TFF

You will be fine. You already proved it will fly with your hands.

abufletcher

Canada, oh, Canada... Sounds cozy. We don't really have a "building season" here, unless it's the rainy season that comes in June and limits flying.

*****

The other fact is that the last time it flew, I didn't use the dummy at all and the battery was about 3-4 inches behind the CG. Now with the weighed dummy and the battery a couple of inches ahead of the CG, it should be much heavier in the nose. But I just can't believe that it could balance and fly at 4" back on an 11" wing (36% MC).

Flying Fox

Adjust your CG as we discussed and you will be even better...

As Obi-Wan-Kenobi once said - 'Use the Force Don, Use the Force"

I've just shovelled a driveway full of Canadian snowfall (no disrespect to those who live in Minesota) but now I am very envious of your two in a row flying days so it is time to 'man up ' here buddy, no more excuses or second guessing yourself. Get off the computer and into your shop, move the battery and Rx back, get the CG back to where you need it, and go fly!

TFF & I want photos posted later today to prove you actually bit the bullet and made the adjustments, cuz we just don't trust ya anymore...LOL

Oh ya, hee, hee, hee, have someone video the flight so we can see how well this works out for you...

We have full confidence in you! Go do it! and have fun!

Bri

abufletcher

OK, guys, this is starting to be no fun at all. [] Despite a crummy night's sleep, I forced myself to get up and go to the field...because the weather was just too darn fantastic. The engine refused to start. Nada, nichts, nichevo, nothing. Just as before...before using the new fueling/starting procedure. My buddies and I did every check we could think of. We checked all the lines. I took the rigging and the top off and tried to start that way. No fuel seemed to be flowing through the tubes. And yet the fill procedure went fine and when we checked the tank; that all seemed fine. And this was all the more frustrating because it was such perfect flying weather.

Frankly, I'm burnt out. I've been working on this non-stop for a month. And I'm completely out of ideas.

*****

By the way, it occurred to me why I need more forward weight this time around. When I repaired the elevator, I replaced the CF tube spar with a 8" length of 3mm "music wire" (i.e. metal rod) and also replaced plastic control horns with the brass control horns and hinge. That weight, at the far end of the fuselage, needed to be compensated for up front with 4-5 times the weight.

TFF

I like those days; I think I had 3 of those in the last 5 times I went to the field.

abufletcher

Nothing fun about being the only one not flying...particularly not when you just spent an entire week getting ready for it. I really feel like "what's the point" of trying again tomorrow. I can't think of anything different to try.

I can, of course, go back to square one and pull the engine, re-test on the stand (with the tank), then re-mount and re-test in the model. Frankly, that's not a very appealing way to spend my Sunday.

TFF

I would say if you can pump fuel though the carb line and there are no cuts in the tubing, pull the plug, fuel the plane, put the plug in and start. If it does not, come back when your head is clear.

abufletcher

Yes, we did this. No problem with any of the lines. Fuel flows in and out of the tank easily. As I did last week, I fueled up, put a clamp on the carb line, flipped the prop to check for hydrolock (and found none), switched on the Tx and Rx, attached the glow starter, removed the clamp, and attempted to start the engine. The strange thing is that my finger came away dry when holding the end of the muffler while cranking the prop. And when I attempted to start with the top off so I could see the fuel lines, there was no fuel moving through the lines as I was trying to start. I mean if it were flooded, shouldn't my finger be soaking wet? Shouldn't there be fuel dripping out the muffler? Shouldn't the prop be "locked up?" But none of that was true. Oh and I also checked the position of the needle valve.

Removing the glow plug as part of the start procedure is not really an option. I'd be better off, pulling the engine off the firewall and remounting it in an upright position.

abufletcher

Really, all I can do is just try the same exact thing again tomorrow (if I feel like it). If it doesn't start, it'll be a month before I can try again.

Flying Fox

[:@][:@][:@] -so sorry to hear this Don. I can understand just how terribly frustrating this is for you. Not much help when it comes to engines. I have no technical experience with them so just a big mystery to me. My every day flier is out of action right now because of sporadic engine power/response, and I'm too frustrated to fix it right now - I'm beginning to hate 2-strokes.

You've must have checked the glow plug by now too, right? Bad days stacxk upo against us - everything else all set and then glow plug decides to crap out - Murphy's law...

Yes - at this point why not just pull the engine off firewall mount it upright and go fly tomorrow with the cowl off.

Hang in there, Good luck!
Bri

abufletcher

That was really just said in sarcastic jest since changing the engine orientation would require an almost complete overhaul and redesign of the interior. I'd have to completely gut the interior and start all over. And I can't fly with the cowl off, since a good part of the balance weight is attached to the cowl.

