Today I had the day off and it was a teacher work day so I invited my two older kids to come out with me. Got to fly everything that we brought out to the park...Firebird Stratos, Sukhoi SU-26M, UM Spitfire, Super Cub, and the Radian Pro. There was little to no wind and overcast. We enjoyed beautiful flights with no unscheduled landings. But the best flight was my 20 minute flight with the Radian Pro. i achieved that on a 30 second motor run then flying around until I found a thermal near some buildings with spanish tile roofs. I could have kept it up there longer but I got tired looking up so I had to bring her in. I was really shooting for 30 minutes or longer. There was an older gentleman ( a regular) with his DLG at the field and I told him about the nice thermal activity I was in but he doesn't launch his glider high enough to clear the trees to get to where I was at. I really love flying the Radian Pro, so much so that I'm considering thinning the fleet and just sticking to gliders.

Happy flying!

It's been an interestingly busy week at work and that means it's important to stay fresh and motivated. What better way to do that than to do some lunchtime flying. Took the Spit and Radian out to the lake earlier in the week. The Spit couldn't fly higher than about 6 feet and batteries were only lasting 2 minutes. So I packed that up and launched the Radian on a cloudy but calm day. Flew two batteries for a total of about 33 minutes catching one nice thermal on the first battery. I just circled and circled at about 150 feet above ground and it maintained that altitude for 2 minutes. Though i didn't gain altitude it was still a kick to see it stay there. I actually caught that thermal on my approach to land so it was a nice surprise to be able to keep her up for a couple more minutes.

Earlier today I replaced the Spit's motor (only 3 months and maybe 40 flights old) with an older P-51 motor that someone had given me for free. I figured anything is better than the dying motor. Boy was I right. I walked over to my neighbor's house because they have a nice open front yards whereas mine is a pine forrest. It was fantastic to fly her with power again. I kept power between 50and 75% and just flew a tight circuit over the street and lawns so as to not alarm the neighbors. Can't wait to get the Spitfire out to the park again.

Happy flying!

Well I can say I'm hooked on flying the Radian Pro. I haven't even gotten it fully sorted out yet but I can honestly say that I enjoy this type of flying. I'm close to getting it all sorted out with the two quarters added to the tail bring the CG back to about 75mm. Aileron trailing edges, especially the left one, aren't properly aligned with the rest of the trailing edges in each wing/flap and I dare not apply any more heat to fix it as I already got bit of alligator skin on the left aileron and still it's warped. But HH is sending me a new wingset so hopefully the new wings don't have the same issue.

In the 3 times I've flown the Radian, twice the winds were 5mph or below and one day it was 10mph and a bit gusty. It wasn't as enjoyable in the 10mph winds but I think a large part of that is due to where I typically fly which is surrounded by trees and right next to a lake. The other two times were a blast and I know it's only going to get better as I learn her characteristics better. I certainly enjoy dropping the flaps and using crow to slow her down and grease her in for a landing.

Happy flying!

Last week I was fortunate enough to take two days off from work so I spent both mornings out at the local flying "field." First day was a bit breezy but I still enjoyed some solid flights with the Super Cub, micro Spit and Sukhoi. ROGs with the SCs are so nice and easy now that it has brushless power.

Second day out was much windier with gusts up to about 12 mph in my estimation. The SC was more of a handful but it was nice to see some speed on the downwind leg. Ended the day with a beautiful 3 point landing with no rollout. That's right, I had it on a very nice final approach, very scale and as close to 3 degress as I can tell. As I had started to flare a huge gust hit the SC so I gave it a little blip of power. Ground speed hit 0 and I reduced power and kept her nose up attitude and she floated down onto the grass on all three wheels nice and easy. I know I won't ever be able to replicate that landing but it was definitely one that I'll never forget. Though my original plan was to line her up for another ROG I decided to pack it up with that beauty of a landing.

On Sunday I learned that I could fly at Crabtree Park/Lake so I showed up with my SC about 30 minutes before the gates closed. Grass is pretty short so I was able to perform nice ROG and landings. A crowd immediately grew around me and questions started pouring in from sons and dads. I only got in a few short flights but I think I got some more people interested in this fun hobby of hours.

Ordered a Radian Pro yesterday with some funds I'm receiving from a bike sale so I'm looking forward to some soaring in the coming weeks. I'll post on it's maiden as soon as that happens, maybe as soon as this weekend.

Happy flying!