Looking forward to the new year

Well I'm done with the motorcycles for a bit, and I'm back working on the $ Star 120. Just need to figuare out how to rig the throttle and I'll be good.

The Sig LT -40 has been a real work horse, after crash I installed a OS .60 and some big tundraish tires. So I've been playing around landing and taking off unpaved surfaces. Very fun..

until later

Well it seems its just not in the cards for the plane building. I'm been tinkering but life is getting in the way. Nov is gone and Dec and Jan are booked. I have hope for Feb.. While on (Navy and United) flights I have been working on build lists for the 4 Star and the AT-6 but all I seem to be able to do is dream of building.

Not sure where Sept went.. I did acomplish NADA.. nothing .. on my 4 Star 120 last month. Busy rebuilding a motorcycle and taking a 2 week motorcycle ride. I hope to get some flying in this weekend and get back at building at the end of the month.. lots of work to do for the Naval Air Reserves..

Well I finally flew too low to recover from an inverted tip stall and killed off FrankenStang II. I'm not happy, but it did learn alot from that plan. It was my first tail dragger with flaps.. So she will go down in the books as a great plane.

Once I finish my motorcycle journey, I'll finish my 4 Star-120 build and then move to rebuilding the At-6 I was given.

If I wasn't hooked on the RC Planes before this weekend, I am now. WOW my wife and I saw some awesome planes on Friday and Saturday.

I've attached a few of my...Continue Reading

Well I've been busy flying planes, building planes and rebuilding my motorcycle

My H9 P-51 Mustang is flying great. Its all trimmed out to fly with flaps and I've mastered the landings. A couple of my club members have given me their crashed planes to rebuild since I'd try to make them flynig again!

They are a KMP Corsair, KMP F-7 Tigercat, and a Hanger 9 SNJ- Texan and another smaller flyable P-51 ARF was given to me.

I shoved a OS 40 in the P-51 ARF, this thing should scoot! The others all have some major damage to them but they are rebuildable with a little time.

The SNJ will be my first rebuild as I feel it will be a great step up from the P-51 and will help me transition to the Corsair. The SNJ will be my first retractable gear plane. I'm going with an air retract system and Im thinking about a new cover job in Red Bull colors..

The fuselage will be need a new bulkhead and a rebuild of the wing center section but its rebuildable.



The Corsair body isn't in bad shape, it needs a little rework on the front bulkhead, and some fiberglass patches on the fuselage. The wing has a broken spar, that will require some serious surgery, but its repairable. I've ordered and received a new canopy for it. So the plane will be ready to build when I have the time and the skill.

The Tigercat is my next year project, the damage is minor and is limited to a broken wing epoxy joint and some fuselage fiberglass patching. The cost will be in the retracts and the engines.. The kit was free but it cost me easly $1100.00 to get it in the air. 2- OS FS 200 engines, retracts, and the electronics.. ouch! yet I'm in no hurry. The original owner is building a new one (doesn't like to repair) and has offer to let me learn on his new one. So I will the flying down before I get it built!

Well the new fuselage came in and I started the moving of parts.. hope to re-maiden the Franknstang on Sunday!!

I decided I have to try one more time to get the Mustang flying.. so I ordered a new fuselage to get it in the air again!! Its too fin to fly, and was too costly to replace.. I'll post pictures of the new Frankenstang.. when its done!

I had a great day of learning the Hanger 9 PTS Mustang, doing a bunch of touch and go's, all sorts of manuevers. Feeling confident I was doing a inverted pass, followed by a aileron roll then a pop up..

Well the poor plane had been thru three bad wrecks, and pieced back together for the last time (balsa & ply on top each other)

As I finished the aileron roll, I popped the plane up vertical, then I heard a pop..

The body snapped in two . Well as the famed aviator Bob Hoover stated .. Fly the plane to the crash..

So I tried to save it.. and Kinda glided it to a stop, on all three wheels

With that said, the airframe is done.. I'm offically calling this one DONE! I'm not happy the plane is done, but aleast I didn't dumb thumb it in to a pile of balsa!

Well the mustang performed great with a new OS 46 LA engine. No bad tendecies to stall. I flew it three times this past weekend before the wind kicked up.

Can't wait til the next flight!

