RE: Hangar 9 Twist 3D
Waldo, five hours is a good day flying--no NY minutes thered!
I keep planting balsa, too, but nothing grows. What's that about?
95% of crashes are caused by poor preflight checks, they say.
I've just ordered my FIFTH Twist, due Jan. (#4 has the Saito 82 on her); she's rebuilt and a bit weak in the mid range of the wing, but she flies. I just have to be careful with her for a while. #5 won't be here until mid Jan. Somebody's caught on about this bird. They are OUT of them nation-wide. There is NOTHING to compare with it, nothing. I'm going to try a UCD 46 with an O.S. 61. By the way, my flying pal put a new OS 61 on his Twist, and with the standard tank he's getting 16 minute flights--more efficient than the Saito, by about 5.5 mins. AND DOES IT PERFORM!
I can't understand guys not flying in the winter: 1) there are many more fields available (if you get permission--parks, e.g.). Think outside the AMA approved fields. Build your own portable table. Here in the country I can fly off my road--but it ain't that sweet with wires and trees; 2) the engines love the cold. You may have to take some lighter fluid on REALLY cold days, but I flew yesterday, 17 degree weather, without needing the lighter fluid. I DO put my thumb, veeereeey carefully, over the carbs on my 2 cycles to get them to go. They like rich to start; 3) snow is more forgiving of sloppy landings--and bottoming on those close-to-the-ground loops.
Now, you can BUY Dubro skiis, but they are EASY to make. See pix.
The pix include: 1) two 13" x 3" white skiis [on the UCD 60, heaviest plane I have], made from a plastic bucket side, then straightened and bent again using a butane torch; the pic includes a Dubro ski and another I made from some special PVC we got last year, gray; 2) skiis, cut from the blue TOP of a drywall goop bucket. This bird is light so didn't require much length or breadth to support the plane; 3) two of the PVC skiis, one not yet put on the front wheel of a tricycle Dart. I used it for the Big Stik, too.
The skiis are attached to the gear with a simple aluminum angle iron available at most hardware stores. The angle irons are secured with rivets. The rivet gun and rivets are reasonably cheap, too. Drill a hole through the aluminum and PVC to match the rivet diameter, install the rivet and squeeze. Easy--and MUCH cheaper than the Dubro equivalents.
Nice thing about the Dubros are the springs which keep the nose of the ski up in flight. WE use rubber bands--standard. You can see where I drilled holes to accept a small dia wire, then put the band through it, voila.
THIS year, though, I've attached skiis on the Twist and UCD 60 with toothed washers so they won't move at ALL. I'm thinking that will work fine. The alternative is always trying to get them to look right, symetrical angles, in flight. And you only need a very little "up" in the tip so the ski doesn't dig in and upsot the plane.
Deciding on the width and breadth of the ski for a particular plane is a function of the type of snow you fly on, obviously, but the samples in the picture serve me in all conditions of snow, though in DEEP new snow you tend to throw it around with the prop. Fun!
Good luck.
Jack