In Real Flight (my R/C flight sim), the plane I fly more than any other, is hands down an 'Ugly Stick' in one of it's several different forms. I've been wanting to add one to the hangar for a while now but most of the current offerings are usually either back ordered or out of stock. I stumbled across RC Video Reviews review of the Crusader 30e and was surprised that it wasn't a foam version and other than the color scheme, liked what I saw. I followed the link to the Hobby King website and I'll be, they were in stock, and in the USA warehouse. I ordered one and 3 days later I was the proud owner of an Ugly Stick!

I found, and made my first post on the 'H-King Crusader 30E 1200mm Stick (47.3") (ARF)' thread here on RCG. Most of the guy's there are building it as is (which is fine) and not wanting to try to turn it into a build thread for my bird I'm starting this blog post to show some of the modifications I'm doing to mine. So without any further adieu, here's the power system I'm going with.

Sunnysky X2814-6 1250 kv
ZTW 60A ESC
9x5 props (Master Airscrew, APC, and a Xoar wood prop)
Hobby Star 4s 2200 mAh batteries (from RC Juice)

This is the power system used in the video review and it produces 900 watts and according to him, north of 2500g (5.51 lbs.) of thrust! So his stock Crusader is producing 412 watts per pound or a power to weight ratio of 2.52 to one! My mileage will vary a bit due to mods and paint but I'll calculate that all out when I have a final...Continue Reading

My new E-flite 1.2m T-28 Trojan arrived today!

I have some plans for this one, I really like the new paint scheme but it has some errors that I want to correct and I want to detail her out a bit. I've ordered both the T-28 Nomenclature (stencils) and the T-28 VT-5 'Teeth' graphics (with some changes) from Callie Graphics. She sure is great to work with, if you've haven't already, you should check out her site (she has graphics sets for 19 T-28's) https://callie-graphics.com/

I have another mod I want to do on this one (more on that later).

I maidened my new FMS PA-18 Super Cub on the 14th of last month and have had a blast with it. This is the first model in a long time that I've considered buying a second one of. This plane is a great flyer, and my original intention was to see whatever mods needed to be done and then give her a new (Alaska State Troopers) paint scheme to 'make it mine'. However, I decided to wait and fly it for a bit before jumping into all that and after researching the airframe a bit I came to appreciate the livery that FMS chose to produce. I really didn't want to overwhelm the FMS PA-18 Super Cub thread with 'too much' information, so I decided to start this here. I fully understand that there are limitations to mass producing a model and decisions need be made on just how much detail to capture and I think FMS hit the mark on where to stop for a model that would appeal to the masses. That being said, there’s always a small percentage of folk’s that will want to try to make it a little more accurate. This thread (?) will cover what needs to be done to make this gem really stand out amongst the others. First, I’ll present all the items I could find where the model falls short (accuracy wise), then in following post’s I’ll show how I’m addressing each item. I am starting out hoping to incorporate most (if not all) the changes into my model, but I won’t guarantee it. If you have one, you can pick and choose which ones you want (if any) to use.

My running across the article on the Old School Model Works Robinhood 25 rekindled my interest in the original big Robinhood’s that I wanted to build (but couldn’t afford to) back in the 80’s. I found some threads on old builds and had seen that the kits occasionally come up for sale here on RC Groups. I also found short kits for the 25, 80, & 99 (as well as plans) were available through Lazer Works.

Short back story:
Back in mid-June we had the Warbirds Over Fernely flying event at our club field and we made some new friends. Terry & Jean joined us from Oroville California and Dean (bassfisher on RCG) came out from Arkansas. The event was a bit of a blow out with higher than expected winds, and a full-scale plane having a problem, but we did get in some flying and made the most of it. I was wearing my ‘Rare Bear’ t-shirt that day and Terry mentioned that he used to work on the famous racer back when it was still competitive! We got to talking about projects and the Robinhood 25 came up and during that conversation I mentioned that I wished that I could find a Robinhood 80 or 99. Terry looked at me and said, “I have an 80 and a 99 and if you’re up for a road trip you can have them”! He sent me some photos of both aircraft when they got back home and mentioned that they’d probably need some TLC but overall, they looked promising.

