More thinning the herd.

I tried a trimming tip that should make the plane fly through wind without ballooning. Removing a bit of weight from the wing tip weight box. It worked so I did it again and that proved to be too much. I lost too much line tension overhead and the plane crashed. Lesson learned.
  I installed the new engine, that is to be installed in the new build, in the Nomad 4. I built that plane for the same engine. This way I can get the engine some run time before putting it in the new plane. I tried the same trimming tip on the Nomad and it helped so I took a bit more out of the weight box. I'll wait for a calm day this time to test the change.
  I sprayed the final trim color on the new plane this morning. On the under side of the wing, just to break up the white background. It's supposed to rain for several days so the paint will get time to cure.  I still have the Legacy kit I got from the estate sale to go.

Trials and troubles.

I fuel proofed the fuselage on the ARF Vector. It got painted with the same scheme it had with the iron on covering. I took pains to get the controls right before sealing the plane up for the last time. It didn't fly right. I tried a lot of things but nothing helped. I sealed the hinge gaps as one fix. It made a big difference in the way it flew but didn't cure the main problem. After shortening one of the lines an inch I discovered that the elevator wasn't aligned properly with the flaps. The fuselage has holes where the elevator horn is so you can get at it to make adjustments.  It took several turns of the ball link to get the controls in the proper place. I made adjustments to the lines to get them the same length again.This made all the bad things go away. The plane is fun to fly now. I started on the other plane I got at the estate sale. This one is larger than the Vector and came without covering. I've been fuel proofing the nose all week and today I put some covering on the fuselage and fiberglass cloth on the nose. After I'm happy with it it will be time to install the flying surfaces, cover them and paint the plane.
  Last weekend I found out that the estate sale will be on again Dec. 8. I am thinking of getting some kits for the contest as awards or raffle.

First full flight.

Yesterday I flew at the field in Zachary. The Nomad 11 and the Mandarin. The Stalker engine in the Nomad ran very well after trying different props. The Evo .60 in the Mandarin ran well also but I had sealed the gaps in the control surfaces which made a big difference in the way it turned. I also changed the lines from 63 feet to 65 feet. This morning I went to the local park with both planes. I had installed a muffler from another engine and a lighter wood prop. Both worked very well. I had timed the Mandarin on 2 ounces of fuel yesterday and got 3 minutes. So today I filled the tank with 4.25 ounces and got in the full pattern of maneuvers with a few laps left over for safety's sake. That engine in the Nomad 4 used the same amount of fuel which I figured it would. This weekends weather is perfect for flying.

Things are happening.

Last Saturday I went to the Zachary field with the intention of moving the good trailer out of the way of the second circle. We hooked up a chain fall to the trailer but the tires had deflated and sunk into the ground over the years. It wouldn't move. Luckily someone with a Kubota tractor happened by and helped us move it out of the way. It was all the tractor could handle. I measured from the other circle and established the location for the new circle and put a marker at the spot. I got in a flight from the new circle and headed for home.
  On Wednesday I got a call about Allan's family selling off what they could of his hobby stuff. I bought two ARF's and two engines. I put one of the engines on the Nomad 11. I'll try to get it flying tomorrow.
  I stripped the covering off one of the ARF's and set about sealing the wood from oil penetration. I sprayed the first color, white, today and will have to wait for it to cure before spraying the red and black. Those colors are placed such that I can do them almost at the same time.
  I got an email from the AMA confirming the dates for the March contest here at South Park. I measured the field there for two circles. I have all the stuff from the smashed trailer so I don't have to go and get it when the time comes.

A blessing in disguise.

On Monday morning November 5 2018 I went to the Zachary field and saw the damage to the clubs storage trailer. The pecan tree that was between the two trailers was rotten to the core and in a storm it came down right on top of the trailer. Dead center. After hooking a chain to the framework and pulling with my truck several times and locations we were able to get at the goodies inside.
  Now with the tree out of the way there is enough room for another "unobstructed" circle.

More great compliments.

At the El Dorado contest this past weekend I brought the Nomad 5 and the Legacy 40. I had found the controls loose in the Hound Dog and didn't figure out how to fix them early enough to test fly. I had to cut a hole in the top of the fuselage and another in the bottom to get at the bell crank to tighten things up. Now I have to fill and sand and touch up paint the holes.
 At the contest on Saturday I flew the Nomad in windy conditions and along with the person that borrowed my plans were several others that live in Texas. Very high quality flyers and builders plus engine makers. I guess they all watched me fly the Nomad and got highly impressed the way the plane flew and handled the wind. The engine maker said I have an "engine run to die for". Very high praise indeed. All the others gave me lots of compliments on the way the plane flys. I got third place in the profile event.
  We didn't hang around long after flying and went to eat. Upon arriving Sunday morning I was handed the third place plaque and the Pilot's Choice award for the Nomad.It's one award that I never expected to get. My building and finishing skills are average at best but the way the plane flys is what won me the award.
 It is the 5th plane I built of that design and the three profile planes of that size all fly about the same.  Number 5 has a half inch shorter nose that numbers one and two.

Testing.

