Design maybe.

I have the plane assembled and waiting for a paint scheme to appear. At this stage it weighs 27 ounces. When completed and with the battery installed I figure the weight will be high 40's low 50's range. I can't say using molded turtle deck pieces instead of carving them out of blocks is any lighter or not. They should be but I don't see any big weight savings. What is saved is a lot of carving. The results are the same though. I have one that I scratch built about 10 years ago so I can compare weights. In my experiance electric power is heavier than and engine with fuel. So if the new one is lighter than the old one it's a win.

Color scheme woes.

I finally got the bellcrank to flap pushrod adjusted to where it should be. That completed a step and allowed me to instll the molded turtle deck pieces. There was a few gaps in the finished parts so I mixed some carpenbters glue with balsa dust from the band saw and filled the gaps with it. Carpenters glue generally is easy to sand when cured but the saw dust turned it into some very hard stuff. I had to be very careful as I sanded it down. I think it will be smooth when I cover the deck with paper. After that it's install the fin/rudder and fillets all around while I try to come up with a paint scheme.

Legacy 40 Lite.

The plane is coming along very well. I've molded the top decks rather than carve them from blocks as the blocks are always heavier. This being electric powered it doesn't need the bulk to absorb vibration. The bottom covering was 3/16 I used 1/16 instead. The elevators are lighter the fin/rudder are thinner, the electric mount and battery box are lighter than the engine stuff. Brodak used thinner balsa for the fuselage sides. If it comes out under 50 ounces I will consider it a seccess.

One more time.

I bought a Legacy 40 kit and I'm in the process of building it. I plan to power it with an electric motor and instead of carving the blocks for the fuselage top I'm molding them out of 1/16 balsa. I used 1/8 balsa for the fin/rudder instead of the 3/16 balsa that comes with the kit. I lightened the elevators and the cowl. I plan to run the elevator pushrod out of the fuselage under the stabilizor so it will be easy to adjust.I'm not sure about lightening the flaps as they are pretty hard balsa. After adjusting the controls properly in all the other planes they are flying very well.

Picture

Findings.

I ran the Brodak 40 inverted on the mule fora 5 minute flight. There was no excess fuel/oil residue on the plane. I don't know why. Maybe because I opened the groove in the crand case bushing or the smaller venturi or running at a higher rpm.Today I mounted the engine on the test stand with the original venturi installed. I ran it for a couple minutes and there was no leakage either. The bottom line is that the engine seems to be operating properly but now it has no home. The OS .40 is a better engine for the Vector as it's 2.3 ounces heavier whick is what the Brodak 40 needed for extra nose weight. I weighed the electric system I had on the Mule and compared that to the engines weight. 12 ounces for the electric vs. 9.0 for the motor and 3 for the stock muffler should I use it. Even up you may think but the weights are without battery or fuel. The smallest battery I use is 12 ounces and the most fuel I use is 4 ounces. Electric is better in cold weather.

The Mule.

I made one of my Nomad designs into a multi use model for testing stuff. I use a flat firewall and a BHE r/c mount that has symmetrical mounting holes for testing engine set ups and the hole spread also fits the moounting bracket of electric motors. I use nylon stands to extend the motor for balance. I can turn the r/c mount 4 ways to test various engine runs.

Leak test.

The Vector/Brodak 40 combo is flying quite well. The only problem is there is a leak somewhere in the fuel system. I removed the engine and tank in one piece and submerged it in a pan of water while I pressureized the parts with a large syringe. I cicn't see any bubbles anywhere. I ran the systemn on the test bench and didn't see or feel any fuel escaping the engine or tank. Then I put it back in the plane and ran it. There was fuel starting to come out of the fuselage. The only place it could be coming from is the needle valve assembly. I removed the engine again and pressurized the n.v.a. and felt air escaping. I had another n.v.a. so I changed it and did a pressure test again with much better results. I may fly it in the morning along with the re built Jamison.

What's old is new again.

I built a Jamison Special in 2018 to compete in Old Time Stunt. I flew it to several podium finishes and changed the color scheme once. A month ago while preparing for the Zachary contest I crashed it. The wing was still usable so I built a new fuselage and tail feathers. It's assembled and painted and ready for clear coat.

