My old stock NiCad EasyStar battery finally died after like 6 years of good service. Maybe I can try to condition it back with my charger, but anyway, time to break out the long-sitting Radian, I thought.

The reason the Radian has been sitting is primarily that the rudder hinge seperated This happened because it was rubbing a bit against the car roof every time I put it in or took it out. It would have fit fine if I'd disassembled it first (taken the wings out each time), but I didn't want that wear on the wing spar holes [not to mention the bother of assembly/disassembly each time I would want to fly]. I've always kept my Easy Star and Easy Gliders fully assembled, but the Radian was juuust too big for the back seat of the car. I could squeeze the Radian in assembled, but there was a little rubbing almost every time and after a while the rudder hinge seperated.

Another reason is that the winds can suddenly pick up around here, and I really wish the Radian had spoilers to help me get it down if needed. I'm a little nervous every time I fly the big floaty bird. But that's not the immediate issue.

Anyway, after reading lots of threads on hinge repair, I finally just threw some clear packing tape on both sides of the hinge and hoped it would work -- which it did! Held, no problem (I fly a mellow style). I still plan to make a more permanent repair -- probably a CA hinge, as I bought the material a few years ago for just this purpose (but never used it --...Continue Reading

After a looong layoff (about 8 months?), I've finally repaired my EGE and kind of have it back flying. I say "kind of" because it's not flying great and/or I'm not flying it great. However, I was already starting to do a bit better by the end of today's flying session (my third, including the first day [actually night, out at the soccer field] of only test tosses to set the trims and check repair integrity; and then a brief second day which I ended quickly as things were a bit sketchy).

Why the long layoff? Well, I just got really, really frustrated with this plane. When my servo control horn broke on my last flight, on what was a decent landing, I got so frustrated it's unbelievable. I ordered some servo fairings, but then I couldn't get my servo out and ... it just sat. Lately I've been thinking of getting a Radian, but I'd have to import it [at some expense] -- and the exchange rate [for me] absolutely sucks these days. I kept thinking, "I have that damn EZGE just sitting there, only a few steps away from being repaired. I have to at least try to get it flying one more time before investing in the Radian..."

So, I got the servo out, fixed, and then back in. I covered the aileron servos and pushrods with the fairings I'd ordered. I put black tape on the bottom in a pattern that should aid visibility and orientation (something I'd kept meaning to do, but had never done [for various reasons]). Likewise, I had put off something I consider...Continue Reading

This was my birthday present from a couple of months ago, and I finally have it completely finished. It took so long because, as they say, "life" interfered. Oh well -- it's done now.

I'm kind of proud of the paint scheme/job. The basic idea came to me while I was flying the EGE on the FMS simulator. Originally, I was just thinking of doing a florescent green scheme along the lines of Numbthumb's infamous fluro orange layout (since I thought his looked so cool). Then, when I was flying the EGE on the FMS, I couldn't help but get the strong impression that it was much like a dragonfly! This was in contrast to my impression of the Easy Star (when flying power off) as being very much like a Great Blue Heron in gliding flight. I live in between where many Gray Herons (the Asian equivalent of the Great Blue Heron) roost and where they feed, so they are often gliding overhead around here. The Easy Star at rest doesn't look much like a heron of course, but when it's gliding overhead, it looks amazingly like a gliding heron. I've even had herons come over and join up with it! Anyway, the Easy Glider Electric, with its lower pitched sound (when power on -- in contrast to the Easy Star's high-pitched whine) and longer wings and everything, just strongly struck me as being very dragonfly-like. I drew some stuff up on paper, but then I also started to get some ideas about having like British Green racing stripes. Eventually, all the ideas merged, and I came up...Continue Reading

A beautiful day, a nice flight, a near screwup, and then my first hand catch...

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...07#post6814837

Rice paddies, to be precise. Great after harvest time, but manure is spread in Feb/March, then it's seeded and finally flooded by April -September or so.

... of teaching one's self to fly RC. I would get a lesson and successfully fly this guy (a "Toyo" motor glider), then not fly for 5 months, then try and take it out on my own and crash, fly again, crash, fly again and crash so that it needed significant repairs. Months later get it repaired and get another lesson/successful flight, then not fly for 5 months and then try it on my own one day and crash it again...and so on, for 4 years!

Here was the immediate aftermath of the second to last crash. I was really upset, and then even more upset with my wife who took a picture because she thought it was funny!

Here's the battery pack. You can't see much because it's shrink wrapped. I don't know the brand of the batteries; I only remember they were very plain looking, not a mass-market brand like Energizer that I would have recognized. It has 3 AA-sized NiMh cells on top of three more. 2750mAh, 1.2v x 6 cells.