JPEE

Hello Mark,


Sorry the maiden has a hiccup! But all in all it came out with a good ending :-) So now your flying fast and snappy, what a shocker that must have been to remember after the fact there was no expo was in......eegads. Glad you pulled it off and as we all know, "altitude" is our friend!

I registered with the FAA but have not put the number in my aircraft as of the moment. I have the sheet with the number in flight box but am still figuring how I will do it, perhaps blue painters tape, I do not want to marxie marker it into the foam. Once home I'll get my printer to make some micro N number and cut them and tape in with clear tape on my quad, hexa and helicopters somewhere where they are NOT exposed to others to get my numbers.

Phil and I flew today both our 500's and 700s and it was nice and finally it warmed up a bit here in AZ. I got the heli 700 back up belive or not just two days ago! The old timers say his year has been the earliest, longest and coldest winter in years and years. We have been here for 3.5 months and have no tan nor been in shorts!


Nick...................Happy Belated Birthday :-( sorry I am late. It is in my phone calender and a popped up but I must have missed it.


Take care boys

PS: This is what the Police drive out in the desert to snap you up when your a bad boy! But with my new monster I'll out run them lol

evdreamer

Mark,

It was a hard decision picking between the two apartments. The other one cost a little more and was slightly smaller. Mine was twice what I was budgeting for before I moved out and on the high end of what I could afford. Mine is also closer to the club house, so it is a short walk to get my mail. Almost everything is unpacked and where I want it. I have a few boxes with heli parts/tools and some other misc. that I am not in a big hurry to unpack. I still have a few boxes with stuff from elementary school and my childhood at my parents house. My parents are still going through that for anything they want to keep.

That is a nice plane. I forgot what expo was when you were talking about your maiden. At first, I was thinking it was an adhesive, but then it slowly came back to me. It has probably been two or three years since I have flown. That is good you had nice weather for the maiden.

John,

There was some adjustment living by myself. I was buying my own food and cooking it the last year before I moved out. My parents where big on eating dinner together, but with school and work I was usually eating by myself. It was pretty quiet at first. I was used to hearing my parents TVs and them walking around. I am getting used to it now. It is pretty weird going to my parents house and being a guest. My dad has turned the basement into a man cave. I think he is enjoying that.

Thanks for the birthday wishes.

Your RZR looks cooler than the cops version.

Nick

JPEE

Hi Nick,

Glad to hear all is going well for in your new digs as they call it. Smart considering size, mail and no doubt laundry locations too.
Nic, you need to soon get back in to flying before they find a new word for Expo and you won’t know it. For an example, people used to say…..oh it’s my fault, sorry. Now it’s “my bad” whatever that means? Don’t let the folks throw out that heli stuff!



OMG your room has become a man cave, zip…. your out and they “are not” suffering empty nest syndrome, just man cave home improvement. You know your parents miss you tremendously; they may not say it right to your face, but to have had a son in the house 20+ years who is now gone……that will leave a hole in their life too! Just remind them of their future and how you will repay them and care for them in their senior years.

Thanks for your kind words on the RZR

evdreamer

John,

Happy early birthday! I don't know if I will be on RCU tomorrow. We are supposed to get an epic snow storm tomorrow.

Nick

JPEE

Hey Nick,


How was the epic storm? I hope this note will find you safe and ok.

Thanks for the Birthday rememberance. I did a Bonzi run home nearly 300 miles to be with my daughters and grandchildren. When your my age, 68 and your good looking, have the best wife in the world, all of the money I need or want, FAMILY is what is important and nothing else. I just couldn't think of not being with them and the grandson's singing Happy Birthday!

Here in AZ we have had "some" weather too with winds I have never experienced before in my life with driving rain last Sunday night. It is still cold cold at night and cool and you need ot be in the sun during the day time.


Take care

evdreamer

John,

We got 8-9 inches of snow. I couldn't see very far out of my window. The wind was very strong and created blizzard conditions. The interstate was shut down. The middle part of the state got 15 inches of snow. Luckily my company was closed during the storm, because I really didn't want to go out driving in the weather.