Fast forward just over a month to yesterday morning and John (johnorama, our club President and my co-worker) and I are...Continue Reading

I’ve been looking for another nice relaxing 'floater' to fly around when I ran across Jim T. Graham's thread about Old School Model Works newest release, the Robinhood 25! https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...ol-Model-Works.

I don't know if it's because we share a name or what but I've always wanted to build one of the World Engines Robinhood’s, they’re long out of production but they come up for sale periodically. Unfortunately, the timing hasn’t been right and haven’t been able to get my hands on one yet.

They’re were several versions of the original Robinhood:
Robinhood 10 (.10 sized model with a 38 1/2" ws)
Robinhood 25 (.25 sized model with a 51" ws)
Robinhood 63 (.40 sized model with a 63" ws)
Robinhood 80 (.75-1.08 size engines with a 80" ws)
Robinhood 99 (2-3 cu. in. engines with a 99" ws)

All were said to be great performing models that vaguely resembled the Curtiss Robin. Here’s Old School Model Works description of their offering.

“Our Robinhood 25 is a fun-scale version of the Curtiss Robin built back in the 1920's This model retains all the good, clean looks of the original marketed by World Engines in the 1980’s and retains all the great flying characteristics that make a good sport airplane.
In the air, the Robinhood 25 is a true barnstormer and is at its best when cruising on a lazy afternoon or performing some gentle aerobatics. Also, there’s no problems with...Continue Reading

I’d been pondering getting a low wing aircraft for a while now and when I started looking I was initially looking at the E-flite T-6 Texan or a Timber (because I could fly it at home), then I stumbled onto the E-flite T-28 Trojan 1.2m BNF and it got tossed into the mix! Well, I agonized for a couple of weeks but after many hours of internet searches and reading threads on RCG I settled on the T-28. One last look at the T-28 on the Horizon website before I order and - WHAT – where did it go! I looked all over the web site and both the 1.2m and Carbon Z T-28’s were gone! I asked the ‘chat’ guy what happened to them and he came back with “it look’s like they were discontinued”. I was dumb founded and asked when? “Looks like just this last week”. I brought it up on the thread and was so bent at that point that I didn’t want to order either the T-6 or Timber! I got a few responses on the thread that he might have been mistaken (glimmer of hope) and that they were having issues with the web site and it turned out they were right, so I ordered one through my LHS.

While I had to agonize for three days for it to arrive I dug more into the T-28’s history a bit and found tons of interesting story’s & painting possibilities. I’ve since decided though, that since there aren’t any T-28’s at our club field I’d fly it as is (well maybe with a few graphic enhancements) until I get more comfortable with her.

I completed the arduous 6 screw assembly process, balanced the prop, programmed the DX9, and got the CG adjusted. So other than charging batteries it’s good to go (hopefully the weather will be cooperating tomorrow).

If anyone’s interested in refinishing their foam model I found a link to a great article in Electric Flight Magazine by Rich Uravitch on refinishing foamies on the E-flite Carbon-Z T-28 Modification Thread! - http://www.electricflight-digital.co...016?pg=20#pg20

If you've looked at my "Top 10 favorite planes" or my "Seagull Gipsy Moth" threads then you probably know that the DH.60 Gipsy Moth is my favorite aircraft. I've decided to make this my 'winter build' and I'm basically continuing my Seagull Gipsy build thread here (only way I could think of to make it show back up at the bottom of my posts! Made the decision to go with an e-flite Power 90 on 8s so I could use the dummy motor and a sound system and hope to finally wrap this project up! So here goes...

