Well as all things go, Dakrat decided to drag me down the rabbit hole again and give me a project to complete. Seems they were having a sale on the Skyline/AeroPlus RC Yak 55 ARF kits and Dakrat knew I had owned the real thing at one point. Next thing I know this huge box shows up at my door with a note that says have fun....well as I opened the box first thing I noticed was how strong the shipping container was, amazed that it was all out of cardboard. It was very thick and held up well. The contents were packed very well and all in good shape however the colors were red and yellow and not really my style. My Yak 55 was painted in a red white and blue scheme and with a few pictures and a determination to give this a try I started the project to convert this ARF to match my real Aircraft. With photos in hand and a stack of MonoKote I jumped in with both feet. First up was stripping off all the old covering at which point I started laying out the patterns for the new covering. I realized that some new tools would be in order so off to the hobby store I went and came back with new tools for the job. MonoKote cutter, templates for stars and circles, straight edge and circle cutters were all in the bag, now to break out this iron and new sock and get started. The first few attempts were troublesome but I soon figured it out and got right to work. With a few hours each night and some research I got the majority of the aircraft covered and looking close to the real...Continue Reading

It is a pleasure to attend this event and some of my aircraft made the Friday gallery! Hope saturday is just as good.

Well the good news about having good friends in the same hobby is that they can feed your addiction. After a wonderful few weeks of hanging out with Dakrat flying almost everyday, sadly he had to return home and resume the daily grind. Just a few weeks after he returned home a huge package showed up at my doorstep addressed to me and a big Merry Christmas was headed my way.
After convincing my better half that I indeed did not order this box now taking up our entry way and settling down in the family room I proceeded to take on this major project and set off to order all the parts needed to make this plane ready to fly. Of course Christmas was a good excuse to max out the paypal and Credit Cards to find all the right parts and get them on the WAY! The directions stated that it would take about 20 hours to build the ARF and surprisingly they were almost spot on. Most of it was trying to sort through the bag of nuts and bolts and washers and small parts and find out where everything was supposed to go. They were all included in one bag so good luck. The directions were 6 pages of pictures that basically gave you an idea but thanks to RC groups and a few threads I found some valuable information that would help me get this plane together with minimal efforts. The hard parts were trying to decide what the small extras were going to be to make this mine and first off was a trip to Callie Graphics to get the right bling to make this look the part. She was right on the...Continue Reading

Some of the guys I fly with have come across a few sailplanes and I decided to get one for myself. After a few discussions and some research I decided on a Hobby King Phoenix 2000, Electric Sailplane. It arrived in record time double boxed and all extra parts included in the order. I took the time to unpack it and took a few pictures during the build. It is a 2M glider and has about a 6ft wing span and after the build and trying to find a good place for the maiden flight. I was able to get it airborne and fly. Really liking the solid feel of this plane and now just have to get use to the lift needed to keep this thing in the air without to much use on the motor....Continue Reading

Thanks to Tony for talking me into this great airplane! This was day one putting it together and comparing it to the SHP300

The Electric Expo is this weekend here in Phoeinx. It will be held at the football stadium where the cardnials play. They will have an indoor and out door flying area...I thought I might try my hand at indoor flight so I through together a little Extra 260 based on the eflight version. Test flew it in the dark tonight to see if it would fly...likes to hover and will turn on a dime...lucky for the gear it sets down very softly...tail first LOL....on a 2s it flies slow and steady...wasnt ready for the three cell yet...will try that in the AM....

Well I have over 50 flights on this plane and so far (knock on wood) it has done an incredible job at keeping me on my toes. I am still flying it 3 mistakes high but starting to get the hang of these landings and still moving the CG around to find the right CG for me. I love the way this thing tumbles and when I finaly get these landings down it is my kind of bird. My skills have improved flying this plane and I have become more balanced on the sticks. My fomies are lasting longer as a result. I find myself able to get out of situations better now that I have been flying this great plane.
Of course being on the sim every night has helped too.....thanks Dakrat for the hook up....

I decided to take a chance and pain the interior of the canopy. I looked around and could not decide which color I liked the best. I decided on a few photos that I have seen around the RC groups board and decided to take a chance on the blue. I think it turned out rather well...although I did it at night and did not notice a few runs in the pain. but still looks good.

I have about 23 flights on this bird now and have to say that the wheel pants are one of the weak spots on it. I caught a pebble or two and cracked them over the last 23 landings. but thanks to 3D hobbyshop ...they have more avial...of course it could be the fact that my landings need work...or that AZ has very hard soil...or the asphalt is jumping up and grabbing them as they glide over it......maybe....