The center picture is before the crash. Weight as it sits is 38 ounces.

How did that happen?

We carried 8 model kits and an engine to the El Dorado contest Nov. 4 and 5. I brought the newly fixed motor mount Mo' Best to fly in profile and on again Sunday. The plane was flying better with the fixed motor mount as it should have. I managed a second place finish in profile and 5th out of 7 on Sunday. I did get my highest score ever on sunday and only got beat by Joe by 10 points instead of the usual 20 or more. I was happy about that. One of the batteries didn't charge properly but I had two good ones for Sunday any way. I was hoping to win a kit or two in the raffle but I didn't get anything. The kit, engine and fuel I got in the spring will have to suffice for now. We got home about 6:30 pm. Sunday evening. On monday I took the Mo'Best and the problem battery to the park and it flew the plane like it always had. I guess I still have 3 good batteries. I brought the Vector I built from the kit I won at the spring El Dorado contest. The engine, a Brodak 40, was acting up the last time I flew it. I ran some primes through it to warm it a bit and then tried to start it for a flight. It wouldn't start so I turned it over and tried to start it but it still wouldn't start. As I tried to remove the starter battery the glow plug came out with it. I re installed the plug and tightened it. The engine ran very well for two short flights. The first flight I had hooked the lines up wrong but the second flight was much better.

Rebuilding the Jamison and my first tri-fecta.

At the Zachary contest I managed a first, second and third place finish in the events I entered. I flew the Mo' Best in all three. I found that the printed motor mount had broken and the motor was deflecting downward a bit in maneuvers. I glued and screwed it when I got home. I have several flights on it and things are staying together. I figured I should salvage the Jamison wing and build the rest new. I have the parts covered and almost ready to go together. Two more coats of clear on the wing and another on the rest of the parts should do it. I found that the Dr. paper is good for covering wood parts. It's a lot smoother than the silk span I'm using on the wing. And the search is on for a color scheme. Next year I will be the contest director for the Zachary contest. I'm trying to come up with first, second and third place prizes.

OOPS.

The new planes first flights went well. First attempt the needle wasn't set anywhere close so I took it home and ran it on the bench to get a setting. Then at the field the lines weren't right but it flew and has a good corner and is stable inlevel flight. I dug out another set of lines but didn't get to test them as I had to make ready for the contest this weekend. Today I flew the Mo' Best and the Jamison. The second Jamison flight I went into the wingover and started to pull out inverted, changed my mind and pulled out right side up crashing into the ground. I was able to salvage the wing and I started a new fuselage along with the tail feathers. No Old Time Stunt this week end for me. I don't think I will have the rebuilt plane ready for El Dorado either. The wreck was about 5 years old and raggedy. It needs a rebuild.

Number 2, ready for test flights.

The weather has been dry this summer and it continues that way still. I ordered a can of clear spray paint and It came in yesterday in time for me to give the new plane a coat. I let it cure overnight and this morning I installed the engine and fuel system plus I borrowed a tail wheel from one of the raffle planes. I plan on getting a flight on the plane in the morning 10/18 23. The weight came out to 44 ounces, 3 ounces lower than the first plane. I found that the spray paint will keep 5 months in the fridge after activation. The stuff is $25 a can and I don't use it all on the plane for weight reasons. The contest is this weekend and I sold two of the planes so I only have to transport 6 and a box of stuff to the raffle. I may have room for 2 planes to fly. Our friends from Ct were in Dallas for the drag races last weekend and they stopped by for a visit. Their grandson won the Jeg's All Star Race last year and won it again. I got to hold the trophies he got, pretty neat. Too bad the TV show doesn't cover the sportsman races.

The Pixie Bob 2.

I have a friend trying to design a paint scheme for the new plane. I'm out of ideas. I had a prop backfire off and hit my hand two weeks ago. Pretty good cuts but they are healing well. I have selected 8 planes to bring to the contest and if they don't sell they go in the raffle. That leaves me with 17 to fly. I also have a bunch of small items and a box of balsa blocks from other kits that were not used. The Pixie Bob is flying very well but i am taking the Mo Best to the contest as it fits into 3 events and with the raffle planes I don't have room for others in the truck.

All better.

