I repaired the wing of the plane I wrecked and built a new fuselage and tail. I went with an engine this time and it's waiting 5 days before I can apply the clear coats.
Saturday, December 10, 2016
The latest electric plane.
I repaired the wing of the plane I wrecked and built a new fuselage and tail. I went with an engine this time and it's waiting 5 days before I can apply the clear coats.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
A few things from the last 8 years.
Written by Matthew Costa
The president has done some things right -- for which he is properly receiving credit -- but he is far, far from scandal-free.
Not all of these are directly or solely the President's fault, but some absolutely are.
The supine press chose to give the President a pass, and so history must judge the scope and importance of his scandals -- singularly and in toto -- in considering the President's legacy.
•IRS targeting political opponents, and the refusal of IRS employees to testify before the Congress
•DoJ's Fast and Furious gun-running operation to Mexican drug cartels which lost accountability of about 60% the 2000+ guns trafficked, one of which was used to murder Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry
•Illegally wiretapping reporters -- home, office, mobile phones; prosecuting reporters as political payback, without legitimate legal basis
•Benghazi lack of adequate ground support; cover-up falsely blaming Benghazi attacks on a YouTube video rather than acknowledge it as a pre-planned terror attack
•Ignoring Russian blatant aggression in Ukraine, including illegal deployment of soldiers in "stripped-down" uniforms to hide national affiliation in violation of Geneva Conventions; the downing of civilian airliner MH-17 by Russian surface-to-air missile, at the loss of more than 280 souls
•Senator Clinton's private e-mail server to conduct State Department business while avoiding oversight -- and which carelessly put sensitive and classified information directly at risk
•Bombing Libya without even bothering to seek Congressional authorization -- then dismissing reporters inquiries saying the bombing wasn't an "act of war"
•Despite inheriting a stabilizing Iraq, half-heartedly pretended to negotiate for continued US troops to maintain stabilization force in Iraq, which efforts predictably failed -- subsequent withdrawal led to rise of the al-Qeada offshoot Da'esh, those cutthroats styling themselves ISIS, undoing six years of progress in Iraq, and destabilizing Syria; and emboldening al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants in Afghanistan to attack the fragile government
•Trading five Taliban combatant commanders for a deserter -- the search for whom led to the loss of American lives
•Illegally installing officials at the NLRB by unconstitutionally arrogating to the president the "authority" to determine when the Congress was in recess
•"DREAM Act" EO to shield certain illegal aliens from deportation, after correctly asserting earlier that the president didn't have the authority to do it -- it must come from the Congress; failure to enforce immigration laws by deporting criminals; failure to prosecute US officials who release illegal alien criminals despite a DHS hold
•HHS illegal activities
•Failure to investigate demonstrable voter intimidation and fraud
•Secret Service prostitution scandal
•"Cornhusker" bribes and other shady deals to force ACA through the Congress
•ACA deception -- "If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor." "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it." "Your health care premiums will go down."
