Three Vintage Toys From EBAY!

Here is the Saunders stock car racer:

Here is one of the Nosco toys:

And this is the Nosco Vizzy Vee:

One more plane from eBay...

... and that's ALL! I got a slightly used but functioning Firebird Stratos for $71. It's in the box and complete. That's a lot cheaper than a new one. So now I've got enough RC for YEARS of flying. When I got into this hobby again I looked at scale jobs but scale jobs really aren't suitable for the kind of relaxed flying I like to do, or for FPV. I don't want to be runway or flying field dependent, and I like a plane I can modify, and patch up easily after a crash.

EBAY BARGAINS

Yesterday I had a winning bid on a Hubsan H107 quadcopter. I got it pretty cheap. I believe this little toy will carry the microcam, and I can fly it almost anywhere. It is shipping from China, however, and I don't know whether I might have to deal with customs.

I've also got a bid in on a used but complete micro RTF Cessna Champ, like the one I lost to the wind last year. I don't know yet whether I've bid high enough. It would be nice to get another one but I don't want to pay much.

NOTE: I got the Cessna Champ, for less than half the price of a new one, and this is complete, with transmitter, charger, li-po battery and has been checked out and is fully functional!

Actual flight video...

...using a key chain camera mounted to the canopy of a Dynam Hawk Sky. This is a link to You Tube. I got this yesterday morning. It finishes with a full power spiral dive from about 300', recovery, and a belly landing. This plane has been modified as described in earlier posts, has had some wing repair, and the wingtips have been removed for better roll response and lower drag. Flies great! I must emphasize that I am NOT conducting surveillance. This is nothing but a fascinating hobby, a way for me to experience the thrill of flight without actually getting my feet off the ground.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN8X3OKlmvY&feature=youtu.be

Firebird Stratos vs the wind!

This morning I braved the cold and got a good flight out of the Firebird Stratos, even though the wind was up to 10 to 15 mph. I only noticed that the downwind legs required a lot of up elevator, and the plane had a tendency to climb steeply into the wind. It was easy to compensate and the aircraft had good stability.

Recently, I won 3 eBay auctions for vintage toys and will post pics here as soon as I have all the packages. The first package arrived a few days ago and it was a Saunders 1940 Ford Stock Car Racer. I had one of those when I was a child. Mine broke in half. For a toy manufactured in the early 1950's from a primitive acetate plastic, the example I bought is in pretty good shape.

Corrected Terminology!

In the post prior to this one I used the term "reflexed" to describe what is actually a "cambered" aileron setting. If the ailerons were at the wing tips I would deflect them UP, which would be reflexed. Since my ailerons are inboard, I want them cambered. Sorry about the confusion.

Simple Hawk Sky and EZ Hawk Modifications

Today, taking advantage of rare good weather, I flew the Hawk Sky from Grayson Hobbies, with excellent results. When I got the plane I noticed that the ailerons were "reflexed", so that with the stick neutral they both deflected down about 3 degrees. I left them like that. In effect, the middle section of the wing has undercamber. I set up the motor pod with a 1/32 inch shim at the back edge to give downthrust and substituted a gray nylon Park Zone pusher for the stock prop. I used a Genesis 25c 1800 mah 11.1 volt lipo. I used hot-glued spruce strips to beef up the nose section and a Spectrum AR 600 receiver and a DX5E transmitter. The long part of the antenna wire got taped to the side of the fuselage, below the canopy. I used spruce to create a stronger front canopy latch, enlarged the ventilation holes, reinforced the wing leading edges with wide packing tape, used hot glue to hold the wings in place, and applied wide outdoor duct tape along the fuselage bottom. I can report that this plane is an excellent flyer! It flew fast and tracked well in 15mph gusts. It wanted to climb so bad that it needed a lot of down trim to keep it in sight. I used low rates on the controls and still found it very responsive. It flew so well, I took my EZ Hawk from Nitroplanes and added 1/2 inch to each aileron, reflexing that part down about 5 degrees, to get that undercamber. Now I find that I can launch this plane at half throttle and it goes straight ahead, with little tendency to nose in. It is much easier to control in wind, climbs much better, and lands very slowly, almost as though it had flaps. I am really pleased with these planes!

Some more RC flight pics...

... using the microcam I got from Newegg. As usual, I emphasize that I have no interest in "surveillance" and do not conduct such. Flight video merely makes my RC hobby more enjoyable.

Inaugurating this new blog...

