I've been leaving the 1S powered part of the hangar to my son lately but with winter coming I have most of my indoor fleet back in shape. About 4 batts were lo longer holding a good charge, but I had another 6 lying around. 5 are 25c and one is a 35c. The other night at the LHS the manager, Ray, showed me the new 45C. I picked two up and didn't expect much from them. I charged them and put them aside. The next day I went home for lunch and decided to pop on in a Nano CP X. Wow, what a difference. Since I put all aluminum parts on it the weight kept me from doing a lot with it. With the 45C batt, I was flying inverted in my living room again! I took the second battery into work and gave it to Bob S. because I just sold him a Nano CP X from an auction. He asked me to pick one up because his brushless set up died and he didn't feel like changing anything over. He agrees that a brushed set up with the 45C was a lot better and close to a mild brushless set up, which made us think what a wild brushless setup on 45C would be like. Anyone try it?

Since then, I have been flying everything from the MCX2 to the nQX again, but now with 45c batts. Just in time for winter, E-Flite! Thanks!

After finishing up clearing the fallen leaves in the yard Saturday I ran out the front door only to find that my wife went somewhere with the van and one of my new gliders does not fit into my car without the possibility of damage. The sun was sinking fast, so I decided to settle for helicopters in the back yard.

I hovered my 500 first just to drain the batteries. Then it was the 450 3D and the sun was setting fast. Now, I've noticed that the 450 350 has nothing preventing the battery from rubbing up against the motor in the past and I usually check the space between the two. Usually. I had a great nose in hover going when the white smoke started pouring out the top and bottom of the canopy. My first lipo fire! I immediately dropped it for the landing and hit the TH a second later befire iut even reached the ground.

I was able to get the canopy off before it entirely melted. It only warped at the top where the fire started a little bit. I saw the one battery wire already freed itself from the battery, so I left the 450 on its side and waited for the second and third cells to blow. The velcro melted, the servo warped enough to die and the battery deck was a little melted. I think a little sanding, some new velcro and a new servo and it will be fine. The motor looked bad, but still worked. I have a spare of the exact same motor I picked up a while ago, so I will probably swap it out to be safe. Or at least open up the motor and clean it out. Overall I thought the damage was going to be worse. I am glad I picked up two new 3S 2200s last weekend.

I am also going to create some kind of barrier with thin plastic sheet and glue between the motor and the battery when putting it all back together. The 450 3D has taken the brunt of some of my worse crashes and I'd hate to lose it to something as stupid as another lipo fire.

I passed up on a lot of good deals this weekend at the auction. A 130x went for $85. A Vaterra Camero went for $80. I ended up getting a floor model Nano CPX for $60. The guy who won the 130x actually works at the store it was the floor model at and told me it was hovered once. I flew it when I got home and I believe him. Unfortunately, I picked up that heli for a friend whose brushless set up is acting up, so I will not be keeping it.

I have been going back and forth about getting a Radian recently, but picked up a new RX-R Calypso for $80. I got the Zephyr V-70 for $70. It needed a speed controller and RX but I had some lying around. With a 80A esc, Spektrum RX with satellite and 3S 3200 battery stuffed into the nose, it is still a hair (about 50mm) tail heavy. My son wanted the ASK for $25. I told him that is for Christmas, but I don't know if I will be able to hold out that long. I want to see it fly. I also picked up the Stryker 180 for $70 and 2 Mad Dog 3S 2200 batts for $30.

So it turned into a night of gliders and wings for me and I am not sure why. There were over 20 other things I wanted to bid on. I think part of the problem is a lot of us have flown together and generally like each other. We just let each other have stuff instead of driving the prices up. There was more than enough stuff to go around, but that sucks for the guy running the auction. I hope in the end he actually made some money because he is a great guy and does everything he can to spread our hobby locally.

It's going to be cold, but I'm going anyway. I just hope Jeff has a nice bonfire going during the day. If you live near Harford, PA come join us! It's free! Find Winemiller Field under places here on RCGroups.

Well, the big closet in my basement workshop with the double folding doors and shelves is filled with planes. My bigger planes and their wings are standing against the wall outside the closet. Most of my helis are now on display in my living room and the boxes for those are hidden between a wall and a filing cabinet because the previously mentioned closet is now full of planes (and jets). The top of the filing cabinet holds an Icon A5 and my foamy. My RC trucks are stacked up next to my desk. I have an RC boat in the living room, a boat on a shelf in a storage area and a boat on the floor of my daughters room. I'm glad she picked an ocean theme when we did her room. Half the dining room table has quadcopters and various part on it. I try and keep half clear just to keep the complaints down about how my hobby is taking over the whole house. And now I made a deal with someone that may end up with me either coming home with one or two expensive and large RC pieces or a whole van full of stuff all new or slightly used. That happens Saturday.

I do have an unfinished side of my basement with a concrete floor and a lot of room. It is my non-RC workshop with 2 benches, if you call horses with old doors on top of them a bench. They work for me . I recently installed all new hanging lights in there. I think some rolls of burlap to cover the ceiling joyces and some pegboards on the walls and it would be good for hanging up my big planes in.

Then again, maybe it is time to build a shed, or a garage...or steal a T.A.R.D.I.S.

What a weekend of flying. I love my new Blade 300x! of course my LHS in Scranton had a 25% off sale the day after I bought it, but the 25% off brought the Blade 500 3D price down so low that I had to buy that too. I will be going over every part and screw of it before I fly it. You would think that after flying the 300x for a few days that I would stay away from the flybar, but I love flying everything. Well, almost everything. I took my UMX Mustang P51-D and put it in the consignment section of my LHS. I just wasn't flying it and I'd like to put the money towards the bigger brushless version that came out.

Back to flying. I started off an extremely windy Saturday with my ParkZone Icon A5. At the last Fun Fly in Harford I was having so much fun that I forgot to put the support rod through the wings. That was funny to watch, unless you were me. A little tape and glue and it was good as new. If that wind didn't bring her down then nothing will. The crosswinds on my runway (that has phone ples down the one side of it) forced me to rethink my landing. I quickly realized I parked in the wrong spot. I had to come down over the roof of my car and had 30' before I hit the trees. I pulled it off and felt great about it. That was followed by the Apprentice S 15e, my foamy, Yak 54 180, both 130x, my new 300x, the 450 3D and the Habu. By the time I got to the Habu, the winds were so bad I thought I was going to crash on take off. I did a few laps while waiting for a break and brought...Continue Reading