Seanpcola thanks for the kind words. I have a 3 meter all one piece model that was given to me years ago buy a good fella, John King. That's the next one to haul out. But it is a pain to haul around. The wing, being one peice, is REALLY strong... but unwieldy.

JC: If I understand correctly, in Earthquake country, putting them below ground is a bad idea. But that is just a guess. It's one of the first things I noticed about SoCal when I moved here 16 years ago... all the power lines.

I would love to build another 2 meter Gnome. I see someone selling one here, but $100 is not possible. In the day I paid 60 to 65. And the 3 meter is an even better flyer. Gotst one of those in the stash.

I built this one back in the day using Tony Estep (sp?) technique of building the spars in an aluminum channel, caps, 007 carbon top and bottom, and the shear webs. All lined up and pressed together to set in a piece of angle channel.

Then cutting the centers out of the ribs and dropping the spar in. It's strong as an Ox but a real pain to do it that way. The ribs are not designed for it. And I was in over my head! It was my second build after an easy answer. I think if I start a new build (I started a Houston Hawk... alas it was destroyed in a move - tho I still have the condor fuse) it'll be something simple again... like a Oly II or IIs.

The stock Gnome is plenty strong.

There were a couple 3m Gnomes at the contest.

For those asking, I have a charger that can detect battery type, and can do just about anything. I didn't get a LiPo or LiFe replacement only because no one had one. We really couldn't afford that, nor the Rx, but.... I'll switch when I can.

I am not going to bother upgrading the GL or SE until the current batteries quit. I can't take any more weight out of the tails, and will have to replacethe batteries with lead when I do switch. Future planes, however, will get better batteries.

The rechargables I am having problems are just AAs for my camera. It is now a combination between loopy batteries and a bad latch on the battery hatch. Something I need to fabricate a fix for. The AAs will get a few cycles between the flashlight and the wall wort. What's the peak charge on a AA?

I want to keep the old Tx pack, maybe I can break it apart and make a smaller pack for something else. Or maybe I'll just recycle it. I dunno yet.

Originally Posted by Lil Stinkpot

There were a couple 3m Gnomes at the contest

In some ways its a shame things like the Paragon (which IIRC is the predecessor to the Gnome) is in demand to be kitted, but not the 3 meter Gnome. (or maybe it's a matter of ownership)

It's strong and flys amazingly well. I buddy boxed on a 3m Gnome back in the day. The Harbor Soaring Society in Costa Mesa had a 3m Gnome as their trainer. But you winched it up! So as a newbie on a winch, you knew it had to be strong.

I have one in the box and one old set of plans.

I'll remember that if I ever see one available.

On the drive home still, it's Dory's turn at the wheel. We were just blessed with a special treat: Dory spotted a pair of "thermal markers" circling just off the road. One looked funny, all big and rounded. As we got closer, I saw it was a bald eagle circling with a red-tail. We HAD to stop and watch. The baldy didn't want to share, and was kicking at the red-tail. Once he rolled and attacked from below. After a few minutes they drifted over the hill, and disappeared.

Wanna know how rare they are in these parts? They sometimes make the news. Especially if it's car vs bird. Anyways, there's this guy, and I know of a pair by Pinnacles. They coming back.

Originally Posted by Lil Stinkpot

What's the peak charge on a AA?

I want to keep the old Tx pack, maybe I can break it apart and make a smaller pack for something else. Or maybe I'll just recycle it. I dunno yet.

If it's NiCad you can push them pretty hard. NiMh I would limit to around half of C. Example, if it's a 2000 Mah pack I would charge it at 1000 (1 amp). Everyone has differing opinions but in my experience the harder you push NiMh the more false peak indications you get.

Katie, do your chargers have a discharge feature?

Wall Wart chargers. Dump them.

I agree with Sean in that it's always great to bring out a trusted old friend, dust it of, give it a checkup and take it flying. My trusty ol Paragon is my main go to with the Windfree and Riser100 running close behind. How about the rest of you tell us about your "Go to" planes!

I can see from the photos that my proposed little 20 acre spread won't cut it to hold a major event at. If we tried setting up THAT many pop-up awnings there's be no room for flying. Still I want it to be known that anyone heading to my neck of the woods is welcome to bring some planes over and use the field once I get it all dialed in. I just can't hog all this Arizona sunshine for myself!

Yep, I luvs me some Paragon. Still have an untouched kit waiting on the shelf.

I also still love the Gentle Lady. Never been a better zero stress glider. I've had so many magical afternoons with one just doing it's thing. The GL I have sitting RTF right now is sort of the wife's model. She can fly the snot out of it. She knows a good flier when she sees it. It never even occurs to her to be concerned with spot landings, screaming up a winch or moving all over the sky searching for something else. JJ doesn't like messing with winches even though she does just fine. I think it's her sewing time, she totally connects with a winch pedal and because of that she's slow and deliberate to altitude. Once up there it's like a non-issue for her to just fly around, gain height and come back home when she's ready. She really pisses me off.



