After crashing up at Grass Mtn ,and sitting half way down the mountain for 6 months, the airplane was finally retrieved.

It sat in my garage for 2 years before I decided to try and repair it(or build it ,since so much was missing). The right side of the center wing section,from the spar forward was gone and the spar was broken. The left wingtip was in dime size pieces. The fuse was cracked and the horizontal was gone.

Lots of work later,here she is. New colors and doing the radio install soon.

[IMG][/IMG]

Since I havent posted a pic yet of my new Willow,I guess It's time.

Great flying plane BTW.

I'm extremely pleased with the Hill Racer I purchased from Marty.

It's a very quick airplane,and being only 42" span,really fun to fly.While I was flying it,one of my buddies ask me if it was fun or scary to fly.I told him a little of both Most of the scary part is due to the way I have the control surfaces set up(read ailerons).Lots of throw but it makes this little plane very responsive.

The only thing I was not happy with was the color combo(my choice,not Marty's).The two dark colors made it hard to see at any distance.Solution,add one bright color.Problem solved.

Below,see the results.

Alan

I'm beginning to find ,deals on Slopers come in groups(dare I say flocks)

I ran into a deal on Craigslist,concerning an old school sloper I've always wanted.

After contacting the seller,I found out the plane kit(NIB) was purchased at an estate sale.The seller,not being an RC hobbiest,just wanted to get rid of the kit.

The price,was less then 1/2 of what these are selling for on ebay,and they show up seldom. What is it you may ask ? it's an old Multiplex kit called a Cortina. 3.5 meter flying wing(pre sheeted),with a small fiberglass pod(fuse).

My friend DT has one and they are a very nice slope ship.

My second purchase was from a follow RC groups member.Marty(AKA Prplgoat),is making and selling a 42 " DS plane called a Hill Racer.Marty was coming down to S.Cal for a race.I had asked him to bring the plane down with him to save shipping costs.

The Hill racer is a molded ship and getting it ready to maiden was quick(10 hours or so),I'll maiden it this weekend if the winds cooperate.

My stable is now more then full.


Alan

It's been a while since I've posted anything in this thread, but today,I have time.

I had a friend visit an RC swap meet a couple of months ago.Sadly for me,he called me on the phone and mentioned to me what was available

Those calls always cost me,and sure enough that call did.I ended up purchasing an ISR U2 short kit,and an MM F86 foam kit for next to nothing.

First in the build log was the U2.I built her strong but light over the next two months.She came out at 73 OZ with a carbon joiner and 87 OZ with a steel joiner.

Considering the span is 80 " and the cord is a massive 13 " leading down to 5",the total is just about right.

I maidened her two weeks ago,and the U2 flys like I thought.She needs decent lift,but flys well with good air.Tip stall will happen if she slows down to much.

I also finished the F86.For light air and a different look on the slope.she's fun to fly.The 86' was a quick build and since I had all the gear,the entire build including the kit ran me $40

Here are a few shots of the U2 .

Alan

I finally got around to the repaint on the C.R.Raider.Why someone painted over the carbon fiber on top to begin with,I've no idea.I would have left it naked

As I didnt want to sand all the original paint off,a repaint was in order.When I purchased it,it had a lovely burnt orange fuse and bright orange wing tips.Not even close to the same color.The wings were also a dull white with age old glue stains.
I have a thing about my airplanes having nice paint jobs,so to work I went.

Here is the result.I figured since it was an U.S. made plane,the paint should reflect that



Alan

After a Thursday and Friday flying,I achieved a few "to do" chores.

First,I finally got a chance to maiden my little t tail after the rebuild.With the extra 1/2 pound from the repairs,she flew faster,and still handled well.Chore one done

Secondly,I flew my CR Raider with the 1 pound steel joiner,and the weight made a huge difference in good lift.Now,I remember why I like the RG 15 airfoil so much.It handles weight well.Now for the repaint before I post pictures.
Chore 2,1/2 done.