At the park I flew the Nomad 5 a couple flights then brought the Nomad 2 with the new wing tips out. I re named it Nomad 11(2) for the occasion. It has wing mounted landing gear the others have aluminum fuselage mounted gear. I couldn't tell if it flew better or not. Maybe it did.
  At home I checked the thrust line of the engine and found a bit of down thrust. I adjusted that to neutral and will check it today. The plane turns better down than up and that may be the cause.
  The Pathfinder electric system acted strange on it's third flight the other day. I have to look into that.

More changes.

After hearing one of the "big guys" talk about wing tips I planned on trying it on one of my Nomads. My wing tips are the opposite of his designs. His designs are some of the best in the hobby and and have been for a long time. Yesterday I cut the tips off Nomad 2 and installed one tip copied from the Pathfinder. After flying today I cut the other tip off and replaced it with a matching tip. I forgot to stop at the hobby shop for some monokote and glue so things were a little harder to do. I covered the new tips with white monokote and may paint them. I also squared off the elev/stab to match. I'll try the new tips tomorrow.

Changes.

The weather is poor today but there was a respite around noon so I loaded the Pathfinder and Jamison and headed to the park. I had increased the elevator travel on the Pathfinder, added 3/4 ounce to the tail and increased the power a bit. I also removed the motor and re set the prop shaft so the outer can didn't move so much. That made a difference in power. The Jamison got less elevator travel and I adjusted the landing gear to get more prop clearance.
  I had 4 batteries for the Pathfinder so I flew it first. Real good cornering. I reduced the up travel at the handle and got in a second flight that was better. The winds are coming from a different direction 60 feet off the ground and made flying not fun so I packed up and went home.
  I removed 1/4 ounce from the tail of the Pathfinder. For once the bottom of the plane wasn't wet and full of grass clippings.
  I have some graphics coming for the Pathfinder and the Mandarin, "Pathfinder XL and Mandarin 720". Maybe I'll be able to take the Pathfinder to El Dorado. I've only flew the Mandarin once.
  After getting the compliment on my Nomad 5 I changed the canopy on the first two. I made a template of the 5 canopy and found enough 1/2 inch balsa to make two canopies. The original canopies were very low and didn't take long to shave them off with the razor plane. Some filler and primer and color and they are ready to go. I don't expect any improvement in the way they fly but you never know.

A great compliment.

I have flown the Nomad 5 at several contests this year. It is the best looking of the series that I've designed and built. At two contests, one in El Dorado, Ar and in Canton, Ga spectators have told me they like the looks of the plane while it's flying. This past weekend at Zachary, La contest one of the better flyers and builders asked me if I had construction plans for the Nomad he wants to build it. I brought what I drew up during the building of the planes and let him borrow them to build his own. I can't wait to see what he comes up with.
  I sent the paperwork for a contest sanction in and I'm waiting for an answer. March 30 - 31 next year at South Park 5 miles from home. I think it is the best spot for a contest as 8 hotels are within 2 miles of the field and lots of eateries right off the highway. No back roads to travel.
 We flew off the former practice circle at the Zachary contest this year. It worked out very well for all concerned. The winds died down right after the contest ended. We had some really good flyers in attendance.

Two test flights.

I assembled the electric Pathfinder, top photo, and tested it's flying ability before wasting time painting it. That's one good thing about electric power. The .60 size foam core wing plane, hanging on the wall, had to be painted first to keep the exhaust oil out of the wood. Both flew quite well. I still have the Jamison to test fly. It only weighs 35.8 ounces. the Pathfinder is 55 ounces and the big one is 65 ounces.

Moving along slowly and too fast.

As it turned out the new wing kit for the Pathfinder cost me $4.71 plus the $50.00 gift certificate from the kit maker. Last night there was a note that Brodak had given me a $5.00 credit on the wing kit so it is even cheaper.
  I set up the wing jig like I always do and built the replacement wing. When I got to installing the controls the leadouts seemed short. That didn't cause any concern. After completing the wing and installing it in the fuselage I measured to find the center and then things didn't ad up. I should have half of 27.5 inches on both sides. It really is 30 inches on both sides. OOPSIE. I set the jig for 2.75 inch rib spacing instead of 2.5 inches. Still scratching my head on that one. There shouldn't be any problem as the wing will weigh the same just be 50 square inches bigger.
  The new plane with the foam wing and the Jamison are ready to fly. I removed the engine from the Super Chief and put it in the Jamison yesterday. The other is still engineless. The Jamison is light at 36 ounces. the other one will be around low 60 ounces. I'll use the engine from the Nomad 4.
 I'm going to change the wing tips on 4 of the Nomads as an expert designer says the tips should be longer at the rear and not the front like I did it. Luckily the Pathfinder has tips I can copy as I have a new set of plans and the old set too.
  I should find out when I can schedule the contest at the park soon. It looks like late March of early April. Holidays, egg hunts, carnival and another contest in early May are messing things up.

King Orange.