... involved transferring posts on the hobby theme from another blog where they were not really appropriate. Some pics will have to be added, and labels, and then I'll be up to date here and I can talk about recent flights, eBay purchases, and so on. I ought to mention that I've joined the Academy of Model Aeronautics, (AMA) and now fly "legally", with liability insurance.

Test Flight of Repaired EZ Hawk

The wind blew it into a tree. Actually I almost lost it. It flew as well as ever. When it hit the tree the outer half of one wing sheared off and it lost both ailerons. Hot glue and reinforced packing tape made the wings good again and I used vinyl tape to make aileron hinges. It is probably stronger now than it was before the crash, and I see no difference in the way it flies. Getting it out of the tree involved climbing high enough to grab a branch and shake it until the plane slipped out and fell on a lower branch. Then I was able to get it down to the ground with a 6' length of wooden baseboard we happened to have in the garage. The canopy, ailerons, and broken bit of wing were in the street near the tree. Lucky for me nobody had time to run that stuff over.

The Goldberg glider is ready to cover. I'm not going to use the fancy kit canopy. I've got a motor and ESC and lipo battery for this plane and will equip it with a power pod and pusher prop above the wing center section. Thrust setup will be similar to the dynam gliders.

Firebird Stratos

Today I flew the Firebird Stratos and it worked great! This plane flys right out of your hand, and is easy to control. At some point I will fly it with the auto stabilization features turned off. You've got the option to increase elevator area and I think that would be a good idea. This plane will be another good platform for flight videos.

I also tried the larger FMS glider with a higher capacity lipo battery and got a very long flight. The heavier battery improved handling in wind. Tomorrow I'd like to try the Hawk Sky.

Grayson Hobbies

...sent the pnp Dynam Hawk Sky and I've already reinforced the fuselage. The plane arrived in good shape, packed well and was just as advertised. I need to get a battery for it. The 1280 FMS glider did great with a camera mounted on the right wing, facing forward. I used vinyl tape to reinforce the hinges on that plane, and reoriented the antenna because I lost signal and had a hard landing. I think the uninsulated part of the antenna contacted a pushrod. Things were kind of stuffed into the battery/receiver compartment, but I've corrected that and anticipate no more problems. I'll have some new aerial camera vidcaps posted soon. I have not yet tested the 800 mm span FMS with camera due to wind-- what else is new? If there's one thing about this part of the country I detest, it's the constant wind.

RC Aerial Photography

OK, I've made use of the micro cam and I've gotten good results mounting it on the wing of the EZ Hawk from Nitroplanes. I upgraded the plane by pulling out the 72 mhz receiver and putting in a Spektrum receiver so I can use a new dx5e dsmx transmitter. I ordered a Hawk Sky from Grayson hobbies in a PNP version so I can do a lot of upgrades. These Dynam powered gliders are really great! I've got an FMS 1280 assembled  but have not flown it yet.
I've also working on a Goldberg Sophisticated Lady sailplane. I will equip it with a pusher prop/motor pod and since it is quite large I will use it for higher altitude filming. I would also like to try the little cam on an FMS 800, though the extra weight makes performance iffy. If it works I could take the plane to several locations around town for more aerial photography and not have to worry too much about room for landing. 

Powered Gliders

I've gotten good flights out of my 800mm wingspan FMS EASY TRAINER. I ordered an EZ Hawk from Nitroplanes, put it together quickly and found that it flies really well. No rudder control on this one but it flies well enough. For $15 I got a micro HD video camera and will mount it to the EZ Hawk. On eBay I found an FMS 50" span Easy Trainer RTF and that will make an alternate camera plane. I'd like to have a personal drone fleet! When I've got enough experience with the current planes I'll probably order a 90" span Super Sky Surfer. I find that I like a relaxed flying experience so will probably stick with "powered sailplanes".

I'm in the process of assembling a Goldberg "Sophisticated Lady" and have the bits and pieces needed to build an electric power pod for it. It could be another good camera plane. I've stocked up on lipo batteres for these various aircraft. Probably it would be smart to buy another one of those amazing micro video cameras. I didn't really expect it to work, but it does, and works very well.

Hand Launching the Dynam EZ Hawk and Hawk Sky-- TIPS

I tried the FMS FHX-1280 ( I have no idea what those letters stand for, but the 1280 is the wingspan in mm) in a fairly high wind, 15 mph gusts, and found it stable and easy to control. It was easy to gain altitude, power was so problem, and it was easy to launch. The Dynam EZ Hawk, also flown today, requires a lot of up elevator, even when the cg is spot on. Hand-launching is tricky because of the down thrust. Immediate up elevator is required to keep it from nosing into the ground. Also, don't launch at more than 1/2 throttle. Trimmed out properly, you can fly those Dynam powered gliders way up high, kill the power, and just glide them around. They don't fall out of the sky. I have room for another plane. Hobby Zone had an email offer, $20 off a Firebird Stratos and free shipping, so I ordered one of those. Check the Hobby Zone website-- these are really nice planes and it'll be yet another great micro video camera platform. My pnp Hawk Sky from Grayson Hobby should be here tomorrow. That plane will be the basis for several modifications. I know what to do to improve it in several ways.

