Hi JPEE and Nick,
Nick,
It looks like your really enjoying the new bike. I know things can get expensive but at least you know your bike is being properly cared for and you won't have any issues in the short term. Sorry to hear about the big insurance hit, hopefully it will ease up as you get older?
Bet your getting ready for that big Alaska trip. What a great time to spend with the girlfriend and with her being a native you have yourself a local tour guide!
JPEE,
I got the email you sent with the Motion behind-the-scenes of our foamies from start to finish. Very interesting to see the progression and I never realized how involved the guys at Motion are in the development of our aircraft.
Sorry for being MIA but I've been getting a lot done - both with the house/yard and in the hobby.
I've had a few yard projects that I was able to finish up - mainly redoing the plant beds with a stone barrier wall and replacing the pine bark with cypress mulch. The other project was to dig up 3 sprinkler heads and raising them a few inches as they were too low in the ground. A bit of a PITA b/c it requires digging to the depth of the main pipe then installing a 1" or 2" riser, then reinstalling everything. And when its all tightened up testing everything for leaks before replacing the dirt and grass plugs.
For the house I had to recaulk the shower as the original stuff was starting to crack. Don't ask me why but I decided to remove all the old stuff with a razor blade and scraper and redid it all using GE Silicon II Bath caulk. I was able to finish that up in a day and half. Worse part was the removal of the old caulk. But its done and is holding up just fine.
In the meantime I have been having a great time with my new Raptor. I was able to maiden a few weeks ago - decided to keep the gear on for the first flight. She was a bit tail heavy which was evident as after a nice run down the runway she shot straight up with a little up elevator. That flight was interesting and it took a few go-arounds to get back on the ground. After that I took the gear off and have been hand launching ever since.
She has some serious power - I can only hand launch at half throttle as the plane wants to pull out of my hand at anything higher. But the extra power is nice to have in reserve. The plane can really move but what is great is the slow flying characteristics - I am practicing doing slow high alpha circuits. Any trouble I get into is when I'm glad I have a powerful motor to get me out of trouble!
I got 2 Admiral Pro lipo's from Motion for the Raptor. They seem to be holding up just fine and provide a good 3.30 minutes of flight time. Motion also sells their own version of receivers - rebranded Lemon receivers named Admiral receivers. However I was able to pick up 4 Spektrum receivers from RCG sale forums so I am set for receivers.
I also started on my Goblin - finally checked all the electronics and for the first time powered up the motor with both my 6S lipo's. Yes, I was extremely nervous playing with 12S of power but the motor spun up just fine. Right now I am waiting on my swash leveler so I can finish the setup.
And last but not least - I ordered another jet. Someone please help me!!
Yes, I broke down and ordered a 70mm F-16 in Arctic Camo. Kit only that Motion has on sale. It will be my first jet with retracts. Do I have a place to fly it? Not yet! But I soon will. I saw that they have begun construction of our phase III in our subdivision. So far they have just cleared the land and are putting in the sewer and water pipes. I am placing a lot of faith that they will have the pipes installed and roads finished in the next few months but will not open the 3rd phase until all the the lots from phase II are finished. That way I'll have a huge area to fly for a while. As I said, I'm putting a lot of faith in this plan, which is why I got the kit form so I'm in no rush to get it all together.
That's about it!
Mark