Making it work.

I put the used .25 on the first version of the Wild Thing but didn't have the APC propellers so I used wood ones. I went through a coupld needle valves as the one that came with the engine was very tight to turn. I finally settled on an original OS part and trie it with the wood props. I don't think it flew as well as it could and ordered some APC props. I made a metal tank for the plane and put that and one of the APC's on the engine. It ran better but the tank just didn't work well enough so at home I re installed the plastic tank and one of the larger APC props for the next session.I have experiance with the larger prop and it works well on another plane. I also put a sleeve in the venturi to reduce the choke area and that helped a bit. With the morning low temps in the high 70's and the dew point close by I only get two or three flights in before it gets too warm.

Test and tune.

I finally got a second LA .25 engine for the first "Wild Thing" that I built. I made such a mess ot this plane trying to get the first .25 engine to run in a way it didn't want to. When I finally followed the advise I was getting the engine ran like it was designed to. This plane was so modified that I found it quicker to build a second copy than to un do all the stuff I did to this one. After getting the second plane flying I tackled the first one and got it back to where it was in the first place. All I had for it was an O.S. FP .20 engine. It was enough to fly the plane but now as well as the .25 so I put out a Mayday call for another. The second copy with the .25 got me a first place finish in the profile event at the last contest I went to which is why I wanted another .25 for the other plane. I did some changes to the needle valve asm. and got it installed into the plane today. I hope to fly it tomorrow.

Handle.

A fix.

Fame and fortune.

Several months ago I senbt a picture of my Pixie Bob to the AMA magazine. When it appeared in the magazine I got an E-mail from a modeler in Bufffalo New York Saying he had two engines he would send me "no Charge". I couldn't resist. The "two engines" arrived in a box that weighed 12 pounds. I opened it to find eleven engines, some brand new, two handles, some fuel tanks, glow plugs and other goodies. This is the first time something like this happened to me. It's something you always hear about happening to someone else. I went to Texas, somewhere near Dallas, with my son to pick up a Jeep and flat tow back home. As usual he had planned the trip to perfection. The previous owner said that someone had pulled the hitch pin out of the tow bar and it had swung around and dented the fender around the left headlight. When we got home I noticed that the pin on the other side had worked loose and fallen out on it's own. The large pin that the hitch pin secured was still in place so no chance of damage. I changed the engine in my Jamison old time stunt plane and installed one of the engines I got in the box. There are three of the O.S. Max-S .35's amd I choose one of them as that size engine wa what was used 70 years ago. I'm getting used to it. s

El Dorado, Ar.

I looked at the radar weather before we left on Friday and it showed rain from here to about Alexandria, La. That turned out to be correct. On Saturday the turnout was below average as floods in Texas kept many from attending. The atmosphere was the strangest anyone had ever seen. It is blamed on a pancake landing of one plane half way through the pattern. A $50.00 propeller was ruined to make things worse. I brought both Wild Thing planes, the L-17 Navion for warbird and the newest Pixie Bob.I flew the newest Wild Thing in profile and got a 2nd place finish. I flew the L-17 in warbird and got the win. Mainly because the other guy hit the ground before finishing the pattern. Sunday was rained out so we came home early. We drove in rain all the way to Alexandria again before it cleared up. It was an enjoyable trip just the same.

My weekend Buppy.