•Illegal diversions of billions of dollars from the Treasury to insurance providers to prop up ACA -- without Congressional authorization and appropriation -- and against GAO guidance
•Unconstitutionally asserted executive branch authority to determine for churches who is a "church employee" -- Hosanna v. Tabor unanimous Supreme Court ruled against the president
•Deliberately targeting Catholic charities to force them to violate their consciences, charisms, and Catholic teaching -- Little Sisters of the Poor, et al. -- despite having assurances he personally offered the Catholic bishops -- and after offering more generous concessions and waivers to allies and unions
•Illegally overturned NH executive council decision to award contract to several qualified organizations other than Planned Parenthood -- "awarded contract" directly in violation of the law
•Solyndra preferential treatment and selection before bankruptcy
•Negotiating and signing "binding" international agreements with no intention of ever submitting to the Senate for ratification as required by the Constitution, by pretending these binding agreements are not "treaties"
•Poor management of international relations -- not confronting our enemies, and appeasing our adversaries, while going out of the way to criticize our allies and abandon our friends
•Failure to respond to an act of war against South Korea, when North Korea belligerently and without provocation sank a ROK Naval ship, the Cheonan, to the loss of all souls aboard, or shelled a South Korean fishing village killing three fishermen and two ROK Marines -- and pressured the ROK to not respond -- emboldening North Korea to act with impunity -- all this despite our treaty obligations to defend the Republic of Korea
•Underhandedly pushing sequester, while encouraging Senator Reid to block budgets in the Senate for years, as a means of protecting his own priorities while advancing agenda to dangerously reduce US military strength -- not quite yet hollow military, but stretched terribly thin
•Failing to protect our allies while China runs roughshod over them in the South China Sea, illegally "building" islands then claiming larger and larger swathes of territory; failing to back up Japan when China makes aggressive moves against Japanese islands; failing to back up the democratic Chinese government on Taiwan
•Continuing to release al-Qaeda fighters from Guantánamo Bay after it was proven some returned to battlefield to fight against US -- more than 115 thus far
•DoJ stonewalling Congressional oversight, ignoring subpoenas
•NSA spying on foreign political allies
•VA incompetence & scandal -- neglect and poor treatment of veterans and falsified records; some veterans died whilst vainly awaiting treatment
•Lopsided Iran nuclear "deal" which didn't end threat of Iranian nuclear weapons programs -- with side deal surreptitiously doling out hundreds of millions in non-US currency loaded into pallets in secret payment for hostages illegally held by Iran -- even after it was proven Iran had supplied terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan with weapons which killed American and Allied soldiers
And,
•Accepting a Nobel Peace Prize he did nothing to earn, in any office, having been nominated six weeks after his inauguration.
History may judge the president better than mediocre, despite his uneven domestic and sclerotic international record, especially given the hand he was dealt -- a shaky economy, a burst economic bubble, two unpopular wars, and resurgent adversaries on several fronts.
But history WILL take note his scandals, those of his own making and those he did not decisively act to squelch.
One imagines the press will suddenly and collectively discover a spine, and declaim their deep and abiding love for journalistic ethics under the administration of the president-elect...!
The president has done some things right -- for which he is properly receiving credit -- but he is far, far from scandal-free.
Not all of these are directly or solely the President's fault, but some absolutely are.
The supine press chose to give the President a pass, and so history must judge the scope and importance of his scandals -- singularly and in toto -- in considering the President's legacy.
•IRS targeting political opponents, and the refusal of IRS employees to testify before the Congress
•DoJ's Fast and Furious gun-running operation to Mexican drug cartels which lost accountability of about 60% the 2000+ guns trafficked, one of which was used to murder Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry
•Illegally wiretapping reporters -- home, office, mobile phones; prosecuting reporters as political payback, without legitimate legal basis
•Benghazi lack of adequate ground support; cover-up falsely blaming Benghazi attacks on a YouTube video rather than acknowledge it as a pre-planned terror attack
•Ignoring Russian blatant aggression in Ukraine, including illegal deployment of soldiers in "stripped-down" uniforms to hide national affiliation in violation of Geneva Conventions; the downing of civilian airliner MH-17 by Russian surface-to-air missile, at the loss of more than 280 souls
•Senator Clinton's private e-mail server to conduct State Department business while avoiding oversight -- and which carelessly put sensitive and classified information directly at risk
•Bombing Libya without even bothering to seek Congressional authorization -- then dismissing reporters inquiries saying the bombing wasn't an "act of war"
•Despite inheriting a stabilizing Iraq, half-heartedly pretended to negotiate for continued US troops to maintain stabilization force in Iraq, which efforts predictably failed -- subsequent withdrawal led to rise of the al-Qeada offshoot Da'esh, those cutthroats styling themselves ISIS, undoing six years of progress in Iraq, and destabilizing Syria; and emboldening al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants in Afghanistan to attack the fragile government
•Trading five Taliban combatant commanders for a deserter -- the search for whom led to the loss of American lives
•Illegally installing officials at the NLRB by unconstitutionally arrogating to the president the "authority" to determine when the Congress was in recess
•"DREAM Act" EO to shield certain illegal aliens from deportation, after correctly asserting earlier that the president didn't have the authority to do it -- it must come from the Congress; failure to enforce immigration laws by deporting criminals; failure to prosecute US officials who release illegal alien criminals despite a DHS hold
•HHS illegal activities
•Failure to investigate demonstrable voter intimidation and fraud
•Secret Service prostitution scandal
•"Cornhusker" bribes and other shady deals to force ACA through the Congress
•ACA deception -- "If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor." "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it." "Your health care premiums will go down."
