Wing Building

Still flying the same planes but new Admiral batteries from MotionRC  put new life in the FMS 800. I'll probably order my next plane from them. Meanwhile I'm trying yet again to build a good wing from cheap materials. Latest effort uses Dollar Tree foam board. I find that the stuff with color is straighter. So I used that plus pink foam. A 48" strip of pink foam cut to a width of about 3 inches makes a center spar. sandwiched between sheets of foam board, the result is quite rigid. I'm using carpenter's wood glue. No spar is needed for a straight wing this size. The airfoil has a flat bottom. I'm using balsa triangle stock for a leading edge. Because the foam board is not long enough a full sheet makes a center section and the tips are added in separate pieces. When everything is glued up, vinyl packing tape will be used for reinforcement. Balsa trailing edge stock will make ailerons. The plane I hope to build with this wing is going to be along the lines of an old Ugly Stick, and I'll use a motor from an old, crashed, FMS 1280 and an upgraded prop. The motor will be up front in a tractor configuration. The wing will be spray painted with  Rust Oleum. The fuse will be a contrasting color. I'll post some pics soon. You could use these materials to make a symmetrical airfoil as well. Dowel or arrow shaft could be used for a leading edge. This plane will probably not use landing gear since I hand-launch everything and land in tall grass. I will probably just use aileron and elevator. 

Almost Lost The EZ Hawk

I flew it high and far and got overconfident and just lost sight of it. But I knew what I was doing when it vanished, turning it back around, and I was familiar enough with its control response to realize that it was most likely heading back to me. Sure enough, in a little while I could see it again, coming back but in a right bank. I corrected that and got it back and the flight finished with a perfect landing about twenty feet in front of me, in tall grass.


When I am ready for another airplane I've got lots of options. I like the new FMS powered gliders, there's a new powered glider from Hobby Zone I really like-- if I bought every plane I want I'd need a hanger to keep them in! I am so lucky to have a great place to fly half-a-block from where I live!

Nothing new to report...

... and that is why I have not posted anything in a long time. I'm still flying the same planes in the same place. I'm finding it possible to do mild aerobatics with the FMS 1280 after upgrading the prop. The FMS 800 works well on rudder and elevator, ailerons disabled, after modifying the wingtips. The old EZ Hawk soldiers on. I have not crashed anything in a long time. No news!

Tex RC J3 Cub pics

As promised, here are the pics of the little Cub. The mods I made to it are almost invisible. I've gotten more flights. A rough landing cracked the entire tail, but the pushrods held it together and I used foam safe superglue. It was back in the air right away and it still flies fine. 

It still looks good, too. Because of the grass field I fly in, I have to hand launch it, and it is a bit touchy. You have to be quick on the sticks! It also takes a hard toss. It is definitely on the heavy side with the battery I've got in it. Not a floater!

Outstanding Weather!

In the last couple of days I've been able to fly the Tex RC Cub, the Delta Ray, the EZ Hawk, the FMS 800, and the Firebird Stratos, several times each. I fly in the morning, afternoon, and evening. It looks like today will be just as favorable. I'd like to do the Cub some more, and the FMS 1280.

Tex RC J-3 Cub

It was an easy build. I had to make a little shelf above the servos to support the receiver. I had to modify the hatch and battery area slightly to accept the E-Flite 1000mah 2C batteries I wanted to use. I decided to glue on the wing. I used colored electrical tape to reinforce the landing gear and glued in the landing gear. I launched at full throttle into a light wind and went almost straight up. Backing off the throttle and using a few clicks of down trim got the plane flying right. The plane feels a bit heavy for the size of the wing but it climbs nicely and seems to have enough power for loops, although I haven't tried that yet. It lands easily. Just fly upwind and back off the throttle slowly and it descends slowly. Flare for landing and kill the throttle. This is a nice plane and it looks great. Landing in grass requires more of a full stall and drop in to avoid nosing over. I have no complaints!

New Stuff

At an estate sale not too long ago I got a nice coax copter with a good transmitter and lots of spare lipo batteries. I found that these batteries will fit a TEX RC cub from nitroplanes, and since they had one on sale, I bought one. I can use an Orange receiver and an eBay DX5e transmitter. The cub arrived yesterday and it looks good. I hope to get it in the air soon. I have experimented with the helicopter but have not really tried to fly it yet. It is trimmed out. It had not been bound to the transmitter but I got that done and found the controls were reversed and corrected that. I doubt that the guy I bought this from had ever flown it. That whole package, of six lipos, spare parts and transmitter (DSMX, good for planes or copters) was only $40! I'll have some pics soon, and a review of the cub.