Pilot DS is back at it! He is designing floats -- which he plans will function and his HF plane will land itself successfully on a pond or large pool of water. His plane did fly -- stable -- but not far. Pilot DS is going to decrease the size of the floats. More information to follow…
Pilot DS received an EPP RTF spy plane as a surprised for Christmas. It takes digital pictures and drops a parachute man, a bomb, & a glider. But, unfortunately this bird's maiden voyage was not a success. The trim was hard right with a lot of up elevator and no way to adjust it. Pilot DS and Pilot JS tried to fly any way, but they decided to quit while they were ahead. Pilot JS recommended that Pilot DS use a razor blade and open the cockpit, remove the servo arms, turn everything on, and then reconnect the servo arms at zeroed out trim. More news to come... Both pilots are excited and expect this bird to perform well.
Pilot DS took his maiden voyage with his brand new SDM Piper Cub. Unfortunately, it was tail heavy, but he was able to land it safely on the green. On the 2nd range check Pilot DS found that his throttle glitches and he realized he needed to return/exchange his plane. More info to come one the next maiden voyage…
If you are interested in an SDM Piper Cub, which Pilot DS bought on sale for $79.00 RTF at Harbor Freight, Google "RC Universe Forum SDM Cub."
Pilot JS flies a Graupner Mini Piper from Hobby Lobby. He has flown for two years now (and as a kid, but was never good). On this particular day he had his best landing of career -- only using throttle -- flying to the ground. He now can do rolling takeoffs and landings very confidently. He can fly inverted with an extremely shallow dive out of a loop. He performs rolling touchdowns with ease. In the first two months of flying he destroyed his first plane -- too much stick! Because of this he has been able to save Pilot DS a lot of frustration, distress, and going home with broken airplanes. Pilot JS has purchased a Potensky Eagle EPP and is eager to learn aerobatics and very basic 3-D maneuvers this summer. He has also purchased a new Mini Piper and motor to replace his aging park flyer. The new paint job will be hot!
Seeing as Pilot JS won the HF free flight airplane build off and for his prize Pilot DS bought him a Guillow's Piper Super Cub 95 -- Pliot JS decided he can no longer wait to begin building. This is his first model build using balsa and monokote. He aims to do just a little every day and take his time and care.
Recommendations from a novice modelist: (1) read all instructions completely before beginning build, (2) study the balsa wood die cut shapes before putting a knife to it, (3) using an Xacto blade trace along the die cut very carefully twice before removing each peice, (4) handle the model VERY carefully, and (5) take your time and care. Be patient. Do a little each day so that the experience remains positive and you avoid frustration.
So far the build is coming along not perfect, but nicely and the fuselage is completed. Pilot JS will continue to post photos of the build and will review his first flight. The estimated build time is 20 hours. Pilot JS has not decided if he will use a gas, electric, or rubber band power yet.
Pilot DS recently upgraded his plane to a SDM Piper J-3. He trained using a Hobbyzone Outlaw RTF, but he has not outgrown it completely. He focuses on performing the impossible in flight. He does rolling takeoffs and touchdowns. Furthermore, he flies around trees and any obstacle he can find. He excited to attempt aerotowing with a lightweight glider.
The Outlaw's name is Mad Maxine (female version of Mad Max, the prelude to the movie "Road Warrior"). She is a tough bird and continues to fly predictably after many wrecks.
You can watch videos of Mad Maxine in-flight by clicking on the "Watch Blog Videos Here" link in the navigation on the right side toward the top of this page.
Pilot DS received an EPP RTF spy plane as a surprised for Christmas. It takes digital pictures and drops a parachute man, a bomb, & a glider. But, unfortunately this bird's maiden voyage was not a success. The trim was hard right with a lot of up elevator and no way to adjust it. Pilot DS and Pilot JS tried to fly any way, but they decided to quit while they were ahead. Pilot JS recommended that Pilot DS use a razor blade and open the cockpit, remove the servo arms, turn everything on, and then reconnect the servo arms at zeroed out trim. More news to come... Both pilots are excited and expect this bird to perform well.
Pilot JS flies a Graupner Mini Piper from Hobby Lobby. He has flown for two years now (and as a kid, but was never good). On this particular day he had his best landing of career -- only using throttle -- flying to the ground. He now can do rolling takeoffs and landings very confidently. He can fly inverted with an extremely shallow dive out of a loop. He performs rolling touchdowns with ease. In the first two months of flying he destroyed his first plane -- too much stick! Because of this he has been able to save Pilot DS a lot of frustration, distress, and going home with broken airplanes. Pilot JS has purchased a Potensky Eagle EPP and is eager to learn aerobatics and very basic 3-D maneuvers this summer. He has also purchased a new Mini Piper and motor to replace his aging park flyer. The new paint job will be hot!
Pilot DS recently upgraded his plane to a SDM Piper J-3. He trained using a Hobbyzone Outlaw RTF, but he has not outgrown it completely. He focuses on performing the impossible in flight. He does rolling takeoffs and touchdowns. Furthermore, he flies around trees and any obstacle he can find. He excited to attempt aerotowing with a lightweight glider.
Fact is balsa wood warps when it is wet, but the pilots' desire to be challenged remained strong. They decided to buy brand new Harbor Freight planes and mount snow skis to them. The skis had to be functional. The goal for the pilots was to build a plane that would both fly well and land itself.
adding a curled nose to the ski as well. He sealed the skis with packing tape. The result was near perfect. The test flight resulted in a perfect landing. On a 3 minute charge the plane succeeded with a rolling takeoff and landing. Pilot DS was defined as "genius" with that flight. His plane achieved an altitude of 40' plus. Videos of his plane's successful flights are posted -- click the link in the navigation that bar that says "Watch Blog Videos Here."