•Illegal diversions of billions of dollars from the Treasury to insurance providers to prop up ACA -- without Congressional authorization and appropriation -- and against GAO guidance
•Unconstitutionally asserted executive branch authority to determine for churches who is a "church employee" -- Hosanna v. Tabor unanimous Supreme Court ruled against the president
•Deliberately targeting Catholic charities to force them to violate their consciences, charisms, and Catholic teaching -- Little Sisters of the Poor, et al. -- despite having assurances he personally offered the Catholic bishops -- and after offering more generous concessions and waivers to allies and unions
•Illegally overturned NH executive council decision to award contract to several qualified organizations other than Planned Parenthood -- "awarded contract" directly in violation of the law
•Solyndra preferential treatment and selection before bankruptcy
•Negotiating and signing "binding" international agreements with no intention of ever submitting to the Senate for ratification as required by the Constitution, by pretending these binding agreements are not "treaties"
•Poor management of international relations -- not confronting our enemies, and appeasing our adversaries, while going out of the way to criticize our allies and abandon our friends
•Failure to respond to an act of war against South Korea, when North Korea belligerently and without provocation sank a ROK Naval ship, the Cheonan, to the loss of all souls aboard, or shelled a South Korean fishing village killing three fishermen and two ROK Marines -- and pressured the ROK to not respond -- emboldening North Korea to act with impunity -- all this despite our treaty obligations to defend the Republic of Korea
•Underhandedly pushing sequester, while encouraging Senator Reid to block budgets in the Senate for years, as a means of protecting his own priorities while advancing agenda to dangerously reduce US military strength -- not quite yet hollow military, but stretched terribly thin
•Failing to protect our allies while China runs roughshod over them in the South China Sea, illegally "building" islands then claiming larger and larger swathes of territory; failing to back up Japan when China makes aggressive moves against Japanese islands; failing to back up the democratic Chinese government on Taiwan
•Continuing to release al-Qaeda fighters from Guantánamo Bay after it was proven some returned to battlefield to fight against US -- more than 115 thus far
•DoJ stonewalling Congressional oversight, ignoring subpoenas
•NSA spying on foreign political allies
•VA incompetence & scandal -- neglect and poor treatment of veterans and falsified records; some veterans died whilst vainly awaiting treatment
•Lopsided Iran nuclear "deal" which didn't end threat of Iranian nuclear weapons programs -- with side deal surreptitiously doling out hundreds of millions in non-US currency loaded into pallets in secret payment for hostages illegally held by Iran -- even after it was proven Iran had supplied terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan with weapons which killed American and Allied soldiers
And,
•Accepting a Nobel Peace Prize he did nothing to earn, in any office, having been nominated six weeks after his inauguration.
History may judge the president better than mediocre, despite his uneven domestic and sclerotic international record, especially given the hand he was dealt -- a shaky economy, a burst economic bubble, two unpopular wars, and resurgent adversaries on several fronts.
But history WILL take note his scandals, those of his own making and those he did not decisively act to squelch.
One imagines the press will suddenly and collectively discover a spine, and declaim their deep and abiding love for journalistic ethics under the administration of the president-elect...!
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Contest winnings.
The local contest was well attended. I had doubts because of the new location but everyone seemed to like the spot.
I got a third place in Warbird with the new Chipmunk. Then I won a gallon of fuel in the raffle. Not much for the $40.00 in tickets.
On Nov. 5 and 6 we went to El Dorado, Ar for their contest. The weather was really good and the competition even better. I scored my highest ever and only ended up 8 out of 9.