We went to Glen St. Mary, Fl for the King Orange contest I first heard about in the late 50's. It's been running every year for 63 years now. I had to go and see what it was all about. It used to be held in late December but after getting froze and wind blown every year they moved it to mid Sept. Even with the hurricane in the Carolina's there wasn't any wind and the temps reached into the mid 90's. I got a third place in profile stunt using my electric Pathfinder. On the second flight the outboard wing half broke off and that ended that. On my first flight on Sunday with the Hound Dog I scraped the ground on the wing over maneuver and stopped the engine. No damage though. The only thing wrong with the Pathfinder is the wing so I ordered a wing kit for it. It helped that I won a $50.00 gift certificate in the raffle to the place that made the kit.  It came in today.
  I painted the Jamison and the new plane with white dope as a base color. Today I sprayed some green trim and it looks like a flat color. That's it for dope and back to the Rustoleum.
  One of our neighbors put a push mower on the roadside with a sign that said Free. I grabbed it. Today I looked at it and started it. Lots of vibration. I removed the blade and found that it was installed wrong. i had to drill and tap the mount so the blade could be centered. It needs a new blade as the one that's in it now is bent and missing a washer. It runs smooth now.

Said I'd never do it but I did.

The large plane with the foam wing has been giving me trouble with the flaps. The first set was way too small. So I made up another set but they were too flexible. I figured that the expert on the forums could help with the design of  the flaps. The reply's have gone around the barn and are quite hard to build. Then another chimed in and mentioned a design that I could build easily. This is the same person had offered advise to someone else on a different subject and I tried it and the plane crashed because of it. He got it right this time and I just finished building the new flaps. The wing halves are ready to glue together finally.

  The other day at the park I set up the electric Pathfinder for the first flight of the day and the electronic speed controller shorted out and destroyed itself. I was able to get back to the plane and disconnect the battery before it burned up the plane. I ordered a new one and it came in yesterday and I got in two flights with the plane with no problems.
  I got some butyrate dope paint for the Jamison Special and the big planes fuselage. I have to wait for drier weather as it needs to have the fan going when I paint. I'm going to use iron on covering for the big planes wing and stab/elev.

Moving right along.

I'm in the fill and sand mode on the Jamison. It takes a long time to prepare the surface with dope paint.
  I got the foam wing cores on Monday. They are close to going together. I need to design the flaps and install the trailing edge.The foam stab/elev. cores have been sheeted with 1/32 blasa and are close to being joined also. I'll cut the elevators away from the stabilizer and hinge them together.
  I'm thinking about taking the electric Pathfinder to the Florida contest. It's flying really well.

The contest and more.

We left home around 0700 east bound on I-12. Left on I-65 into Alabama. Things were going well until we hit Montgomery, Al. Almost out of town and over the hill a pickup wrecked causing a 30 minute delay. That put us into the rush hour traffic on the loop around Atlanta, Ga. Not fun. We got to the hotel in daylight and it's run by, wait for it, The Patel's. The place we stayed in Plainfield, Ct was run by the same group along with the gas stations.
 Anyway we found the field and it's a nice venue. On Saturday I flew the Nomad 5 in profile and the P-40B in warbird. The winds were switching all over the place and the temperature was in the 90's. I was prepared for the light winds but not the temp. I have been flying in the low 80's for a long time but the 90's drained too much power from the engines. I had a poor first flight in warbird and turned up the power for the second flight and got first place. Not so in profile or the event on Sunday. They had a raffle and I cleaned up on that. A kit of the Jamison Special, a model designed in the mid 40's, a sheeted foam wing from somebody's project, an engine for the kit, some safety glasses, a fuel tank and a propeller. It's all about the raffle.
  We stayed over on Sunday and left around 0315 and beat the traffic on the loop. No accidents or construction delays all the way home. WAZE took us a different route home. 

I've got the Jamison built and being painted with dope this time. I brought some foam wing templates for the plane I have under construction to the contest as a foam wing cutter was there and the wings are being shipped today. I don't know exactly what I'll do with the wing I won in the raffle. It needed fixing as the controls were poorly installed but I got that fixed.

I met with the Park Board and they don't mind if there is a contest at South Park. I spoke with the person in charge and he is coming to look the park over. It may end up being the location of the local contest now held in Zackery if the park board (BREC in this case) gets too finicky.

Thinning the herd.

A day or so after the picture in the last post was taken I was flying that plane and directly overhead the engine stopped. I couldn't run fast enough to get the lines tight enough to regain control and the plane hit straight down. I salvaged the hardware and the engine is OK. I did a post crash inspection of the engine and fuel system and found that there was fuel left in the tank. Then I noticed that the clunk at the end of the fuel pick up tube had fallen off and was rolling around the tank. That is a first. I've had the tube fall off the pipe to the outside but this is the first time the clunk has come off.
I brought out the P-40B I got from the school and started flying it so I can take it to the contest.
 I started building another plane in the mean time. I'm using a foam wing and stab. on this one.

Cooler in the morning.

If I get to the park at 0700 I can get in maybe 2 flights before it get too hot. Yesterday and today the temp was below 75 at 0700 not 80 as it has been.
 We got there early and I got in 2 flights each with the P-39 and the Nomad 5. I had changed engines on the P-39 again. I put the LA .46 back on removing the EVO .52. It was a wise decision as it now turns a lot better with the lighter engine. I also put shorter lines on it. That will let me fly a bit slower and  that will let it turn tighter corners too.
  I'm not happy with the Gypsy after refinishing the plane so I won't bring it to the contest next weekend. Only the Tn Hound Dog, the P-39 and the Nomad5 will make the trip. When I get the Super Chief flying the way I want I can use it in 3 events.

This is a telephoto shot as the building is at least 500 feet away.

First flight.