The spruce stringer material arrived a couple of days ago and I got one of the stringers installed (spruce is a bit stiffer than I remembered). When I ordered I also ordered plenty of 1/32nd and 1/16th ply to laser cut the parts for dummy Gipsy II engine top end and also ordered a piece of 1/16th mahogany to cut the instrument panel out of for the rear cockpit (the front cockpit on G-AANL has a shelf instead of a panel) and most of my work the past couple of days has been focused on the panel sizing and lay out. I ordered a 1/5th scale WWI British instrument set and some extra bezels from https://www.iflytailies.com/ and will be using some of them on the DH.60 panel. He has a ton of really nice accessories on the site and is really responsive to inquiries. Here's some shots of the panel development.

I know we all have our favorite aircraft but I was just wondering if anyone else struggles with a rotating favorite plane list? I have several favorites and they span from biplanes to modern jets but I'll be working on one and something, a chance glance at a pic or web page, will redirect all my interest to another aircraft! Sometimes it doesn't happen for months and sometimes it happens more frequently. This isn't such a bad thing unless you start building something and get side tracked and now I have a work shop filled with partially completed project's! I eventually come back around to them but at this rate if I don't start any more projects I might get done with them all in the next ten years.

Here's my current top ten list (based on the amount of info I've collected on each aircraft) and models I have of each.

10. Fairey Firefly - No models, (do have a set of plans though)
9. de Havilland Mosquito - ParkZone Mosquito and plans & fiberglass fuselage for the Brian Taylor Mosquito.
8. Supermarine Spitfire & Seafire - Top Flite and Pica .60 sized models in various stages of completion and a no name .60 sized ARF.
7. Hawker Seafury - have the Avious Seafury & did 8 paint schemes for the one on RealFlight
6.) Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II - Have a partially completed Mike Pastero designed .40 sized pusher model, looking at getting the Freewing ARF, and did 1 paint scheme for the one on RealFlight
5.Piper Cubs & Super Cubs - Have the old...Continue Reading

Due to work and time constraints I've had to put up the quarter scale DH.60 project for the time being (just don't have time right now for a project of that magnitude) BUT I did order the 1/5th scale Seagull Gipsy Moth ARF and with a 72" wingspan it should be plenty big enough to get some detail into, it's supposed to be here this Friday.

Plans include pulling off the fuselage covering to add stringers and a built up turtle deck to complete the conversion into a DH.60M and installing a pull-pull elevator and rudder control system Then the fuselage will be recovered in the colors of G-AANL. I'm also planning on adding some of the smaller details. I may also to mold a new fiberglass cowl for it to make it a bit accurate.

Still out on the power, on the one hand a four-stroke would sound great on this model but the exhaust would require some creative work to pull off and then there's the cleaning. On the other hand is electric which would be much cleaner but then I'll have to start buying 6s batteries, a .90 sized power system. and possibly a Mr. RC Sound sound module!

Will post some unboxing photos when she arrives!

After the early demise of my Alaska State Trooper FunCub I decided to take a different approach for the time being and get something that I could pretty much fly out of the box. While picking up batteries at one of the local hobby shops for work I saw a ParkZone Sport Cub S2 on the shelf and in a unusually impulsive moment I bought it! I was a bit surprised at how much smaller it was than my FunCub (but it fits in the back seat of our truck much better) and I didn't realize it's lineage to my first plane, the HobbyZone Mini Super Cub. I got on the thread and quickly found that the stock esc was pretty taxed and replaced it with a Thunderbird 36 amp esc from my original FunCub and followed recommendations to replace the stock prop with an APC 10x7 SF prop. After assembly (I got the flap servo as well) a quick run up on the watt meter revealed the following

10,656 rpm (considering a 10x7 E prop)
29.49 amps (glad I stuck the Thunderbird 36 in it)!
344 watts
1.38 Kg estimated static thrust (with a actual model weight of 1.03 Kg ready to take off)!

Other than some user inflicted camera problems the maiden went well and I was quite impressed with the model, I got my third and fourth flights on her today and look forward to getting more familiar with this plane!

I was looking at all my unfinished projects and decided it was time to start attacking some of them. First up was the Alaska State Trooper FunCub that I first thought about in June of 2013 and started on in December of the same year! It's been a long haul with this one and I'm hoping to maiden this weekend (weather permitting). She has full lighting, articulated landing gear, is powered by a Tacon Bigfoot 10, and has markings from Callie Graphics (Thank you Callie)! Here's some pic's showing some of the details.