That is cool you wanted to drive that far to see your family. I bet they really enjoyed seeing you.

Nick

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi guys,

Been away for a while, sorry I missed the Happy Birthday Nick and JPEE , so belated Happy Birthday mister's N & J!

Glad everyone's been doing good. A bit cold this year but hey, spring is a coming round the corner!

JPEE,

Your new Razor is one mean looking machine - the cops don't have a chance!

Nice to hear you have your 700 up and going again - now if the weather would just cooperate you guys could have some nice warm flying time.

Nick,

I bet your dad started work on the 'cave' the day after you moved out!! I can just hear the Tim the toolman grunt, argh - argh - argh! lol

Down in the silly-orida the weathers been not too bad so I have been getting in some flying time with the FW190 and my Fusion, and of course rocket launches. My son has a nice collection going - about 6 flyable ones and 1 Lego space cadet (attached a chute to one of his lego guys and he goes for a ride on one of the larger rockets - lots of fun!).

I found on Amazon a really good deal on rocket engines - a blast-off pack that comes with 24 engines (6 of each A8-3, B6-4, C6-3, and C6-5). I used to get them in 3 packs only and that was about $10, so it was getting costly. But this pack is about $60, so a good savings and its nice to have a bunch of engines ready to go.

I also just finished a rocket I got for myself - the Mercury Redstone rocket that Estes recently brought back (it had been discontinued for 20 years). I remember as a child looking at this rocket in the Estes catalog that came in the mail (remember those days?!), but then it was $48 and for a 10 year old waaay out of my price range! So I saw it at Hobby Lobby for $24 and snatched it up. It really is an amazing looking rocket and is impressive when it launches.

Now onto my Fusion - its been a year now that I've had her and I do prechecks to make sure no major wear on the parts but I know her days are limited. No parts out there anymore. I knew this day would come and I had a lot of fun flying her but I need to find a replacement. I want to keep with the 550 size and 6S batts - I really have gotten used to and enjoy this size heli. So I'm looking to see whats available. In the meantime my Fusion still gets flying time.

Lets see, my wife and I have agreed that I need to get a new car - well, used. And luckily I have convinced her that I would like to have a truck. Finally! So I'm in the market for a pickup, nothing too large as I'm not planning to tow a Boston Whaler! A simple 4 cylinder, Tacoma/Ranger/B-series/Frontier/Colarado, crew cab, with a manual tranny. Do you know how difficult it has been to find a used truck with a manual transmission??? Everything now adays is an automatic, when did this happen? Looks like this will take some time looking...

Lastly - I decided to take down my reef tank. I made this decision the beginning of February after I had finished doing all my maintenance for that week - cleaning the skimmer, changing socks, scraping algae, water changes, and making more salt water. I had been having second thoughts as the maintenance work was getting to pile up and my time for other things seemed to be shrinking. It got to the point that I wasn't enjoying the tank, and when you get there its time to reevaluate.

So I was able to sell all the livestock to local reef owners and clean up the equipment and have that for sale. I also will be cleaning up the tank and stand to sell later on. I don't plan to keep anything as this has been a learning experience that shows me I'm not ready for the commitment at this point.

Mark

evdreamer

Mark,

That is cool you are able to launch a rocket that you wanted as a kid.

Good luck with the car shopping. My brother-in-law has a tacoma with a V-6 and he really enjoys it.

Sorry the reef tank took up a lot of time. At least you could get some money back by selling what you could.

I bought my first tailored trousers, dress shirts, and a blazer a couple of weeks ago. I never had anything tailored before, so it has been a fun experience. The alterations should be done this Saturday. I have been wearing dressier shoes for awhile and my boss gave me a compliment on them today. I am hoping the dressier clothes will help with some job security. If another bad recession happens, I would probably be the first engineer layed off since I was hired last. I am working on my first major feature at work. It has been fun and exciting.

