Winter projects.

I got the new plane and the re done PT-73 painted and covered last week. I'm getting the new plane finished and ready for test flights. I need 2 pilot figures for the PT-73 as the new canopy is long. I also forgot to cut the hole for the muffler on the PT-73 before paint.

 At the club meeting it was noted that the local high school is having a plane building class. I said I was available to help when they have the plane kits and other stuff.  

Fun fly weekend.

After messing up getting free plans at the Wrentham contest I got an e mail about a fun fly at the same place. I should be able to pick up the plans this time. i am bringing 3 planes, the Banshee, the Lightning and Red Molly. I put wheel pants on Red Molly with 2 inch wheels. I don't know how well that will work on their grass but I have larger wheels just in case.
 I've been trying to figure out how big of a square will fit into a 150 foot circle. I have to stake out the circle every 45 degrees as the maneuvers should be within 45 degrees or 90 degrees for figure 8's. I came up with 106 feet but 107 worked better. Google didn't help much. From what I can see I need a better turning plane to get some level flight at those measurements. Even the loops don't look right within 45 degrees.

Cement work.

I've been wanting to install a cement pad at the Brooklyn flying circle for quite a while. I'vew worn a spot down to dirt and it gets stuck in the tread of my shoes. Today I finally figured out how to make the forms and other small steps. I cut four pieces of plywood three inches by 48 inches for the forms and bought 3 bags of quick krete. I used the water tank from the pop up camper to bring the water and loaded the truck with tools. After getting the forms made and in position the 3 bags didn't look like enough to fill the forms. I walked over to the edge of the dump and got a wagon full of sand. I leveled that in the forms and started to mix the cement. The forms took every bit of the 3 bags but they are full to the top. Just as I was mixing the last bag it started to rain lightly. By the time I finished it was raining a bit harder. I covered the cement and went home.
  My order from Tower Hobbies came in today. I've change the PT-73 quite a bit and I'm in the middle of sanding and filling. The new plane is ready for covering then paint.
 I mailed a quart of castor oil to LA on Mnday.

Winter stuff.

I have the new plane up to covering the wing and tail. The Mass Cup winning plane, the PT-73 got my attention too.  I cut off the nose, hogged out the engine crutch and glued in a firewall for a glass filled motor mount. I ripped off all the covering and used acetone to strip off the blue paint. Top Flite Luster Kote is crap. The paint started to turn brown on top where the sun hit it. That wasn't the only reason for the re finish. I had monokote hinges and they wern't the best for the plane. I made new and slightly larger but shorter flaps, a new rudder that is like the ringmaster and doesn't fit between the elevators.It ends at the hinge line. I filled the gap in the old elevators and will go with them. I need to make up a new nose to fit a 2 inch spinner. I had forgotten that the flap horn had broken during a tweaking session years ago. I had to solder a piece into a brass tube then solder the tube onto the part of the horn that was captured in the fuselage and not removeable. It should work. I ordered monokote and stuff from tower and should be flying in a few months.

Rainy day stuff.

  It started off quite innocently. I was working on the new plane and then got the idea to change the landing gear set up on the Banshee. After all was said and done I had bent wire for a trike gear set up and painted the spats. I flew it today and it flys great. Very stable and has a good turn. I removed a bit of nose weight from the Ringmaster 576 and it has a better corner than before. I'm on a roll. The new plane is nearing the tissue paper installation process. I'm going to use poly urethane thinned with alcohol as it's not smelly like dope.

Contest report.

 On Sunday I got a long look at the Classic score board and it didn't look right. My fears were affirmed when one of the officials said he had to re-calculate the scores.
  The winds were very light and shifting around. I was first up in my class and got 485 points. After the first round I was in first place. I didn't figure that would hold up after the second round as several others had put up pretty good first flights. The second round was closer but my 492 was 3.5 points ahead of the second place finisher.
  That class win put me in the fly-off for the Mass Cup. All the class winners fly again and the best flight wins the cup. I was flying my scratch built PT-73 that I've had for a long time. It was my back-up plane at Lee, Ma but didn't see action because of the winds. I figured I owed it a shot at a contest as it's been flying for several years. I put up over 100 flights between Lee and Wrentham. The engine ran very well and it beat several much better planes both electric and fuel powered. One of the planes we beat was the $3500.00 Shark/electric that was up after me at Lee but didn't fly. I only got 8 appearance points but the Shark being an RTF didn't get any. Anyway I walked away with a first place in Classic, after re-tabulating, a first in AMA Stunt and the Mass Cup plus Best Classic Model.
 Over the winter I plan on re-finishing the PT-73.

  I started my first winter project and have it framed up and the wing installed into the fuselage. I made wing mounted gear and am carving the top block and canopy now. I installed an r/c type firewall and motor mount as it's said to be lighter than the all wood crutch normally used. I bought a wing kit from Brodak and will use the only piece usable from the Pathfinder wreck, the stab/elev. This is the first plane built on the old dining room table I inherited.

Wrentham contest.

The wind started to blow early this morning. Nothing since the Lee, MA contest. I got to the site about 0900 and the others were already talking about the wind. My first flight wouldn't get off the ground. The tail kept coming up and grounding the prop. After 4 attempts it finally got airborne. I got into the overhead eights when the fuel ran out. I knew it would be short because of the many attempts. I bent the tail wheel wire to lower the tail and it helped on the second flight. I got a full flight in and got applause after landing. I also got 502 points for first place in Classic stunt. It's the same pattern as normal stunt but with older design planes. It's blowing pretty good even now. Tomorrow should be much better conditions. Regular stunt classes too. I flew the Ruffy with the Fox .35 I won in the raffle at Lee.