Was flying yesterday when the wind came up, as forecast.
Regular models were put away and the Bixler came out to play.
What a great little model.

Bixler Fun In Gusty Winds (3 min 3 sec)

Finally finished the rebuild.
Now repainted into a fictional RAAF 78 SQN Scheme.
Callie’s Graphics Set it off beautifully....Continue Reading

Follow the thread link to see the repairs and first flight pics.
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...postcount=8976

Since my last post, a great deal has occurred.
My family has now moved down to join me, and my flying rate remains quite high.
My mate Garry and I have restored a model SE5a.
The model was built by an old guy who finish the model but he never flew it.
He got sick and passed away. Over the subsequent years, about 9 or 10, the model remained in his garage, where is was damaged quite badly and gathered dust, until I found it in late May.
Gazz and I, mostly Gazz, repaired the model, and finally maidened this beautiful plane.
She is very heavy, not sure exactly how heavy because I haven’t put her on the scales yet, but, just guessing, I’d have to say about 5kg. This is very heavy for a model with a wingspan of just 1.5m.
We’ve installed a 580kv motor with a 100amp speedie.
To balance her, we had to put 300 grams into the nose under the engine cowl.
I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story.
She is a handful to fly, and particularly land, but, a satisfying challenge. She now has 8 flights on her.
Oh, as a side note, I have phoned his widow and told her the model has flown and sent her pics of the model in the air.
Old Betty was genuinely thrilled....Continue Reading

G'day folks,
It has been quite a while since I posted anything here.
My job as a Crewman on Black Hawks has come to an end.
To stay gainfully employed, I've had to move 1300km away to a town in NSW called Nowra.
Nowra itself is just a regional town on the NSW South Coast, but, the surrounding area is just stunning.
I have joined the local club, and done more flying in the last 6 months than I can ever recall doing.
My tastes have also changed a little.
I now have a beautiful, 2.2m wing span, Mono Coupe. Just lovely to fly.
I have also just purchased a second hand Pattern Flyer, at 2m long with a wing span of 1.88m.
Plan is to improve my overall skills whilst competing. I don't expect to rock the Pattern world at all, but I do expect to have fun, and improve my skills.
That's it for now, Merry Christmas everyone.
Peace, Family and Flying....Continue Reading

I currently have 22 serviceable models.
Tomorrow, I plan to fly them all.
I have been down to the park to mow the runway, and the forecast is for light winds, and high temps.
I'll start at 0800, and I expect it to take most of the day because of the time it will take to recharge batteries.
I'll post details her tomorrow night.
...Continue Reading

This was last Sunday,
A great afternoons flying.
Still getting to know this plane after 12 flights....Continue Reading

On the 22nd of October, I was invited to fly at a nearby farmers runway. Grand Pa's Axe flew well from this surface, and seemed to enjoy the outing. I sure did....Continue Reading

Once Callie's artwork arrived, I got the model 'Finished' and took to the air. Despite the non-historical nature of the markings, she still looks great.

Earlier this year, FL RC released the P38L. The model grabbed my attention, then, the more I saw of it, the more I wanted it. I received a bonus from work, which covered the cost of the model.
It took a while to get to me, but when it did, I got to work assembling. The day came when assembly was completed and I was ready to fly.
Someone gave me a 3 axis gyro / receiver. I figured I'd put it in this model. I didn't have any experience with gyros, so, I had a 50/50 chance of getting it wrong.... and I did. The take off was beautiful, but then the gyro fought me and won, and killed the plane.
Chad from Xtreme Hobby heard about the crash, and provided me with a new, bare airframe.
I transferred the surviving electronics from the old model, to the new one, and got it ready to fly again, this time, sans gyro.
So basically, the axe had a new handle, so I named the plane, Grand Pa's Axe. Callie did the artwork for me, and produced the nose art, and the squadron code letters, which are my initials.
I also got Callie to provide me with 40 'fighter sweep' broom symbols. Every time I fly the model, I add another symbol. ( up to 12 now).