We are almost over covid we contracted on a flight when we were coughed on. I put the Vector up for a spell to concentrate on the Mo' Best. I plan to use it at the local contest as there is three events it will fit in. I need the room in the truck as I am bringing 8 planes to sell or if they don't sell they will go in the raffle. I've been flying in the morning lately and an r/c flyer was flying across the field. I stopped in when I had finished what I was doing and found they had parked one of their planes at the top of the tallest tree in the park. I looked for it the next day and it's still there. A hig wind is needed to get it out and by then it will be useless. The new Pixie Bob 2 is coming along. I'm prepping the parts for covering now. I have spent over $200.00 on wood and hardware so far. I may need another can of clear dope and colors before I'm done.

Nitro testing.

The heat has layed off finally. I went to the park with the Vector and the higher nitro fuel and the original 10.5 x 4.5 APC prop. The nitro did the trick and I was able to get in the first full pattern.The plane is quite lively as the c/g is slightly aft of where it should be. I had cored the stab and elevators to save weight and it's still a bit tail heavy. I have the stock muffler and a 2 ounce heavy hub to get the balance as close as it is. I planned on taking the electric "Mo Best" to the Georgia contest but neither of us is in any condition to go at this time. The Mo Best fits into 3 categories so I only have to bring 2 planes instead of 4. The Jamison for Old Time Stunt being the other plane. The Tundra was ready on time and it looks very nice. Polished and detailed a nice touch. I started work on a new Pixie Bob using a more modern airfoil. I don't know why as I have 26 planes now.

First flights.

The temperature went into the mid 70's in the morning and I took advantage of it. I didn't have the engine running fast enough but it was enough to give me information to make some changes. First was the prop, I put on a biger one but the next morning it wasn't any better so I put the first one back on. The glow plug acted like it was not right so I put in a new one. I thought the venturi was too large but it's not. I was going to change the needle valve assembly but didn't have a spare. . Then I figured that more nitro would make me open the needle more and maybe that would do the trick. I mixed up a quart of about 8% nitro up from the 2% I use and ran the engine. I had to open the needle to lower the rpm to what I want and that did fix my problem. Plus more nitro makes a lot more power. I may get out tomorrow morning but the temperature is going up again. It's 104 right now.

Another new plane.

First time in the sun. 47.7 ounces, Brodak 40. It's ready to fly except for the high temperatures. Mid 70's at 0700 is my limit and that is hard to come by lately. The balance is a bit tail heavy but shouldn't be awful.

Another great adventure.

We were heading for our son's place when we got rear ended. About 45 minutes to get the police and paper work done and we were on our way. At our son's we found that his wife had got broadsided in a town north of Baltimore, Md just before we got hit here. He planned to trailor her the hy-brid to get home with and trailor the broke truck home. We headed out at 0700 Sunday, the next day, and got to their hotel the next day, Monday. We found the garage that had the truck and paid the tow bill and loaded the truck onto the trailor. The distance from there to home is 1150 miles mostly on highways. we left the hotel at 0325 the next morning and got through the local roads to I-81 South. The trailor brake warning was beeping now and then but nothing to worry about. One of the grease caps had fallen off so we went off the road to find a store to buy another. That done we got breakfast and looked the trailor over and I found a loose wire which was causing the beeping. After a closer inspection a loose brake backing plate was found so we removed the wheel, brake drum and plate. With the wheel back in place we left for the highway and for the next 8 hours or so there was no beeping. The roads are very rough and bridges have abrupt get on's. We bounced all the way to Louisiana. Once there we stopped and got a bite to eat, checked the trailor over and got back on the road. After a mile or so the tire on the wheel we removed earlier blew out. Left side rear tire close to the traffic. We couldn't get too far off the road but had about 3 feet to the white line. We put the electric impact wrench to good use and changed the tire with speed. From there to my house, about 75 miles, no more problems. After my son left me off he headed for home about 35 miles away sticking to the highways. He got home and next morning he noticed the left side front tire was missing. It had failed somewhere on his trip home and only the bead was left on the rim. Everything else was torn off. He didn't even notice the flat during his drive home. A new tire and it's back on it's 4 tires. I have a date with the body shop but he doesn't have one yet for his truck.

Waiting for cooler weather.