In between various steps on the Trooper FunCub build, I started looking at the DoubleEnder project again. Awhile back I put up a GoPro in my EasyStar and really liked the view, this got me to consider a different approach to the DoubleEnder, Instead of a canopy up front that would probably have too much distortion to video through, why not build the front cabin structure around a GoPro (or FPV) mount to give you a view similar to the view from the actual DoubleEnder? When not filming I could make a foam canopy that slips over the cage to clean it up a bit. So I got the fuselage halves joined, reinforced with CF tube & strip, the top deck sheeted, and another articulated gear set on the way. I've started roughing out the design of the engine nacelle following Bart83's Dornier Wal nacelle design - both motors are mounted at 0° down and 0° side thrust and both motors turning in the same direction with tractor props on both ends, however in my set up the...Continue Reading

Had the opportunity to participate in the Fernley High School STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Festival with the High Desert Radio Control club. The event was similar to what we did at the Discovery museum with one exception, we had a night fly! We had a great turn out for the static displays, a RC sim setup on a large monitor and another monitor with a video loop with "Know before you fly" messages. We answered several children's and parents questions and invited them out to the field to an upcoming event and to give it a try on one of the club trainers (with a buddy box). John (our club secretary/treasurer) did a great job organizing the event and we had the support of several club members as well. This was the first time I had a chance to see RC night flying and thanks to Fred (and his Radian) I got a chance to fly in the dark for the first time as well! Now to get some LED's on order ...

Talking with some of the guy's during my MiG-29 build the subject of a follow on pusher park jet came up. A few guy's chimed in with a glowing recommendation for the F-22 and since RealFlight also has the YB-22 on it and I liked the way it flew on the sim, I decided to pull the trigger on this one as well!

While I think the F-22 is a cool plane, It hasn't been at the top of my want to build one list and the lack of paint scheme variations didn't help much either. I spent a bit of time on the MiG's painting and detailing and a few people asked, "Why put so much effort into a profile park jet"? Well the main reason is because I enjoy doing it but I admit it does make for more apprehensive maidens and dinging a fresh paint job isn't much fun either so what I needed was a plane I can fly without the added stress and I think I found a solution. I had already done a slightly more detailed color scheme for the RealFlight Yardbird RC YB-22 so I went back and I drew up a fictitious NASA paint scheme that won't require much in the way of paint (basically overall white with blue trim stripes and decals) and possibly some day glow orange panels on the bottom of the wings. (see screenshots below)

As with all of the quick build series models this one is going together quickly, not quite as quick as the MiG but that's mainly due to having to cut the slots at an angle to accommodate the steeply sloped intake sides and since they've been opened there's some filling to...Continue Reading

My Steve Shumate (Jetset44) F-18 is nearing completion and since I haven't flown a parkjet yet I started looking for something that might fly kinda like it on RealFlight. Well a friend told me about the Yardbird RC Quick Build MiG-29 available on the Knife Edge swap pages so I downloaded it and have been flying the out of it. I really like it and was surprised how well it presents (for a profile foamy parkjet)! Of course I wanted to see it in colors other than what was available so over the holidays I cranked out a few new color schemes for it in RealFlight (8) to try and help me decide how to paint mine. My kit arrived from 6mmFlyRC yesterday and so far I've got the spar and nose glued in and I'm getting ready to fiber glass the wing for a little additional strength. If anyone's interested here's a link for the RealFlight YardBird RC MiG-29 http://www.knifeedge.com/forums/down...o=file&id=3869 (you can download any of the CS's from there as well) and some pic's of the repaints. I'll post pics of the MiG when she progresses a little further. ...Continue Reading

I was honored to participate with our club (High Desert Radio Control Club) from Fernley, NV and the High Sierra Radio Control Club from Carson City,NV on Saturday at The Discovery Museum, Aerospace Day presented in partnership with ALEX (Aerospace Learning Xperience) in Reno.

