Finished Banshee.

I got the landing gear and spats on and working.

Cold today.

I've been making and trying landing gear on the Banshee as the position of the blocks in the wing were placed in the strongest place which is at the spar and at the balance point. Two sets of wire gears bent and discarded plus one set of sheet aluminum gear that didn't work out. I made a second set of aluminum gear and this one will work. I had a lot of trouble getting the angle of the bend right so the wheels would be forward of the wing leading edge. I also took weight off the nose to see how it will react. Too cold to test it today.
I went to the field yesterday and the ground was wet. I got out without getting stuck but not by much.

Moving along.

As I was cutting parts for the new rudder for the Nobler I noticed the plans show the airfoil to be on the wrong side of the unit. Anyway I made it right I think.The stab/elev caused a problem as the hinge slots are chewed up pretty bad. I cut a bit off the hinge sides and made new pieces with accurate hinge pockets. I had to add a piece of wood to the leading edge and make a different shape and larger pair of tips. The flaps will be another problem as half of the hinge is still in the wing. Removing them will cause a bigger problem so I have to make new flaps with hinges that match and control horn pockets that match the horn. Then again I can trim some off the original flaps and add a new piece with accurate hinge pockets. The kit flaps are smaller than the plans flaps so this should work out. I loosened the hinges on the elevator by scraping and running a drill through the hinge pin holes.

Good weather.

I cut a half inch out of the bottom of the Nobler turtle deck and glued it back on. The elevator was loose so I took it off and had a time getting the hinges cut out. The kit hinges are the problem as they are too tight and don't move free. I'll have to build a new fin and rudder as the original isn't the right shape. I didn't like the wire landing gear on the Banshee so I cut some aluminum and made a set. They screw onto the wood blocks. I had a time getting the angle to bend the blanks so they would stick forward. I ended up with a 20 degree angle bend and it worked very well.
The wind wasn't too strong around 0800 so I packed up and went to the field. The Banshee flew well and I got in the first full pattern. I think I will install one of the .46's for more grunt. I flew one of the new .46's with the remote needle valve it went good, just breaking it in. This afternoon the winds were less than this morning so I went to Oneco with the Banshee and the Twister with the other new .46. I got in 2 flights each without a mishap.

Winter project No. 4.

I have an ARF Nobler and it doesn't fly very good. The controls are too stiff. This morning I started tearing into ti to find the reason for the stiffness. I disconnected the push rods and the control surfaces didn't free fall. The bellcrank is nice and free although I had to trim a few ribs to make sure the leadouts didn't touch anything. I have plans from Model Airplane News from the early 50's of the original Nobler that is old time stunt legal so I started in making the plane like the plans. The turtle deck has to be cut down a half inch the rudder, the stab and wing tips have to be changed, I have to fill in the nose and build a cowling like the original and make flaps to match the plans. Not to mention changing the hinges. I got a dose of K2r soaking the oil off the nose too. That may take a week to get all the oil out.
The wind is messing things up but the temp is a lot better.

Getting close.

I waited until the temp. got as high as it was going to get before going to the field. 29 degrees and a tad of wind. I figured there would be some other club members there but I was alone. I brought the Banshee for another test session as I had bent the landing gear forward and sealed the hinge gaps and twisted the inboard wing panel this time. I also brought a piece of carpet for the middle as the ground is damp and the dirt sticks into the tread of my shoes and then falls out on the carpet at home. It worked as my shoes were clean when I got home. The plane flew much better and I was able to do a vertical eight. I rolled things up and as I started out I figured I could roll the circle by driving on it. I did that years ago to the field behind Peerless windows now Bolmet. So I drove around several laps to flatten the landing area, about 10 feet of the outside of the circle. I'll do it next time out too. I twisted the outboard panel of the Banshee when I got home to be sure.

Some progress.

