Two Flights On Modified Stratos

First flight, I found that I had too much elevator. I changed the clevis position on the elevator control horn to give minimal movement. I also adjusted the rudder for maximum deflection. The second flight, yesterday evening, was very good! So this well-used airplane still has life in it. I'll fly it until it won't go anymore.

Firebird Stratos Problems

I've been flying the Stratos I got on eBay, used, a lot. Lately it has had some problems making right turns. Not as responsive. Yesterday it was just not as responsive turning in any direction. It seems that the differential thrust feature has stopped working. So, this morning after a difficult flight in wind that the plane would once have handled well, I made a few modifications, by increasing the elevator area to the max (there is provision for this, cutting through two little patches and using tape to make one large elevator) and increasing control movements on both elevator and rudder by relocating the clevis locations in the control horns. I still have rudder/elevator mixing. When I've got less wind, I'll see how it flies with these mods. It'll be more like a conventional rudder, elevator, throttle airplane. I have no idea why the differential thrust stopped working. It seems to have failed in one channel first, and then in the other channel. I've been storing this plane in the garage and it got really hot this summer. Could the electronics be heat-sensitive? I never store my lipos in the garage. That would be asking for trouble.

Delta Ray, Fouth Flight

Wind was very light and for the first time I used "beginner mode". It launched easily and seemed to have mixing to give some up elevator effect in turns. Unfortunately, even in a 5 to 10 mph wind, the beginner mode did not allow enough control authority to be able to turn the plane against the wind. I was forced to switch to "intermediate" and in that mode there seems to be no "up" mixed into the turns, and the plane loses altitude in turns without a manual up input. Remember, this plane uses elevons, but even so, a programmed mix of up along with the right-left inputs would keep it more beginner friendly in turns. That said, it flew great. But if you want to teach yourself to fly I still think the Firebird Stratos is the best choice. The Delta Ray would be a great second plane for a beginner, something to advance to and then grow with as skills improve. These two planes sort of complement each other.

Estate Sale Balsa Find!

Yesterday I found two large kit boxes at an estate sale, each filled with high quality balsa strips and sheets, plus some finished parts for the kits. I got all of that for $8.00! And for $7.50 more I got a sturdy parts box with sliding drawers and clevises, bolts, screws, control horns, blades, and all sorts of miscellaneous parts in each drawer. But that's not all. A couple of bucks more got me some nice props. This was a good find, and compensates to some extent for poor flying weather lately. I tried the Hawk Sky yesterday morning but flying it in the wind was a real struggle and no fun at all. At least I can do some sort of building project, if I get antsy. This is the second time I've gotten lucky at an estate sale. Summer before last I found a box of balsa that turned out to have several vintage engines at the bottom. I got all of that for $10 as I recall. I sold the engines on eBay for a nice profit!

Three Flights on the Delta Ray

On intermediate it is not really a hands off plane. And I find that it can be quite fast. The battery compartment is a bit tight and the battery usually ends up in a more forward position. It will lose altitude in a turn and requires up elevator. Someone used to the Firebird Stratos will find this plane more challenging. You could argue that the Stratos is not challenging at all. Someday I'll try the Delta Ray in beginner mode to see whether it is really suitable for a beginner. Because of the shape of this plane, orientation is not so easy either. Still a fun fly but maybe not as beginner friendly as advertised.

Hobby Zone Delta Ray

It arrived yesterday and I flew it this evening, using the "intermediate" setting on the nice DX4 transmitter. It flew great! I hand launched but used the landing gear because the props are vulnerable in a belly landing. I would say that the plane is faster than the Firebird Stratos, handles better in wind due to the advanced stability features, and has a lot of visual impact. The twin engine delta wing design gets people's attention. It came with an extra battery as well, and I was not expecting that-- a nice bonus. If you have a Firebird Stratos those batteries will work in this plane, and vice-versa. This is just a great airplane and it can offer more as your flying skills improve. I should mention that it has a very gentle stall. It simply drops the nose and starts flying again. The wings stay level. Very forgiving! This is a great addition to my modest stable of rc park flyers.

Memories of Fliteline Products

Weekend before last I took my wife with me to a location on 34th Street, to photograph what used to be the home of Riley Wooten's Fliteline Products. Riley Wooten, of course, is a control-line combat legend. I have a link to a site with some biographical info and nostalgic pics. I bought my first plane, in Lubbock, from him in 1969. It was a 2 meter glider. A college buddy and I planned to toss the plane off the roof of Weymouth Hall and see how far it would fly. We were not ever able to do that, but we did get it off the roof of the Psychology Building, for a test flight. We had the help of a friend in the Psychology Department. I'm sure we broke all sorts of rules. I remember the fun I had building that plane. I used tissue covering for the wing. The plane survived that experience and we were able to recover it. It circled around and around and finally landed in a grass area on campus not very far from where we started. After that it acquired swirls of day-glo paint and became part of our apartment's psychedelic decor. I don't remember what happened to it after that. Then, in 1980 or 1981 I was back in Fliteline, same location on 34th, and bought a Goldberg Eaglet 50, an engine, a Futaba radio set up, and got started in RC. I spent a lot of money at Fliteline Products. I was sorry to see it move, years later, into the south part of town. Walk-in customers were no longer welcome. I did give Mr. Wooten an old Air Trails magazine, so he could work up a kit for a particular aircraft featured in that issue-- a Monocoupe, I believe.
Here are the pics:

 

Finally got the 'New Plane" in the air...

... even though conditions were not ideal, due to wind. I took it to the city maintained field west of town, a long drive. It turned out to be tail heavy, but not by a lot. I got a brief flight out of it and landed it safely on the paved runway. I used the yellow "sport wing" in the background of the pic below, and even with that wing it turned out to be a floater. So I can safely fly this in my local park. I can either add more nose weight next time or put in a few clicks of down trim. Trim adjustment will be the easiest course. So I'll have another report on this cobbled together job soon. Meanwhile I've flown my usual aircraft and I ordered the Delta Ray from Hobby Zone.

 

I like relaxing flying...

... and planes that are relatively inexpensive, easy to repair, and easy to transport. To that end my next plane will be a Hobby Zone Delta Ray RTF. It's something new and it looks really good and has many flight options. If I need a few thrills and chills I can set it to expert mode and burn up the air. If I use it for an FPV platform I can use all the stability enhancements available and have a very stable platform. Here is a link: http://secure.hobbyzone.com/HBZ7900.html

Here are the rest of the photos...

... from the Abernathy Warbirds event:

 

Abernathy Warbirds

Well, my wife and I drove to the RC flying field near the Abernathy Municipal Airport yesterday. Abernathy is just a little north of Lubbock on I-27 so it was an easy drive. It was amazing! I was very impressed by the RC aircraft out there, and the skillful flying. Here are some pics:

The pic above is of a small scale home-built Corsair. It seemed to be about one-half sized and had a small air-cooled engine. 
 

Above is another shot of the mini Corsair. It had a very cramped cockpit.
 

I'll be putting up more pics tomorrow.