Finished with the Strega.

I put a bit of red trim on the new rudder and sent a picture of it to the column writer of the AMA magazine. That should be the last thing to do with the plane. Final weight is 77.2 ounces. The kit plane was 11 ounces lighter but didn't fly as well. It required a lot more control input to get a decent turn. It's in the dump now anyway.

Wake turbulence.

The Super Tiger engine in the kit Strega worked very well this morning. The air was not moving and I should have been aware but I was enjoying the moment. At the last corner of the triangle I hit my wake and the plane hit the ground. At least now I won't have to re finish it as I finished it already.  At home I removed all the hardware and usable parts and junked the rest.
  The third rudder on the ARF Strega worked. I put  three short flights on it and not a wiggle to be seen.
  Next project is to put the ASP .52 engine on the Nomad. The Evo .52 isn't compatible with the new style mount. I'll be able to switch back to the .46 without a problem.

Lots of changes.

I got to fly the kit Strega more and found the engine lacking in power. I checked the head shims and found 4 at .011 thick each so I removed two of them and tried it again. There was an improvement but not enough. I figured that seeing as the engines made in China had the same hold down bolt pattern that engines made in Europe would also. I have a Super Tiger .60 in another plane which is made in Italy and the one in the Strega, a Double Star brand is made in Ukraine. I removed both engines and they do share the same bolt pattern. I put the Super Tiger in the Strega and the Double Star in a box. I should be able to test them tomorrow.
 The plane that had the S/T engine has an r/c engine mount bolted to a firewall. I figured that maybe there was a set of holes I could put the Aviastar engine in. I was right again. I bolted it down and ran it to set the rpm's. It's good for one flight an hour because of the lack of compression when hot. It's just the way it's designed as far as I can find out.

The same only different.

I figured that since the rebuilt Strega is useless to me for contests I would get the one I built out and dust it off. My field at the park hasn't been mowed in a while so I went to the club field in Zachary. The engine started up like it was used only yesterday. It flew well without the proper handle and the engine running a bit too slow. I checked the balance on the rebuilt one and the kit plane was a bit nose heavy. I put a half ounce weight on the tail and will check that change next time out. I'll widen the ling spacing at the handle also. If I can get it flying as good as the rebuilt plane I'm pondering stripping it and refinishing like I did to the other one.

It worked.

After changing engines on the Strega I made a one turn adjustment to the elevator push rod. After having breakfast in Livingston I packed up and went to the park. The grass hasn't been cut this week but I found a place to use. I fired up the Strega for a short test flight and it flew quite well and the engine ran very well. I made a second flight with it and got in a full pattern. Removing the vertical stabilizer (fin and rudder) and going with the tip fins has a down side. The plane wiggles during some of the maneuvers. I'm not going to fly it in competition so what the heck. The push rod change evened out the up and down control. Before I had more down than up control.
  Back at the shop I looked at the Shark 665 with the new Evo .52 engine. I removed it and installed the Aviastar .61. Luckily the Evolution engines, .53 and .61 and the Aviastar have the same mounting bolt holes and can be swapped around easily. I ran the Aviastar to get the rpm's close and will take it to the park, probably tomorrow.
  The water in the ditch wasn't too high from yesterday's storms so I was able to get the lawn mowed before noon and the afternoon rain storms.

Was a good day to fly, but...

The other day the low tire pressure light came on. It has lit up twice before several months apart so I just added air and went on my way. Today I had to get to the VA for a blood test at 0700. I knew the traffic would be horrific so I left at 0600. A 15 minute trip. I got out on the street and the tire light came on again. I figured I would get some air at the gas station so I pulled in and the air pump wants 4 quarters which I didn't have so I went inside. There was a line at both registers so I left and went home and put air in the tire. Luckily the traffic wasn't slowed by accidents or volume so I made it in 15 minutes. I was second in line. At home I removed the tire and found a dry wall screw near the edge of the tread and pointing towards the side wall. I was concerned. I went to the tire store and they wouldn't repair it because of the side wall so I ended up buying a new tire, store brand. By the time I got it reinstalled on the car the sun was too strong to go flying.
   In the shop I thought about the engine in the Strega and how I read about it on one of the forums. Someone mentioned that the Aviastar .61 and the Evo .60 were  bolt in swaps. So rather than trouble shoot the Aviastar some more I removed it and installed the Evolution. I should put the Aviastar on a board and run it some.

Flying in the rain.

I put out a notice that I would be at the field Sat. morning and it worked. 5 others showed up. It started to rain a bit after I arrived and continued until I left. I got ready to fly several times but the rain would return. After an hour or so the rain slowed to a sprinkle so I got the Strega out and got it in the air. I was happy that it was stable and wings level. The engine didn't run that well so I made an adjustment and tried again. Too much of an adjustment, it quit after a few laps. I got out the Wildcat and got a short flight in. I asked for suggestions on the stalling problem it has. One of the others looked it over and noticed that the pushrod from the bellcrank to the carbon fiber tube was very springy. That could be the problem so when I got home I was able to force a tube over the pushrod which stiffened it up a lot, that may be the fix. I checked the Strega engine over and removed two head shims and opened up the venturi for more power and , hopefully, more controlability. I removed the stock needle valve assembly and replaced it with a generic unit. I have the Evo .61 in case the other won't cooperate. We will see next time out on both planes.
   I have a venturi and needle valve assembly being made for the ASP engine and it should be here soon. I have that engine on the Chipmunk.