The temperature has been in the high 90's and low 100's. Too hot to do much of anything. It is forecast to continue all week. That will make a month of very high temps. I did manage to get the latest plane painted in spite of the weather. I found a scheme that was easy to copy and looks decent. I ordered some clear for the final touch but will wait for lower humidity before I spray that on. We did manage to get rear ended at a stop light last week. I got a date with a body shop to fix the fender and bumper. The other driver is paying.

The heat is on.

The temp has been the high 90's for over a week. Too hot to fly as I have to stand in the open sunshine. I have put the time ot good use building the raffle won Vector using the raffle won Brodak .40 engine and running that with the reffle won fuel I used to mix 5 gallons of my fuel blend. The plane is ready for paint but the humidity is just too high and I don't want to mess it up any more than it already is. I haven't really got a scheme in mind yet anyway.

I tackled an automobile headlight lens that crazed and was useless. I used some agressive sandpaper,wet, and it barely touched the coatings on the plastic. 320 grit, 400 grit, 1000 grit, 2000 grit, then silver polish, Griot's Garage Complete Compound polish, Colgate Toothpaste and finally a clear coat paint. The picture is of the first one next to the second one that now looks like the first one.

A name at last.

Our daughter has a cat that is a Pixie Bob breed. When I heard that I named the plane. I got the graphics from Frogskin Graphics in Clinton, La. If I need more graphics I will give them a call. The new engine has been running well enough to be put back on the Pixie. I flew it on Nomad 1 several times to break it in a little bit. I bought a used LA.46 for 30 bucks a few months ago. I put it on the Cardinal and flew it. It had a needle valve assembly that looks like it came from an r/c carburator. It worked but not that well. I installed an.v.a. that we usually use and it ran a lot better. Nice and steady with power for an old engine. The kit I won at the El Dorado contest raffle is coming along nicely. It's just about ready for covering. I've been having good luck with silk span covering lately. It takes longer than monokote but lasts longer and looks better when painted. The weather has turned quite warm thispast few days and is forecast to be warm until mid next week. That puts a damper on flying as it's 80 degrees by 0700.

Happiness is a good flying plane.

I am amazed at how well the new plane flys. Very stable in level flight and has a pretty good corner for a first flight. I didn't do anything to balance the plane as it came out real close to the normal Twister. I went back to the field with it a few days later and verified it's flying abilities. The new engine hasn't broken in yet and is a bear to start by hand. I had to fly it without the spinner as the engine would backfire and spit the prop off. Without the spinner I could tighten the prop quickly. I am concerned about the metal tank as the engine quit in the top loop of the verticle eight. I'll get a plastic tank and fit it into the tank compartment. While I had the tank hatch off I reoved the new engine and installed one that is well broken in. I didn't know I had a spare .46LA. I'm pretty much confined to the property as I don't want to leave the dog alone for too long. I started on the Vector I won at the contest raffle. I had a model of this plane maybe 10 years ago but it was built and covered in China. It flew quite well as I recall but the elevator horn broke out and it crashed. The kit has the same set up as the other one and now that I know about it I'll reinforce the area so it doesn't fail again. I took the wing out of the jig this morning and have to build the wing tips. Each one is 9 pieces of balsa that is laminated, saw cut to shape, lots of sanding and then split lengthwise, hollowed out and glued back together. I have a die grinder and a rotary rasp that makes very short work of hollowing. A big mess also.

Double Triple.

The contest at El Dorado was a success. I was able to place third in Profile, third in Warbird and on Sunday I got third in Precesion Aerobatics. Then in the raffle I won a Brodak .40 engine, a gallon of fuel and a Brodak kit of the Vector plane. I had an ARF or the Vector and it flew well while it lasted. I had been shortening the lines I use on the planes and during the contest one of the much better flyers said I should shorten them even more. I'm down to 60 feet from 63 and the planes look a lot smoother in flight now. I had figured that if the better flyers are usning shorter lines than you are all your maneuvers will look larger, which they are, and get a lower score. Even though both are at 45 degrees of line angle to the ground. I think that helped me. The weather has been dry lately and I got the Twisterrific painted last week and ordered some clear. The paint came in Sunday so I sprayed it while the dryness persisted. Today I got it put together and reday for a test flight. I still have to make a line for the stooge.

