Tuesday, June 1, 2021

New technology.

At the El dorado contest there was a plane with things on the elevators that didn't look right. The owner was explaining them to another so I joined in. The things are 1/8 x 1/4 rectangular cross section strips attached at the trailing edge of the elevators. It seems they make the plane more stable in flight and especially after a turn. Two weeks later I gave them a try on a plane that wasn't stable enough to suit me. I used strips of balsa stuck on with two sided tape. They create noticable drag and make the plane more stable just like he said. I figured that once isn't enough so I put some strips on my Nomad 5. Again the same very good result. I slapped some strips on the Jamison and it now flys a lot better.The only thing I can liken it to is putting larger feathers on an arrow.No matter what the strips work.I'll have to try one with the strips on the rudder trailing edge instead of the elevators. I had the chance to paint the base white on the Legacy 40. I still can't figure out what trim scheme to put on it. I've looked at a lot of pictures and nothing strikes me. If I run out of things to do I can start wet sanding the base coat. The lawn needed mowing as rain is forecast for a while again. Last week one of the mowers wasn't cutting at the same height as the other two. I thought it was just a wheel adjustment gone awry.I found out that the bad mower base was rusted so bad it was flexing and ready to break in half. In Moosup I had several extra mowers to pick from but I left them when we moved south. I was fortunate to have two mowers given to me since we've een here, both with solid bases and engines. I picked the better of the two and installed the attachments so it can be pulled by the riding mower. Then I removed all the hardware and engine from the broken mower, folded the base in half and put it in the trash can. The engine runs very well and will be used as a spare.