The event was aimed at introducing youngsters to the world of aviation and possible careers in aviation as well. We had a nice display with a RealFlight sim set up with a Decathlon and our club secratary/treasurer johnorama linked it with his 'real' RC Decathlon so the kids (and parents) could see how the flight controls reacted to the control inputs! It proved to be very popular and I don't think the transmitter sat on the table for more than two minutes all day (I know those servos got a workout)! They had a drone zone, model rockets, full size aircraft flight sims, as well as commercial airline and military pilot's to answer questions. Our club president Brad brought along his 1/5 scale P-40 and a members glider (that's seen better than 400 mph) added some serious 'wow factor' to the scene!

We had a great time there and we're already discussing what to do and looking forward to next year! ...Continue Reading

I had seen Drone Americas Ariel UAS at the Drone Zone at the Reno Air Races and was interested in because I love float flying and have a great interest in fire fighting aircraft as well. Unfortunately it was in a tent and it was difficult to photograph her there. It was at the Discovery Museum in Reno, NV yesterday and I took the opportunity to take some pics if it. Her lines are pretty complex but at least you wouldn't have to mold canopies!

One mission they have considered for it: Drone America’s concept is to use the larger production Ariel Scooper Drone™ UAS for chasing storms, import NOAA lightning strike locations into UAS autopilot data base and then scan thermal images of each strike with pin point accuracy. In the event of a hot spot the sensor operator has the ability to deploy as an initial attack to suppress potential wild fires.

For more info check out their web page at - http://droneamerica.com/products/ariel/...Continue Reading

Well Multiplex just had to do it, they announced the upcoming release of the FunCub XL! Being a huge FunCub fan if they do make it here there will likely be one in my hangar. I started a Multiplex FunCub XL thread in the Foamy (kits) forum https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=2531432 and hopefully in the next couple of weeks we'll see some more photos and/or video emerge. More than likely the US debut is still several months out so hopefully I can get the quarter scale Super Cub done before it's release!

I realize it's been awhile since I worked on this one but I was holding out for a Valley View 40cc Twin for this one and finally got a hold of one from a friend here on RCG who decided to go with a different motor on his Valiant (thanks Gabe). I repaired the warped stringer that I removed the fuselage covering for and I also installed a 1/4" ply pad for the aft float mount. I also installed the Robart 690 Cub gear set, and the Hangar 9 PA-18 tail wheel assembly on it. I picked up a set of 8" Airtop Tundra tires a while back (32 scale inches) but replaced the hubs with a set of Dubro Big Wheel hubs. My buddy Lane brought to my attention that now would be a good time to install the boot cowl and the two stingers on each side (they somehow escaped me ) so that and installing the motor will be next.

Last weekend I worked the flight line at Silver Springs airport for the Lyon County Fly-In, parking visiting aircraft. Saturday night we had a pretty bad storm blow through and we only had a few aircraft come in on Sunday. It gave me some time to photograph the Cactus Air Force's L-4 Grasshopper in it's Operation Torch markings in some detail. I was going to get some interior photo's but they had to tow the aircraft back to the hangar due to anticipated winds. It's based nearby so if anyone needs some interior shots I can probably arrange to get some. ...Continue Reading

Hey Guys,

Spent last week end at the Reno Air Races and my buddy said here use my camera, well I did, and shot 700+ photo's! It's taking a while to get through them so I'll post a bit at at a time. The majority are from the AT-6, Jet, and Unlimited classes, and a few from the Formula 1, Biplane, and Sport classes. Also have some of the Breitling Jet demonstration team, the Commemorative Air Force Tora Tora Tora display, and some of the F-16 P-51 Heritage flight so let me know if there's anything specific you'd like to see, otherwise just post a bit at a time.

We'll start with ... Rare Bear!

Just found this so I thought I'd add it here. Awesome sound but it sounds even better live!

2015 Unlimited Gold Race (14 min 57 sec)

...Continue Reading