Well I just couldnt wait to get this plane in the air...so last night as the sun was setting I took my son out to the big field near the house and did the run up on the plane. Set my timer for 4 min and low rates and took off ....hoping I had the CG right ...(3.25 on the balancer) The plane rose into the sunset with the wind in my face and WOW this thing is stable.
Couple of turns to get used to it and on the downwind leg a few aileron rolls and a loop. A few hammerhead turns and some stalls and I was out of time. I tried the landing about twice till I realized that my rudder was not responding...as my counter got down to 10 seconds I turned into the wind and setteled her down on the street in a 3 point landing. the Rudder control wire was totally missing but other than that it was a good 4 min. I do have some questions for the SHP owners so I will track a few down and get their feedback. one down and more 3D to come......Thanks for the support everyone

Well I have decided to take the next step and join the ranks of the 3D Hobby Shop Extra 300SHP owners. I have been flying foamies and for the last year and after spending time at the club and watching this thing fly I couldnt help myself and I just had to have it. It arrived in a double box packing and had not a scratch. The parts were in bags and taped to the box to keep everthing from moving around and getting all busted up.
The plane was astounding. I couldnt wait to get it together.

First on the agenda was wings and tail, servos and then ...CRAP the motor was too big to fit. This plane was designed around a torque 2818T and I now have a 4042 to try and squeez into this thing....but with a few mods and a drill it snuggled right up to the firewall and the cowl fit perfect.

I went ahead and bought the large servo extensions to get the 3D rates and the elevator is all the way to 50 Deg up and down....WOW....will never need that but WOW...that is reall cool. I now have everything together after a few days of work and I am just waiting for the ESC/BEC (60A) to run my 13.6E prop

Cant wait to maiden this beautiful aircraft....Here are some of the pictures....
Enjoy.... :cool

I need a new Plane anyone have a suggestion?

Dakrat suggested that the engine was a bit strong so that maybe I should tone it down with the panel lines. I outlined them in a silver to keep it from being too dark but enough to set them apart. What do you think?

Here are some more photos

I was able to salvage the wings, tail, canopy, and equipment off of the most unfortunate remains of the first Grey version. Upon getting my new body I was able to piece this incredible a/c back together. This time however I decided to paint it with more of a realistic look. Thanks to the Testors Model Masters paint and a few nights of inhaling fumes..I think I have it. Now to just glue it all back together and get it back in the air.
Here are some photos of the new paint scheme

My severe crash left me wanting another body for my F-15...thanks to Andy over at GWS he hooked me up....Here is my new package

Thanks to Dakrat...I am attempting to rewind a blue motor this is my first attempt. What do you think?

Due to the pressure of my buddy Dakrat. I have decided to dive into a new project. Since most of my time is spent building planes and crashing them I have a pile of little blue motors. I have decided to take on the winding of one of these motors. Wish me luck .

Got a itch to build a new fomie..so I did some research and decided on this
F-22 model. The plans were avail on RC Groups thanks to several people and the cut out was very simple and only took about 45 min to get everything cut and ready to put together. I used Tri Fold Elmers foam board for the body and 6mm depron for the nose tail and elevons. with a little grey paint for a better look and we were off to the building phase.
The build was very simple and with some CA and Kicker the parts were ready to fly in just over an hour. I used a 1500kv motor but I think the body was a tad bit heavy. I had several successful runs before it finaly gave in and during a high speed impact with the ground gave up the ghost I am going to try again with the blue core foam to see if it works better.

Forgot to post the pics of the indoor flyer. That the small motor goes on.

Well to drown my sorrows about the jet my buddy sent me a link to the new MS Composit EPP aircraft that have come out from the Chech Republic. The kit is 49 bucks and is all airbrushed and looks great on the web. So I thought it would be a great opportunity to fly with my boy I decided to take the plunge. I got the P-51 and the Unique in Green. . Both looked really fun to fly and it took about a week to get here. At first I was excited but the box it arrived in was less than in tact. The DHL guy wanted to know if I wanted to refuse the package..but looking iside at the epp foam ..everything seemed to be in good shape. Not wanting to miss another week or two of building..I decided to accept the package. (check out the photos)

The two kits came with 4 parts EPP Wing (two halves) EPP body prepainted and a 6mm depron Elevator and Rudder and a bag of linkage that included servo mounts control horns and one landing gear for the Unique. Upon inspection I found that the P-51 tail had been broken off and the elevator was creased like somthing was sitting on it ..(depron doesnt like that) and that the Unique body was all warped and the elevator was busted in half and the rudder was almost that way. I was very disappointed in the condition of the package and had I known about the other parts being broken I would have refused it. But with a little Sumo glue, and 6mm depron sheet that I had laying around I was able to make another tail section for both airplanes and...Continue Reading