Changes again.

I built the Pathfinder tail heavy. Using the Stalker .51 I needed a plastic prop, the muffler that came with the engine, a 2 ounce "heavy hub" on the engine and a half ounce of lead stuck to the nose to balance it. The engine had a vibration as it gets up to speed which bothers me. On the P-40Q I have an Evolution .52 r/c engine that I had converted to c/l use. It's a good running engine and weighs more than the Stalker. The bolt holes in the Evo don't match up to the Stalker so to swap them would be a problem. I did it anyway. I found some 3/16 x 1/2 aluminum pads that had 6-32 threaded holes already in it that matched up with the Evo. I marked where the fuselage that needed trimming and opened it up so the engine and pads would fit. After a couple coats of paint on the bare wood I screwed the engine in place. With a wood prop and stock muffler it balanced in the right spot. I had taken the Evo off the P-40Q and now I needed something for that plane as I use it for the warbird event at contests. On the Mandarin I have an Evo .60 engine that is made from the Evo .52 case. That means it is the same size outside as the .52. Just like the small block Chevy engines it can be swapped out without any problems. I removed it from the Mandarin and bolted it onto the P-40. I made a second trip to the park to check on how the swaps worked. The Pathfinder and the P-40 stay out on the lines a lot better now which I could have used at the Tulsa contest. I may use the Pathfinder for the profile event this weekend as it's always windy on contest days. I may have to get a larger fuel tank for the .60 but the 4 ounce tank should be enough for the .52.

Prepping for the next contest.

I have to decide which planes to take to our contest in Zachery, La net weekend. The P-40Q for sure but the electric Nomad and the Pathfinder are both flying very well for the profile event. The Legacy and Legacy 40 are flying well also for Sunday's event. I'll hit it hard this weekend and next week.

On Tulsa time.

We left early on Friday morning to beat the traffic on the bridge. The WAZE got us to The hotel without any detours like the last time. The contest on Saturday was a bit windy but my electric Nomad handled it well and got me a first place trophy. The Jamison flew quite well and would have got me a podium finish except I was doing the horizontal eights wrong. I've been doing them wrong in the last few contests but the judges didn't notice. I practiced them when I got home. On Sunday I flew the new Pathfinder and it and me didn't handle the wind so I only did one flight. I should have used the Nomad. After the contest we had time for a side trip to the Will Rogers museum along old route 66. We left early on Monday morning to beat the traffic as our route South was on the other side of Tulsa. Again the WAZE got us there. We stopped at a McDonalds that wasn't open. The next one wasn't open either even though it was many minutes past opening time. We finally got one around 0900 in Paris, Tx. After getting to US 190 in Oppolusis it was clear sailing until we hit La 415 when I spotted the low tire pressure light on. I kept going and at home I checked the pressure and it was 24 psi so I added air and planned a visit to the tire store. I found a nail head in the tread and the tire store fixed it. All in all it was a good trip. I added nose weight to the Mandarin and it's flying well now. I increased the elevator throw and it makes a competitive turn. I made up some lines a foot longer and will try them tomorrow. It's a bit fast on 61 footers. Most of my other planes are on 62 foot lines anyway.

Legacy 40 again.

I had installed the Stalker .51 in the plane. It replaced the O.S. .46LA. I also lengthened the stabilizer 3 inches before installing the Stalker. It flew very well with that combination. I removed the Stalker and installed it in the new Pathfinder I bought with the gift certificate from the Canton, Ga contest. So I re installed the O.S. .46LA in the Legacy 40. This morning I flew the Jamison and the Legacy 40. I use the Jamison for the Old Time Stunt event. It took 2 short flights to get the engine set right for the Legacy and to get the controls adjusted the way I think they should be. I got in two full tank flights and the Legacy flew very well. I'm not competing with it any time soon so it's a practice plane for now. One of the grounds keepers has been telling me that he will give me some fuel he has. That is going on for close to a year now. Today he came through with a gallon of Traxxas car fuel. I tried to find the nitro percentage but came up empty. I did find that it's made in 10, 20 and 33% nitro. The oil is 11 or 12% which is dangerously low for my use. I can ad more when I use it in my next batch. I got permission from the parks board to hold the contest on April 4 and 5 next year. That is about 3 weeks from the contest in Tucson, Az. I can only hope for the weather. I checked on the weather at Catoosa, Ok and on Friday the winds are forecast to be in the 20 mph range. Hopefully on Sat. and Sun. they will be lower.

Our lucky day.

The other day I noticed the low tire pressure warning light on. We had got the light on other occasions also so I turned around and put air in the tire. As we headed out this morning the light was on again so I headed back to put air in it. I checked the pressure and it was a lot lower than the other day so I figured there was More to it. I took the tire off and found a nail head sticking out. A trip to the tire shop was in order. I looked at the inside tire wall and found two 6 inch cuts with de-lamination's. At first I thought it was cut but who would cut the inside of the tire and not the easier outside. At closer inspection I found dry rot that had separated and de-laminated in two places. So I brought it to the shop and had a new tire put on then I put that tire back on the car and drove it to the shop for three more new tires. We found the slip for the old tires we bought soon after moving here in 2016 and had 100,000 miles on the car. The tires lasted for 53,000 miles and had enough tread to hit 60,000. Too bad the side walls were crap. I didn't check the other tire's sidewalls. If it wasn't for the nail we wouldn't have made it to Tulsa.

Better than I expected.

Today was the second outing of the new plane. I changed propellers to a plastic one and added a two ounce weight to the nose. I filled the tank for the second flight of the day and did an exceptable complete pattern. There was some raw fuel on the wing so I put it away for the day until I could explore the tank. At home I pressure tested it and found two cracks in the vent pipe. I soldered them shut and got it ready for tomorrow. The electric version I flew last year handled a lot like this one. Steady in level flight and a real good corner. I may bring it to Tulsa at the end of the month.

First flight report.

We managed to get to the park early Monday morning. There was a bit of a breeze and that is a good thing. I only put one ounce of fuel in the tank in case there was a drastic problem I wouldn't have to fight the plane for a long time. To my surprise the plane flew very well. I missed the engine setting and it was very slow. Over a second per lap slower than it should have been. On the second flight, with one ounce in the tank, the speed was very close to perfect. The wings are level and it flys steady in level flight. I put an ounce and a half in the tank for the third flight and got in some basic maneuvers just to see how the plane reacts. So far so good. I added some nose weight when I got home by swapping the prop for a heavier plastic prop and a plastic spinner which fits over the heavy hub. The c/g moved forward maybe a quarter inch. Tomorrow I'll try the new combination if I can get out early enough and the grass has been mowed.