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Flying Twice in One Day
Today was a great day in South East Texas. The weather wasn't melting the trees, and until at least 10:30 am, the winds were relatively smooth. That gave me a chance to take out my two new E-Flite 1.2m warbirds: the Mustang and the Corsair.
The first few flights with each were with calm conditions, and they were textbook beautiful. The takeoffs and landings with both were worthy of being put into WWII movies. Then the gusting winds came. The winds were directly in our faces with a 90 degree crosswind with steady wind at around 3-5 kts and gusts up to 12 kts. For these little foam planes, that's quite big. I had some trouble with each plane's first takeoff. It was embarassing. Both planes got off the ground before they were ready which resulted in both planes bouncing hard on the ground before getting back in the air. Both sustained minor damage on the bounce: the Mustang knocked a dummy tank off its wing while the Corsair actually took damage to the landing gear mounting bracket that required repair at the field. After taking a 20 minute break, I regained my wits and went out for touch and go's and made a lot of progress. While my last landing (or two) of the morning with the Mustang were not so pretty, they were safe and didn't do any damage. Since the winds were gusting pretty big at this point, I decided to pack it up and go home to charge the batteries I used during the morning's flights. Then, something strange and beautiful happened: the weather was overcast and calm. All my batteries were recharged and I had nothing to do at home. The wife gave me the second kitchen pass of the day and I decided to take out two planes I hadn't flown in a long time: the Bf109G and the Spitfire. The Bf109G doesn't make it out to the field often because I hate its landing gear and I refuse to fly it without the ability to takeoff and land. After today's flights, I may make the exception and make a belly lander out of her. The takeoffs and flights were good enough, although the small control surfaces on the tail made for some scary pull-outs after some loops. Landings were nice except for the springiness of the gear which made the plane tip onto its nose. Ugh. As for the Spitfire, it made me reconsider why I don't take this plane out more often. It flew AMAZINGLY and was such a smooth and very fast performer. Loops were large and fast, rolls beautiful, and low passes picturesque. I have vowed to take this one out more often, as it deserves. All in all, it was a great day of flying. I really enjoyed it, and I was reminded once again of why I love this hobby so much. Being outdoors, watching beautiful planes, and hanging out at the club field while talking to other guys who love flying as much as I do. It' was a great way to spend a day. |
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Last edited by Edge767; Aug 11, 2019 at 02:54 PM.
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