Nick

JPEE

]Hi guys,

Been away for a while, sorry I missed the Happy Birthday Nick and JPEE , so belated Happy Birthday mister's N & J!

Glad everyone's been doing good. A bit cold this year but hey, spring is a coming round the corner!

JPEE,

Your new Razor is one mean looking machine - the cops don't have a chance!

Nice to hear you have your 700 up and going again - now if the weather would just cooperate you guys could have some nice warm flying time. THANKS

Nick,

I bet your dad started work on the 'cave' the day after you moved out!! I can just hear the Tim the toolman grunt, argh - argh - argh! lol

Down in the silly-orida the weathers been not too bad so I have been getting in some flying time with the FW190 and my Fusion, and of course rocket launches. My son has a nice collection going - about 6 flyable ones and 1 Lego space cadet (attached a chute to one of his lego guys and he goes for a ride on one of the larger rockets - lots of fun!).

I found on Amazon a really good deal on rocket engines - a blast-off pack that comes with 24 engines (6 of each A8-3, B6-4, C6-3, and C6-5). I used to get them in 3 packs only and that was about $10, so it was getting costly. But this pack is about $60, so a good savings and its nice to have a bunch of engines ready to g I'LL BET YOUR SON JUST LOVES SEEING THOSE ROCKES GO SKY HIGH

I also just finished a rocket I got for myself - the Mercury Redstone rocket that Estes recently brought back (it had been discontinued for 20 years). I remember as a child looking at this rocket in the Estes catalog that came in the mail (remember those days?!), but then it was $48 and for a 10 year old waaay out of my price range! So I saw it at Hobby Lobby for $24 and snatched it up. It really is an amazing looking rocket and is impressive when it launches.SOUNDS LIKE YOU WERE BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO GO BACK IN TIME TO A DEGREE AND RELIVE THOSE TIMES WITH A LIKE ROCKET

Now onto my Fusion - its been a year now that I've had her and I do prechecks to make sure no major wear on the parts but I know her days are limited. No parts out there anymore. I knew this day would come and I had a lot of fun flying her but I need to find a replacement. I want to keep with the 550 size and 6S batts - I really have gotten used to and enjoy this size heli. So I'm looking to see whats available. In the meantime my Fusion still gets flying time. MARK, A 550 IS A NICE SIZE AND TAKE S AS YOU SAID ONE 6S. BUT BEAR IN MIND THE SIZE OF THAT 6S AND THAT WHAT YOU HAVE ON HAND WILL FIT IN THE SLIDE TRAY FOR THE COPTER. PHIL MY BUDDIE HERE FLIES A 550 AND 600 AND 700. LAST WEEK OR SO AGO HE TOOK A 6S FROM HIS BATTERY STASH AND FOUND IT WAS JUST A BIT TO LONG OR TALL TO STRAP INTO HIS 600 AS THEY SIT DANG NEAR VERTICAL! HE HAS THREE BRANS OF 6S's SO HE HAD TO GET ANOTHER BRAND THAT FIT SO THE CANOPY WOULD SLIP OVER. WHAT I AM DRAGGIN OUT HERE IS GET THE BIRD YOU WANT BUT IF YOU HAVE NEWER 6Ss YOU DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT THEY ONE FIT. I DOUBT THIS WILL BE THE CASE ON THE 550 AS THET HAVE A PRETTY ROOMY BATTERY AREA. BUT IF YOU CHANGE PACKS AND BRANDS THEN YOU'LL RUN INTO THE CG ISSUE AND THE PACKS FOR THE 550 ARE STRAPPED ONTO THE BATTERY TRAY AND ONCE THERE AND FIND THE CG SWEET SPOT YOU DONT WANT TO BE CHANGING BRANDS AND YOU'LL NEED TO CONSIDER HOW MANY TRAYS YOU WANT TO HAVE ON HAND TOO. HIS OLDER 600 THE BATTERY