Thirdly,I picked up a Hades,version 1, 2 weeks ago in a package deal for cheap(really cheap).The plane had been repaired numerous times by the previous owner.When I received it,one wing tip was crunched,the other was open like a clam shell.The nose cone was a tough fit due to the inner cone being repaired upteen times.
Carbon fiber,glass,laminating epoxy,and lots of bondo later.I was ready for paint.You'll notice in the photo,there are still 2 spots that need a repaint on the center section of the wing.I'll get to that soon.
Anyway,she weighs about 8 and 1/2 pds dry(no ballast,weight is from the repairs),but I figured with a 2.8 meter span,it would be ok.
I'm very happy with the flight results.Nice flying speedy plane.Chore 3 done

P.S. The Hades is a great replacement for my lost Dogan.

Alan

It's been awhile since I've posted anything here,so thought I'd add a few lines

Two weeks ago I purchased a CR raider from a fellow RC groups member,Toby.

Toby is a very nice guy,and we had a good chat when I went to pick up the airplane.I flew it last weekend,and with a few changes,it flew well.It desperately needs new paint and a steel wing joiner.Once thats complete ,I'll post picks.

On another subject,My scratch built T tail(bagged wing and fiberglass fuse),that I've flown for almost 2 years had a mid air with a friend's moldie two weeks ago.First mid air in 2 years

The wing was cut in half and the fuse broke just ahead of the tail section.Parts of the wing were lost in the scrub brush,never to be found again.

Thinking the plane was a loss,I brought it home intending to pull the radio gear.Sunday morning,I thought "what the heck",I'll try and glue the wing together and see how straight it turns out.
The wing went together straight as an arrow and from there,epoxy,foam and lots of carbon to give myself a good strong straight wing.
Glass,epoxy,bondo,sand,bondo sand,repeat for what seemed like days.

Anyway,wings balanced,color paint is on(still needs clear coat).Fuse is reglassed and painted(again,needs clear coat).

Here is the result.

Here it is Saturday,my normal flying day,and it's too hot to fly.The temp yesterday reached 113,and today's forecast is for more of the same.
So here I sit typing rather then flying.

The last couple of weeks ,my flying buddies have flown built up(remember balsa bashing) slopers for the light wind conditions.Usually,its only the first hour or so,but I've felt left out.These balsa airplanes are aerobatic,and fun to fly under the right conditions.

Last year I had purchased an old school balsa kit ,the Genesis,at a swap meet for $10.It is a 60" flying wing,and the kit in the box couldnt have weighed more then 16 ozs.

With a week of hot weather,what better time to build this balsa kit.

Here's how she turned out.You'll notice a slight fold in the monocote on the aileron in the photo.This has been removed with the heat gun.Guess she'll maiden next week end.

I purchased a used F3b airplane from a fellow RC Groups member recently.

When the plane arrived,there was old strapping tape holding the ailerons and flaps in place.The tape was old enough to have yellowed and cracked.When I pulled it off,the cello came off ,but not the straps.

After lots of sanding,and a few minor repairs(example,one of the control horns had broken,the elevator pushrod was not attached),it was time for paint.

Doing a few mental gymnastics,I came up with this paint scheme.She's still waiting on servos,and tail trim paint,but I'm pleased with the result.

I decided it was time to get one of my "old school" airplanes back in the air.

My Songbird needed a few fixes,so I began a complete rebuild.Originally 78",I had cut the wing down to 72" when I first built it.I glassed the entire wing, rather then monocote,then painted it .

I had also made the horizontal a flying stab rather then a flapper when I first built her and decided to keep that feature.

The fuse,always the weak point in JM glasscraft kits,really needed work.I ran carbon throughout the wing saddle area.I also put on an extra layer of 4 oz glass on the outside of the wing saddle area and the entire vertical section.

I also added flaps for those tighter LZ's

Here she is.

