To get back into flying again I decided that my old Omega 1.8 would be the best re-trainer for several reasons. It was basically complete, the programming in my old Futaba 8U should still be there (I ordered a FrSky module and receivers for it to bring it up to today's standards), and it would be an easy flying aircraft to get my reflexes for fixed wing going again. My Omega had been sitting on a rack in my garage for over 15 years and it definitely needed a refresh. The old tape hinges had dried out and needed to be replaced and rather than ordering new hinge tape (I didn't like the appearance of Blenderm) I found a thread on silicone hinges. It looked easy enough and should prove to outlast any type of taped hinge. Another plus to this method, I had all the materials necessary, silicone adhesive,isopropyl alcohol, masking tape, and material to make a spreader.

Step one: I cleaned off the dried up adhesive residue from the original taped hinges with some isopropyl alcohol and Goo Gone. After cleaning it thoroughly, it was time to mask off the control surfaces with masking tape leaving the area where the silicone hinge would be formed exposed. I shot for a 1/16" exposed area on both sides (control surface and wing/stab)

Step two: Now it was time to tape the top surface and join the control surface to the wing/stab with the appropriate hinge line gap. I held the ruddervators and ailerons at full down deflection and temporarily taped the top with small...Continue Reading

Thought I'd share what it's like to order things and get it shipped to Hawaii. Some vendors are great and others suck. So I just wanted to post my experiences with some vendors that I currently have outstanding orders with. I do not wish to either bad mouth vendors or to sound like I'm trying to spam anyone so I will not post vendor names unless asked (but I will give you hints on who they are!).

If anyone else would like to share their experiences, good or bad, with any other vendors, please post it here!



Vendor No. 1

I haven't placed an order from this vendor for some time now, but I have heard and read about their SLOOOOW service. I decided to give them a shot anyway since they had most of what I wanted at a very reasonable price BEFORE shipping. As a resident of Hawaii, I'm kind of used to high shipping costs, but this is probably one of the highest I've come across with no options to choose from!

I have two orders with this vendor. The first order is from their USA Warehouse placed last month. I have Lipo batteries in this order so I was prepared for a long shipping time, but not an extended processing time!
The second order I just placed late last night, (cuz I'm a glutton for punishment) but it is from their China Warehouse and contains electronics.

I will post daily updates for both orders. Might be interesting to see how long each order will take.... USA VS. China!

USA Warehouse
Order Date: 3/27/18
Order weight: 2000-2499grams (4.41-5.51lbs)
...Continue Reading

I shouldn't be posting this because not everyone might see the humor in this. I received an email from one of the dominant advertisers on RCG about their new epp flying wing. The gist of the ad was to get your adrenaline going flying this in combat! My only thought was their spell check was on or nobody bothered to check the meaning of the word! For those of you who understand the Japanese language, Bonsai is the art of cultivating miniature trees, Banzai (ten thousand years) was what the Japanese soldiers shouted when they made their ferocious attacks during WWII!

Hmm... is that what happens when you fly the new Bonsai II in combat? Plant it into the ground?

I'm hoping the advertiser responds to my inquiry about this!😁

"well done Danielsan..... wax on.... wax off!"

For those who have read the beginning of my blog know that I am slowly getting back into RC again after a long layoff. The last time I was active in the flying club was over 15 years ago, and since then, I've been divorced, moved once, remarried and now I am trying to find all of my modeling supplies and equipment. During that search, I've come across all the pieces of one of my last control-line airplanes. The fuselage and wing have been hanging on the wall of my garage since I've moved in about 12 years ago, but the engine, fuel tank, and landing gear was somewhere in all the boxes I had stored away when I moved. Well, I've finally found all the pieces and put it all back together! Now I just may decide to build an all balsa replica of this out of production Cox ukie and fly that instead of possibly destroying this original one. While doing some research to see if someone else had already drawn up some plans for this model, I came across another forum, Stunthanger, that is devoted to the contol-line community. While browsing through the 1/2 A threads, I was pleasantly surprised to see the designer of the model, Mr. Larry Renger is an active poster there! I'm waiting for my registration there to go through as I'd like to thank him for his contributions to the modeling world as well as to be able to ask design questions on this model. I've already drawn up the outlines of the fuselage and tail, so if the day comes when I can get my hands on some I/2 A fuel, building and flying a replica just may become a reality!

I was at my friends house the other day and he broke out some old pictures from my early days with the club. I would like to think of my friend as the clubs's historian as he was one of the founding members of our local club!

The first picture was of my .40 sized trainer that I modified from a kit. Although I had tried to learn to fly earlier as a teenager, it wasn't until I was in my early 30's that I hooked up with the club and began building and flying RC proficiently. The second picture was one my first plans built planes. This model plan came from a construction article from a magazine and pre-dates the current 3D genre. Some of it's features were: a thick airfoil, CF tail boom, large control surfaces, mono wheel with long wing tip skids, and was a .40 sized model. If you can identify these planes, you are either an avid RC modeler, or just about as old as I am!

