Winter project.

The Vector/LA .46 combo flew so good it was scary. The elevator horn started to loosen causing very low outside loops. Which caused an unplanned roof landing breaking off the tail. I was looking for a wing for the winter plane now I have one. I put that .46 in the Twister and it flys a lot better now. I found the horn loose in the Padre and fixed it before that one crashed. I went to the field with the intention of getting some flying but the wind is too strong so I mowed the grass.

More changes.

I had never tried an engine larger than a .40 on the Padre. Foxes and O.S. all .40's. On a whim I removed the OS .46 that was in the PT-23 and put it in the Padre. While I was at it I put a Fox .40 in the Twister. I got in a flight with the Padre this morning and It went very well. The Twister was another story. When I got home I put an OS back in the Twister. Then I got to thinking about the Vector and removed a .46 from another plane and put that in the Vector in place of another OS .40. I may get to test it tomorrow.

More dirt.

On Thurs. I mowed the flying field, on Fri. I mowed the circle in Oneco and on Sat. I mowed the lawn.
I met up with the guy that called about using the circle in Oneco. I don't think he will get something flying and try it out.
I got in two flights with the Vector and it's coming around. The last flight was at 5.3 lap time and was the best to date. I got the Padre out and the engine started acting up again. When I got home I replaced it with one of the Fox .40's. This morning I looked at the OS and found a bit of hair or thread in the spray bar. I removed it and flushed the spray bar with lacquer thinner and put the engine back in the Padre. I added a second filter in the fuel line in the jug. The fuel now goes through 4 filters before getting to the engine.

More progress.

I've been trimming the modified Vector lately. I had added an ounce to the tail to get a better corner about a month ago. I had to get more elevator deflection so I drilled another hole in the horn. Now I got a very good corner but it wanders in level flight so I removed a half ounce. It made a difference so I have removed a quarter ounce more. I'll try again tomorrow. The problem engine has a new piston and liner and runs very well. I'll get all the good planes ready for the Mass. Cup contest in Sept.

April showers in Aug.

The pig roast went off as planned even with rain falling. People started arriving about 3 pm in a slow but steady stream until after 5.
I shortened a fuel tank to fit the Padre instead of installing the new piston and sleeve. I have close to 4 ounces capy. now and that should be enough to get the pattern in. I also sleeved down the venturi to .250 i.d. That should allow me to install the original tank but I'll try the larger one first.
Some places around NJ and long Island have gotten 12 inches of rain so far. Looks like it will be raining through Tues. here.
I'm getting the wheels aligned on the Pontiac today at Wibberly's. The rear tires are worn in the insides, the fronts are good.
I'm also starting to design the next plane. I have a fuse. side drawn on a sheet of balsa and the engine crutch pieces ready to be cut to size. If it rains all day tomorrow I'll have it flying by Wed.

More success part 2.

I loaded up the mowers and went to Oneco to mow the circle and get in some flights with the Padre. I saw the late sleeper as I was entering the field so I didn't wake him up. The engine ran fine for 3 flights. I had cut out an area between the motor mounts so a metal tank could fit in there. The first flight went well but the tank didn't hold enough fuel to finish the last maneuver. The worn liner in the engine or the wrong size venturi makes it use too much fuel. The other engines use 3 to 3 1/4 ounces for the pattern and this one uses over 3 1/2. The tank holds 3 1/2. I could make a larger tank but I have 2 new piston/liner sets so I'll install a new set instead.
Today is V.J. day parade and it's raining pretty hard at 0630. If it don't stop soon the pig roast at J. Caron's wont happen.

More success.

I went out the other day with the Padre and had the bad engine run again. I changed engines and this one acted up too. It ran fine on the Twister. Now I'm thinking some kind of vibration is getting to the engine. The prop is balanced but the engine isn't really balanced that well because of the design. It needs help. I took a prop washer and cut two sides off of it so it looks like a pie slice. I put it under the prop washer on the engine directly in line with the crank weight. I went out today and the engine ran perfectly. I will continue to use it every time I go out to make sure the problem is cured.

Sucess finally.

I flew the problem .40 this morning and it went fine with the tank relocated on the other side of the fuselage. Must be a fuel draw problem somehow.

Still trying.

I thought I had tried everything with the OS .40 engine. Today it ran very slightly better on 15% nitro fuel. I tried every prop available, every tank, lowered compression ratios but the engine still runs too fast after takeoff. I was looking at it in the shop and remembered a plane I saw at the contest last October. It had the fuel tank on the left side of the plane. Not behind the engine. If I have a fuel draw problem this may take care of it. I drilled some holes and mounted the tank on the other side. Maybe tomorrow I can test it. I got some new piston and sleeves for the .40's today and will measure them to see if there is a difference. Maybe I got a high performance set somehow.

Pictures of my new circle.

The problem post is barely visible but the gravel pile shows up better just to the right of the fence across the runway.

Nearmiss.

I've been flying at the field every day this week since I mowed a path through the high grass and modified the fence a bit. I found a fuel shut off in the fuel line, they can't fool the old guy. Today I wanted to look at the head on the mower as it makes a noise when it starts up and I figured it may be filled with carbon. Overhead valve engine. I set up and got in a flight. At lap 2 I noticed something didn't look right. As lap 3 passed over the fence it struck me that I didn't remove the 2 sections needed for clearance. I backed off and finished the flight.
One of my LA .40's has been giving me trouble. I set the rpm and the engine will speed up and run away. Nothing worked to cure it. I drilled an extra hole in the spray bar, added lots of nitro, changed heads, changed props, same results. I had thought this engine was the one with the worn cylinder liner. I have to use the starter to get that one going after a flight the compression is so low. That is the only thing I haven't tried, lowering the compression a lot. I took the ball end mills and put the biggest one in the wood lathe, set it at lowest speed and pressed the head against the turning cutter. I took some off the combustion chamber but not a real lot. I went outside and ran it with very good results. I will mow the field tomorrow and will try the engine in flight after. After that I plan to go to Oneco and mow that circle. A couple more flights there will let the night worker know I'm still around.

Back to the beginning.

I headed for the r/c field early today. I remeasured the place for the new circle making sure I had clearance from the pipe in the ground. It's 80 feet from the center of the circle. Then I got my push mower running and mowed a 72 foot arc through the hay, which has grown to 6 inches high. I had the mower at it's highest mowing point plus more with the levers resting on the top peg instead of in the hole in the middle of the lever. It took a half hour to get the first pass done. I lowered the mower to the mid range of the adjustment and mowed the outer 12 feet lower to provide a usable runway. I removed the 2 sections of fence and dug out the in the ground support pipes and lowered them to ground level then mowed the grass under the fence. So far so good. I got out a plane and set up next to the pipe as the wind was favoring that spot. I got in four flights and landed in the new grass twice without incident. The winds were very favorable but the temp. was getting high so I replaced the fence sections, packed up and went home.
After about 20 years I'm back to mowing the flying field, this time with other motives. And using the club's mower.