Getting ready for El Dorado.

I will bring the old red Pathfinder for profile, the L-17 Navion for Warbird and the electric Privateer for P.A. on Sunday. I finally got all of the planes controls set up right and they all fly a lot better. In 74 years I've been setting them up wrong. The full fuselage planes now have a decal covering the hole in the fuselage that gave me access to the controls. It was worth it for the better flying. The profiles were not as invasive as the controls are all external to begin with. The Navion has an Evolution .60 engine in it and I was using a BY&O propeller. I tried an APC 12 x 5 and the engine really ran better with it so I changed to the APC. I had one on the Ringmaster Excel when I hit the ground inverted. That plane needed another go around on the controls and it's ready for a test flight and should be much better. The Privateer is now using 5 cell 3000 mAh batteries as the 3300's I was using are heavier and I don't have many of them left. I think the lighter batteries are what is helping the plane fly well. I have the full fuselage Twister mostly assembled with the flaps and elevators attached. I used cloth hinges again as they are very free moving and they seal the hinge gaps some. I haved named it "Twisterrific". I hope the weight will be around 48 ounces one it's done and painted. It's strange that the plans say 490 sq in wing area and it's really 470. With the extended wing I built it's now 490.

It stopped

The winds have finally died down and flying is good in the morning again. The weather prediction for warmer and humid came true today. Thunderstorms from 0430 to 0800 followed by the increase in humidity. When he's right he's right. The new Twister is coming along. The wing and tail are built and waiting for sanding and covering. The fuselage is half built. I made the top and got the canopy carved out. That will take a lot of sanding. There is no molded plastic canopy for this model and I didn't want to search for a close look-a-like. The electric Legacy I nw cll the Privateer as I made several changes to the fuselage and wing shapes so it no longer looks like the original Legacy. I've been using 5 cell 3300mAh batteries and they are failing. I have 5 cell 3000mAh batteries in the Nomad 6 so I took the timer from that plane and put it on the Privateer. That should put the speed and duration in the ball park. I hope to test it soon. Electric power is more sxpensive than glow fuel power.

It's not stopping.

It's April 27th and the weather is still abnormal. The wind is very tricky at the park plus the rain comes when it feels like it. I've been able to get some flights in but not what I want. I've deceided on the Pathfinder for the profile event at El Dorado in mid May. The L-17 Navion will be the warbird entry and I'm trying to find the best plane for Sunday's event. I should be able to get that one by contest time. I was goint to scratch build another plane and was drawing one up when I noticed that the Twister has never been built as a full fuselage plane. I'm in the middle of cutting the parts out of the spare balsa I have. I need to make a hobby shop run for more balsa and hardware. I'm streatching the wing 2.5 inches to make up for the width of the fuselage. The fuselage is 2 inches longer than the plans show but that mod really helps the kit plane fly better. It's raining again.

Bad weather.

I figured out a way to use a spray bar that had no needle. Without both it's useless, until now. I do have remote needle valve assemblies that came with the engines but the spray bar is too small for what I want to do with the engines so I remove the stock one and replace it with an aftermarket unit. I have two units that didn't have needles. They got broke in hard inverted landings. I soldered closed the end that the needle goes in and installed the remote unit except for the stock spray bar. The weather calmed down a bit and I got to the field and flew the new set up. It worked perfectly. The weather turned bad again and I was sitting in the shop trying to figure out what planes to bring to the upcoming contests. The Mo'Bestgot the nod but I figured I could improve on the control system. I measured the plans for control system set up and found it to be less than optimum. I couldn't get the push rods in holes that were the same distance as the plans. I found a flap control horn that was made for the Pathfinder and after some work got it mounted and hooked up. A few other tweaks to the plane and it's ready for a test flight.

A new test and an old problem.