Flight test of drowned Hobby Zone T-28

It survived the soaking in a playa lake. It still works with the rudder disabled, but it is still far too light to manage any kind of wind. I took it out today and almost lost it. An Art Tech TB20 Sport/Trainer  from Nitroplanes did much better in the same wind, even though it is smaller. The TB20 weighs a bit more, has thicker wings, and is more streamlined. It's really fun to fly. The T-28, on the other hand, is a bit of a struggle to control unless conditions are dead calm.

The Hobby Zone T-28 survived a dunking!

After my Hobby Zone T-28 had time to dry I stuck in a freshly charged lipo battery and it was good-- this little rc plane will someday fly again. I can still use the motor and other internals in another plane someday. I got some good flights today with a somewhat larger and heavier plane.

Small RC foamies and high wind don't mix!

The wind wasn't howling today but it was strong enough to make mincemeat of my Hobby Zone T-28. Uncontrollable. It crashed, hard. I put it back together with hot melt glue but had to sever the rudder linkage. Too bent. I figured it would do fine on elevator and aileron. And it did, but the wind caught it again and it went down in the middle of a playa lake. I figured the wind would eventually blow it ashore, and it did, after about five hours. My wife, whose patience with my hobby is saint-like, helped me recover it. I cleaned it under hot running tap water and then rinsed with bottled water. I'll let it dry overnight and see whether the electronics survived. I tossed the lipo battery but I've got two more. Park Flyer type rc aircraft just don't do well in this area. But I'm getting a better sense of what I want to fly. I tried a somewhat larger aircraft yesterday and had great results. It was windy, but a larger and heavier aircraft can handle the wind better.

Estes Foam Flyer Conversions

Well, I managed to extract the lipo battery, receiver, and camera and motors, all intact and wired together, from a beat-up Air Hogs Hawk Eye Blue Sky camera plane. Recently I ordered three foam flyers from Estes Model Rockets and they are excellent-- far better than expected. I will transfer these Air Hogs components to one of the Estes foamies ( a nice looking U2 spy plane) and turn it into RC. I'll post results on this blog. The Estes foamies are great raw material for micro rc conversions. You could do full 4 channel with pusher props.

Estes X-81 Review

OK, I said I'd do a product review from time to time, and here is my review of the Estes X-81 RC airplane, availabe from the Estes Model Rocket site for less than $60. This plane is really an F-18 foamie in Blue Angels colors. It really looks good. And I'm pleased to report that it flys well. The twin pusher props give it enough thrust to make headway against a steady 10 to 15mph wind. It is easy to control and quite stable. Don't expect to do any kind of aerobatics because the controls are simple, using throttle to control altitude and differential thrust to turn left or right. But it does quite well. But I think it would be wise, before you ever fly it, to put a strip of 1/64th balsa on either side of the nose to reinforce the foam. I did that with a hot melt glue gun. The slight extra weight also improved the trim. You are bound to nose it in at some point, and the extra strength will save wear and tear. After several rough landings the wings and tail were still fine. I had those rough landings because it was really too windy. This plane is quite light. However, I flew it under conditions that caused me to lose a Hobby Zone Cessna Champ, and it did much better in the wind than the Champ. The Champ floated away like a scrap of paper, but the Estes X-81 has more mass and is very streamlined, so it penetrated wind much better. I would buy another one of these planes and probably will do so soon, because I want to use the motors and internals in a plane of my own design. There are other Estes RC planes I would like to try as well.

Air Hogs and Estes RC

I have purchased two Air Hog Hawk Eye Blue Sky camera planes. They fly pretty well and each has a camera capable of taking avi movies in flight. I have "hopped up" one of them by removing the stock props and substituting propellers from an Estes X-81. They are somewhat bigger and have a deeper pitch. I had to cut a little out of the Blue Sky wing to make them fit. I bought the Estes X-81 from Big 5 sporting goods and it came with extra props. Props for this neat rendition of a Blue Angels F-18 are also available from the Estes web site. I am going to order more of those props. When I have a chance to fly these planes, when it is not so windy, I will post reviews on this blog.