Re: Went flying...
Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:34 pm
Went to the Sepulveda Basin this morning to test some models. It was a beautiful clear, dry morning only there was only one other flier there. I brought the Ascender, Skinny Bomber, Side Effect, Giant NoCal Beaufighter and a Wright Amount of Wrong with the new stabilizer design. Except for the Wright Amount of Wrong this was the first time I would fly any of them outdoors.
I flew the Ascender first with a longer motor than I used indoors with about 1500 turns on it. It went up about 75 feet and caught an Eastward blowing drift. I thought that I would l either tree it or loose it. but it easily cleared the trees along the park road by about 30 feet then the motor bunched at the rear giving it a stall and dethermalized it so it came down between the park road and the trees around the golf course. That one is going into kit!
I wound the Skinny Bomber with only about 1000 turns in a smaller motor and walked out into the field far enough to compensate for the Eastward drift. The wind turned around and started blowing West! I walked back the other way and launched it. It started climbing and then the wing came off! I had been flying it indoors with the wing saddle on by friction and forgot to use some dental bands to hold it on for outdoor flying. It's so light that no damage was done and since the flight started well I didn't bother to set it up again since I wanted to fly the Beaufighter.
Don Smith helped me wind the Beaufighter and since it is trimmed for a hard right turn and has a lot of power I walked out about half way into the field and launched it down wind figuring that it would turn back towards the "pits". Unfortunately, the wind had become strong enough that it couldn't turn into the wind and I ended up chasing it to the West end of the field.
By this time I realized free flight flying had been blown out and packed up. At least I didn't loose anything and nothing got broken. I just have to get up and get out earlier!
KF
I flew the Ascender first with a longer motor than I used indoors with about 1500 turns on it. It went up about 75 feet and caught an Eastward blowing drift. I thought that I would l either tree it or loose it. but it easily cleared the trees along the park road by about 30 feet then the motor bunched at the rear giving it a stall and dethermalized it so it came down between the park road and the trees around the golf course. That one is going into kit!
I wound the Skinny Bomber with only about 1000 turns in a smaller motor and walked out into the field far enough to compensate for the Eastward drift. The wind turned around and started blowing West! I walked back the other way and launched it. It started climbing and then the wing came off! I had been flying it indoors with the wing saddle on by friction and forgot to use some dental bands to hold it on for outdoor flying. It's so light that no damage was done and since the flight started well I didn't bother to set it up again since I wanted to fly the Beaufighter.
Don Smith helped me wind the Beaufighter and since it is trimmed for a hard right turn and has a lot of power I walked out about half way into the field and launched it down wind figuring that it would turn back towards the "pits". Unfortunately, the wind had become strong enough that it couldn't turn into the wind and I ended up chasing it to the West end of the field.
By this time I realized free flight flying had been blown out and packed up. At least I didn't loose anything and nothing got broken. I just have to get up and get out earlier!
KF