HERO CAMERA @ GOATS (4 min 37 sec)

Wind from the north, 18-20 mph. The Art Hobby Skua flew fine, but I just can't get excited about it, it's nothing special.

Two views of my Wevo

Dial 1-800-555-Tree

Here are pictures of the mods I made to the Lizzard. I moved the servos upfront to eliminate some tail weight, and put the control horns on the underside of the V-Tail control surfaces. Very simple, really.

Taggrrr and I flew the Lizzard at Pololu today. Taggrrr also flew his Elipse with a little more success than I had with the Lizz. The Lizzard launch was uneventful, though tricky till it got up to speed. The plane flew great in very powerful lift. I had a blast doing huge loops, aileron rolls, snap rolls, spins and flybys. The CG seemed fine, the aileron response was plenty. We had a fun 15 minutes till the Lizz took a nose dive from about 100 feet. We could hear a tremendous crash, but despite an hour of looking, never did find the crash site.

All we can figure is one or both of the barrel connectors on the elevators popped off due to the dive and high G pull out. I was unsure about them when I assembled the model. The connectors are well designed, but there's not much holding the metal bits to the plastic bits.

I'll try again with another kit. Move the servos up front to allow less weight to balance.

All in all, a very fun day in strong conditions.

Pictures of Flycyclist attached.

Lex Lizzard. That's MR. Lizzard to you. And it's pronounced lizAARD.

CG is perfect at 55mm, but it took a lot of lead to get it there. Taggrrr did the maiden yesterday at Basil's in 15-20 winds. Flew fine except that an aileron control arm popped off.

Tomorrow at Pololu again!

On Monday Taggrrr and I took a trip up the coast to scope out flying sites for our RC Slope Soaring passion. We ended up at a favorite spot called Pololu Overlook. It's literally at the end of the road at the top of the island. The flying site, as you can see, is stunning. It's enough to simply sit and watch the waves, but when you add a couple beautiful gliders and a good friend it becomes magical.

To launch the glider you stand in a meadow, not a cliff to be seen except on the opposite canyon. You throw the glider as hard and far as you can and pray like crazy that it reaches the tree that marks the lift line, before it runs out of momentum and falls somewhere in the jungle.

We flew and chatted for over three hours and would have stayed longer except that an HFD helicopter arrived for a rescue in the riptides below us.

I flew my POSF Cularis which was actually enjoyable. There was plenty of lift for the weighty beast. I also flew a reconditioned Alula which I loved. The rebuilt bird weighs a hefty 5.5 oz, 156 grams. I refinished it in thinned goop and rattle can paint and I love how it flies when heavier. CG is 1mm back at 26mm. It is very responsive and much quicker than it was originally, probably due to the weight.

Taggrrr flew a new Adrianna with great success. After the initial launch, he forwent the motor and launched as a pure glider....Continue Reading

I took my POS Cularis out to the field this past weekend with a view toward destroying it. I really haven't enjoyed flying the beast at all. My latest setup with my JR9303 seemed to really work, though, and I had a good time flying and thermaling. I may just keep it awhile longer!

Pictures of the Storch and PKZ Corsair.

The Ironman race shut down the village today. Lots of stories of grit and inspiration, great technology, amazing athletic achievements. Over 1800 pros and amateurs swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, then run 26.2 miles--all in one day....Continue Reading

Les and I flew at the Old Kona Airport yesterday (Monday). Since the park was taken over by the County (from the State) we are able to fly any day that they don't have another activity planned. I maidened the GWS C-47, bone stock, and running on a 3S 800mAh Lipo. It flew great, but was a handful, as others on this forum have said. It definitely is not a relaxing park flyer.

Les flew the second flight and the battery died...not much damage, split the nose, is all.

My son Phil joined us for a few flights. He hasn't flown for a long time, but picked it up again instantly.

Hey SFCoffee,

Here's some pictures of the Old industrial area where we used to fly by the Caterpillar dealership. Remember Van Halen and Sceadus? Also pictured is the new highway, the new industrial area where the shop is, and the old surf spot Pine Tree's....Continue Reading

We got our first shipment of MCX's in today. I broke out an RTF and have been flying it around a bit. It's a blast. I've had a bit of experience with Precision Heli's coax and FP and with Walkera. This new heli from E-Flite is actually done right. It's very stable, but can still be put into forward flight, and fairly quickly. The other helis I flew would break in flight! No crashing necessary. The MCX seems to be very robust in contrast.

