I didn't mention the model in the photo on my last blog because I hadn't yet flown it.

This, I must say, was among the most pleasant surprises I had in a long time.

This was one of four models given to me by a friend who had a kit manufacturing company at one time. The proliferation of ARF and RTF models, while expanding the hobby as a whole, hurt his business.

Anyway, two models were complete and this was one of the two complete models. The other was a three-channel airplane of his own design called "The Sparrow." I'd seen this model fly and I now own it. Unfortunately, the servo arm for the rudder broke in flight. I'd never seen one fail! Damage is done, but fixable since it crashed in thick grass. We're getting together soon to assess and repair the damage. It's just too cool not to. It strongly resembles a Fokker Eindecker with a toy bust of Anakin Skywalker in his podracer goggles at the controls.

As for this powered glider with a brushed Jeti ESC and motor, an ancient ArtTech 1300mAh 3S li-po and an even more ancient three-channel Hitec 72MHz AM receiver, I dragged it into the house to investigate the possibility of a brushless upgrade.

Cleanup began right away and while I had a hunch the glider was in good shape, I didn't know just how good. Revealed beneath the dust was a nearly new, magnificently constructed model lacking only a canopy. No scratches on the wing and almost none underneath the fuselage beyond what one would...Continue Reading

...and it's so far, so good!

The rebirth of the Harbor Freight P-51 is coming along nice with all of the painting completed except for the anti-glare panel atop the nose. According to Greg Kenny, director of education at the Palm Springs Air Museum, the paint shop painted that panel of their real Bunny with Oak Green #212 from Poly-Fiber aircraft paints. Photos for the upcoming Callie Graphics decals won't happen for another couple of weeks while Bunny makes the air show rounds. I'm going to see if I can find a suitable military flat acrylic at the hobby shop.

I'm very happy regarding the "re-maiden" of the Adagio 280! That poor little model had been languishing in a hot garage for heaven knows how long and then incorrectly repaired. Getting the micro bind plug was easy; getting a new canopy and wing spar, not so easy since the model is out of production. The spar came from Amazon Prime and the canopy from Graves RC in Orlando, Florida. The binding plug was ordered by Rise Up HobbyTown in Palm Desert, California.

Today was its first flight in years and it didn't disappoint! All I need to do is add a bit more low rate rudder throw.

In the last couple of months, I've done pretty well regarding the acquisition of castoff models.

In my last blog, I mentioned how I had received a couple of small foam P-51 Mustangs from Jimmy Dixon, a fun user here on RCG who goes by the handle "jdixon."

Of the two, one is flying again and the other is undergoing a major refinishing job. The latter is the one which will be representing Bunny, the Tuskegee Airmen tribute at the Palm Springs Air Museum. A link to that flying exhibit is in my previous blog entry.

A friend of mine who, sadly, is in poor health, gave me some models of his own design. He used to design and manufacture kits. A beautiful little one-off model wound up crashing due to a failed servo arm, but it's repairable. I haven't heard back from him regarding a visit so that we can fix it and I hope and pray he's ok. It'll be a real privilege to learn some wood modeling skills with the help of a master. The other models are gliders, both powered and unpowered. My goal is to get the big 2m unpowered bird ready for the big glider tow event my club holds every December. The powered models are total "old school" with brushed motors and old 72MHz receivers.

Finally, please see two of the three models I scored at the club when one of our seasonal visitors announced that he was giving away some old models. Two are shown below, cleaned up and ready. The E-flite Mini Ultra Stick is back in flying condition, but it'll need a...Continue Reading