The last pictures are of a classic design, the Ugly Stick! What was special to me about this plane I built many years ago was the history of the kit. I had bought the kit and after sitting on it for a while, I decided to sell it off as I didn't feel like building it. My friend who gave me these pictures, bought it off me and gave it to another club member as a Christmas gift. Later, this new owner of the kit, commissioned me to build it! Oh the irony of it all!

The cost of living in "paradise" permeates in pretty much everything around you if you are are a resident in Hawaii. Being born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii, I really never knew what the cost was until I got older AND with the coming of the INTERNET! Until then, you just accepted how things were and what they cost. Until the digital age came about, my only reality was through printed magazines, catalogs, newspapers and tv! As a young modeler, I tried to read all the model magazines that the library and newstands had to offer. That was my modeling world.

Then with the coming of the internet, things changed...a lot! I was no longer limited to what Hawaii had to offer. I didnt have to wait for the latest issues of the model magazines or to get the latest catalogs, I could go online and see the latest and greatest things that were hitting the market! I now had access to what the world has to offer, except for those dreaded words, CONUS and lower 48 ONLY! I am beginning to believe that the word CONUS is actually two words..Con Us!

I have recently started to sell off some of my decades worth of modeling equipment that I feel that I no longer need here on the RCG classifieds. While researching shipping costs on the USPS website, I was surprised to find out shipping via Priority mail costs the same to ship from my zip 96720 to New York 10001 as it would if I shipped from the west coast 90001 to 10001. I haven't tried the reverse but I would...Continue Reading

Here's something I posted on the Tools money can't buy thread. I built this following an article from MA from years past. For those balsa builders out there who has went through the painstaking process of shaping all the angles of a built up balsa stick structure with perpendicular ends as well as multi-angular ones, this micro disk sander makes the task almost enjoyable! Unlike my bench top combination belt/disk sander that turns balsa sticks into a cloud of dust in a blink of an eye, this one is small (2" disk), lightweight, and ultra portable as it is DC powered. Because it is low torque, it's much easier to get precision angles without having to resort to blipping the on off switch.

Okay, this is what to do with a brass knurled nut and two matching socket head screws........ Make a compact tubing bender for 1/8" soft brass tubes. Made bending the tubes for fuel tanks so much easier.

Just got through reading over the entire thread, 49 pages worth. I like this kind of stuff cause it show cases the ingenuity of modellers. Hats off to Pat Trittle for monitoring the thread. I have got to finish the Piper Cub/PA 18 kit I started years ago. I bought the kit from Hobby Lobby International and it was by Pat Trittle!

Here's something I posted on the thread. What can you make with these three items?

Hint: Its one of my tools I used to build glow powered models.

Okay, just got word back that they are not going to offer a tier level discount, as it is their policy to protect their established dealers......hmm, if there was an established dealer, wouldn't be in this situation in the first place now would we! This offer to ship fuel to Hawaii and possible other areas where getting glow fuel is a problem would be available to other AMA clubs in the USA. If you are in a similar situation, pm me and I will pass on what I was able to find out!

Just got an e-mail for cost estimates for shipping glow fuel to Hilo, Hawaii. The good news is that from what I can remember from my days with running Pacific Modelsports, its about the same from what it was like to bring in fuel to the store. Will have to bring in by the cases, ideally 18 cases (72 gallons) to get what I think is a very reasonable shipping cost/gallon of $7.76. Remember that fuel will have to be trucked from the distribution center to the west coast, shipped to Honolulu before being barged to Hilo. If anyone else in Hilo or the Big Island thinks this is reasonable let me know! I'm waiting on a response if we could get a tier level discount from their MSRP, but no word yet on that. Just seeing what I can do for the local fliers here!

Hmmmm......can't remember the designer of this model, I think it was Hanno Pretner. But I could never leave things alone and I increased the fuse side area by adding to the bottom of the fuse from wing trailing edge to the tail.

Found a couple of old pics from when we were flying pattern at the old Hilo Dragstrip. My Kaos 40 size that I modified by stretching the fuse, can't remember what 4 stroke I had on it, I think it was a Saito 56.

Okay, its been about 15 years since I was really active in RC. I did get a chance to dabble a few years ago in micro heli's fixed pitch and cp (hoping to get my grandson interested in the hobby.......but it didn't work as it doesn't have a reset button like his games

Got a chance to check out the new club flying field last month and got the itch again! Had to dig up my RC stash and start thinning down stuff to make room as well as to rebuild my RC workbench to start building again. Still waiting for HK to get the Reaktor kit back in stock or to find someone with the Techone mini Tempo at a reasonable price with shipping. I've been secretly eyeing that kit up as it would be perfect for a quick flying session possibly in my yard! If not, I just might go for the Galaxy or something similar.

I've been blown away with how far electrics have come since the introduction of the Lipo batteries and low cost Chinese brushless motors and electronics.
Too bad it has killed the local hobby shop businesses nationwide.

Speaking of that, I've been in contact with an old time hobby distributor on getting glow fuel shipped to Hilo! Things so far look promising but I will need to get more detailed shipping cost estimates. "Aaahh, there's nothing like the smell of glow fuel burning in the morning!"