Lets see, my wife and I have agreed that I need to get a new car - well, used. And luckily I have convinced her that I would like to have a truck. Finally! So I'm in the market for a pickup, nothing too large as I'm not planning to tow a Boston Whaler! A simple 4 cylinder, Tacoma/Ranger/B-series/Frontier/Colarado, crew cab, with a manual tranny. Do you know how difficult it has been to find a used truck with a manual transmission??? Everything now adays is an automatic, when did this happen? Looks like this will take some time looking..STAY AWAY FROM FORD, BOTH OF MY THREE FORD BIGBOY F-250s AND MY 350 WERE JUNK. ALSO ONLY YESTERDAY ON TV DID THEY SAY THAT FORD HAS ALWAY SOLD A BUNCH OF TRUCKS OVER ALL THEIR BREAK DOWNS AND REPAIRS IS WHAT SUCKS THEM DOWN....PER COMSUMER REPORTS MAGAZINE.

Lastly - I decided to take down my reef tank. I made this decision the beginning of February after I had finished doing all my maintenance for that week - cleaning the skimmer, changing socks, scraping algae, water changes, and making more salt water. I had been having second thoughts as the maintenance work was getting to pile up and my time for other things seemed to be shrinking. It got to the point that I wasn't enjoying the tank, and when you get there its time to reevaluate. I AM SORRY TO HEAR THAT MARK, BUT..................YOU GOT THAT NICE NEW SAW OUT OF IT RIGHT........THE SILVER LINING AS THEY SAY. BUT REALLY NOW.....I AM SORRY IT DIDN'T WORK OUT AFTER ALL OF YOUR RESEARCH AND HARD WORK LET ALONE EXPENSE, BUT YOU STILL HAD FUN AND THATS WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT. IT IS LIKE A SWIMMING POOL OR A BOAT, THE TWO BEST DAYS ARE WHEN YOU GET IT, AND THE DAY YOU SELL IT LMAO...........

So I was able to sell all the livestock to local reef owners and clean up the equipment and have that for sale. I also will be cleaning up the tank and stand to sell later on. I don't plan to keep anything as this has been a learning experience that shows me I'm not ready for the commitment at this point.


NICK,
Let me tell you, I clearly remember getting my first taylored suite like it was yesterday. As I walked in the clothiers and I saw all of these salesmen standing there. So looked for the oldest guy with white hair. We spoke and he had been in the business for a 100 years. He fussed over my fit and wanted old school perfection and I got it too. Funny, another old life experience is, my dad was a sharpe sharpe dresser and he taught me this, you can have holes in your pants and wear a T-Shirt but if your shoes are glossy polished and nice you can walk in "anywhere" with class and he was right! I have maintained that policy from my early 20's. As the old saying goes, the clothes make the man! About your being last hired and first fired, that does not alway hold true. If your non union, it's a no brainer, they will keep the most talented and qualified person. And if you remember my other perls of wisdom when we talked about this is, people get sick, retire and get fired thus making a slot. You have done very well for a young man right out of school. Keep your ears open and continue to soak up all of the knowledge that is shared by the old timers in work and converstations..............personal growth!


Me, all is well. We are nearing the end of our stay but I am still RZRing and Flying. Flying............there is much to tell. First, I have been considering giving up my copters as I cannot see like I used to and I have to fly in closer. But I have been flying alot recently because we did not get much of a fly season here this year due to bad weather. Anyway, the other day it all came together, I got my groove back, yes I still need to stay in a "tiny bit" but my inverted was there, my rolls were smooth and cork screws too. Then I did my giant rainbows where I fly across the sky and pull up and go inverted and then shoot straight up very high to where the guys said STOP we can hardly see it and that is when the rainbow started and I brought her in and out of this high arc and as I came down I could see I was a bit lost but I got her back into orientation and came totally out of everything and I was tickled. Then next two flight days after that all of my skills were back and I was excited again to fly, I am good.
My buddy has two 700's and flies one with a 2 6S's like me and the other with 1 6S!! So I had an extra battery tray and after reading up on my ESC and motor both were good to fly low voltage so I was in. Well let me tell ya, it is really cool and the blades are turning slow and popping grabbing air! It is like flying with a scale fuselage, but even without a scale body it is gread fun to fly slow and easy and and cruse.........it's like slow motion and again the blades popping and that is cool. You do have to stay on top of your collective I asure you!! A hard bank or other move and you can run out of air. But once you find "your" right rpm your good.