We went to the park on the 11th. I took the Super Chief and the Nomad 1. I flew the Nomad first and then the Chief. It was a long trail as the clear coats attacked the yellow paint ruining the finish. I removed the covering and put some more of the same covering on and this time I didn't use any clear on it.  That held things up a couple weeks. The engine, a McCoy .35 was given to me sometime in the 80's and had never been run. I had run it a few times during those years and just before installing it in the plane. I got it started and it was running a bit slow and barely got off the ground. It flew quite well even though it was a bit slow. On the second flight I set the engine for a faster run and got in a 5 minute flight. I did several of the pattern maneuvers but nothing overhead. I should be able to get in a full flight next time out.
  I am building a smaller version of the Chief to be used a s wall art in the house. The other planes that could be used are too large. The "Squaw" is almost up to paint. It won't be a flyable model.

Long before and after.

I started painting the Gypsy after finishing the Super Chief. I didn't use iron on covering like I always do as I had some heat shrinkable covering that needs to be painted. It applies like silkspan paper but with a little heat it shrinks pretty tight. I used Poly Crylic instead of dope to adhere the stuff to the plane. I weighed it before and after and it only gained an ounce. I did a little repair work but not an ounce worth.
  We went to the park this morning and the gate was still locked. It's supposed to open at 0700. I think the new propellers are causing problems with my Nomad and wanted to fly it with the APC that I swapped out. No chance so we came home.
I found a picture of the Gypsy loaded into the pickup for the trip from Moosup to Denham Springs in Dec. 2015. It got a rub mark on the cowl in front of the canopy on the trip. It was in pretty raggedy shape and in need of refinishing. Using iron on covering again with the flaps and elevators attached is very hard to do and that's why I used the other stuff and paint. I had a slightly smaller Gypsy decal left over from the kit.

Nearing the finish line.

I put the Chief together for the final time today. I had to make clearance for the muffler in the top block so that needs a bit of touch up paint. Before the clear coat and tip weight it's at 42.6 ounces.

More tests and changes.

I replaced the APC 11.5 x 4 prop and put one of new propellers on the Nomad. I couldn't see any difference in the way the plane flew. Same rpm same amount of fuel same everything except cost. The new props are $2.79 more expensive than the APC. The only other difference is weight. The APC is 0.2 ounces heavier. Today I replaced a wood 12 x 6 BY&O prop with a 12.5 x 5.5 Yoshioka plastic prop. Again very little difference. The wood prop is $1.00 cheaper on this size. I have flown the plane with APC props and they perform well and are cheaper still.  I do have some new control line coming. It's made in Ukraine.
  After several designs and colors I threw them all out and went with pre WW-2 color scheme. Bright yellow wings and tail and Bright blue fuselage. One of the planes depicted on the plans has a scheme similar to this. I got the yellow on and probably tomorrow I'll mask it and spray the blue.
 On the way to the park this morning I saw an accident. A Jeep, CJ type, was in the right travel lane on it's roll cage roof. That stretch of road doesn't have ditches and I didn't see another car with damage. The only thing missing was the ditch and fire.

Beginning of the end.

I've been in the market for a pilot figure for the Chief. Today I got some new propellers from Brodak and was checking the balance on one of them when I spotted a pilot figure on the shelf from the crashed Strega. After some sanding and balsa cutting I had it fitting under the canopy I painted the under canopy area and glued in the pilot figure. I have a color scheme penciled on the plane and the paint ready to spray. The original was all red so this one will be red with black and white trim.
  Many years ago at a contest at Quonset Point RI I bought a propeller from a vendor and tried it on my plane. There was a visible improvement in the planes performance. I used that prop for a long time. I couldn't find any other of that brand anywhere. I've read of the same brand prop being spoken of highly on the forums and still none to be had. A copy was being made but that too was hard to come by. A week ago there was a post that the original brand was available in sizes that are usable for control line planes. I ordered 6 props from Brodak last week and they came in  today. I want to try them very soon but we are going out for breakfast in the morning and wont be home until noon. Maybe the weather will cooperate.
  I also changed the pixels on my camera and this is the first picture using it. I'm led to believe that after reducing the picture so it will fit on the forums that it will enlarge more. We will see. This isn't reduced so it will blow up a lot.

A little progress.

I didn't want to do it but I did. I have a roll of Poly Span covering and against my better judgement I started to cover the wing and pieces with it. I didn't have any clear dope paint to stick it on with so I poked a tiny hole in the to of a spray can of clear and used that. After the pressure was released I pried the top off and poured the paint into a coffee can. I used it to stick the fiberglass cloth to the fuselage and put a couple coats around the perimeter of the small parts. I started with the fin/rudder and it worked pretty good. The poly span is heat shrinkable so I used the heat gun to tighten it up before applying two coats of clear to the whole thing. On the elevators and flaps I figured the monokote iron could do the shrinking so I could have more control over the heat as the covering opens up if it gets too hot. I used one piece of covering on each part like I do with monokote. Trying to get the covering to bend sharply around a corner and waiting for the paint to dry enough to hold it there is a problem. I used the iron over the edge of the corner to crease the covering and force it into place. That worked very well just like monokote. I still have the wing to cover but I need a fan to remove the paint fumes first. After that the whole plane needs some coats of clear and filler and sanding then colors and more sanding then another coat of clear and more sanding. If I used monokote it would be flying by now. The plans say that the original plane only had 6 coats of paint to keep the weight down.That was around 1950 long before monokote coverings.
  The temperature has been very warm so far this spring. In the 90's 30 of the 31 days in may and still going in early June. I try to get to the park early and am able to get in only 2 flights before the gnats and heat drive me out. There has been no wind to speak of either which makes it tough because I have to walk backwards to keep the plane out of it's wake turbulence. I learned that the hard way. But it's perfect conditions to check the trim of the plane in flight.