Two weeks ago,my Sierra had a freq conflict with another pilot.The fuse broke halfway back to the tail boom ,and the wings split near the cord root.

After lots of 4 oz glass and much bondo,she was ready to paint.Since the repairs didnt come out as clean as I had hoped,I needed to paint using a light color.
I have too many white planes at this point,so decided to try yellow.The results are below.

She'll remaiden this weekend.

For the last two Saturdays,We've flown everything in our arsenal and had a great time.
My Sierra has turned out to be a great "warm up" plane.Fun plane to fly,with no bad habits and easy to land.Its well worth the $220 kit price.
My little one off t tail is just a rocket ship for its size.Everyone who's flown it in our group is impressed with it.

My newest purchase,and my first "moldie",a Valenta Dogan(3 meter),has proven to fly like most moldies.Fast,and responsive.I'm very pleased with the plane.I did add some color to the top and bottom,as the plane was all white on top.Charcoal grey with dual red pinstripes and of course,clear coated.

Having a slow week at work,and so used to being in a building frenzy,I had to build something Enter a 20 year old power plane (Mirage 2000,26" span)that I tried to slope.It didnt,mainly because of the airfoil.
This week,I changed the airfoil(sanded the bottom flatter) and recovered the wings and painted the fuse.Glide tests in the back yard seem to indicate she'll fly well.Will remaiden it this weekend.

Alan

Havent posted anything here in a while.

Bill and I,flew our t tail one off designs last weekend( we bought them used,no idea who did the scratch builds).All glass with lots of carbon in the leading edge.
Added radio,paint,and a few other "fixes".

These little 60"er's are speed demons.They roll quick and are just plain fun to fly.Because Bill's had a paint job(the guy used lace as a mask),he nicknamed his the mod squad.It really does look like its from the 60's.Because of the paint I used on mine,they nicknamed it the merlot.
We are now the M&M team
Since its Saturday and the wind is 20 from the South,off for a another flying session we go.

BTW,when I purchased this paint,I had no idea it was metallic.Now,I'm extremely happy with the results.

Looks like another flying session at Grass Mtn tomorrow.

I added a ballast tube and 8 ozs of weight to the Sierra.We'll see how she flys with the added weight.The tube can hold up to 1.5 pds,so I'll keep adding until I find that magic weight

I also picked up a beaten and broken S.I. ridge racer 2 weeks ago.This old plane had Soooo much wrong and needed lots of work.As an example,the wing dowel hole was drilled off center and the guy who owned it,just mounted the dowel at an angle to meet the mounting hole,gah.

I also added flaps to make landing easier.Will maiden it this weekend.

With the holiday weekend,

It was time for a new bird to maiden.All of my flying buddies fly big birds,2.5 ,3 meter planes.
Although I have the 2.5 meter discus,I knew I needed a new something
Enter the Art hobbies Sierra.Built mostly to instructions,I went off course when it came time for the finish.
I ended up using 4 (12oz) cans of wood sealer on the wings and tail section.The wood just wouldnt seal with less.

Add to that lots of white and blue color,with silver trim.5 coats of clear for a good paint seal and high gloss.
All this isnt bad considering I'd read the Sierra needed lead for medium to heavy winds.
AUW is 4 pds and shes ready to maiden.

With another flying session approaching,I thought I'd try something new in the way of a paint technique.
I saw this done on tv by a painter working on a harley motorcycle tank.It seemed to work well,although I only used it on a small portion of my Accelorator wing tips.

Well,the usual saturday group was at grass mtn.Raul(who has been a huge help in my attempt to reenter slope flying),Bill,Jimi,and Chris.

Wind was southwest at 17 with gusts to 22,perfect.We flew every airplane in our arsenal.Everything flew great and not one bad landing the whole day.
Raul helped me remaiden my 20 year old songbird(which flew great),and my first build in 20 years,an accelorator(3.5 pds) is a little rocket ship.
All and all,it was a really fun day.