Again and again.

A year ago or so I scratch built a Twister model plane. I had had one all the while I was flying r/c. When I left the r/c scene I flew the Twister until I crashed it. It helped me make some progress in learning the secrets to making a control line plane fly properly. I built another at some point and wrecked that one too. Anyway I built another from plans then I won a kit at a raffle a few weeks later. Now I have two flying.I didn't pay too much attention to how they flew and only took one out when I felt like it. One of them was powered by a .40 size engine. I took that one and with the knowledge gained from the Nomads I added a strip of balsa to the elevators increasing the area. At the field this morning I flew it and it flew very well compared to how it flew before. I kept speeding the engine up but the flight speed didn't increase that much and speed keeps the plane out on the lines. At home I remembered that I had extra .46 size engines of the same brand and they are bolt in swaps. I swapped it out and ran the engine to set the needle for flying. Then I figured why not do the same thing to the other one? The engine on that one is the same brand but not a bolt in swap like the first. I got the engine in place and marked the mounting bolt holes and drilled them. I tapped threads into the wood and bolted the engine in place. Then I added strips of wood to the elevators just like the first. I ran that engine and set the needle so it will start easy when at the field. I hope to fly them tomorrow some time.

What the heck, why not??

I flew the Nomad 2 with the engine set back and it flies a lot better. More like Nomad 5 now. Not much to do with the temperature in the 90's so I figured Nomad 1 is still in original condition so why not shorten it's nose too. When I built this one it was the first, hence the number 1, and it flew very well as it was. By the time I got to number 5 I had made some changes that worked. Shorter nose and more stab/elev area. I had enlarged the tail on all the others with good results and brought the others noses in line with number 5. Number 1 was the last one to get the nose job. I had located the engine 1/8 inch forward of the fuselage so I could use a recessed spinner, it's all I had at the time. I removed the engine and used the rear engine mounting holes in the fuselage to fit the engines front mounting holes effectively moving the engine back 3/4 inch. I marked the cut and the band saw did it's job nicely. I reinstalled the engine and marked the spinner outline and carved and sanded the nose to blend into the spinner. Some paint and some cutting of the fuel tank recess and it's ready to go again. I had to move the leadouts back a bit just like number 2's. It's raining now and I have a date at the V.A. in the morning so a short test flight may be possible later in the morning or I'll have to wait until Tuesday. The temperature was only in the low 80's when I got home from the V.A. I loaded up the Nomad and headed to the park for a quick flight. The grass is growing fast and the plane barely made it off the ground. It does fly better than it did. It already flew very well but the corners have improved noticeably. It's still steady in level flight. It started to rain as the fuel was running out so I didn't get a chance to test it more. I'm happy with it.

Another plane gets the saw.

I did some measuring on the other Nomads and found the nose to wing measurement to be inconsistent. Good old number 2 has been the test bed for other changes so I figured why not? I planned on using the rear engine mounting bolts only in the front engine holes. That produced a 3/4 inch set back. After a short trip to the band saw and some hole saw and chisel work I got the engine installed. The new rear mounting holes were very close to some holes already in the plane. I plugged those holes and drilled new ones for the screws. I needed 3 degree offset wedges to rid the plane of left engine thrust. I was able to use the same spinner on this one. I sprayed some paint on the newly blended nose and got it all together. I should be able to test fly it in the morning. Two months ago we saw a turtle laying eggs in our lawn at the edge of the street.The ground had hardened quite a bit and I figured I would dig the eggs out and let them hatch in softer ground. I had a lot of trouble digging them out and found that they had already hatched. I rescued 10 newborns and the neighbor released them into the woods behind his house.

Temp. change made permanent.

The engine on Nomad 4 is an ASP .52 r/c engine converted to control line use. At $75.00 new I couldn't turn it down. It's flying a lot better with the engine set back that I took the spacer and engine off and band sawed the nose off. I removed the engine offset wedges and re installed it so I could figure out what spinner would be the best to use. I had the nose blended into a 2 inch diameter spinner but with the changes a 2 and 1/4 inch spinner is the best choice. A little carving with a razor plane and sanding and paint and the plane is ready to fly again. The Georgia contest is a couple weeks away and it's time to fly the planes I plan to compete with so I know they are ready. The grass at the park is growing and the rain isn't helping any. The staff was out mowing this morning but hadn't got to my spot so I got in two flights with Nomad 5 and headed home. Tomorrow the staff should be done with the mowing. After that I need to mow my grass. I was down to using the last gallon of my home brew fuel. That gallon was down to 2 quarts so I mixed another 5 gallons that I will start using tomorrow. The timing is perfect as I need to tune the engines for the new mix as I went from 22% oil to about 20% oil. The same nitro %. I need to know if the engines need more or less fuel for the pattern but less than 8 total minutes for the flight. If I have an over run I loose up to 65 points. That's 40 points for a perfect landing and 25 points for "pattern points". You get pattern points for doing the maneuvers in the right sequence and the right number of repetitions of each maneuver. e.g. 3 loops not 2 or 4. That goes for all the maneuvers.

Another change.

I built Nomad 4 using measurements from another plane. The nose moment was 10 inches from the prop washer to the wing leading edge. My other Nomads are less than that and have a better corner. But what to do about it. I thought about cutting an inch off the nose and relocating the engine but that could be a poor decision. I had two prop shaft extensions 3/4 inch long. I had let one go with the Gypsy as it needed it and I still had one left. I planned on just moving the engine back 3/4 inch and using the extension the prop would be in the same location without cutting anything. I did have to remove a barrier between the engine and fuel tank but that was no problem. I put the engine in place and installed one screw to hole it while I did same measuring to get the thrust vector right. I got the extension and put it on the engine shaft and a propeller but the internal thread of the new elongated nut was too big. I needed a new nut the right size. I called Brodak but they were out of stock. Then I emailed Lee machine shop and he had one that will do the job. I got it 3 days later and it's the right piece. Now I was able to set the thrust line and finish screwing the engine in place. I flew it this morning and it's a lot more stable in level flight and has a better corner. Now I'm fighting with the engine trying to get it to run where I want it. More nitro next time out.