Building the Super Chief.

From the plans I got at the El Dorado contest i figured I could build a plane that will be good for Old Time Stunt and Classic stunt. The Gypsy is under going a re finish and isn't flyable. Anyway I've been scratch building the Chief from old plans. It has a pretty good airfoil and was the impetus for the Nobler design that is still being flown over 60 years later. It's almost ready to cover and I have enough Monokote for the wings and tail.
  I had an old engine given to me a long time ago and never used it in a plane until now. So it's almost new old stock. I found the callout for the Georgia contest and read it looking for hotel information. I found that mufflers are required and the engine was designed when noise wasn't a problem and therefore didn't have provisions for a muffler. I had a light enough muffler that will do the job and had to make an adapter clamp for it. As long as it don't fall off during an official flight I'm all set.
  It's been quite warm all month and I've been getting to the park early and only staying for an hour of so. The wind has been very light which makes it tough and the gnats are not being blown away. They are not afraid of bug spray either.

Cheese it, the cops.

I've been trying shorter lines on some planes lately. This morning it was the Mo'Best turn. As I was ready to pull the launch string a local sheriff pulled up and watched for a few minutes. The shorter lines will make the plane more sensitive to the controls because of the bow in the lines from the handle to the plane is reduced giving me a straighter path to the plane.
  I got the Chief fuselage sides glued to the formers and the balsa order came in this morning so I cut the wing ribs out and got them installed into the wing jig.

A big surprise.

I started building the Super Chief and today I was in the shed and heard a motorcycle near by. I looked out the window and in drove my old Harley Davidson FX. I gave it to our son and it's been sitting for several years at his house.He had bought a lot of parts for it and planned on restoring it one day. He's been working it for a couple months or so and got it running a few weeks ago. Today he rode it here after cleaning it up. It looks better than when I had it. He installed a new clutch and dry sump primary, a new oil pump, new front tire, a lot of hose and brake lines, rebuilt the brake cylinders and calipers, new wiring and headlight bucket. After 40 years I finally read the label on the handle bars near the front brake. It says to use Dot 5 brake fluid only. I used Dot 3. The fluid reacted and turned to a dry mushy stuff. They all work fine now.

Decal.

I generally get my lettering/graphics from a guy in Florida. A person we know started a graphics shop back in Ct so I ordered a plane name from him. I was surprised that it is more of a sticky decal than graphics that I'm used to. Anyway I put it on the plane and it looks good.

We hit the park this morning and I brought Nomads 2 and 3. I had made some big adjustments to both planes and I needed to try them out. The 3 plane had tricycle landing gear and I had changed it over to a tail dragger. On the 2 plane I completely re set the controls. They both flew much better. I'll take them again tomorrow and then it's the Mo'Best. That one is flying very good also. (It's not really a V1. The V1 has a thinner profile fuselage so it's a 5 1/2 but I don't think Roman numerals have decimals.)

El Dorado, Ar.

The weather was warm but the winds were light and right into the sun. My latest Nomad picked up a second place finish it's first time out. I got another second with the Gypsy and a third with the P-39. I got some good items in the raffle. Two kits, a quart of fuel and several small items. I managed to get several sets of plans for an old plane out of the 50's called Chief. I plan to sell one of the kits and scratch build the Chief.
  The best part was the nice comments I got about the Nomad, how it looks and how it flys. That made me happy.

Something old I just remembered.

I got to the field early yesterday and the helper was mowing. I got in a flight with the Nomad 5 as he was coming closer every pass. The air was as smooth as I have ever seen it and the plane performed perfectly. I went home and let the field get mowed. I returned this morning with the P-39 and Gypsy to get the final trim set for them. At home I started cleaning the lines I'll be using at the contest, the same ones I use now. After cleaning I remembered something we did to the granite surface plates at UNC when I worked there. We did a lot of measuring on those plates with gauges that slid across the stone surface. If the surface wasn't perfectly clean the gauge would catch and mess things up. After we cleaned the plate with "surface plate cleaner" we would take a piece of plastic sheet and rub the surface plate with it to polish and somehow dry lubricate it. There was something about the plastic sheet that really made the stone surface slick. Anyway the reason for cleaning the lines is to have them slide over each other as they twist in the maneuvers. A maximum of 4 twists during the inverted flight portion of the pattern. I end the flight with 3 twists for the last 6 maneuvers. So I thought of using a piece of clean plastic to rub the lines with before flying. If it works on the first flight I'll rub all the lines but not until it lessens the friction of the twisted lines.

What a day this was.