But in the raffle I cleaned up. 5 bottles of glue, an 8 pack of screwdrivers, 70 foot lines all made up, an ARF kit of the Oriental model with a sticker price of $130. Then there was another ARF already assembled with an engine all but ready to fly but never flown. I won that too. I built the same model from a kit several years ago that I won in the raffle at the local contest. I figure the total value of the prizes to be around $500.00. That makes up for the poor showing here.
I have flown the Oriental and the other, a Strega, is ready to fly tomorrow. I had to re do a lot of control things on it plus install a new rear bearing in the engine. It really didn't need it but I didn't know what was causing the bumpy feel until I got it out and cleaned off. Lots of castor droplets in the race that had solidified. A bunch inside the engine as well. If it flys well I may end up stripping the covering off and fixing things during the winter or what passes for winter here.
I got a third place in Warbird with the new Chipmunk. Then I won a gallon of fuel in the raffle. Not much for the $40.00 in tickets.
On Nov. 5 and 6 we went to El Dorado, Ar for their contest. The weather was really good and the competition even better. I scored my highest ever and only ended up 8 out of 9.
But in the raffle I cleaned up. 5 bottles of glue, an 8 pack of screwdrivers, 70 foot lines all made up, an ARF kit of the Oriental model with a sticker price of $130. Then there was another ARF already assembled with an engine all but ready to fly but never flown. I won that too. I built the same model from a kit several years ago that I won in the raffle at the local contest. I figure the total value of the prizes to be around $500.00. That makes up for the poor showing here.
I have flown the Oriental and the other, a Strega, is ready to fly tomorrow. I had to re do a lot of control things on it plus install a new rear bearing in the engine. It really didn't need it but I didn't know what was causing the bumpy feel until I got it out and cleaned off. Lots of castor droplets in the race that had solidified. A bunch inside the engine as well. If it flys well I may end up stripping the covering off and fixing things during the winter or what passes for winter here.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Contest bound.
I've been testing my planes to see which ones to fly at the local contest this weekend. I stripped and repainted all of the old ones over the summer. I had flown the Hound Dog a few weeks ago and it went well. i flew it again two days ago and it was a mess. Somehow I had swapped the lines around. I got that fixed and flew it again today. It flew well and is the plane for Sunday. The Chipmunk is getting better and I had some good flights on it today and I'll fly that on Saturday. The electric powered Shark is my choice for the second event on Saturday as well. I'm going to the site in the morning with the big Shark 665 and the Mo'Best. Others should be there setting up and other competitors will be arriving later in the day to get a feel for the new location. I'm bringing the Gezer to put in the raffle along with a Fazer kit and two smaller items. The Gezer flys pretty good and would make a good beginner plane or a sport plane.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Another new plane.
The DeHavilland Chipmunk. I scratch built it from plans during and after the flood of the ages here. It's in the flight trimming stages now. It's getting heavy as it's hard to balance properly.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Things are drying up.
Two weeks ago the floods messed things up here in the Baton Rouge area. The park was under 5 feet of water and closed for two more weeks. I found it open and usable yesterday. I'm all loaded up and ready to go flying.
I had ordered plans for a new plane three weeks ago and had them printed out at the local Office Depot when the rains came. I rummaged through my balsa stash and started to build it. I almost got the wing done, the fuselage is ready for assembly and the tail pieces are waiting for hinges. I've been taking my time as other needed parts had to be ordered. Everything is here and ready for the final push.
I had ordered plans for a new plane three weeks ago and had them printed out at the local Office Depot when the rains came. I rummaged through my balsa stash and started to build it. I almost got the wing done, the fuselage is ready for assembly and the tail pieces are waiting for hinges. I've been taking my time as other needed parts had to be ordered. Everything is here and ready for the final push.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Early morning rain, almost.
We generally get sunset skies here but this morning I took some pictures of the cloud covered sunrise.
The temp. was in the low 80's at 0700 so we went to the park for some flying. The cloud cover stayed and we went back in the early afternoon for more flying. Then the sun came out.
The temp. was in the low 80's at 0700 so we went to the park for some flying. The cloud cover stayed and we went back in the early afternoon for more flying. Then the sun came out.
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