Most of the engines I use on my planes, the OS .40/.46LA, come new with a remote needle valve. I use an after market needle valve asembly that has a larger diameter spray bar which restrics air flow giving me the type of engine run I'm looking for. This style puts the part that I have to turn to adjust engine RPM real close to the propeller. This morning I had the idea to use the larger spray bar with the remote needle valve. The larger unit has an open ended spray bar as the fuel goes in one end and the needle screws into the other which adjusts the amount of fuel getting into the engine. The original remote unit has only one end open so I soldered the open end of the larger unit so it would act like the ssmaller remote spray bar. I hooked the engine up on the test stand and started it. It ran very well on the stand. I'll have to try it on a plane in flight when the winds cooperate. My seven year old toilet started to fill when it wasn't supposed to. There is a leak in the flush valve seals somewhere. I watched several posts on youtube and got the parts to fix things and when I tried to take the valve apart it didn't want to budge. Snaping and cracking noises made me very wary of what is going to happen so I stopped. While sitting outside after breakfast a plumbers truck pulled into the neighbors yard. I talked to them and got a card and made an appointment with the office to have them look at the situation and fix it. We will probably go to an ACE hardware store and look at electric mowers today.

How I do it, cheaply.

Handle holder.

Home made line winder.

Wait is over.

The new mower came on time Monday. I noticed marking on the deck that wasn't what it should be and then I saw that the mower wasn't the right one so I refused delivery. The right one came today and I got to work installing the fittings so I could tow two push mowers like the old mower. It took some welding and drilling but I got things installed and it's ready for the first mowing when the grass recovers from the freeze. I brought the new Pathfinder and the re-controlled Legacy 40 to the park this morning. The Pathfinder flew well but was really touchy on the controls and a bit ligt in line tension. Pretty easy fixes. The Legacy really improved all around. Not much to adjust on that one. I took a strip of clear trim sheet and painted it to match the wing tip bottom where I cut the hole to fix the leadout slider. That looks much better than the patch of blue tape. I also installed a larger fairing over the hole I cut for the external pushrod. The wind has been higher than usual lately and messing things up. Generally around the equanox the wind is stronger than the rest of the year.

The waiting game.

I finished the new Pathfinder two days ago. Ready to fly weight is 52 ounces just like the old one. The weather has been cold in the morning so we have been doing other things instead of flying. Yesterday as I was mowint the lawn the 23 year old Cub Cadet's mower deck broke apart from rust. I scrambled to fix it so I could finish the lawn. This morning I looked up mower dealers and what they have on hand as I need another riding mower for next week. I foound that Lowes carries Craftsman mowers and that the price wasn't too bad. After a trip to the Apple store we stopped at Lowes and bought one. I'vehad two other Craftsman mowers in the past and they gave me good service so why not get another? It is scheduled to be delivered Monday afternoon. I removed the fittings that held the two side push mowers and will install them on the new mower. I figured on going to the field this afternoon but the wind wasn't playing along so I will wait until tomorrow. I'm anxious to test the revamped Legacy 40 and the new Pathfinder.

Yet another screw up. (make that plural)

On my Evo .52 powered Legacy 40 the elevator had a lot of slop. I have been trying to zero the controls but the slop kept me from doing it properly. There was only one cure and that is to run the push rod out of the fuselage side and install a new control horn. T get the push rod routed to the outside I needed a 3/4" hole drilled at an angle in line with the path the push rod would take. That path ended up being 6 inches long. when I got it drilled, with a piece o sharpened brass tube, it extended well beyond the stab. leading edge into plain sight. I had to cut a 1.250 hole in the top of the fuselage so I could get at the front end of the push rod to free it from the flap control horn. There I noticed I had put the rod into the wrong hole so I could fix multiple errors at the same time. I was able to cover most of the exit hole with trim kote and the hole in the fuselage top with black trim that kinda looks like the checker board on the wing. I also weighed the plane and it's 66 ounces. There's nothing I can do about that error. The other Legacy 40 weighs 53 ounces. I went way overboard on the paint o the other one. The controls are nice and not sloppy and I want to test fly it if the wind dies down. Before I cut into the fuselage I had trouble with the leadout guide. I had to cut into the wing tip, on the bottom, and during that repair I managed to break the guide off and had to fix that. During that repair I managed to glue the slider to the plywood guide. During that fix I managed to break the guide off it's mount again. I was more careful with the glue this time. The new Pathfinder got clear coated this morning. It's drying now and hopefully will end up close to 52 ounces ready to fly. That's what I figured anyway and that's what the old one weighs.

Getting there.