I had trouble with the yearly auto inspection on the truck. The backup lights are out and I couldn't find the switch that controls things. I wasn't able to get it inspected and there was a problem with the windshield. Today after flying I went to an inspection station near the park. I figured they did repairs and asked if it was possible to have them fix the lights and do the inspection. He said he could work with me on the lights and proceeded with the inspection. They don't do repairs as I found out later. But they do sell vegetables in season. As I was looking for information and not expecting to get the inspection I didn't have enough money to pay for the procedure. I zipped home and got the money, zipped back and settled the bill. I figured that while I was in the mood I would bring the El Camino. It was running on all 8 and there was 2 car ahead of me when I arrived. I shut it off and waited for my turn. When that came the tester took the keys and the battery was dying fast. He had to get a jumper box and it started right up and he completed the inspection and without shutting the car off I got home and put it away. The date on the battery is from 2002. I got my moneys worth.
 Then we figured we would go shooting as the Ruger .22 was back from repair and needed testing. The gun was jamming just like before. We went to the desk and the head person took it and did some magic to it and we went back to the range with the store's ammo. It still jammed. Another employee tried it and it jammed. Then the boss came and tried it. It didn't jam as much for him but it did jam. We are getting a refund and will buy a better (hopefully) gun. It's all packed into it's original box with all the things that came with it. We must have put 200 rounds through it during the testing. That episode took over 2 hours. We got home in time to eat early as the wife had a date to go to church with a friend. Well, that fell through when the friend didn't show up on time and said she was at a doctors or something.  I still have to make an appointment to get the backup light switch changed.

And the winner is....

I have decided on using the Nomad 5 for the profile and regular stunt events. The Gypsy for classic and the P-39 for war bird. That will get me more flying time for the Nomad, 4 flights to get it right instead of two.
  I've been taking the Nomad to the park every day plus rotating the other two. Yesterday after flying the Nomad I got the Gypsy and found the leadout slider had broken loose. I had to fix it before flying so I went home. I hope to try it today.
  I've been thinking about stripping the Gypsy and re finishing it as the old finish is in bad shape. I used Dupli-Color white and I've found that it crazes after a year or so. The covering on the wing and tail is pretty bad also. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53lloi0LXtk

I gave my old Harley FX to my son several years ago. He has been thinking about restoring it for several years also and lately he got into it. He has a bunch of You Tube video's on the things he has done to the bike. Today he took it out for a short ride for the first time.

Selections begin.

  I went to a Dodge dealer this morning to get a recall taken care of. It was the second recall on the same air bag. The local dealer put me on a 75 day waiting list and the other place would have taken me last Friday but I waited until Monday.
  The wind was blowing by the time I got back but we went to the park anyway. I brought two planes to fly and decide which was the better to take to El Dorado. The Bearcat is better looking than the older P-39. But it is less stable in inverted flight. The P-39 is a profile and is easier to adjust and handle. The P-39 flew a bit better than the Bearcat so the P-39 wins the first of the fly offs. Tomorrow I'm comparing the Mo'Best and the Nomad 5 for the profile event. I may compare the winner with the Nomad 1 that has never failed to get a podium finish. After that it's the Legacy 40 and the Hound Dog for precision aerobatics on Sunday.

New boots.

Flying after a rain can be a problem. I have shoe rubbers but the water in the ditch can be deeper than the rubbers are tall. I looked at Amazon and found a pair of boots for $25.00. I flew with them on today just to see what they are like. The dew on the grass wasn't a problem.
  I've been slowly moving the leadouts forward on  the planes and they are flying better. Up until this afternoon the planes have been very slightly nose down when hung from the leadouts using a level on the nose. Today I figured that since I put almost 4 ounces of fuel in the tank maybe I don't need the nose to hang low at all with an empty tank. I hung the Mo'Best and put a 2 ounce fishing sinker on the nose in the tank area and set the leadouts to where the plane is very slightly nose low. So when the fuel load is in it will hang nose low for half the flight and the engine offset will help keep it out on the lines. That's the plan anyway. I plan to test it in the morning.
  I flew the Legacy 40 I built several years ago today. It's flying very well. This is the first time since I added 1/2 inch to the elevator. It was a good move as the plane is stable in level flight and has a real good corner. I may take it to El Dorado.

Bearcat to Blue Angles.

Several years ago I won a Bearcat kit in a raffle at the Baton Rouge contest. Building it challenged my skills but it came out pretty good. I added decals to make it look like a run of the mill Navy Bearcat. Recently the guy that I get my graphics from made Blue Angles graphics for the B
earcat that I built. After some thinking I asked how to get the decals off without pulling the paint off with them? I got some good advise and removed the decals with very little damage. I did some research and saw where the new graphics should go and got them applied. What I didn't realize is that the top of the wing is mostly bare as it can't be seen while the plane is flying or sitting on the ground. So naturally the graphics are on the bottom of the wing where it can't be seen on a model airplane. It seems to me the Navy should have left the star and bar on the top of the wing.
 This is one of the planes that I put one of the new engines in. I haven't flown it yet with it's new engine and colors but I have flown it in the past. I may take to the El Dorado contest next month. I was told that the number 52 represents the years the Blue angles had been in existence when the real plane was restored. The number 2 on the fin represents me trying to hide a bit of damage from removing the old graphics. I needed a wide number.

Fixing screwups.