Take care guys JPEE

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hey guys,

JPEE,

I don't think you need to give up your heli's just yet - I think being out for most of your 'season' is causing the problem. Give it some flying time and I'm sure your eyes will become accustomed again.

Sounds like you had a lot of fun flying again. Big air rainbows and getting back in the groove is always a great time!

Nick,

As Mr. J said, you may be new but your also young and its your generation that will be replacing the retirees' when they go. So don't fret! Just concentrate on learning the most out of your job, maintain a exceptional record, and enjoy your work.

I'm still looking for a truck but will keep in mind what you said, John, about Ford. Thanks for the heads up.

Wanted to share a few photos of one of our days at our 'field'. Good times and nice weather!

Mark

JPEE

Hello Mark,

As always your RC's look great on the field! That rocket is something. You and wee one need to go get a little white mouse from the pet store and send him up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL Kidding, I don't believe in animal cruelty.............just being silly. The heli looks awasom too and your plane has been through a few bumps too but it still looks very nice. I know you've done some repainting and it has paid off!

Haven't flown for a few weeks, weather and RZR riding. Now we have winds again but I will be getting out maybe tomorrow. I am in a time crunch to get chours done on the trailer before we pack up to leave in 20 days or less. I installed all new weather striping on all of my slides that go out. Special order stuff and I still am waiting for one more length to finish my 4th slide out room. I just sunk 2 ft long steel stakes in the ground next to my front two landing gear for the trailer. When the summer storms and micro cells come it is not uncommon for trailers to slide around in ther stall and or tip over. So as a precaution I did the work that others here have done. The last thing I want to see is........my 40 ft trailer laying on her side like a beached whale!

Thats it boys........... take care

JPEE

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi JPEE,

I didn't realize you guys went down old river beds. You may have mentioned it but to actually see the size of those rocks and the weird angles your tires go to navigate them is extreme. Gutsy!

I guess being out in the desert you would get some crazy winds and storms. Never thought of RV trailers being moved around! Good thing some of the long term residents were able to give you some solid securing advice.

I didn't mention much about your advice on batts, but kept your words of wisdom in the front of my mind when choosing my next heli. I ultimately decided on a Goblin 570. Have been looking at the Goblins since they came out but the price and belt have kept me away. Until now...

Found a nice deal on an airframe only so can use my servo's from the Fusion - the motor and ESC won't work so will have to sell them off. Have to up my speedy to a 130A as the 100A is just on the verge. Motor will probably be a Quantum. Plus is the 570 can use a whole assortment of 6S lipo's available as the tray dimensions are huge - most are saying the 5500's from Pulse and Gens Ace give a good CG.

Here's a pic of it sent to me before shipping - will be picking it up tomorrow morning!

Mark

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

She has arrived!!

Still have some work to do to get her ready but she's a beauty (and looks right at home next to the Fusion50)!

JPEE

Hello Mark,


Boy that goblin looks drop dead gorgeous. Because on my phone I can't read back your post but I think you said you were taking the electronics out of your other copter or you were gathering new ones from eBay and the Forums. In any case the first time I saw a goblin I fell in love with it and the only thing kept me away was the cost of that sleek body should you have an incursion with mother Earth and the cost. But she is a good machine and a beautiful ship...... it's the best. I hope you get her up soon and have many fun filled flights! Sincerely I am very happy for you.

