Almost painted.

I had real good weather for spraying the clear. I'm in the middle of trying to figure out what design to put on the wing bottom.

Batteries and other things.

I've been having problems with my batteries not lasting long enough to complete the pattern. After many attempts at fixing the problem I asked for help on the forum. It seems my way of charging the batteries is causing the problem. i have been charging them right after the days flying session and topping them off before the next session. I found that that's the wrong way to go about it. Only charge them right before the flying session. I also learned that the charger has a lot of other functions. Like charging each cell evenly up to the limit. The directions don't say to do this only how to make the charger do it. I haven't found anything in the directions that say how to charge anything just how the charger works. Anyway learning has taken place. I got the conversion cylinder for the revolver and then couldn't find bullets for it. I ordered a box from the same place I got the cylinder and another shipping charge. The cylinder fit like a charm and the bullets fit also. I did find out that using anti-sieze on things would have prevented the cylinder pin from sticking. I'm finishing up the plane kit I got. I am using an engine at the top of the recommended size chart and not electric so I had to fuel proof the fuselage and use dope paint instead of the Rustoleum I have been using. This engine the Evolution .52 is the same size an the Evolution .60 but the plane won't be heavy so I don't think I will need the bigger engine. I had to order some striping tape that will go around corners for the trim paint. At the auto parts store it's over twenty dollars a roll. I found six rolls on Amazon for less than twenty dollars. They came in yesterday and I masked the plane and sprayed the trim on the fuselage and wing. Probably tomorrow I'll turn on the dehumidifier and try to get the clear coats on the fuselage. It's very important to paint in very low humidity. Yesterday we went to the Birdman Cafe for a snack. Take out only but there are tables on the patio. The river is still over flood stage. We couldn't get within a mile. Today I'm going to bring all the contest stuff, tables, pins, banner and scoreboard back to the Zachary field. I think the ground had dried out enough.

Still flying.

That's about all that's going on here for the last month. The second and third contests in this area have been cancelled. The next one is in Georgia in late August. That one has a chance to happen. The big one at Brodak's in Pa. in June is cancelled too. No word yet on the national contest in Muncie, Indiana in July. I have the new Legacy flying pretty well along with the old Legacy. I think I have the battery thing figured out. I got the power down to where I like it and started watching the charging a lot closer. The chargers are not that good. I have to put each battery on more than one station to get the voltage up over 16.92. When I charge to 16.93 or better the thing works like it should. South Park is still operating normally, almost. I bought a kit from one of the cottage kit makers that attends our contests. As usual I'm stalled trying to figure out what colors to paint it. I tried to work the cap and ball revolver and it had stuck again. I broke the cylinder pin and had to take the gun completely apart in order to get it out. After that I ordered a conversion cylinder for it and now it's a .45 center fire cartridge gun not black powder.

Still trimming.

I started full flights after 4 short ones. I noticed that the ESC was quite warm after a flight. I opened the front air intake but it didn't matter so I opened the exhaust hole. Still no change. Then I moved things around so the ESC was close to the air opening but that didn't help either. Yesterday I removed the ESC and attached it to the bottom of the fuselage and rewired it. I got in three flights this morning and there was no problem with the ESC. After a flight or two the power would lower from 5.2 seconds per lap to 5.9 seconds. That battery would not be discharged as much as the others that ran at the proper power level and it happened to different batteries. It seems to be fixed now that the ESC is getting a lot of cooling air. It could be a quirk of the ESC. I have two others of the same brand and size in a full fuselage plane and it gives me no problem being inside the fuselage. And one on a profile and it's out in the breeze. I've been looking at the electric Nomad's paint scheme and I don't like it. It took a lot of hemming and hawing but I finally removed all the paint from the wings and tail. I'm in the process of re painting the trim in a different scheme that won't look so grammar school. Maybe early high school now.

First flight, finally.

The green only nose repair went fairly well and will stay that way. I was ready for the first flight of the new Legacy yesterday, 3,7,20. I packed the plane in the truck and around 3 pm we headed to the park. When we got there a soccer game was going on. Cars and people everywhere. We went home. I waited until afternoon as the winds were forecast to lessen. At home I checked the report for Sunday morning and it was good. With the time change that put things even closer to sun up and guaranteed light winds. After breakfast the wind was very light so I headed for the park again and this time it was deserted. No witnesses if something went wrong. That's important for a first flight. I had set the timer for the minimum flight time, 2 minutes. The first flight went very well. Even with too much handle spread I could hold the plane steady in level flight. On the second flight I reduced the spread 1/4 inch top and bottom. That made it easier to hold steady but still had a good turn. The wings looked level upright and inverted, the line tension was a bit more than the first Legacy but I didn't go above 45 degrees. Lap time on the first flight was 5:35/lap, the second was 5:75/lap. I'll watch that and reset the power if needed to maintain the first flights time. At home I weighed the plane and it's 68.1 ounces. Too much paint. Next time out I'll try a vertical eight if that goes well I'll increase the time for full patterns.

Almost done.

So far I've painted the hatch cover three times and the nose piece just in front of the hatch 4 times. The hatch cover came out all right after the clear coat but the nose didn't change. Something was coming through the color when I applied the clear. Today I hit on a fix for the nose. I sanded it some and then brushed on two coats of color. Now in a few days I will color sand the paint and polish it without putting on any clear. If that don't work it will be that way until it's through it's flying days. I've been experimenting with the first Legacy. I had painted the nose black after putting in the electric system. I sanded the black off and then got some enamel spray paint to go over the original paint. Spraying the same paint over itself causes a lot of problems. So far the enamel hasn't attacked the other paint. It will take a few weeks to harden but should look better than the black. I had to do a lot of filling and sanding to remove the openings for the engine.

That will leave a mark.

Either the new gun was too big or the paint wasn't thinned enough. The mess that followed was painful to look at. I needed to re paint the hatch cover and nose but when I sprayed a clear coat with another gun the green almost faded out. I don't have any more green so that is on the to do list. Several other areas needed shaping up and I just have the nose and hatch to fix.That won't stop me from a test flight when the winds calm down a bit. This time of year, in the deep south, is generally a bit breezy. If I get out before 8 am on Tuesday I should be golden. I just need to turn the flight time down to minimum, 2 minutes. I did cut another vent hole in the bottom sheeting for cooling. I'm working on the first Legacy getting it sanded and primed, mostly for experience in painting. Plus the nose looked real bad. I could use it as a back up for the new one if need be.