I've been working on the new kit of the Pathfinder. i've got all the major parts built. I deceided to cover the parts before final assembly. I had some silk span left over from the last bilds and covered the stab., elev., flaps but ran out before I could cover the wing. I had some "doctor paper" so I used that. I have to cover the wing in four pieces. I got three pieced installed but the last section gave me a lot of trouble. I removed the fourth piece of covering 4 times before I got it right. Anyway I'm in the process of doping the covering before final assembly. It's much easier to get the base layer of paint on while the parts are small. I have a paint scheme picked out so I don't have to wait until I think of one.

Loose engine again.

The Pathfinder that had brass inserts instead of "T" nuts to hold the engine down got removed and I made an aluminum plate that held the enigne and was screwed to the wood motor mounts. Even though I used 6 screws to hold the thing to the plane it again loosened after several flights. I considered several fixes and bit the bullet and drilled through the nose. I replaced the bolts that held the engine to the plane with 4-40 bolts and nylon insert lock nuts with a jamb nut on top of that.I drilled through the plate and the wood motor mounts and cut away the balsa on the other side of the fuselage so I could put more lock nuts on the other 4-40 bolts. I flew it this morning and things went well. Except for some dirt that got through the filter and into the spray bar causiing a lean condition. That ws cleaned up quickly. Yesterday, along with the Pathfinder, another of my designs had lean engine run. That was on the ground and I stopped the engine and went home. I found a piece of dirt that came out with the needle valve. There isn't enough room to put a filter in the fuel line inside the plane so I decieded to run the fuel line outside the fuselage with a filter in the line there. I flew that one too this morning and it went well also. The fuel filters I use are take apart to clean and some how I lost the filter screen in one of them. That one has been in the parts box for a while now. I asked about filter material on a forum and got a good answer. As it happens I bought a reusale coffee filter year ago and use it to fliter my fuel when I make a batch. The answer I got reminded me of the filter and I used a paper punch to get a usable filter piece. I fit right in and I installed the filter on one of the other planes. The new Pathfinder is coming along and I'm finishing the wing now. Lots of sanding and then covering with paper and dope. I have to do some work to the nose area so it blends with the prop spinner. Good old trusty "T" nuts on this one.

Doing it wrong.

I've always had to make line length adjustments on a new plane. Then quite often the plane would have a better turn in one direction than the other. I couldn't figure it out and thought it was the way I assembled it. A few weeks ago I thought that maybe the bellcrank was not square even though I took pains to assure that it was. After checking I found that the bellcrank was not square and therefore had more travel in one of the directions. Most often the down direction. I hung the plane by the leadouts and found that they were even and that the bellcrank was square to the fuselage. I put 3 ounce weight at the fuel tank location to make it more realistic like in flight and re adjusted the controls so the flaps and elevator are in line with the wing and stab. chord lines. That made a big difference in how the plane flys. The profiles were the easiest to fix but I had to cut a hole in the fuselage of the full body planes. During this I found one of the planes had a loose pushrod. On that one and the second one of that design I had made provisions for just this kind of problem and didn't have to cut the fuselages. My old Pathfinder is flying very well now and I bought another Pathfinder kit and I'm in the process of building it.

Back to school.

I attended a class for a gun license yesterday. Mine ws a renewal so I only had to put in 6 hours instead of 8. We all suffered. I did get to shoot a target. 3 rounds of 12 shots. My gun held 10 + 1. I loaded the 12th shot like a single shot and got through it. The new tires are going well so far. They are not as heavy duty as the other set. I should get 50,000 out of them at least. I finally did the unthinkable and cut a hole in the fuselage top to adjust the controls like the others. I found a decal that was able to cover the hole and put that on after the fix. After that I tackled the on submission of the paperwork form yesterday's class. It only took an hour, I wasn't able to print it out before sending it in and couldn't attach more than one photo. I did call our son and he got things straightened out after a bit of wrangling. We may have to go for fingerprints again s the police office that handles this stuff did't do background checks on a lot of applicants last time around. Not having to pay on the application is an ominus sign. State ploice headquarters isn't far for me but those from up state have a big problem. Betweeen the tires and the rain I haven't been to the park much this past week. I have added strips to the elevators on the Cardinal. With the new control adjustments it does fly better but it's not as stable as it should be. I made a new flap horn for it and that evend out the up and down nicely.