Sorry for the delay we've started breaking down camp which takes a week to start loading the cargo trailer with the RZR and everything else in and start heading Home this Thursday at the latest is Judy says.
Sadly is I told you before just as I was getting my thumbs back we run out of time to fly it's in the high 80s and hitting 90s now and we've had so much wind in unique weather compared to the past three years I did not get the fly time and that I so desired. But my friend, there's always next year.




JP

evdreamer

I can't believe it has almost been a month since I posted anything.

John,

Thanks for the advice.

Rainbows are fun. My helis were always under powered to pull off big rainbows with the high winds that are common here. I also don't have high pitch angles either, so that might be part of the problem.

It looks like you have some nice terrain for the RZR.

Mark,

Have fun with the new Goblin. I like the direct servo connections to the swash like MA used to do.

It is good to hear you have had nice weather to go flying.

Nick

JPEE

Hi Nick, I hope you enjoy next weekend and get to have Easter supper with your family.

On the rainbows I am pushing 2000 rpms and 12+ and -11 neg and that's where it's at!

John

evdreamer

John,

I had a good Easter. I went out to a movie and dinner with my parents. Hopefully yours went well also.

I think my Whiplash is setup for +/- 10% of pitch and somewhere around 2k headspeed.

There is not much new going on over here.

Hopefully Mark is having fun building his new heli.

Nick

JPEE

Hello Nick,

Glad you had a great Family Easter as did we!

Yesterday I drug out my Duo and my iCharger and storage charged 30 batteries! I didn't realize I had that many. At Black Friday I had purchased four more packs for the 700, two per tray and two more packs for the 500 and then did not use them before I left AZ. Once I catch up with work around the house I'll get them out to do some summer flying.
Take care

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi guys,

Still around just not much on the heli front lately.

Have been spending a lot of time trying to find a replacement vehicle for my old Saturn. Had to change gears midway and go looking for a car verses a truck as I originally wanted. Kinda got hit hard with the taxes this year (due to the sale of our house back in SC last year) so the vehicle budget was suddenly limited.

I did find out that with truck shopping I really can't limit myself with the budget - less than 10K and the options available are really questionable. Better to wait for now and do it right when we're ready.

I haven't done anything with the Goblin. I have been spending some time finishing a 450 Pro build that I started last summer but never finished. Finally got that one done and flying so I have had something to fly at the local ball park. Been keeping an eye on the classifieds for a motor and ESC for the Goblin but nothing as yet. I think once the car shopping is over I can concentrate on the Goblin build.

JPEE,

That's a lot of batts to be storage charging!

Did anyone see the SpaceX landing on the barge? That's booster #2 recovery and that one may get reused for a launch in June.

A few months ago I signed up for email alerts with NASA to spot the spacestation from your house - a nice feature they offer. Finally got to see it pass over just last night. It was very bright and moved very slowly. Very cool to see it in person in the front yard!

Here's a link if you want to get email alerts too: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

Mark

evdreamer

John,

That is a lot of batteries, but also a lot of flight time. I need to top off my batteries. It has been a few months since I last charged them.

I have been thinking a lot about flying again. Mainly with my super cub, since it is very relaxing and can fly for 15min. I kind of want to design a brushed speed controller for it also. I looked at miniature aircraft's website and it looks like they finally have parts in stock for my 450 and whiplash after the company buy out.

Mark,

That is smart to wait to find a vehicle that will be reliable.

That is cool you finished the 450.

I didn't even know they landed another rocket. They have top notch engineers there. When I was in school, I heard stories about people interning at SpaceX and Tesla. Once they graduated, they could pretty much pick any company they wanted to work at. I saw the model 3 launch and that looks like a mini Tesla S.

That is cool you got to see the space station. There are too many lights outside for me to see anything.

Nick

JPEE

Hello Nick,


Yes you are right that is a lot of batteries and I have always been opposed to buying specialty batteries for a particular RC. As an example the 700 uses different batteries than the 500 and the 450. There is my RC car which uses more different batteries. Both my Bixler and my T 28 use the same battery that the 450 helicopter uses. And of course I have a couple of specialty batteries for that big P 51, and lastly specialty batteries for my big hexa. Hell, if I sold all of my batteries I could retire LOL, I'm sitting on a gold mine!


