Another bummer.

I was getting low on methanol to make my fuel mix. I bought it from a hardware store that also races circle track. We drove there today with my new 5 gallon jugs. They said they don't have any more and don't know when they will get some. Bummer. I used to get it froma carbruator shop closer to home so I headed there. He has some but not enough. Again bummer. I searched for methanol and prices ranged from $125 for 2 1/2 liters to $375 for a 54 gallon drum. Amazon had 5 gallon pails for $125. I figured that buying fuel from the hobby shop would make the most sense. I bought 4 gallons of 15% nitro and 2 gallons of 10% nitro. I went to the brands web site and found that the oil content is 17% for both nitro contents. I want 22% oil so I need to ad 6.5 ounces of oil to each gallon. The fuel I take out so the oil will fit amounts to 39 ounces of fuel and that will take 1.5 ounces of oil to bring it up to 22% oil. I still have over 3 gallons of my mix and enough methanol to make another 5 gallons of fuel so I should be inn good shape for the next season.

That didn't happen.

As it worked out the engine in the Carpet Bagger wouldn't cooperate and got sidelined for the electric Mo'Best. I used the Oriental for the Profiel and Classic events with the Jamison for Old Time stunt. We had a cold front pass through on Friday and for the contest the winds were very strong out of the North blowing right into the sun. I could not see the plane after it came close to the sun and almost crashed on every flight on Saturday. I have been taking a pill that helps me see better when driving at night and it also makes seeing during the day when I look at the sun when flying causeing a flash blindness. On Sunday the wind was a little lower and I managed a second and a third out of the 5 events I entered. The winds all summer were light and variable so I wasn't ready for any kind of wind. The next day and into the week after that the winds were back to light and variable. The temperature has been below average in the mornings with no rain for going on 4 weeks. I am working on the Oriental and Jamison for the El Dorado contest on Nov. 7/8. Both engines are not up to snuff and I'm trying things to fix the problem. I can get through the patterns with them but they could be better running. Both are Brodak .40's. I changed the needle valve assy. in the Oriental engine as I noticed the first one has larger spray bar holes than a spare I have. It may make a difference, I'll find out in an hour or two. The other one keeps loosening up the muffler hold down bolts. Max length bolts and carb cleaner and blue lock tight for todays test. Plus I wired the muffler to the engine. If it falls off I wont have to look for it and if it falls off at the contest I get a Zero for the flight. The sound that the tire was making on the Tundra wasn't the tire after all. It was the wheel bearing. It took the dealer two days to change it and it's quiet now. I must have put 10,000 miles on it with the bad bearing. That caused the oil seal to fail covering the wheel speed sensor to fail causing the warning lights on the dash to light up causing the anti skid and cruise control to not work along with any thing to do with brake functions.

Latest happenings.

Our grandson got married last year and this Sept. he produced a baby boy. That ment we had to go see our new great grand son, in Ct. Another and probably last drive back there. All the other trips we took 3 days. This time we figured 4 days would be easier on us. And we spent 7 days there getting the visiting done. During that time a wheel speed sensor on the rear wheel crapped out lighting up the dash like a Christmas tree. No cruise control. We made it back on time and got the truck fixed and all is well there. Now I need to get ready for the local contest and there is a storm in the gulf that is going to mess up my planned flying time. I need to get a plane ready for the profile and N-30 events and one for the big event on Sunday. I have rejected the first choice for profile and N-30 and am going with the scratch built Carpet Bagger. Which is really a scratch built Mo'Best. I need to fly it to see how it performs in the changing atmosphere and temp. I changed engines in it a while back for the better. The air is getting cooler and the planes/engines react differently than in the heat. I also am starting to use another batch of fuel and that can change things also. Hopefully the storm wont ruin too much of my flying time as the contest is next weekend.