Firebird Stratros AS3X

It isn't so much, apparently, that the motors are wearing out, but that it is taking some time for the stability augmentation system to initialize. This morning, immediately after popping in the battery, I set the plane on a level surface and waited. It took about 30 seconds before the control surfaces twitched. I flew it then, and it was fine. So to some extent I now have to treat this plane like the Delta Ray, which requires the same sort of initialization. The Stratos does not have SAFE technology, but seems to require the same sort of handling.  At any rate, it probably still has a lot of life left in it. Yesterday evening I tried the Easy Trainer 1280 in fairly high winds and it handled the wind very well, requiring only some down elevator into the wind and a bit of up elevator downwind. Flying crosswind it crabbed into the wind automatically, requiring no rudder correction.

Windy

Windy, yes, but I can fly the usual planes. The well-used Firebird Stratos is getting a bit hard to control. I might be losing one motor. I've got the electric powered Goldberg Sophisticated Lady near completion and I bound my receiver to the "new" DX5e transmitter I bought on eBay, but the size of this plane means it can't be flown in any nearby park. Plus, it will be a bit difficult to prep for flight. So I'll give it away. Too big. I don't want to drive ten miles to fly it. I don't want to drive more than a mile or two to fly ANYTHING. A 1400 mm wingspan is the largest size model practical for the areas where I like to fly.

More Flying

Yesterday evening, despite 20 mph gusts, I flew the Firebird Stratos. It was kind of twitchy. This morning, taking advantage of calm conditions, I flew the Delta Ray. I kept the throttle pushed to the max and flew it like a pylon racer. It's pretty fast and looks great in the air. But if you keep it wide open like that, the battery does not last very long. I did a second flight and tried taking off from a patch of bare ground. It was a little bouncy but took off OK.

FMS 1280

I know why my old FMS Easy Trainer 1280 flew so poorly-- I had the prop on backwards! Embarrassed to admit that, but it makes a huge difference, and the instructions are not that explicit. Fantastic weather today, so I flew the new one with the DX5e transmitter and Spektrum receiver and it was good. It still seems a bit underpowered and I am considering a prop change for it. I've got a gray nylon pusher prop, the kind I use with the Dynam powered gliders but slightly larger in diameter, and I think I can modify it enough to use it on the FMS 1280.

I made a bid on an out-of-box but unused DX5e on eBay and won it. That will match a spare Spektrum receiver. I'll use that combo in the electric powered Goldberg Sophisticated Lady I've been working on for so long.

That Old EZ Hawk

It keeps on flying. It flew great with the FMS transmitter/receiver combo. No range problems, no control glitches. It was quite windy but mild otherwise, with a light overcast in the evening. It handled well in the wind. I wonder sometimes whether the aileron modifications on this plane account for its flying ability-- much better than the Hawk Sky that nose-dived recently. By the way, I salvaged the Hawk Sky's wing and have a project in mind for it.

Dynam Transmitter Problems

Both of my old Dynam 2.4 transmitters had problems. I junked them but kept the receivers. So now the EZ Hawk is using a spare FMS transmitter/receiver combo. I hope THAT works. Far too cold to test any of the changes I've made to these planes, so I'll post more pics of my old guitars.

The first guitar I used with my Plush amp stack was a modified 1967 Gibson Melody Maker. Somebody had replaced the neck single coil with a humbucker. I added a Leo Quann Badass bridge. This was a great playing and great sounding guitar. It was the first Gibson I ever owned, but not the last. I bought this amp stack and guitar at Lubbock Music Center. Both of these items were purchased in "used" condition.

Years later I found a used Peavey Patriot in a local pawn shop. It was a really nice guitar but I got tired of it and sold it on eBay. That happened to a lot of my instruments.

Goodbye Hawk Sky

Conditions were not ideal yesterday but I tried flying the old Hawk Sky. I gave it the usual hand launch and plenty of up elevator but it simply nosed in, flying much like a thrown brick! I checked it out, saw no damage, and tried it again with the same result. That time the fuselage split and the motor came off the mount. That was it for me. I took it home and stripped out all the parts-- servos, esc, motor, receiver, etc. I kept the wings and discarded the rest of the foam components. I could use the wings in a scratch build. I used the Hawk Sky with a good transmitter and receiver and since the receiver was already bound to the transmitter, I exchanged that receiver/transmitter combo with the FMS Easy Trainer's. The Dynam transmitter and receiver combo from the FMS will go into the EZ Hawk. I guess I have room now for yet another plane, but I'll hold off on that. This spring I want to finish, at last, the Goldberg Sophisticated Lady. THAT should give me my next plane! 

Here are some pics I took as a norther rolled in last week:

That gray line, looking like a contrail, stretched from horizon to horizon, and seemed to be a bit lower than the cloud deck. What was it? What caused that? It dissipated slowly after I took these pics but at no time was there any evidence of wind shear. It stayed straight as it slowly faded. Odd.

In A Deep Freeze!

No flying! Snow on the ground and single digit temps! In fact, it has been over a week since I have been able to fly anything. Sooo, another stroll down memory lane, with guitars I have owned over the years. At one point I had a 1958 Fender Duo-sonic, a 1964 Rickenbacker, and a 1961 Gibson SG Special, all at the same time:

I played those guitars through a pair of 15" Jensens in Plush cabinets (anybody remember Plush amps?) powered by a Fender amp head, or an Ampeg Reverb-O-Jet combo. I had an envelope follower and a ProCo RAT distortion box, as well as a Small Stone Phaser. As I recall. I used to have cassette tapes of me, soloing with those guitars, but that stuff is long gone, as well as the means to even play the cassettes. These are the only photos I have, digitized from a very old SX-70 Camera. I wish I still had those guitars. At that time, I was not yet into RC airplanes.

More Flights On The FMS 1280

I've been getting the trim settings sorted out. Still no complaints about the flying ability of this plane. Here are the photos of the modifications I made to get larger batteries, a good receiver location, and better cooling: