Almost six years since I posted something here. Reports of my death are premature. Plane building and flying has been slow the past couple of years. However, currently working to finish a powered-glider design.

"Cargo Plane", named "Twin Hopper", flew this morning. Flight performance is not as good as I wanted, but at least I have an intact airframe to try again. Enough about that, there's more planes to build!

Almost done with this new plane, it looks larger in the photo than it actually is. The wing span is only about 29 inches, and I expect AUW to be in the 200-300 gram range.

This arrived yesterday, a few days early compared to when Amazon said it would arrive.

I've been using it for my current cargo plane build, and I like it a lot. Works great on foam board, gets really hot (200 watts, ~400F). Very little dripage during idle times. Finally semi-retiring my old Stanley 40 watt glue gun which I used for I can't count how many years, ever since I started using hot glue. This Stanley gun leaked a lot, it would drip about the same amount of glue that I used. Semi-retiring because it has a low and high setting, I need the low setting for EPS foam.

The new one from AdTech has only one setting (high), and no switch, just plug it in. Works great!

Cargo plane is under construction for the Fourth of July weekend, which now is almost over (boohoo).

I still need to build the main landing gear, the nacelles, and then install electronics. Design was inspired by FliteTest's "Guinea Pig". Also trying some building techniques I learned from FliteTest. Materials are all Dollar Tree foam board, wing span 50 inches. Will be powered by a pair of HURC 2410-12D (from Heads Up RC in Florida - great place (the online store, can't say for the state since I've never been to Florida)). These are the same motors that were in my 200th build (200-2012).

That's the nose of So.50 in the background.

"Tomorrow", my new flying wing, flew this morning. It flies quite well, but I think I need to add some expo onto the elevator function.

Sure is nice to have a four-day weekend! I'm starting my twin-motor cargo plane today!

http://www.foamflyer.info

Just finished plane number 220, as yet unnamed. It will maiden tomorrow morning.

Next I plan to construct a twin-motor sort of cargo plane, maybe with a 60-inch wingspan, or I may reduce down to 50-inch. It may actually have two ailerons instead of one! Imagine that!

Needless to say, I decided to NOT build 40 planes this year. I have too many other things going on. I did start building my first plane of 2017, and it should fly in February.

Maybe I can build 50 planes within 2027, to celebrate my 50 years in RC. Who knows?

I have a wild idea.

It's not some cool, unusual, interesting, or obscure model airplane.

It has to do with celebrating forty years of RC.

My first RC plane was flown in 1977. Next year (2017) will be my 40th year of RC planes.

So I was thinking about building 40 planes next year. That would be 3.3 per month. The most I was ever able to do was 23 in one year, back in 2011. I don't know why I built so many that year, but I had not returned to university for my master's degree at that point.

I finish my master's degree this December, just in time to start building 3.3 planes every month starting in January.

I can think of a myriad of things that would "get in the way" of building planes, so I don't know if I want to even try.

What else could I do to personally celebrate 40 years of RC? Go to In-n-Out for a shake? And no, not 40 of them.

I just have to say this right now.....

I HATE profile planes!

I even hate typing "profile planes"!

Well, it's been a while since I made an entry into this blog, about one and a half years! The plane I was building with the single flap mentioned in the last entry is still under construction - I'm pretty sure it still looks the same as those pictures 18 months ago. But since then I've built and flown three new planes (not many actually), including my biggest and most powerful plane to date, So.47. I spent some time on another project (non-RC), and I've also returned to university (again!)

And I'm happy to report that I'm now the owner of an FRSky Taranis! Nevermind that it's a 16-channel system and I've never used more than five in my life, I like the incredible capabilities that this has. I looked at the Hitec Aurora 9 and some of the Spektrums, even Futaba and JR to some extent, but spent my money on FrSky.

A little more done on this new plane with a single slotted flap. The photo shows the wing almost complete, and the two fuselage sides with doublers. Note the single aileron on the wing. I decided to ditch the foamboard flap and make a new one out of 3/16" thick (same as foamboard) balsa. The foamboard flap seemed too flimsy, even with some tape on it and a rounded balsa leading edge. I got tired of working on the wing, so I'll do some fuselage work before I make the new flap.

You know, I don't know what it is with me but this is the first plane I've built with any kind of flap in 18 years, and it's only the second plane out of my 204 so far to have flaps. Come to think of it I've never built a plane with any kind of retractable landing gear either. I rarely use dual rates, and I've never tried expo on the transmitter. Further, I've been using the same Hitec Optic 6 radio for years, I don't think I've ever built a plane that uses 6 channels, and I mostly fly on 72 MHz because my 2.4GHz receivers all quit. And I've never touched a flying simulator. I guess that makes me an "Old Timer"! But as they say, "Old Guys Rule", and experience has to be worth something.

Maybe this year I'll creep out of my comfort zone regarding RC planes.

Currently working on a new plane that will have a single slotted flap. Should be fun!

Hunchback made a few flights on December 31, getting under the wire for the last plane of 2012. Flight performance is good, but the plane is ugly as heck!

On my way home I stopped by the DollarTree for more foamboard to get me into 2013!

Hunchback is almost complete and will likely be my last new plane flown of 2012. Made from DollarTree foamboard, wingspan 34.2". Just a design I thought up that I thought would look strange.

My fifth biplane, made from DollarTree foamboard, painted for the Spanish Civil War. Wingspan 30", weight 22.1 oz. Powered by an Emax CF2812 spinning a GWS 9x5 prop on 3S. Flies quite well, has one aileron. The top wing is permanent, the bottom wing rubberbands to the fuselage. The dummy engine was made from foamboard and toothpicks, and the pilot was carved from foamboard.

While enjoying my Christmas vacation, I'm working on a biplane made from DollarTree foamboard (great stuff!). This will be my 203rd RC plane (if I fly it next instead of some other new plane), and represents my 5th biplane.

The cockpit area is already painted (easier to do before assembly). Wingspan will be 30 inches.

I've decided what to do with the plastic jar in my last blog entry - I built a plane named "Polska" from DollarTree foamboard. The jar was painted with Krylon Fusion and serves as the cowl.

Hmmmm......

What to do with this small bottle? Diameter is about 3-3/8 inches.......

Maiden flight of Blue Sky Research was today. Plane flies pretty good!

Flew my 200th RC plane last Saturday! I didn't feel inspired for a name, so it received the designation "200-2012".

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=1761147

Onwards and upwards. I plan to build number 201 during an upcoming vacation. I think it will be a kind of powered glider made of DollarTree foamboard.