8 to 10 inches of global warming.

My balsa order came in yesterday and I dug right into it. I finished the wing today and sheeted the hollowed out fuselage . I drilled motor mount holes and the Enya .35 sits nicely in the nose. I have to put a cheek piece on the side opposite the engine to help with vibration. Then sand the corners round and start the finishing process. I decided to get a Gold medal ringmaster kit from Pat Johnston and Dee Rice. I plan to build it as an ARC and sell it. Pat suggested making it a take apart as no body makes that version. He said lining the wing opening in the fuse. with 1/64 ply that sticks out a bit on each side will hold the wing. Plastic electricians tape wrapped around the joint. I don't think it will work in this case as the exhaust coats the wing and the tape wont stick that good after a few flights. But the same ply lining with a dowel in the wing leading edge butted against the fuse. and maybe a nylon screw at the trailing edge would hold it in place. The stab and rudder sit on top of the fuse and will be easy to make removeable. We will see what happens. It started snowing about 9 this morning and just started to stop at 4 pm. The wind is gusty and blows the snow all over me when I'm using the snowblower. Real misery. When I came home after coffee I turned into the drive and slid onto the lawn.

Slow progress.

The weather has been windy but lots warmer. The snow is all gone and that's good. I ordered some balsa from a supplier in Mass. I saw them once long ago at the WRAM show but never got balsa from them. My normal supplier burned about 6 months ago and I had no choice. I ordered some cheaper wood that is stained but usable. I'm supposed to get notified when the order is shipped. Nothing yet.I had enough on hand to almost complete the new wing for the Magician I'm scratch building. I need a 3 footer to finish it but I'm out of it. All that's left if the fuselage as I've made all the other parts. I've been running the Enya .35 to test venturi sizes. I think it will fly well with the opening in it now.

Snow storm part 2.

I finally stopped snowing yesterday. 3 days of snow. It's the longest period of snow I can remember. Well over a foot fell and there's a foot on the ground now. Temps in the low 20's with rain for Tues. night into Wed. Selling of ebay is going OK. I have another non payer, this time from Hawaii. I contacted the next bidder and offered him 4 of the 5 items Dave Miller didn't pay for. A lot lower price and free shipping. I sold my JR century 7 radio and I put a 4 channel Futaba I got from somebody up for .99 cents. My grandson gave me a red bag that has "you've been naughty" on it. Inside are three lumps of coal. I got the new dash ready to go in the El Camino. I had to repair several mounts for things that were cracked and wouldn't hold a screw. I'm waiting for better weather and the new heater unit from Vintage Air. After the new year they said. This could get ugly. I did find a dead mouse in the stock heater. Maybe I can put it on ebay, the heater not the mouse.

Snow storm.

We got at least 10 inches of snow last night. Another inch or two is still falling at noon today. The temp. was 30 last night and 16 this morning. It's only 20 at noon. I tried driving to East Hartford but turned around less than 5 miles from home. State roads are real bad but town roads are much better. Winter's here a day early.

Tried a new flying spot.

The temp. got into the low 40's today so I grabbed the Magician and went to the Shepard hill rec area. The spot is a hard ball field and is close to 300 feet square. i stood next first base and launched the plane from the warning track near the dugout. The base paths are still muddy for the heavy rain of last weekend. Being 90 foot bases I had tons of room. Not good in the summer as it's used for baseball and at odd times the sprinkler system comes on. I'll have to use the softball field then.

Ebay is getting greedy.

I've been listing items on ebay and not getting any extra things that cost me more money. Ebay lowered my rating because of "excess shipping charges" and wanted me to give free shipping for the holidays. I called ebay and complained. I figured that all the stuff ebay wants costs more money and they are not making enough off me. I listed some old King videos as buy it now free shipping. Total cost is $0.45 up from $0.35. I hope ebay is happy. It took 45 minutes to finalize the listing as I kept remembering things that would make me loose money. Like no bidders outside the US. I didn't see the lowered rating page pop up this time either. I checked the Senior Pattern site and my ad for planes isn't there. A senior moment at the Senior Pattern. Maybe it's only for members but it doesn't say. My laslistings on ebay went well except one buyer hasn't been heard from yet. This one is from Hawaii. I gave the "black spot" to someone from Italy on Tues. for not paying. So I know how to do it. I'll send a reminder on Friday and if nothing by Monday I'll flie a complaint with ebay. The first flight on the Magician showed a right wing high upright and low inverted situation. Meaning a warp in the wing requiring a tab. I prepared a tab but before adding it to the wing I put the incedence meter on the wing and found the inboard (left) wing slightly twisted. I took the heat gun and twisted the wing against the warp and re shrunk the covering. I got in a flight last Sunday and the wings are level. I'm happy. The plane feels good in flight too. I haven't done any thing fancy but I'm on the right track. Too much wind. Someone has chained the gates at the dog track so I can't use that any more.

Remembered the Senior Pattern group.

While discussing selling some of my r/c planes I remembered this group and went to their web site. I took some pictures of the pattern planes I have left and put in an ad. I should have read the directions as the pictures don't go in the email. Poo. I put in a plug for the stuff I have on ebay while I was at it. They are right in that era.