As careful as I can get I applied the name of two planes on the wings. They really looked good until I realized that I put the names on the wrong wings. They should be on the left wing. After a while I figured that putting a second name on the other wing would balance things out. I contacted the graphics guy and he made me two more sets plus another set for the full fuselage version.
  I flew the Twister with the new engine and it ran very well. I had to use lines from another plane as I forgot to bring the right lines.
  The electrics that control the motor speed and run time acted up on the second flight. I tried to re program it but couldn't. I sent it back for repair. I did fly the other electric plane and it's flying very well. It has pote

ntiometers and is easier to adjust.

I got a haircut an an engine.

Before going flying I went across the street for a haircut. The retired barber used to fly models but is getting rid of them. He found an engine in the pile of stuff and saved it for me. An older O.S. .30 r/c engine. The carb. is broken but I had a c/l venturi that fit. I put a few drops of alcohol in the engine and it loosened up nicely. I put a propeller on and clamped it on the saw horse engine running stand. It started after I got the right needle valve setting and ran well. Then I took the Fox .35 off one of the Twisters and installed the O.S. in the nose. As of now it's ready to fly but I still need to use up the batteries as the wind was blowing into the sun and I left after two flights.

Ready to fly.

After much searching I copied the paint scheme on my Nomad 5. I had the paint and something to go by so it worked. I put it back together and set the controls again and the paint has had a chance to cure. I charged the batteries for the electric planes and they are next up so the Mo'Best will have to wait a bit.
  The new engine parts came in from Japan late last week. I have 3 smaller engines that share common parts with the larger engine I'm building. I only ordered the missing parts needed to build two complete engines. The crankcase, the cylinder head and the piston pin. I had bought the piston and liner years ago from Tower Hobbies and I have 9 spare back plates not counting the ones on the donor engines. Anyway, I got both engines assembled in a couple hours without hurrying. I made hex socket head bolts for the head and they were ready for use. The stock bolts are Phillips and strip easily.
  I've been running engines on boards clamped to anything handy and that is getting old. I won an engine test stand in a raffle and I mounted it on a 2 x 6 and still had to clamp that to something. Yesterday i checked the saw horse supply at Home Depot and found a plastic one for under  $20.00. I bolted the 2 x 6 to the top of it and ran the engines. Much easier. I'll put one on the Shark 610 and the other on the Bearcat.

Moving right along.

With the adjustments working on my profile planes the Mo'Best is getting a make over. I removed the paint with thinner and stripper and scraping. Now it's filling and sanding. I never liked the paint scheme but it didn't fly well enough to put all the work into the new finish until now. Now I have to find a design I like and can easily copy.
  I found that the manufacturer of the engines I use has a stash of parts for them. They discontinued the engine a while back and complete engines are scarce and getting quite expensive. I ordered two crankcases and heads as I have all the other parts to make two complete engines. The parts are coming from Japan so it may take a while.
  I have decided on a diet for my engines of full synthetic oil fuel after every 15 flights to clean out the castor oil residue that fouls the engine and causes erratic running.
  The first contest I can make is in El Dorado, Ar in early May. The next is in Dallas in early June. Another in Canton Ga in Aug.

All that glitters is not goldfish.

With the success I've been having with the leadouts I tried it on a plane with a full fuselage (not a profile). It didn't work. I figure the round shape of the fuselage, in cross section, allows the air to flow over it more evenly than the slab sided profile. Also there is little to no engine offset built into the full fuselage and I use offset shims on the profiles. Today I'm going to try the Chipmunk. That plane is the poorest overall flying plane I have. I moved the leadouts forward like the others so I'm hoping it helps. If not it will go into the raffle in our October contest.
   I got the title from an old cartoon show "Rocky and Bullwinkle". There was a segment called "Fractured Fairy Tales" in it one comment at the end of the skit was what I used for the title.

More trimming finds.

I have figured out that I've been setting the leadouts too far aft. I tried one plane with them moved forward a ways and it flew a lot more stable. I figured that flying too much sideways is shading the control surfaces causing a loss of control authority. I tried moving the leadouts forward on another plane and got improved flight again. With that in mind I got out the Wildcat that flew poorly from the start. Moving the leadouts forward improved the flying on it too. Today I got out the Mo' Best and moved the leadouts on that one and it flew better also. I'm going through my fleet moving leadouts and flying them to make sure the change works on each plane.
   The new field box is working out well. I found an empty peanut butter jar that will fit inside and I'm using that to hold the fuel. I don't know what the fuel will do to the plastic so I keep the jar in a baking tray while at home.

Thinning the herd.

Not the planes this time. I got a new field box. It really is a tackle box from Cabela's and it's cheap. Probably very close to the sale price of my old one when it was new. I spent the afternoon transferring stuff from the old box and making a place in the new box for it. It came with 4 smaller parts trays that got the small parts all separated in their own divided place. I only used two of the trays to hold the small stuff and there is room for more. I had to rig up a holder for the fuel jug on the outside but as soon as I can modify another quart can I'll be able to put it inside as well.

Twisting more out of the Twister.

With the extra performance I'm getting from enlarging the stabilizer I got the idea to try that on one of the Twisters I built. The first one is scratch built from plans so i used that one as the test mule. The original stab. span is 18 inches and the balsa I had to work with was 1 1/2 inches wide so that brought the span to 21 inches. It flew pretty good before I added the wood so it will be interesting to see what it does now. The weather is cloudy and some rain but I may have a window to get in some flights.

More changes to test fly.

