First flight.

We headed to the field around 1400 today. The weather had eased a bit and the wind and rain were less. I had the P-40Q ready to fly and got the engine started after a bit of haggling. I only put in 1.5 ounces of fuel as I didn't know what to expect. The plane is stable in level flight and turns corners quite well. The second flight saw several of the pattern maneuvers performed and I called it a day after that. I made a change to the elevator travel at home to tame it a bit. The home made muffler leaks and a lot of oil was left on the wing. I looked on the Brodak web site and found one that will fit and hopefully provide a better seal.  The Evo .52 has plenty of power for the plane.

I fixed it.

I had trouble with my electric Pathfinder. The motor wouldn't start. I tried several things to diagnose the problem without success. To make it easy on myself I ordered a new motor, speed control and timer. I also ordered some decals from Northeast Screen Graphics for the new P-40Q. Everything came in today's mail. I installed the decals then started trouble shooting the electric problem by installing the new speed control using the same old timer and motor. It started like it was supposed to so the old speed control was bad. At least I have a spare motor and timer.
  The Legacy is 99% finished. I'm waiting for the test flight of the P-40 so I can use it's engine. Both planes came out in the high 50 ounce range which surprised me a bit.

Almost ready to fly.

The fiberglass came in early and I had both planes ready for it. I decided on finishing the P-40Q before the Legacy.  I also bought some ready mix fillet material. I got to use it on both planes with pretty good results.
I went to the hobby shop to get the aluminum Monokote. I had aluminum paint. At the shop I found two rolls of covering and one of them felt lighter than the other. I bought both as I figured I would need both. When I got home I opened the light roll and found 6 feet now measured 30 inches. I called the shop and they said they would swap it out. I ended up needing the 30 inches as I figured I would.
  A few days later the weather was real dry so I sprayed the aluminum paint after brushing on the white for the canopy and the green for the glare shield. Then I sprayed on some clear for good luck. Today I assembled all the pieces after gluing in the hinges and control surfaces. Total weight is 58 ounces with one ounce of tip weight. The wing is 635 square inches in area with a 58 inch span. I ordered the proper decals for it and they should be in a few weeks. The plane will be ready for the contest here if I get to fly. Definitely for the El Dorado contest in early May.
  I'm still mulling over what design/color scheme to use on the Legacy. I think that one will be in the high 50 ounce range also.

Update on the fiberglass.

I ordered some, what I hope is half ounce to the yard, fiberglass cloth from Amazon. The last time I ordered it it came from China. This time too. About 6 weeks for delivery. I think I have enough from the last order to cover the new profile fuselage. It's about ready for covering then final assembly.
  Some of the club members are showing up at South Park for a look see and contest prep this morning. 

A use for the raffle wing.

Last August at a contest in Canton, Ga I won a sheeted foam wing in the raffle. It's been hanging around since then. The Legacy is on hold until the fiberglass arrives and I've been looking at the wing.  Today I figured out what plane it would be best as a part of. I had a print of the Curtiss XP-40Q but discarded it a few months ago. I searched the net for the print and after a couple hours found it. I had enough left over balsa to start on the profile fuselage and enough for the tail pieces. I drew up the plans and got the fuse. started. I have a P-40B but this one has a different shape and looks like the P-51D or the P-47D. I'm going to use it in the warbird event as it's easier to handle than the Bearcat.

Raffle stuff.

I put several items that I got from the estate sale into a box for the contest raffle. 3 gallons of fuel and 3 quarts of fuel. A bunch of small stuff I collected from the sale and other raffles. Plus the re finished Gypsy. I tried it with the intent of taking it to Dallas but it just don't fly right.
  I figured on taking the Super Chief and that one isn't doing too great either. I flew the Jamison this morning using the Chief's lines. That proved to be quite touchy and I scraped the ground inverted breaking off the tail. I glued it back together and put triangle pieces in the joint to strengthen it more. I think the Jamison will be the better flying plane of the two.
  I ran out of light weight fiberglass cloth and had to order some from China again. This order was shipped the next day unlike the first order. I'm also out of micro balloons I use to make fillets. I was about to order some from Aircraft Spruce along with some "Super Fil" that is used for fillets also. I cought it in time and just ordered the Super Fil which came in today. I'm doing a test on it now as I've never used it before. It's slow curing so I hope it don't sag while it's curing. I can't do the fillets until the fiberglass gets here and gets applied to the fuselage. I made a template out of newspaper to cut the cloth out to fit the fuselage with the wing installed. It should work.
  I won a sheeted foam wing at the King Orange contest and it's been sitting since September. I may cobble up another Nomad using the wing and the Legacy stab/elev. The Legacy stab is bigger and thicker than the slightly smaller Legacy 40 I started using. I ended up enlarging it anyway but not making it thicker. 3/8 vs. 1/2 inch.
  We have been having trouble with the TV trying to play Amazon Prime movies. 3 new modems and visits from technicians to no avail. After a conference with a tech person we hard wired the TV to the modem and it seems to have fixed the problem. We played two movies today and nothing happened to them. It just needed the connection.

It is winter, again.

Temps in the low 50's with a wind makes for "building season" in the deep south. But is isn't low 20's and windy.
  I've got the new Legacy just about framed up. It's almost time to assemble the parts and set the controls so I can start the finishing part. Fill and sand for a week.
  I've decided not to swap the engine on the Gypsy. It has a 3/4 inch extension on the engine and that would be a problem. The hinge line seals came apart during flight and made me change to another style seal. I haven't tested them yet.
  I got the insurance confirmation for the contest. I have to bring a copy to the park manager.