The model is heavy for a foamy, (3.8kilo flying weight) and very powerful. So, despite my 6 years of flying experience, I am still getting used to flying this model. It is great to fly, and does come in nicely for landings. Loops are 'Big Sky', and the rolls are crisp. The model looks fantastic in the air.

The photos will show the first...Continue Reading

For Phil Crandon

Back in June, dad and I discussed the merits of attending this years Warbirds Downunder air show.
The event is held in Temora, New South Wales, Australia.

Basically, Dad had to drive to my place, 240km, then we both drove to Temora, 1100km.
A full days drive, but, the worst thing about the drive down, wasn't the roads because they were very good, it wasn't the traffic, because there is bugger all traffic on the Newell Highway, it was the weather. 45 degrees C and blowing 30-40 knots.

Long and short of it is, we drove the 11 and a half hours to Temora, and were thoroughly entertained by the best air show either of us had ever seen.

The seats we had were about as good as you could get. FRONT Row, with the major war birds parked 50 m in front of us. Every time they started up and taxied for a display, we got the full effect of smoke, sight and sound of these classic aircraft.

I have about 1000 photos on the Nikon, which I'll down load after I get home and post the best of them here, but for now, here are some of the War Birds parked in front of us taken from my phone.

What-A-Day!

Rob

Today, one of the guys at work gave me another crashed model aeroplane. It's an1100mm Park Zone F4U corsair.
I brought it home and fixed up the tail, then put in a receiver. Once I'd bound it, I ran it up. The Electronic Speed controller burned out straight away. The model filled with very dense, white smoke. I quickly disconnected the battery and pulled it out. Luckily, I had a spare 40 amp ESC, which I quickly tested and then installed.
I called my friend Kyla, who I am teaching to fly RC, and asked her to come over.
You see, Kyla's favorite war bird is the corsair, and I told her I had a surprise for her.

Once she turned up, we went to the park for the test flight. I fully expected the model to be twitchy and difficult to fly. Boy, how wrong I was.
This model is just an absolute JOY to fly.
It was gentle to fly, and performed all of the usual loops, rolls and inverted flight.

Once I'd landed the model, I handed it to Kyla and said, " Merry Christmas, it's yours".

Last week I said that I'd started teaching a new trainee to fly RC.

Model of choice for this Job is the PEE ZED T 28, such a great model.

Kyla had 4 instructional flights today.
She's really showing an improvement in skill.

Rob

Pics from today

2 more great flights with the Seagull PC9 today.
There would have been more, but a fellow RC Pilot, who is an ACFT Mechanic for a living, noticed that there was some grinding and graunching in the engine between flights.
On the spot, we removed the engine, and tore it down.
The bearings were shot.
My fault entirely. When it was in storage for a few years, I failed to inhibit the engine with oil. So, the bearings rusted, and, according to Doug, were on the point of failure.

Anyway, here are some pics from today's flight.

...Continue Reading

Since finishing my glo- PC9, my flying rate has increased incredibly.
Additionally, I have a new trainee.
One of the nurses at work, Kyla, is very keen to learn to fly.
I have loaned her my 'Real Flight G5' simulator, and given her some instruction on same.

Today was her first training flights.
Thanks to the wonders of buddy leads, I was able to give Kyla 5 instructional flights.
She has had a fantastic morning.
While we were waiting for the batteries to charge, I also got in 4 x 15 minute flights with the Seagull PC9, and 1 flight with the FMS T28.
10 flights this morning, a really great time.

Rob.

Back To The Future

I arranged to meet my old flying buddy, Ray Baines, at TARMAC Toowoomba this morning at 0600.
I took along my FMS P51B and my new Seagull Models PC9.

Ray arrived with just one model.
His new 85" Robin 2160.
He has a DLE 50 as the power plant, and what a sweet model it is.

These are some snaps of his flight this morning.

Great stuff Ray.

...Continue Reading

My favorite flying buddy, my daughter Bronte, has started taking photos for me again.
On Friday arvo, we took the FMS Zero, customised as an A6M2k 2 seat trainer variant, to the park.
These were the best of the pics Bronte took for me Friday.

...Continue Reading

latest...Continue Reading