Life certainly gets in the way of the fun sometimes.

Well, it's nice to be back. These fellas are along for the ride and I'll be updating this blog with their progress.
Micro, balsa, tissue covering, WWI. It can't get any better or more challenging than that. It sounds like the type of project I need to get my groove back.

This is going to be a brief blog centric build of my Mountain Models P-51. As you can see, the framing is completed already and I failed to take many pictures along the way. I'll see if I can dig up a few pics that don't happen to show my feet or some other embarassing object.


UPDATE: 4/18 maiden flight(s). Beautiful flyer. This plane literally jumps off of the deck and is so well mannered. I'm really happy with it....or was...
3rd flight take off resulted in an immediate barrel roll at 1 foot altitude and then a harsh landing in the grass. what happened to cause this is anyone's guess. BEC lockout? spinning spat that caused drag? malfunctioning servo? Who knows. Damage was minimal and really located only in the retracts. I've since fixed them and replaced a bent motor shaft and it's ready to go again.

With the "new" knocked off, I'm ready to hit it again. That is, of course, with the precautionary addition of an external BEC....Continue Reading

Something fun and flashy. I'm working on a Pitts (Oakley) Viper with the Aerolabs Pitts as the base model. Since the scale Pitts is actually an S2S, the model has had a few slight modifications.

The covering is Parklite white painted with Pactra Metallic Green. The graphics are by Callie (who really knocked this one out of the park).

Motor: Super Tigre 370 with an IPS shaft and an 8x3x3 Prop.
Servos: 9 gram HXT x 3

Details here
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...1521136&page=6

Video:

Rc pitts viper (3 min 57 sec)

It has been a long while since I pulled this kit out, but I'm finally getting this thing geared up for flight. It's far too pretty a kit to not get its due and I need the storage space on top of my desk (where this has sat for far too long).

details here: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...882775&page=24

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...=942790&page=5

Nerdfest 2011 (5 min 41 sec)

So I had a few mishaps with the paint on the Formosa and opted to re-paint it entirely. Then I had a mishap with the plane's motor (2212-10) seen in this video:

Danrc's GWS Formosa (4 min 0 sec)

So I had to do some rebuilding. The plan is to keep Formosa 1 flyable, but replace it with a V2. I'll post some pics as that becomes a reality.

Dan

A few months ago I picked up a Gws Formosa that is formed out of GWS' new EPO material. A friend painted it up with pseudo red bull air race colors and I proceeded to fly the bejebus out of it using a BP 2212-10 motor. I quickly decided that this was 1) a mainstay in my flight rotation and 2) had the potential for a lot more than just pattern flying. So, a quick search and I found my new solution, floats.
with a little finagling, the GWS floats fit on this plane. The first test hop came off of a short grass field. The plane took to the air with very little effort and I knew that I was onto something. Flights off of water quickly followed with great, if not spectacular results. The plane takes no time at all to get airborn and even if the floats get a bit askew (A little bit of water penetrated the right float and all that resulted was a slight right lean, even climbing wasn't too terribly affected by a shifting CG.
Needless to say, I'm convinced that this plane is as handy as a swiss army knife and can work in a variety of conditions.

I've been missing my coupe since I put it down hard last year. Having wrestled with the plane a bit more than I should have needed to, I realized that I probably mangled the motor mount a bit too much and just never had the plane built up to specs. So, I bought another airframe and built it up. Using the old wing and some new covering (parklite) I have a new look to my coupe. My paint job is incomplete, but it's getting me excited to get this one up soon.

Pay no mind to the messy table. It's strewn with the remnants of my (good riddance) Ripmax flying legends Spitfire.

Also, New spats are coming, I just have that one on there for giggles.

Parakeet Maiden (4 min 25 sec)

Details here:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=1299663

Here's a thread with my little side table build. It's the Dumas Walnut 17.5" p-47. https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=1380780

I had a blast building it, partially because it went together so quickly. The slow scale flight is neat to watch and I'm pleased with the results. I will detail this plane now that the 'proof of concept' flights are out of the way.

Dumas P47 conversion AR6400 (0 min 31 sec)

This is just a re-post of a few pics from another thread I have on this.
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=1264257

Summer 2011: RIP(ieces)...This one suffered died and has been stuffed in a drawer in the basement. Poor engine performance and a low turn over the tarmac = baaaad news. It can be fixed, but just not right now!

Thanks to those that voted for me. My Gee Bee D model from Pat Tritle ended up squeaking by with a win. I'll try to get some video of it up in the coming months.

Dan

Danrc GeeBee (0 min 31 sec)

Not the best video, but at least I've found a plane to fly in the cruddy weather/snow.

Snowy Day with my Herr Aquastar (7 min 5 sec)

A New-ish video

Danrc's Aquastar: Boyd's Mason Lake Resort (1 min 43 sec)

...Continue Reading

Some of my old threads:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...t=herr+corsair

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/atta...mentid=2312705

With all of the snow around here this winter, and the tantilizing benefit of flying over the many lakes of Wisconsin, I built up a Herr Engineering Aquastar. The attached picture shows my plane pre-maiden, although I'd already had the bird out in the snow for some taxi tests.
It's powered by a Bphobbies 2212-10 motor spinning a 6x5 apc prop (biggest I can go with the clearance). I'm using a hextronic 25 amp esc and 2x 9 gram hxt servos. The control lines are flexible tubing and exit the top of the plane to avoid having any extra water seepage into the fuse. I added a ply plate behind the windshield to keep water from getting in that way. The hatch hinges mid nose and actually goes back to the edge of the ply plate. I put runners inside with magnets to ensure that there is some sealing of the hatch area. Water flights will inevitably require some tape to close up any gaps.

The plane flies very true and it was perhaps the easiest maiden flight I've ever had. We're expecting more snow tonight, so that's no longer something I dread!


UPDATE: After many flights off of water, the blue/white plane experienced a wet esc=fire. I have since re-covered the plane and will hopefully dig up some of the video/pics I have of it flying around on some northern Wisconsin lakes. The red is car body spraypaint and the silver is ultracote. I've also started putting baggies around the electronics, one can't be too safe.

Sparks 40" P-47 from Manzano Laserworks. This now has it's retracts working and i will try to get the maiden pics up soon. I love this plane already.
Super tigre 370 motor 9x 4.7 apc prop (maiden)
1300mah 11.1v turnigy battery

Untitled (0 min 11 sec)

Here's my new Aerodromerc 24" Dr1. I need to do some finishing on it, but I couldn't resist taking it out for a spin. I dressed it up "like" the Black Falcon from "Flyboys". The graphic was something I found out on the Net.
Full house REAT controls.

Maiden video (from a hand launch) here:

Danrc's DR1 first flight. (0 min 43 sec)

This is my new little hot rod. I bought a Herr Minisport for 29 bucks, looking for something that was easy to build and fun to fly. 2 hours after opening the wood bag, this plane was framed up and ready for covering!!

It flies well on 3 ch (RET) and really acts like it is a full 4 channel. I have done a few modifications to the control rods since that flight and can't wait to get back after it with this gem.

Now I'm waiting for a good day to fly.
Update: I can't get this plane sorted out. After no fewer than 5 tries, I'm setting it aside for a bit. I may even pilfer the servos for other projects. I believe it to be builder error..

UPDATE 3/8/10: It has flown. I coaxed a great 10 minute plus flight out of it the other day. A huge sigh of relief!!