It's been windy lately but in the morning two days ago it was very light wind so I headed to the park with Nomads 3 and 5. I had enlarged the elevators on #3 and put the salvaged canopy from the highly modified Strega ARF on it. On #5 I installed the metal tank I made for it and that needed testing. I didn't realize it but I had installed a venturi I made a while back and it is .015 larger in inside diameter. I got in two flights with 3 3/4 ounces in the tank for the first flight and 4 ounces in for the second flight. Both flights ran out of fuel before I could finish the pattern. All my other engines of the same size and type use 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 ounces for a full flight. I took out #3 and it flew very well. I've since flown #3 with a full tank of fuel and it is enough to finish the pattern. Some fill the tank and draw out a set amount but I avoid one step and put in a set amount. It amounts to the same thing.

Update on the big Nomad.

The plane has been sitting since I built new and larger elevators for it. Today the winds were calm for a bit so I took it to the park. The engine started up after a little hot water to warm it up. Two short flights to get the elevators set where I wanted them and then I got in a full pattern flight. It's more stable than ever in level flight and it has a good corner now.

More changes.

The Nomad 60 is flying well so I changed a few things. The larger stab. span is working and the elevators needed to be larger in my estimation. At home I cut the original elevators off saving the hinges which stayed in the stabilizer. I was just going to make the elevators a bit larger keeping the original shape. I gave up on that idea and made new ones that are constant chord and almost rectangular except for the tips. I gained 10 sq. in. over the ones that I cut off that had been lengthened. I will give them a test flight when it stops raining. Now the picture won't load. Some right clicking saved the day.

Opportunity strikes.

The temperature finally got above 50 degrees around noon today. I loaded the new Nomad and the Nomad plus that I enlarged the elevators on into the truck. We went to the park and up first was the new Nomad. There was no surprises in the way it flew. The larger stab/elev made the plane turn very well. I got in three short flights trying different engine speeds. At home I installed the metal tank I made for it yesterday and got it ready for the next outing.
   The Nomad Plus flew very well also with the larger elevators. I got in two full patterns with it. Learning has taken place. I got things to do tomorrow so Sunday will be the next chance to fly.

Dept. of corrections.

I added a half ounce of wing tip weight and weighed the plane again. This time I got 49.6 ounces instead of  the 42 I got yesterday. I had figured that it would be close to 50 ounces in the first place.
  There was some concern about the color of the canopy so I changed it and put on a white spinner plus some body stripes to break up the green and white. It's ready to fly and that is planned to be on this Sunday.
  On the second Nomad, with the nose wheel, I added 3/8" to the width of the elevators. That should do the same as adding to the span of the stab/elev and a lot lighter.

It's really winter again, again.

The temp. went down to 15 degrees this morning and is barely in the 30 at mid day. Colder than New England. But it will be in the 70's by week end.
  I got in three flights with the Nomad 60 the other day and it's flying very well indeed. I did change the rear ball bearing in the engine as the old one was making some noise. After I got it out I rinsed it off and the bearings are crunchy so it needed changing.
  With the cold and wind I've been able to get the new Nomad real close to finished. I finished the paint today and installed the engine and stuff to see where the balance point is and get a final weight. It balances right where it should and is much lighter than the rest. I don't know how that happened. Final weight is 49.6 ounces and the wing area is 626 sq. in. I'll call this one the Nomad Lite. All I need to do is drill a few holes for the hooks that hold the fuel tank in place. This Sunday could be the first flight.

It is winter, again.

I flew the Nomad 60 again 2 days ago and it's doing quite well. The Evo .60 engine is running just fine on the low nitro fuel I mix up. A little over 4 ounces for the pattern and several laps after. The only part I had left from the Strega ARF I re built was the canopy. I found a use for it on the Nomad X. I cut off most of the balsa canopy I made and glued the Strega canopy on over it. It is pretty scratched up so I didn't bother painting it on the inside. I did paint it on the outside once the glue dried enough.
  The newest Nomad is nearing completion. I assembled it and started the covering sequence. Initial weights put it in the mid 40 ounce range. Probably closer to 50 when it's all done. I made some changes to the plans though. i added 2 inches to the stab/elev span and widened the flaps a bit. The winter should be over by the time it's ready to fly.

Improvement.

I took the Nomad X and the .60 to the park for a test flight. I changed tanks on the 60 and that helped a lot. I managed to get in a full pattern on 4 ounces of fuel. At home I removed the tail weight and put a muffler extension on.
  The X has a much better turn rate with the larger elevators and is competitive now.
  I have the new wing almost finished. It's out of the jig and fits into the fuselage cutout snugly. I have decided not to use the salvaged stab/elev piece as it's not flat and no way to verify it's in line with the wing. I'll have to build a new one from the plans but with a longer span. 

Another salvage.

One of the planes I crashed this past summer was pretty badly broken up. I did manage to save the horizontal stabilizer. It's been sitting on the floor ever since. Yesterday I soaked the dope with lacquer thinner and removed most of the paint. I had a lazer cut rib set for the Legacy 40 sitting around too. I got the bright idea to build the wing and use the stab. from the crashed plane. So far I put the ribs into the wing jig and did some sanding on the stab to remove more of the paint. This one may take a while.
  I extended the stab. on the Nomad X today and that needs a test flight when the temp goes up a bit more.