ThinAir

It's April 18th and most of you are enjoying spring as usual, temperatures above freezing, green grass, leaves and blossoms popping out, etc. But our picnic table is still buried under the winter's snowpack. [] And you know cabin fever (and heli fever) is getting bad when the birdfeeder is looking more like a rotor head every day.

Well, a guy has to do something to fly outside in these conditions, right? How about snow skids!! Okay, so they do look a little like tongue depressors, but the floatation effect is the same.

To make a short story shorter they were working great until the heli got away from me and slammed into a mountainside. [X(] Fortunately, the avalanche that followed didn't bury the bird completely and the only damage was a broken blade. All aboard survived.

I think the "skids" and electrical tape to attach them were a bit heavy, and the COG (center of gravity) was off significantly. It COULDN'T have been pilot error.

But there's always something to learn: "The CX2 and snow,,,together they don't go."

ThinAir

Wolfpackin

Nick,

Nice job...a CX2 on ski's, or is that two snowboards?
Light weight and effective.

Did you build a snow ramp to launch it from, yet?

ThinAir

Funny you should ask. I don't think I had the right wax for downward glide. But when you lift off from this kind of pitch it is best to have a lot of space out in front of you.

ThinAir

Coyote64

Interesting mod, i must say, but if it works use it, if it doesnt make it work then use it

Glad all on board survived, it could have been a blood bath

Its never pilot error its always gravity getting in the way again. Stop taliking silly nonsense he he he

LMAO at the bird feeder bit, as soon as i seen pic i thought ...............okaaaaay, then i looked again before reading and thought doesnt it look like a rotor head, then i read on. You could be suffering from cabin fever but then what excuse do i have lol

ThinAir

Yeah, I admit the bird feeder was a bit of a stretch. Guess my oxygen-starved brain way up here plays tricks on me sometimes. But the bird perches around the tube reminded me of the guide and blade attachment pins on the cx2 heads.

I suspect gravity is somewhat similar here as in the UK. Yup, that must be the problem involving crashes...not the pilot. Good thinking as always Coyote!

eat2muchrice

How I miss the fun in the snow. You did a great job on those skies.

ThinAir

Thanks. At least it was worth a try, and something to do until the snow melts (May...maybe June this year?[]). Seriously though, if the snow was too fresh/soft the CX2 is still to heavy for those size skis and it sinks in a little deep. Prop wash can be a problem too if it kicks up a lot of snow. The concern is getting snow into something that shouldn't get wet and frying the components. I thought about sealing up the fuselage some way to a certain extent but that was impractical IMO. Something like "Cling" wrap would be light enough but not worth the hassle. Heck, I have enough trouble wrapping a sandwich in that stuff. lol And closing off circulation would lead to unwanted heat buildup.

Maybe a thin, but rigid, light weight plastic disk about 4-5 inches in diameter attached to the skids would work better than "skis." That would provide more surface area and would keep snow from working its way in from underneath. Maybe moving to CA would solve the problem too. I envy your mild outdoor flying weather there. [8D]

Sounds like you have spent some time in snow country before. If you ever want to head this way for a winter vacation we'll get you back into "fun in the snow" again.

ThinAir

eat2muchrice

I was born and raised in Dever till about 8. California is nice but I live next to the ocean and everyday is windy. I still havn't been able to fly my CX2 outdoors for over 4 months [&o]. Here is a picture of my "skies" made out of a drip line stake, I don't think they would work in the snow but I think they look cool.

ThinAir

Nice job and a nice look. It looks like you heated the tips and bent them up. How did you attach these "stake-skid-skis" to the support struts?

Something is churning around in my mind about the disk idea I mentioned. If it turns into something tangable and useful sometime in the future, I'll post it.

Too bad about the wind situation there, but at least you don't have to shovel wind. And that gives you more time on the forum, which benefits the rest of the Collective with your posts. When you can't fly your heli in the wind, here's something you might get into instead til the wind calms down. Maybe you've heard of Revolution kites?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2ha1KnXmRE (This should take you to a great demo video of beach kite flying.)

eat2muchrice

Drilled holes and used epoxy. Crude but it worked.

Thats funny cause I was just telling my wife last week that we should buy some kites I tried to get her into RC helicopters but I think she'd enjoy kites more.

ThinAir

Okay. I have a confession to make. I can't eat or sleep until I get this off my chest. It really WAS pilot error. There, I've said it.

I was multi-tasking with both camera and Tx around my neck (can't afford a videographer). At some point the camera swung into the throttle lever and wow, the bird really took off! The first step was to panic which I did very well. Then I just cut the power before it hit anything, like the side of the house it was screaming toward. Oh, and the avalanche? Just some rubble from driveway shoveling.

And now you know....the rest of the story.

Ahhhhhh. I feel better already. Thanks for listening guys. Time for a bite to eat and a long nap......