I'm also impressed with the way Horizon is making all their new RTF's DSM2 and Bind-n-fly. That is great marketing! Being able to buy a CX2, then use the transmitter on a Vapor, or an MCX, or a Cessna. Or buy a Corsair with the DX5e and fly whatever you like.

Nobody was around to take in-flight photos, so I did them myself. Stable enough to fly AND take photos--that's with two fans and two AC units running, too!

Hack73 did a nice paint job on his T-28, check it out below. I googled the T-28 and found this cool shot.

It was a crowded day at the Kona RC Fliers field. Most people came just to watch Matt maiden his Hanger 9 27% Extra. After countless minutes checking and rechecking, and marking the pre-flight sheets, Matt advanced the throttle and the Extra flew like it had had 30 previous flights. The plane was so stable and trimmed so perfectly that Matt tried a few four-point rolls, a little inverted flight and passes at all speed levels. The motor (DA-50) was flawless, no dead stick, no burbling, or hesitations. This is the first larger scale plane I've seen fly that didn't end with a dead stick!

I flew my Bonnie 20 (a discontinued Pelikan model) that i had used as a trainer way back when. I had put in a new power system so maidened that this morning. I really like the Bonnie. It's pretty in the air, and a blast to just shoot touch n goes with.

I also flew the Mini Titan in the Cobra fuselage. After last week's mishap, I changed the links and balls to the larger T-Rex 450 style. I also put the smaller T-Rex washout arms on the Mini Titan washout block. Everything worked fine, but it wasn't much fun to fly.

I saw the Parkzone Corsair fly for the first time. I'm not sure about it, I want to fly it myself. It seemed to have a tail heavy attitude, although I don't know the skills of the pilot, so I reserve judgment till I fly it myself....Continue Reading

I flew the Cobra this morning at the Baseball field. It flew fine till a link popped off and caused the washout arms to bend 90 degrees. Even with the bent arms, and missing links I was able to land softly. Maybe the weight of the fuselage kept things stable. I don't like the Mini Titan links. They're smaller than the industry standard and they pop off in flight.

I also had a checkout flight on the Vibe 50. New gyro/servo combo.

The kit comes with a couple nifty scale details. An antenna for the nose, a couple fins, and a couple wire cutters to keep telephone lines out of the rotor. No pictures of the hover, that'll wait till Sunday. It did fine, though, as I knew it would. The Mini Titan is a very stable heli, and makes a great platform for a scale body.

I still need to mess with the pitch curve a bit. I like it pretty flat at hover with a scale ship, and the radio is set up for aerobatics at the moment.

The fuse took some trimming around the swash plate. I have the MicroHeli brand after market metal bits, and the washout arms bumped the plastic when giving pitch commands. Easy enough and doesn't detract from the looks.

I completed the mechanics and started fitting the fuse before test flying. I usually do a test flight of the mechanics, but as this was a much flown model and the tail system looks rock solid, I forgo that chore. I found that the fuselage wouldn't fit around the Futaba S9257 tail servo I had installed. I replaced the servo with an HS-65MG which fit fine. I also replaced the JR 500T gyro with an E-Flite G90, which is a better match for the little analog Hitec.

After the servo and gyro swap, the fuse fit fine. I used Blenderm tape, sold by Dubro as "Hinge Tape," and available at the druggist, to join the halves where screws weren't provided. The Blenderm works a treat. It's strong, flexible, and matte finished.

Up next, a hover test in the parking lot, and the addition of the scale details and decals.

I started converting my Thunder Tiger Mini Titan E325 to a scale AH-1 Cobra fuselage also by TT. It's an amazing bit of kit. I see why they call it a conversion kit, not merely a scale fuselage. I'm sure the kit would work on another heli (say the Trex 450) with some modifications, but it fits like a glove on the Mini Titan.

I've included a few pictures for my own enjoyment. I love the look of the raised tail. A flexible shaft may be a simpler solution, but this idea with a gear and an idler is rock solid and nicely engineered.

I also love the box. In large letters is the Thunder Tiger Cobra motto: "Cease You Fire Indoor." I haven't quite figured that out. Nor have I figured out why the helis in the photo are attacking Monument Valley, Arizona.