I wish she was more into it, I'd make money on her at the club field.

I'll bring up an oddball you don't see much but I happen to have a kit of sitting around: The RO-8. Really not very good and has a face only a mother could love. Weird fuselage and T-tail. Honestly not worth a crap in so many ways but just ......old skool kewl.

We've (boss and I) have an unoccupied house full (really full) of models with a fair amount of them being designs from the 70's. Most aren't good fliers for various reason but hey, they fly and will thermal. I have a master plan to go through one example of each glider designed between 1969 and 1980 that we have, get them back to 100% airworthy and put at least 4 hours air time on every one over the next few years. The worst of the bunch is much better than nothing.

Want an old Woodie that will put a smile on your face? Sailaire..........or Whaleaire as we affectionately call them. Sort of the blimp of the RC soaring world. It's big, it's kinda fat and it goes nowhere in a hurry but once it goes up it won't come down unless it's a horrible day and you've never flown a sailplane before. I have two unbuilt kits of them. One a very low serial number original from CraftAire and the other a Dream catcher kit. I'll build the DC kit and leave the original for nostalgia's sake.

We do have some really weirdo models that suck as far as flying but the concepts are worthy of preservation. I have an Allure for example. The idea was nothing sticking out past the wing LE. No nose or fuse period past the wing. I guess the idea was no drag up front and an uninterrupted airflow across the whole wing LE. Cool concept that bites big green rocks in execution. No weight forward of the LE made for some.................interesting flight characteristics. Not interesting in a good way but eye opening to say the least..

So many glider designs over the last 50 years, so little time.

And the best part of the Whaleaire, is I have enough room for 1 flight pack, and a cat!
You fellas were talking of a U2, i think I saw one @ LHS, 250 bucks with TX, I figured it could work- when i got more allowance!
Inthe mean time, 3 cookie points given by Katie for this answer!

Answer: It's a picture of a dual engine turboprop airplane.


My charger has a discharge function.

How can I charge my double-A's, now that I tossed the wall wort? My RC charger doesn't have a AA charging fixture. Worse yet, now I have to take my batteries out to the truck every time I want to charge them.

What is the optimum peak voltage of a AA? I want to know if my new ones are even good @ 1.37v.

I still don't have a battery checker that puts a load on the batteries. I saw one that I really liked at the contest, but couldn't swing the $60 bill at the time. Maybe later.

Hi Captain,

It looks like you are going to be a building machine this winter. Two boxes from Don and a Sailaire, that's a lot of balsa to glue up. That Sailaire will make all my planes look like micro models. I will be looking for them this next season.

On a different note, I received the covering for the Raven this week. The final color scheme is going to be a suprise. The local hobby shop only had one half of the multiplex connecters I needed, the other half is backordered. Go figure. I will be doing a final sanding this week and monting the spoiler servors promptly after that. I might go ahead and cover the fuselage and install the wiring harness after the fact. Shouldn't be a deal breaker.

Wayne

I posted a few pictures of the contest here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...&postcount=195

Originally Posted by Lil Stinkpot

A

How can I charge my double-A's, now that I tossed the wall wort? My RC charger doesn't have a AA charging fixture. Worse yet, now I have to take my batteries out to the truck every time I want to charge them.

Not sure why everyone says ditch the wall wart. My understanding is, it you want to bring older packs to life, use the wall wart to slow charge them, then take a 12v bulb and discharge them a ways, then repeat. But I am no expert!!!! But a cheap watt meter is great for the discharge measurement.

Digression: (Since that NEVER happens in this thread!)

Kodak moment as you described one of your pictures... a phrase etched in Americana. As a son of a Kodak retiree, and myself a 15 year Kodak employee, every time I read or hear "Kodak Moment" all I can think of is how stupid that company's leadership was. It will be taught in business school for years to come...

I know what you mean Jeff. As an avid photographer in my youth, I shot many a roll of their film. I still shoot on 35mm but plan on going digital one of these days. It's getting harder and harder to find a good lab and while I can process my own slides. I'm not set up for prints. I only used the kodachrome for "Special" shoots but the old ektachrome worked really well for red/yellow biased shots. I hate to say it but Fijichrome was better in the blue/green end of the spectrum.

Wow Katie! Those are fun flights! I got the first view! ha ha you's guys! see whatcha get when ya subscribe!
Wayne:
I'm sorry I must correct you on one small detail, that is 3boxes from Don! we have 2 new pilots @ work now.
yepper- I will be posting picks hopefully tomorrow eve, as I am already ahead of (schedule Ha) of 2 yrs late- now I'm catchin' up to18months behind.
Yes Katie, it is a twin, but WHICH twin? Scale slopers wanna know! now, for of my reality and sleep! love those nacelle extrudes!

Katie, chargers don't see AA from sub C's, only voltage and newer ones capacity and fuel. Just set the correct cell count, chemistry and charge rate then go. C10 or 1/10th the pack capacity is for new cells to format and for all packs around dozens uses, besides re-fromating as it self balances the pack.
Easy.

Jared