Well I got the mustang done and airborne today and I think it flew better then before. It was still hurting for power, which is the primary cause of one of my crashes. I had a few club members tell me that I've got to be a good pilot to fly such a underpowered plane, the truth is I'm only 60% successful.

And it showed again!!! today I flew the plane thru three tanks, and was having a great time, then the wind came up, causing about a 10 mph head wind on the runway, well that was too much and I stalled the plane and crashed it the damage was minor but I'm ready to throw in the towel with the OS 40 engine. The plane is too fun to fly and I'm running out of luck eventually I may crash it so bad I will not be able to repair it, so I'm going to throw a OS 46 in it.. That should help things.

Attached at the pictures of the before picture (this morning) and the after (this evening) .. The plane is a blast to fly... so I'm not giving up!

Ok.. I had great progress today. I was able to get the wing opened up to look at the damage. It wasn't too bad. So it was a quick fix, it took about 1 1/2 hr to fix the damage, and another hour to fill in the cracks and monocote it.

Being a newbie, I took my time on the monocote. The new trim tool worked awesome, could not have done it without it. I think the wings and the fuselage came out well. I showed it them to my wife, and she almost said, " wow I didn't think it'd look that good" but just said WOW so that made me happy.

I've the following items left to get her back in the air, throw in the radio gear, put the engine back in, sand and paint the nose (little change in scheme) check the CG, adjust the engine and then take it to the field.

I'm taking my nephew to the LA Jet show tomorrow so I'm hoping to get the Mustang in the air Monday.

Ok. the fuselage is done and ready for monocote.. now I need to tackle the wing repair

not sure want to make of it, but I know one of the landing gear is not like the other...

Well I'm getting the mustang back together. With a the use of scrap ply and balsa from my Sig 4 Star 120 kit I've glue the Mustang back together and supported the weakened and weaker areas. I'm happy with the repair and expect to have it recovered and airborne by Sat. I need to the tackle the wing next..

This plane is getting to be more glue then balsa.. but she survives..

This crash was due to the engine dieing at the bottom of a loop at a low altitude.. as the instructors said.. you crashed it learning and pushing not playing it safe.

Overall the damage is limited to balsa, and moncote so a little time and a trip to the CG machine and it should be in the air this weekend!

Well I finally crashed my mustang due to my own error..

I'm working with my Hanger 9 PTS. I've had about 10 flights successfully with out the flaps but with the wing extenders to help with wing tip stall.

So I started with adding flaps, and flying the plane with flaps.. boy that sucker doesnt want to come down with full flaps... So I flew about 10 more flights with alot of touch and go's and full stop landings. So feeling confident again, I decided to take the wing extenders off.

The plane is much more nimble but less stable (to be expected) without the extenders, but I managed to get 5 flights in with landings and touch and go's (w & w/o flaps) so I'm happy with my progress.

Well the luck ran out..

Yesterday I was doing touch and go's with a good cross wind, well I got a little right of centerline, and was blown over near the local airplane eating bush/tree.. Well I gave it some throttle and cleared it, hearing the prop eat its way thru the bush. Laughing I get some altitude and tell myself the plane is on borrowed time. I bring it in for a inspection, no damage except one wing panel has a cut in the monocote..

Up she goes.. couple more landings (love to do them, and its good practice)

Well just as some others join me at the field (I was all alone the whole time) I land the plane, and set to take off, well the darn thing tip stalls and grinds down the center line of the runway.. I'm offically blaming the sheep

I laugh and head down to look at the carnage..

Vertical stab - broken- monocote ripped
prop - broken
Tail wheel -ripped off (think it wanted attention, it was on the top)
quick fuel port - ripped off
canopy- ripped off
needle valve- broken... damn now i'm upset!

Overall not to bad, the needle valve hurts, everything else is easy.. I really need to carry a camera.. I don't like to crash but when I do .. its funny..

Ok I'm moving my build log off my personal blog to its own log... Sig 4 Star 120 - Gas Powered

Making more progress.. the wing seems to be going together quick once I have figuared out all the pieces.. and the parts..

Well here's the start to my Sig 4 Star 120.. Its my first build so I'm going to go at it slow!

my wife reports Santa came and brought my new Sig 4 Star 120!! Now the building begins.. ahhh Thurs after this stupid business trip!