Battery test.

I re charged the 5 cell battery that I didn't use the other day and the two 4 cell batteries. I upped the flight time a bit and the 5 cell went off normally. I put oneof the four cellss in and I was surprised that it flew the plane very well. The other 4 cell went just as good. At hopmw I turned the flight time up to about 5 minutes. I'll need a few flights to get it at 5 and a half for the full pattern. Ice storm last night and very cold. Almost everything closed because of it. I need to get to the DMV to straighten out something about the El Camino. I think I know what it is and I have papers that says I'm in the clear but the computer hasn't been told that. I want to file a statement of non use so I canb drop the insurance.

First flight in the books.

I charged three of the 5 cell batteries and headed for the park. When I hit the start button the motor just twitched back and forth. I tried it a couple of times and figured it may work. In flight I timed a lap for information. I tried a second battery and upped the rpm's. The lap timne was the exact same which is not right. I put it in the truck. I tested the start function several times and it started to act normal. This morning I gave it another test and it was still normal so I headed for the park. It acted normal when I hit the start button and after the delay period the motor ran normally. Lap time was very close to what is needed so things seem to be back to normal. I have two 4 cell batteries that are 3 ounces lighter than the 5 cell and I plan to give them a try. I also made room for the batteries to be pushed aft an inch or so and that should help cornering. My next project is going to be a smaller version of the Twister model that I re engineered into a full fuselage plane. I hop to be able to get the original plans reduced about 10% at the UPS Store when they open on Tuesday. If they can't do it I'll have to go to Office Depot and hit the small copiers. I have a .20 and a.25 size engine doing nothing.

Ready to fly.

The jury is in the plane is ready to fly. I don't know how the designer came up with the balance point on the plans but with the battery in the plane and all the weight I took off it balances an inch aft of the desired spot. I checked the other one and it balances aft also. Without the battery it weighs 45 ounces. The battery is 12 ounces and that is the lightest one I can find. I checked the speed controller and timer and the rpm is at 9200 and that should be good for a test flight maybe in the morning. Unlike a fuel powered plane electrics stay at the same weight throughout the flight. The others get lighter as the fuel is burned off. I was hoping for low 50 ounces but it is what it is. I just hope I don't need to ad tail weight or nose weight.

Change of plans.

I started to implement the paint scheme with the star but couldn't figure out how to best tape it off. It didn't take long before I gave up on it altogether. I had just enough paint for the trim I put on the plane. It took about 6 hours to get both colors applied. I have a bit more to do on the bottom before the clear coat. I have to figure out which clear coat to use as It doesn't have to be fuel proof on this one just copmpatable with the other paints. Storms all around today so I didn't get in any

flying.

Another senior moment.

The saga of the Vector is slowly coming to a close. I stumbled on,what I thought was a second set of plans. It was not the same as the set I was using for the trim sessions. Then I tried to find the set I was using but couldn't find it. I let the Force be with me and grabbed the plans I was using and they were not Vector plans. They were the plans I was using for the Legacy 40 I am building. I put things right according to the Vector plans and some handle changes and it flys a lot better.I made another handle swap for the next time out. Trying to roller skate in a buffalo herd will lead to disaster because you have to look out for number one without stepping in number two. The new Legacy 40 is up to paint. I may need to get another can of white to get proper coverage for the base coat. Seeing that it's electric I can use a clear coat that looks good and doesn't have to be fuel proof which saves the new can of two part urethane I have.