I am glad to hear that parts are now available for both your 450 and your whiplash, that is real good news! I know you're really busy now but perhaps during the summer you'll get a little weekend time and you can go out and potter around with your Heli's a bit.


I hope you guys saw the Hummers falling out of the sky that the Air Force was deploying on exercises and two of them had shoot failures and hit the ground and splattered at $225,000 each I believe was the quote. I think heads are going to role on this one especially because it a guy caught it all on videotape and is laughing at the sideline at this catastrophe so it's really left some egg on the military space.


I'm hoping Mark's able to slip into a car on a good deal, that would really benefit the entire family so I've got my fingers crossed. Regarding the Space X landing we were watching it live via the Internet and it was something to behold, no doubt about it. As far as the Tesla model #3 I find it unattractive. If I had a Lamborghini of course I would love to have the gullwing doors but not on a Tesla model three, they just don't fit the car in my opinion. Then there's the other one that really freaks me out is being caught in the car in an accident and those doors won't open up or you can't get the window down to get out of the car! Scary business to me, but should I come into a Lamborghini that would already mean I had died and gone to heaven LOL

You guys take care

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi guys,

Nick,

Sorry to hear about all the lights making it difficult to see the night sky - at least the station will remain up there for another 7-10 years so you still will have a chance.

Glad that MA parts are becoming available again for you. I definitely know what it feels like flying knowing parts are hard to come by. Good luck on getting the cub ready to fly again - planes can be really relaxing at times.

JPEE,

I too have some specialty batts - just not nearly the numbers you have! Just a few 3S, 4S, and 6S that cover my warbirds, jets, and heli's.

Yesterday I had a strange experience: I was flying my Stryker (flying delta wing) and for the first time had problems from sun glare. It was around 10am and somewhat cloudy but even though I was wearing sunglasses the glare made it hard to keep track of the plane. Had to land and call it a day. Very weird and a bit unsettling.

A few weeks ago I had my Fusion out and was having a good day flying. The weather was beautiful that day - not too hot or cold, just right. Brought her in for a landing and as usual did a mini auto but instead of giving some neg upon touchdown, I left it at midstick. Yep, slight tip over and scraped the main and tail blades.

Luckily it didn't damage any gears but I did have to get new blades and that was a bit costly. I decided to try out the Switch blades I have been looking at. I also took this as an opportunity to clean up the gears as all the grease I've been using had a decent amount of dirt and gunk collecting on the gears.

Almost forgot - I nearly fried my transmitter a month ago when I tried charging it with a charger from my Black and Decker drill. Yep, reversed polarity. I'm still using the original DX7 that was made by JR and luckily it was protected by a fuse so after taking it apart I was able to find and replace the fuse and had my transmitter working again. Whew!

Still no car - but not for a lack of looking! I've had the chance to test drive a Mazda Protégé, VW Jetta, a few Saturn Ion's, a Saturn Vue (SUV), a Chevy S-10, and 2 Ford Mustangs (2004). From just plain bad cars to unweilding sales people this has been a bit of a frustrating search. But I continue to look. I will admit that it has been nice to drive all kinds of different vehicles with all sorts of accessories like moon roofs, cruise control, auto adjust seats, etc. Yes, my car still has a window hand crank! lol.

Well guys, have a good week!

Mark

JPEE

Hey Mark and Nick


Sun glare………………was the day where there was a slight haze or what I call a milky sky, that’s what blinds me. We had that yesterday, yes your right even with good sun glasses, they help very little. I call those my no fly days….period.

