Sorry for getting a little OT.

It's a very old kit, probably at least 30yrs or so. My brother built a good bit of the fuse, and I took it from there. But some of the balsa was kinda flimsy with age, and some of his glue joints have separated. I've had to reinforce it a good bit, so I'm hoping it'll come in under 20 oz...but we'll see.

Back in the early 70s my brother and I were heavily into control wire flying. We had no hobby shops anywhere near us, so we took what we could get. I decided to buy a balsa kit for one of our spare engines. It was hard...I was a decent builder even back then, and I recall it being difficult.

But I didn't know anything about doping the tissue covering. It got soaked with fuel, and while starting the engine one day it caught fire. Ever see one'a those Tom and Jerry cartoons where a character burns in about one second, leaving behind what looks like a burnt matchstick? Yeah....just like that.

The old dopes were nitrocellulose, burns well too!

Back to the es, at one time I was close to making a balsa cowl, open on the bottom, ie just top and sides. I have 2 other planes like that.

Man, that guy went up in smoke big time quick....POOF!

A balsa cowl? Interesting. The Tomahawk is missing all the plastic, so I'll shape the wingtips out of either foam or balsa, and the canopy I'll either use a soda bottle or I'll shape that out of foam. The cowl is trickier. But I have an old Art Tech Cessna 182 cowl that seems to fit it quite well. It's not the same contours exactly, but somewhat close. Should be OK.

No flying this week at all, last evening I could hear the wind howling outside, and this morning on the way to work it was already gusting very hard, probably 20mph or so. Not a good sign that the day will be cooperative. I'm gettin' antsey....

Update

Got the cowls today...they are the long version, same as I have on the e currently. Since I'm set up that way it's not a big deal. Although the e flies great with the scotch taped setup...I'm gonna have to find time to cut, paint, install and balance.

To be honest...I'm gonna hang for now with the scotch tape! I'll eventually make the time to swap it out...but I'm full-on OC with the two planes I'm building at the moment. Nearly done with the Zero, I wanna get that guy on the balance and see how it fares.

Besides....winds have been freakin' unreal...absolutely no chance to fly in these conditions. When I see the tree moss blowing higher than a 45 degree angle it's not a good sign...

Vic,
Can you post some pictures of how you setup your camera? I would like to see how people mount them. I see how you must mount it in different places because the view looks different. If it points to the front, does the prop flutter in the view?

Thanks,

And if anyone else has any pics with your camera mounted, I'd like to see them as well!

Jerry

WOW, I just noticed that was my first post on here. I've been reading the E-Starter forums for a couple months now while I S...L..O..W...L..Y build my first plane. This is so cool and there is so much information here. A lot to take in. My friend that is teaching me to fly and that helps me think about all this, told me that I am building my plane like it was my third or fourth one. I am trying to do too much and I will hate life WHEN it goes DOWN. I don't really care... it's a big part of my fun.

Thanks everyone for your help!!!

Jerry

Jerry, welcome to the thread!

I mostly use keyfob cameras, and hold them on with self stick Velcro. I have the hook side on the camera, and patches of the fluffy side wherever I want to mount a camera. That cam weighs 18g and is no problem to balance. I wouldn't recommend putting one on the tail until you are very comfortable with the plane. My favorite place is under the wing, taking the prop out of the picture. Most people dont like to see the prop, unless only for a short clip.

I flew the plane wisth a bloggie on top, not a big problem even at 5oz. It was on Velcro and had added rubber bands. A twin engine estarter would be good for that, but I gave no plan to go there!!

Hope this helps, lots of other info on the keyfob cam threads.

BTW, Ric -,glad you got the cowls you wanted.

V

Yes, welcome to the thread. Of course, pics of your E-Starter are mandatory along with a description of the power system. We all like them way too much.

Flying weather might be here this weekend. I sure hope so. Cobwebs are starting to gather on my ES!!

Freddy

Good weather here so I gave the es a rest and flew this

My new es came with a stipulation from my wife to get rid of an old one. So the grandkids had devilish delight in breaking up my oldest es, the one with clipped wing. No photo, but she will be remembered. I still have another, as well as the new one.

Hi Jerry, and a big welcome from me as well. And yes, as Fred stated....must have pics along with lotsa other info!

No flying today....very gusty. Hoping for the best this weekend...

I'm thinking about ordering one of the #16 808 Key-chain DVRs off Ebay. But before I do, I just want to make sure that it's one of the good ones to use on my ES. And if it is a good one, does anyone have the name of a trusted seller on Ebay that will have the right one and with the updated software?

Thanks for your help!

Jerry

Originally Posted by JerryBSr

I'm thinking about ordering one of the #16 808 Key-chain DVRs off Ebay. But before I do, I just want to make sure that it's one of the good ones to use on my ES. And if it is a good one, does anyone have the name of a trusted seller on Ebay that will have the right one and with the updated software?

Thanks for your help!

Jerry

There are two sellers post #2 here.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1556994

I have one of those keychain cams. Well, at this moment I do not know where it is but before I lost track of it I attached it to the top leading edge of the right wing on my E-Starter and made the following video. The video does show my flying field well. Not many people fly here but there have been as many as 7 people. On the day of my video, I was alone.

GWS E-Starter Tricycle Key Chain Cam (5 min 22 sec)

Winds here will be dying down in the late afternoon and tomorrow are forecast to be 5 mph or less all day. I WILL get some flying in for sure. Heck, tomorrow I may do the maiden on Jester, my 47" 3D Hobby Shop Extra 300 SHP. I have been waiting for a good day for that. Maybe I can even get some better pics. The one below was taken with my iPhone.



Heck, maybe my new E-Starter will get painted this weekend. That would be really great!!

Freddy

Nice vid Fred. Is that Allmand Bros or Sea Level for the music? They're pretty close...Sea Level formed out the AB Band.

Was that Pickle you were flying for the vid?

Wow....you guys have the greatest flying spots. I'm *so* envious. I'm gonna take some shots of my spot so you can see what I mean by "less forgiving"...!

And today is lookin' promising....gonna load up and head down as the day closes. Woohoo!

Originally Posted by whowhatwhere

Nice vid Fred. Is that Allmand Bros or Sea Level for the music? They're pretty close...Sea Level formed out the AB Band.

Was that Pickle you were flying for the vid?

Wow....you guys have the greatest flying spots. I'm *so* envious. I'm gonna take some shots of my spot so you can see what I mean by "less forgiving"...!

And today is lookin' promising....gonna load up and head down as the day closes. Woohoo!

Good call Ric. That is Allman Brother's Band. The song is "Hot 'Lanta". I am a big fan of Southern Rock and Blues. I've not heard of Sea Level but just looked them up on Wiki and will certainly have to give a listen to some of their music.

The plane hauling the camera in the video is Pickle but the video was shot before she was painted. In those days she was all white and was called Ghost.

I am headed out flying as the day closes too. I have my 6 2S LiPo's charged up for Pickle and have 6 of my 3S 1,300mAh LiPo's on the charger now. These are for my GWS Slow Stick. Winds are still a little high around 12-14 mph but will start falling around 6:00 p.m. By 7:00 p.m. they are forecast to be around 3 mph and are expected to hold there. The sun goes down around 7:30 p.m. and I will be turning on the 120 LED lights on my Slow Stick. When I get tired or when I run out of batteries, I will head back home. It is gonna be a good night.

Freddy