Another flying site.

The club has the use of a rec area in Thompson not too far from the float fly site on the lake. It should be ready for use July 1. I checked the place out several days ago and the ground seemed kinda rough. But it is open and flat. All we need is access to the gate lock and get it mowed. Should be done July 1. The club had done some construction work on the site years ago but soccer moms got the full use of it. Now they are not using it too much and we are back in.
  I've been flying the Ringmaster 576 for several years now. It's been recovered 3 times. I never thought it was flying as well as it should. I checked and found the control throws it should have and made a new flap horn that was the right height and moved the elevator horn so it is on the hinge line. Now it has equal throws all around and shorter lines with smaller wheels. I think it flys like it was designed to now. The smaller wheels have less drag and relocate the vertical c/g. I also removed the stock muffler and replaced it with a Fox .35 muffler that is over an ounce lighter which moved the lateral c/g aft. Along with a new handle I was able to reduce the line spacing as the new c/g requires less control throw to get a good corner. I removed some nose weight on the Shark 560 and evened the elevator throws some. I'll have to test that soon.

Updates and stuff.

The electric car is still at the school. It's up in the air whether the kid will get the car.
  I found out, again, that changing wheels on a plane can change the way it flys in good and bad ways. The Shark has been flying well since I stiffened the nose and with the not too smooth grass circle I put on larger wheels. The plane flew awful so I put the original wheels back on and it flys like it did.
  The club has got another field in Thompson. We had been using the land fill there and now we can use a flat rec. area on the west side of the lake called Bull Hill.
  I took the Privateer out today and it was too touchy on the controls. I went home and removed the tongue muffler and installed a stock muffler and made a new handle so I could decrease the line spacing. We went back to the field and it flew quite well. I finished off the first gallon of the season too.

Bad vibes.

The Shark 560 has a problem with poor engine runs. Against my better judgement I built it as the plans showed. I generally use long wood engine bearers and the plans had 3 inch long ones. That leaves several inches of balsa that isn't very stiff. The engine would start off fine and then speed up about a third of the way through the run. I tried other props, fuel tanks and engines. All with no change. The other day I made a 1/2" cheek piece to go over the original cheek piece. I made two saw cuts length wise and glued in two strips of 1/32" plywood to stiffen it as much as possible. I should be able to get in a test flight today after the car show.
 After coming in second at the electric car race the car was used to give anyone that wanted a chance to drive it around the running track at the school. On one outing the kids managed to break the rear wheel spokes. Luckily there was another wheel on a bike that was a bolt on replacement.  One of the kids that drove in the race asked for the car and the head teacher gave it to him. Without the electric parts. I removed the wiring harness and motor and boxed it up for the next car if one is to be built.