I am not gonna tell you how to fly but…………lol………. At the last moment you needed to “flare” which means increase the pitch and that slow you down even more to avoid that blade scrape. Also if you don’t have rubbers on the skids you can also while your learning…… as you come in and your at middle stick and start your flare land a bit like a plane and you'll skid a few inches on the blacktop which in a sense is a brake for you too. Coming straight down and just setting her down in place take some work I can tell you. "I had to replace 700 blades on one occasion". Also you should be able to get up to as needed a 12 degree pos pitch too when you flare. Good deal on the maintenance, it is amazing how much grit these copters pick up.

DX7 LMAO……….. I did something like too back when I had my DX7, I thought OMG I crapped my transmitter. So I tore into it and not real deep as you know but deep enough there that little fuse was. So I picked up 3, one to put in, one for a spare, and one for my then DX7 flying partner. I still have it in my tool case even today lol.

I am sorry that the right car/truck and price has not gotten to you yet. But taking your time as you are will save heart ache later that is “for sure”. As my Dad used to say, never buy on impulse, there is always another deal just around the corner.
It was very cool to see the 360 video if the SpaceX booster come in again on the barge wasn’t it!

OH BTW!!!!!! NEWS BREAK……..my nearly 15 year old grandson I taught to fly and got him the 1 hour of flight time in a Cessna just jointed the Civil Air Patrol. For like a $70 admittance fee, he will get all of his ground schooling and 5 flights with an instructor to build his hours up and then all the backseat flights he wants as well. I think he said he gets 4 Glider flights and training too. He has taken to this flying with determination! The Civil Air Patrol will use he and his other classmates to help at air shows with crowd control and clean up and such. ALSO: the planes that fly at the air show often have fuel they must burn out that day so they take the kids up in all kinds of planes at the end of the day for rides and…………………………. he will very possibly get to as they told him get a flight to feel WEIGHTLESSNESS! They take a big plane up and nose dive in and everyone in the back floats for a few moments. Guys, he is so stoked I have to tie him down lol

JPEE out

evdreamer

John,

That is cool your grandson joined the Civil Air Patrol. One of my previous co-workers flew for the Civil Air Patrol. He now owns a plane with a few other people and they take turns flying it.

Mark,

Sorry about your blades, but it sounds like it could have been worse.

That is good the fuse saved the transmitter. Good thing it wasn't a surface mount fuse. When those go, it usually takes out the pads on the circuit board.

On Saturday most of the city was covered in smoke from the fires up north. It wasn't pleasant breathing that in. I can't imagine how bad it is up there for them. Today we had the first tornado in Lincoln that I am aware of. Usually they are always outside of town. It was a small one and on the other side of town from me, but I have family and friends that live near it. Luckily they are all ok. So far, it sounds like the hail did more damage. It was pretty scary though.

Nick

JPEE

Hello Nick,


I'm glad you, your family and friends are all safe after the tornado. I had driven to Ohio to stay with a friend for a week several years ago. As she took me through the town and knowing full well they have tornadoes back there I asked what do you do when you're at the grocery store and a tornado is sweeping through town? She replied look over there and see that little sign and we walked over and there was an underground shelter right there in the grocery store complex. I said, no thanks I'll go back which is where she came from too and stay in California and deal with my earthquakes. We also have family in Colorado that have been caught hailstorms where they ruin all of the automobiles at the Car Delearships and the general public's cars too with damage to the hoods and trunks and knocked the glass out of the cars. One time I was in a little town outside of Little Rock Arkansas again staying with a friend for a few days and this storm came in that night. As you well know they have those radios that wake you up and say tornado alert. He got tired of hearing it he says I've lived here for years and we never get them through this valley where they live and turned it off. I'm not ashamed to say I was really afraid to go to sleep because the house was shaking and finally I went out and looked at the clouds what little I could see and they were clouds like I've never seen before, and yet my wife and my friends were all asleep. I was up most of the night where I could get to the basement if I needed to. The next morning we saw on the news where a tornado had come through 7 miles from his house and hit town doing minimal damage but it did happen which reaffirmed my position of, go with your gut. Once again I'm glad you're OK!