Flats and findings.

We left the park and the truck seemed to be pulling to the left a bit. I got a short distance ffrom the park and the truck was pulling left harder. I pulld into the Wallgreen's and had to change the left front tire. A first for me to change one "on the road". After some research I found an entry on the trucks book for the tires. Installed in 2009 and coing the math the tires have 92110 miles on them. Michelin's. I found a set on Amazon and they arrived yesterday. Now to get them on the truck. Two weeks ago I stumbled on something that made my planes fly better. When I built them I always adjust the controls for neutral before closing up the full fuselage ones and do the same for the porfiles. Then I adjust the line lengths to get them to fly right, not good but right. I've done this forever it seems. It occurred to me that it wasn't quite right. I compared my best flying planes to the others and found that by hanging them from the leadouts, using equal length connectors, the better flying planes were much closer to having the flaps and elevators in a neutral position. I usualy mark the neutral spot on the fuselage for the flaps and go from there. The first plane that was an OK flyer got the new set up and it flew a lot better. As did the second and third. This morning I finished the last plane in the fleet of 22. It was a pretty good flyer but not quite good enough. It took a half turn of the flap clevis and a half turn of the elevator clevis to zero out the controls. I built in an opening for the flap clevis on the full fuselage plane but only on two of the planes. I have two others that have to go with different length line connectors at the plane end. That seems like it should work but it offsets the bell crank and gives a false neutral which gives more up or down than the other way. There's no good way to hide a hole in the top of the fuselage. On one of the planes I found a lot of slop in the controls and had to change some hardware in the system to rid the plane of the slop. I used ball links on that one and it's the only one that has given me trouble. "Z" bends and clevis's for me.

First flights.

I finished the new Cardinal and Profile Nobler finally. I didn't have spare engines for both so I used the only spare available, a .40LA. I flew the Cardial first and it's working out pretty good. I swapped the engine into the Nobler and it flew quite well also. I knew that swapping engines wasn't going to work so we went to the hobby shop and I bought a used .46LA for the Cardinal. I ran it on the bench for two ounces of fuel to loosen it up and set the needle. I installed it in the Cardinal and it's ready for more testing this morning. The hobby shop has a used ASP .52 just like the one I already have in Nomad 4 tht runs very well. I didn'thave enough money for two engines but I'll go back in a week or so.

Window of opportunity closes.

I've been flying the Pathfinder and it's going very well. There was a problem with the stock muffler on this engine that I've not had with other engines. Even though there was a lot of exhaust smoke the engine would be quite hot after a flight. I re-bolted the engine securely to the plane and changed to a Fox .35 muffler. Being an ounce or so lighter than the stock muffler I figured there would be a change in how it flys. I was surprised that it flew about the same but the turn was improved a lot. Now if it doesn't break a wing I'll be happy. I got the chance to clear coat the two planes yesterday and got them prepared for painting. I set everything up so there wouldn't be any wasted time after I mixed the two part clear paint. I started to measure the paint and hardener when I found the hardner was a gooey mass in the can. I ordered two cans of spray paint. Maybe next week I'll get the job done.

Locked gate saves plane.

I've been flying the Pathfinder a lot lately. It has been flying very well. We went to the park and found the gate locked so we went home. I had removed the spray bar for cleaning and was going to re set the needle for flight at the park. At home I figured I could run the engine and get the setting close without flying. As the engine was running I noticed the flaps and elevators flopping around more than usual. After a short inspection I saw the flap control horn had broken. I shut the engine down and started to figure how to fix the broken horn. Had this happened in flight I would have had no control and crashed. The vibration had fatigued the metal to failure. Possibly the metal had been chrystalized during the brazing process. Either way

it was no longer usable and had to be repaired somehow. My first option was to install a plastic horn like the one that comes with the kit. Then I rembered that I could make a horn out of aluminum angle that would be much stronger and work just as well or better than the broken part. The plans show a horn that should give better performance so I duplicated it on the aluminum angle. Some hacksaw and file and drilling work and the new horn was ready for installation. I used 4 screws to hold the new part on the flap and a piece of plywood underneath for the screws to anchor in. The weather isn't cooperating right now but may get better a bit later for a trial flight, if the gate isn't locked.