Anyway, I'm just venting. I know the engine can start in this configuration and I know the model can fly.

abufletcher

Good news, bad news. The good news is that I did get the engine to start. The problem seems to have been somewhere in the "electrical" system. I replaced the glow plug, cleaned all the glow adapter contacts, and replaced my weak and/or faulty glow starter with another. I don't know if I'll ever really know what the problem was...or whether it's actually solved. We'll see.

The bad new is that a strong, gusty cross-wind kept everyone grounded, even though it was a sunny day. In fact, given the way our field is situated on an elevated rice terrace, our cross-winds also sweep up in a nasty updraft. I should have expected this as it's fairly rare to get two good flying days in a row. So in the end, the weekend amounted to two days tryin' and zero days flyin' []

I have flown my Puppeteer in winds like this (and even stronger) but I've been flying that model for 5 years and know how it responds in almost any condition. Once I even "hovered" it vertically to a landing in high winds (i.e. relative ground speed was about the same as wind speed). But it just seemed foolish to try with my EIII when I was already unsure about its handling.

I've often thought I should get into making and flying traditional Japanese kites...so I have something to do on these windy days! As it turned out there was exhibition of traditional kites going on at a nearby park. Anyway, that's it until I come back in March.

R/C Art

My Feedback: (38)

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."

[:-] .............? (just an observation)

abufletcher

But sometimes insanity is the only thing you have left.

TFF

Yea, without insanity as a friend, I would be lonely. Ta-Dum.
I find that off the shelf remote plug setups have wires that are about 3 times too small. The plug lights but the resistance in the thin wire builds heat and slowly becomes weak.
I would think if the windsock is blowing straight up, I would be looking for a bunker.

Flying Fox

Well I'm happy that it turned out to be somewhat of a better day for you, at least engine problems are fixed - they can be so very frustrating!

Hopefully March will bring you good engine starts and warmer, less windy flying weather in Japan!

Those kites look pretty neat. Are they the traditional fighting kites or just flying to enjoy kites? Hand-painted or airbrushed tiger looks way to good to fight with. Never new there were so many bridle lines.

Bri

R/C Art

My Feedback: (38)

That made me laugh out loud!

abufletcher

There's a Spanish expression about the weather this time of year: "Febrero loco, Marzo otro poco!" Crazy February, and March a bit more of the same. At it turned out, today (Monday) is a holiday, so technically we are allowed to fly (weekends and holidays is the agreement we have with the field owner). So I made another trip out to the field. In the 15 minutes it takes me to drive to the field, the weather went from sunny to cloudy and back to sunny again. At the field, stripes of sunshine swept over the strip like waves in the ocean.

It's a truly great day, just not a great day for flying.

abufletcher

It's interesting to compare the relative sizes of my EIII with the Flair Puppeteer. The wings and cords are about the same. Obviously, the (scale) EIII elevator is much smaller. Even through many modelers may think of an eindecker as an "easy entry" into WWI modeling, in many ways, the EIII is both harder to model and harder to fly than a typical Pup model.

Actually, the reason I had both on the table was to swap the EIII into the hanger and get the Pup on the workbench for some easy repairs to the tail post which tore out the last time I flew it. It shouldn't take more than an hour or so and then when I get back in March, I'll have FOUR functioning WWI models to fly...a record for me! [X(]

TFF

When are you going to take all 4 to fly?

abufletcher

I'm not set up with a trailer like some of the dawn patrol boys to take multiple models to the field, particularly since I leave my models in a "fully-rigged" condition. So it's have to be just one at a time. I suppose I'll end up flying them in the following order once the weather improves:

1. The EIII
2. The Puppeteer (my trusty "everyday" flier)
3. The SE5a
4. The Snipe

Then, I'll just pick one as the mood strikes!

abufletcher

So here's the hanger!

TFF

Stacked like that you can get them there. Pushy huh?
Like most WW1 planes, they end up on their noses.

abufletcher

After a month or more of travel, unfortunate weather, and nerves, I finally TRIED to fly my EIII again. I was READY. The weather was COOPERATING. But the engine wasn't! [&o] Despite, following my careful start procedure the engine just wouldn't start.

Dang, this is getting annoying. I'm starting to think I'll need to make a custom stand that will let me start the model inverted.

abufletcher

The problem seems to lie with the remote glow connection. I think I'm gong to eliminate the cheap plug-ins that came with the OS adapter and either get some higher quality plug-ins or just solder the wires directly together.