I made longer landing gear for the Banshee and added larger wheels. We went to the field today and I brought the Banshee and Red Molly. Also 8 feet of rubber mat to get the planes moving at release. First up was the Banshee, the wing de warping helped but didn't cure the problem. Next was Red Molly. This time the wing is warped opposite the Banshee so I tweaked the flaps and the wing was almost perfect. The wind was knocking the planes all over the place and it was cold so after two flights each we headed for home. I de warped the other wing panel on the Banshee and bent the landing gear forward. A handle adjustment on Red Molly and we are ready for the next session.

It flys.

A warped wing and too short landing gear gave me fits but the plane flys pretty good. I heated the warp out, I hope, and made longer gear for the next test session.
I brought the Eagle 63 and got in a flight in preparation for the new years thing. I may have to get a new transmitter battery. I'm charging it to see what happens.

Moving right along.

I didn't need the flap tool I built. A few gentle tweaks and it's good to go. I wasn't quite happy with the round plastic fuel tank so I removed the metal one from the plane the engine came from and installed it. The engine runs a lot better with the metal tank. That combo ran well in the other plane too.
I assembled the Banshee this morning and it's ready for a test flight.weight came out at 46.4 ounces with the stock muffler and no weight in the tail. The c/g is about a half inch forward of the plans. If it don't turn I can change things on the front to move the c/g back. We will be going to the field in a little while. I took the Eagle last time out and was going to get in a flight with no one looking. I forgot to bring rubber bands for the wing so I just taxied around for a bit checking the engine. I'm bringing it again today.
I emailed the local sign maker and got a reply then set up a time for a visit. I got three vinyl letter signs for the planes and three AMA numbers too. real good price $20.00 for everything. The sign maker is a crew chief on a Waterford modified car and knew Ma from Plainfield high. Ma had his wife as a student in Killingly. Might have helped with the price. He had made the new signs the club put up at the new field as the new club president and him are racing buddies.

Finally got it.

I made a pair of popsicle sticks to clamp in the flaps so I can see how much I've tweaked them. I went to the field and flew a ounce and a half flight and the wing was low on the right side. I gently tweaked them this time and flew again. Better so I gave it another slight tweak and put in 3 and a 1/2 ounces of fuel. The wings were much better and I flew a full pattern. The plane kept good tension through all the maneuvers and is steady in level flight plus good corners. Can't ask for much more.
I got the urge this morning and masked off the Banshee for the second color. I was going to use white and red but changed to white and green instead. Two coats of Rustoleum John Deere green and it's hanging up to dry for a few days.
Winter is sneaking around. The temp barely hit 40 today. I fear that on the 21'st we will get it. Just like summer, it's cool until June 21 then hot and humid over night.

Moving right along.

I went to Oneco this afternoon but it was too windy to test fly so I went back home.
The Banshee is coming along and is nearing paint. I got it assembled today, covered yesterday. After getting the pushrods sorted out and made I put it on the scale. 43.4 ounces minus paint. It should hit 45 ounces after paint before putting weight for balance. It may need 2 ounces in the tail plus an ounce in the right wing tip. I found the bellcrank to flap push rod broken. I was screwing it into the ball link and it buckled. Carbon tube got abused somehow. I made a new rod and got it installed.
I ran the generator yesterday. All is well there.
The furnace toasted the ignitor box on Sunday. The repairman took maybe 10 minutes to change it. $133.00/hour for week ends and $70.00 for the box.
Along with the generator I ran the hot rod for about a half hour, then drove the El Camino around to the coffee shop.
At the club meeting I got the OK to fly when the dump is open to the public. No r/c though.

First flight.

Around noon we went to the Oneco field and set up to fly the Parallax. I bench trimmed it as best I could but left off the tip weight. The needle was way off and the backfire loosened the prop which made me remove the spinner nose. I had 2 ounces of fuel in the tank and got the engine started. It proved to be a little slow but the plane was nice and steady in level flight and the outboard wing was high inverted. I put in .8 ounces of tip weight when we got home. The flaps may need tweaking also. All in all I'm happy with the way it flew on the first flight.