Rain delay.

It started raining around 0830. I spent the day fixing things on the planes. I removed the 4 ounce tank from the Hound Dog and installed a 6 ounce tank in it's place. I didn't think it would fit. Now I have enough capacity to run higher nitro fuels. I made a 5 ounce metal tank in case the plastic one don't work out. I leak tested all the engines and found a few that needed to be sealed. On the Shark 665 I removed the venturi and installed one a bit larger. Then I took out the raffle prize Strega and started to strip the covering off it. It's coming off kinda easy but not too easy. There is a few holes that need fixing from when I straightened out the controls. I may cut some things off and hollow them more. That should give me something to do on rainy days.
  It stopped raining around 4 pm so after supper we went to the park. I tested the Nomad with the modified tank and 10% fuel. I got 4.5 ounces in and that gave me 8 extra laps after the pattern. I plan to try a foot longer lines next time out. I also brought the Shark 665 with the larger venturi for a fuel mileage test. i put the usual amount of fuel in and it ran out at the end of the pattern which proves it's using more fuel which equals more power. I increased the rpm's and got a few laps extra so I plan to use a foot shorter lines on that next time out.
  I ordered 5 more gallons of castor oil and that should be here tomorrow. They had a holiday sale and I saved $20.00. I have enough oil to make 50 gallons of fuel.

Houston, Tx.

We fired up the WAZE and headed for Houston with only 3 planes in the Hyundai. The traffic was moderate to heavy for the entire trip. We found the La Quinta after a few detours. After checking in we went to the field. It's huge. 4 circles, two concrete and two grass. The concrete circles were poured in one shot, no seams. About 82 feet in diameter. The center pilot spot is a separate unit with a seam around it. Still the flying surface has no seams to bump into. On contest day I managed to find a dip though. It took a quarter inch off each prop blade. The winds were reported by the official weather station at the rifle range nearby at 14 gusting to 29 all day. Real tough flying but no one damaged a plane. I flew the Gypsy in the Classic event to a second place finish and was really burning a flight in in the Profile event with my Nomad design when the fuel line came off the needle valve assembly at the finish of a maneuver with three more to go. All I needed was a 25 point score on the three remaining maneuvers and an extra 25 for completing the pattern in the proper sequence and I would have won. I settled for third based on my first round score. On Sunday the winds were light and steady, just right for flying and the scores improved a lot. On my first flight I got a better score than one of the other guys that put me in 4th place for that round. In the second round I tied with the same guy for third place. The tie was broken based on the first round score and that put me in third. So a second and two thirds is good. The trip home was the same traffic all the way. Luckily there wasn't any accidents in the East bound lanes. West bound had two and one slow down was because of rubberneckers. The wreck was on the parallel access road. We unloaded the car at home and went to Big Mike's. I got some good tips on my flying and put them to use right away which got me the third place in Profile. Another tip was I should have used a higher nitro fuel with the heat and winds. I tried that this morning and I couldn't get enough fuel in the tank. I very carefully filled it and upped the rpm's and got in the full pattern with the required two laps at the end. At home I rearranged the vent pipe in the tank so it is at the highest spot in the tank and now I can get 4.5 ounces in the 4 ounce tank. I did the same thing to the tank on the Nomad+ also.

High fuel consumption.

One of my engines has been using more fuel than the others for the same flight time. There has been a lot of castor oil residue on the wing after each flight. I changed the glow plug today and got in a test flight and a full tank flight with the excess oil on the wing after the flight as usual. There also was a difference in engine speed from upright and inverted flight which can be cured by adjusting the vent tube inside the tank. At home I found that I had to take the tank apart to get the tubes in the right locations. For some reason I pressurized the tank and found a leak at the screw that seals the tank. The cap is deforming as I tighten the screw and that is letting air or fuel to escape from under the screw head. I used a cap from another brand of tank and got the leak plugged. Maybe I'll test it later today as the engine run will be a lot different and more predictable without the leak. It should mean a cleaner plane also.

All's well that ends in the well.

After finding out how the rear brake calipers worked I checked it out on you tube and Amazon. I saw a cube shaped tool that has several different types of lugs that fit other calipers. I checked Amazon and found that Wal Mart has it. I also found a kit similar to the one for rent at Auto Zone but $100.00 cheaper than their rental price. At WalMart I found the cube, a caliper spreader and a large C-clamp all for less than $20.00. I got the rear caliper off by lightly prying it up and put the cube tool on with a 3/8 ratchet and 4 inch extension. 7 turns later the piston was retracted and ready to put back on. I marked the spot that was on the bottom and put it back where it was as a pin on the pad back plate has to go into a slot in the piston. The inside pad was worn down to the metal back plate causing the noise. The parts went back together smoothly and after several easy pumps of the brake pedal that side was done. The other side went just as smooth but quicker having some experience now. The pads were in a bit better shape but worn close to scraping, scrapping, rubbing on the back plate, take your pick.. I put the tire back on and let the car down on the jack stand. I found that out when I put the car in reverse and backed up a few noisy inches.
  I mixed up another 5 gallons of fuel this morning. I was going to go the the hobby shop and get a gallon of fuel with all synthetic oil but I used a gallon of what I have on hand. I'll get one another time.

Stupid car.

The brakes on the Hyundai have been making a slight noise lately. I figured it was time to change the pads on the disc brakes. I've done this many times on American cars and it's a no brainer. I ordered the pads and started to attack the rear brakes first. Try as I might I couldn't get the caliper piston to retract so I could put the new pads in. I tried both sides and it was the same the piston wouldn't move. I tried the front and those compressed like I'm used to but the pads are still good. I went back to the store and got some info that solved the problem. The pistons have to be turned to get them back into the caliper. That takes a special tool that is rentable for $130.00. I went to youtube and found the job can be done with long nose pliers. I also found a tool that WalMart has that will do the job for $10.00. I'll get that one in the morning.

If at first you don't succeed...

For the last two days the winds have been light near the ground. As my plane goes around the circle the wind currents knock it all over the place. up high it gets worse. I haven't been able to determine if the thrust line changes helped the planes or did I have it close to begin with. We are heading to the park in a bit to give it another try.
  I watched a video on changing the brake pads on the Hyundai as there is a scraping sound when the brakes are applied. There's no difference from normal car brakes.

Whoda thunk it??

Stupid designers. After getting results by setting the engine thrust line to where it should be I checked almost all my planes. Most of them had down thrust. I managed to remove most of it and they are flying better as a result. I even checked the electric Pathfinder and shimmed the motor to zero it out. I flew it this morning and it flew very well. I have another plane called Mo-Best. It was a fairly expensive kit and never flew that good. I put an engine back in and set the thrust line to zero. I'll give it a try in the morning.Finding where the thrust line is on the plane is a hassle. Some I have the plans for and some I have to guess as close as I can to get accurate measurements. The next one I build will get set up to the plans early on when it's easy.