tree up in the woods. I fired 3 shots from about 50 feet and took a look. Right in the circle. Two are touching and another left a bit. Still I can cover all 3 with a dime. I haven't shot that well since basic training.

Test flight.

I couldn't help myself and made several changes onthe funny running engine. I was going to change needle valve asm's but left it for another day. The weather has been windy and cold but today I went to the r/c field anyway to try the changes. Missed the problem. I fitted the new NVA into the engine and took the fuel filter apart to check for crap. There was a piece of shit in it. I cleaned the filter and put everything back together. The best part of todays test is that the engine ran long enough to get the full pattern in on the tank I installed. it happens to be the one I used in the first place several months ago.
Forecast to be in the 30's all week.

What does winter and Obama have in common??

They both suck.
The ground is covered with snow this morning again.Temps in the low 30's. I even burned a tire with the winter debris last weekend and it didn't warm up the area never mind the planet.

Death to woodchucks.

On the first full day of spring it's snowing. Phil's an asshole.

Spring as last.

The last of the snow piles melted on Sunday. It was the leftover from the garage roof.
I burned the brush pile and Christmas tree which wasn't quite dry and took a while. Without the tamaracks there wasn't too much to burn.
I took the PT-23 to the school and the engine ran really strange. It would speed up for a lap or two and then slow to normal for a lap or two. I've never had that happen before. I did the unthinkable and changed fuel tanks without doing anything else. I couldn't get the needle out and there may be some crap in the spray bar. I'll have to open the hole in the fuse. and take it out and check. I have a new needle valve asm. if it comes to that. Or change engines.
I washed the El Camino Friday and used it to go to the school. It's running good.

Got a lot done.

I got up late this morning and had to follow the mail truck into Sterling. After coffee I went to the field with a mower and trimmed some high grass. Then we went to the movies and saw Rango. Then I went to the field with the lightning and after a bit of work got it started and flew it for the first time. Nice and stable, level wings but the handle spacing needs to be reduced. I did a buy it now for a spare .40 and a .46 head. Free shipping so even at the same price from Tower it's a lot cheaper.
The temps didn't get out of the low 40's with cloud cover all day. Some snow flakes too.

Ground is still wet.

I made the trek up the hill to check on my bird houses Saturday. I cleaned them out so they are ready for the new season.
We went to the Sterling school with two planes. The wind was light during my bird house trip but was quite turbulent at the school. I got in a flight with the Padre and then fired up the mod. Vector. It flew well the engine ran fine at first then leaned out for a while then back to a tad rich. Could have ben a bit of crap got into the spray bar and then cleared out. I had a tongue muffler on it and it was loud so I installed a stock muffler when I got home. The cornering was very good and may need a bit of tail weight with the bigger muffler but I'll wait. I have to test the Lightning next. I don't know what to expect from this one.
We will be going to the r/c field for a walk later. Maybe check out the activity there while I'm at it.

Wet but warm.

On Tuesday I went to the r/c field with the Padre and got in two flights. I didn't drive on the pit area as the ground was too soft. I managed to cuff the ground at the bottom of one of the maneuvers but the prop didn't break so I kept on flying. The right gear leg got bent but I straightened it.
I went to the club meeting Thursday and nothing has changed. Mostly confusion, different faces. It's held in a church in North Grosvenordale 22 miles away. Every other meeting lasted a half hour but this one went 90 minutes. I didn't get home until 9;30.
The big rain storm missed us. All we got was some light rain all day. I'm hoping the winds are light for the weekend.
I managed to get the stuff back into position after painting the room and hallway upstairs. Lots of aches today.

Is spring here?

After the second night of 50 degree temps the snow has all but gone. Only a few patches left in the field and the piles left by the snow blower and plows. Now if the wind would go away I'd really be happy.

Raining.

The temp. is at 50 degrees this morning. First time in a long time. The snow is melting and all the debris is starting to appear. The roadside snow is super dirty and uglier than usual.
I tied for first at the horseshoe games yesterday but lost first by ringer percentage. The guy that won will be moved out of the lowest class as his average went up 5 points. He has been throwing over 30% in some games and will pay the price. The association takes the highest three tournament averages in the past 12 months and uses them to calculate your new average. It's a good system.
We stopped by the Sterling school and the field is clear of snow. It's too windy to fly but next weekend may be better. I have to check on the Dayville field it may be usable by now.

Found it.

I did a search and found the rules for the Musiciano contests. 35 feet from the handle to the fuse. of the plane. I'll have to cut a set down to that dimension.
Oh yeah, 15 degrees this morning. 15 more than forecast.
I got a horseshoe tournament tomorrow. I rummaged through my shoe collection and found a set I had lightened up for the wife a while back. I'll give them a try, can't hurt or get any worse.

Winter's here.

Forecast for the morning is minus 5 to 10 above. Sucks.
There is a kit maker that is making the 1/2A size models that I built back in the 50's. Blackhawk Models is the new maker Scientific was the original. All the planes were designed by Walt Musciano. Still alive too. I bought more than one kit from Western Auto in Moosup and they would replace it with the same kit. $1.50 each. The new price is $30.00 plus shiping. They are known as "hollow log" models because the fuse. is a block of balsa that is shaped like a fuse. and then the internals are routed/hollowed out. The one I built the most was called Lil' Mercury. I found a picture of the kit contents and started to build one from scratch and memory with the help of the picture. I got the fuse, wing, tail group and landing gear made so far. I used sheet balsa for the fuse as it's lighter and easier to build up. I used the wing from the plane I built when I started to get back into c/l. Engine is a Cox .049 with tank. Installing a separate tank is tough on these planes and messy. The landing gear is captured between the engine and firewall. Wing span is 18 inches. I'll have to check around to get the best line length, I used carpet thread at about 10 feet back when.