Was a good day to fly, but...

The other day the low tire pressure light came on. It has lit up twice before several months apart so I just added air and went on my way. Today I had to get to the VA for a blood test at 0700. I knew the traffic would be horrific so I left at 0600. A 15 minute trip. I got out on the street and the tire light came on again. I figured I would get some air at the gas station so I pulled in and the air pump wants 4 quarters which I didn't have so I went inside. There was a line at both registers so I left and went home and put air in the tire. Luckily the traffic wasn't slowed by accidents or volume so I made it in 15 minutes. I was second in line. At home I removed the tire and found a dry wall screw near the edge of the tread and pointing towards the side wall. I was concerned. I went to the tire store and they wouldn't repair it because of the side wall so I ended up buying a new tire, store brand. By the time I got it reinstalled on the car the sun was too strong to go flying.
   In the shop I thought about the engine in the Strega and how I read about it on one of the forums. Someone mentioned that the Aviastar .61 and the Evo .60 were  bolt in swaps. So rather than trouble shoot the Aviastar some more I removed it and installed the Evolution. I should put the Aviastar on a board and run it some.

Flying in the rain.

I put out a notice that I would be at the field Sat. morning and it worked. 5 others showed up. It started to rain a bit after I arrived and continued until I left. I got ready to fly several times but the rain would return. After an hour or so the rain slowed to a sprinkle so I got the Strega out and got it in the air. I was happy that it was stable and wings level. The engine didn't run that well so I made an adjustment and tried again. Too much of an adjustment, it quit after a few laps. I got out the Wildcat and got a short flight in. I asked for suggestions on the stalling problem it has. One of the others looked it over and noticed that the pushrod from the bellcrank to the carbon fiber tube was very springy. That could be the problem so when I got home I was able to force a tube over the pushrod which stiffened it up a lot, that may be the fix. I checked the Strega engine over and removed two head shims and opened up the venturi for more power and , hopefully, more controlability. I removed the stock needle valve assembly and replaced it with a generic unit. I have the Evo .61 in case the other won't cooperate. We will see next time out on both planes.
   I have a venturi and needle valve assembly being made for the ASP engine and it should be here soon. I have that engine on the Chipmunk.

All together now.

I finished putting the Strega back together today. It weighs just about the same as it did before. I was hoping for  less but I put some stronger things in and That added weight aft of the c/g which made me use a heavier muffler to get the balance where it was before which brought the weight back to where it was. I got out a set of lines for it,64 feet long with a 65 foot set in the wings. I have a 68 foot set I could use also. Possibly in the morning I'll give it a try. May be happy, may be sad I don't know.  We went to the park this morning and it had been mowed. I brought the Shark 665 with the Evo .52 and a muffler from the ASP .52. That went well but on the second landing the left main gear collapsed. That took a few hours to put back together. It had broken before so I made a larger hole so I could get at it better. It should be fine from now on.

Dried out.

I installed the dehumidifier in the shop and let it run for 24 hours. Thsi morning after mowing the lawn I made a couple tests using two clears. I settled on Dupli-Color clear over the Rustoleum 2X clear. I got two coats on and we went to the movies to see Despicable Me 3.
 It's a Movie Tavern theater where you can get food and drink at your seat so you can eat and spill in the dark so no one notices. Unless you voice an expletive and jump up. I ordered a coffee and said if it's not hot don't bring it. I got a cup last week and it was tepid. I sent it back and got one that was a few degrees warmer, I should have sent that back also. The waitress came back after a while and said they didn't have any coffee. No more extras at that place.
The clear didn't fog or blush and is curing now. I screwed the landing gear on and have to wait for the fuel tank and engine. Once they are installed I'll take another picture and send it to the control line columnist so he can put it in the magazine.
 I don't think I will be able to fly at the park until they mow the grass. I don't think they are working today and won't be tomorrow either.

NASCAR or NASCRASH.

I don't like most of the Hendrik? drivers. Gordon's gone so that leaves Johnson and Jr. and Khane. After Jr. hit the wall early I was up in spirits. Then he came back I was concerned. Then he got taken out for good. Then slowly most of the big name drivers got taken out and by the end only Johnson was running but he finished out of the top 10. All in all it was a good race. Stenhouse won for Roush/Fenway. Boyer was second, that's how thin the field was at the end. Get rid of restrictor plates, lower the cubic inches or something for big tracks.

First photo's.

I got the wing tip stripes completed this morning. The stripes go around the tips and back under the wing. There was a gap between the top and bottom I couldn't get at the time. The blue is much darker than it shows. Almost an insignia blue.

Again and again.

The new light seems to be a gift from the power company. The neighbor only wanted the pole to elevate the wires but the company put a light on it also. It will be taken care of.
  The ASP .52 arrived yesterday and I got on the horn and ordered a venturi set up for it. The conversion for the Evo .52 came in at the same time so I installed it and ran an ounce of fuel through the engine to get it close for flying this morning. i should have gotten two of the ASP's as they are easier to convert to a venturi system than the Evo. and $25 cheaper.
 I got the Strega painted and almost assembled. I can't spray the clear coat because of the humidity. I'm looking at low 70 ounces. What I cut out just about makes up for what I put back. It does look a lot better.