roaddog2

'Spent yesterday afternoon in th' shop tryin' t' build a lower table, so when I need t' "work down", I'll be able t' jus' reach into th' airframe.
VERY frustratin' work on that table. Tryin' to hold several boards together an' cut 'em all @ once.
I took a bit of a break an' sanded down th' LG's hubcaps an' primed an' re-shot 'em, RED!
Will turn to on th' table again this afternoon. Jus' gotta drill an' screw it t'gether. May even get some actual plane work done, if th' furniture thing doesn't wear me out!
RD

roaddog2

Still workin' on th' table. Legs to go. Then I can put "Lefty" on it an' work on settin' up a tank mount. Gotta reach down into th' fuse to do that, hence th' 3 day project buildin' a table. What a hassle!
Added a final coat o' red to th' hubcaps, but it'll take my Wife's tiny hands t' screw 'em on. :O)
RD

roaddog2

I nearly forgot to mention it, but RAMFlyer and a buddy of his have conspired, or I s'pose it's more polite to say, "collaborated", on the wobble stick gizmo mentioned earlier. There's one in th' mail to me, "as we speak"!

This will mean I don't have to wait thru my whole recovery in order to fly! An' flying RC has been a dream all my adult life.

When "my head blew up!" I tho't there was no way, but a neighbor gave me a partially built Liberty Sport kit an', for th' therapy aspect of th' process, I finished it. (It'll need re-covering before I let anybody see it!) Then there was th' fella I mentioned earlier who gave me th' kit that became "Lefty". An' th' old friend who rescued a complete trainer system from his bro-in-law's barn. An' th' guy in Manassas who gave me a partially built Electricus kit to finish. And now, the wobble stick. There really ARE some NICE folks left in this world!

I've not been remiss in my thanks to any of 'em, except I haven't thanked 'em PUBLICLY, which I now do w/this post.
You guys are th' CREAM! Thank you so much for your parts in my realization of my life-long dream!

Sincerely,
RD
Montross, Va.

roaddog2

'Got my "wobble stick" in yesterday! My thanks to RAMFlyer an' his buddy, who built it. (Also got my new buildin' table almost done, jus' a couple o' braces t' go.) So one would think I was on my way... WRONG! NOW I find that my computer won't run my sim! 'Tried it last nite an' got a blast from th' comp sayin' some mess about th' video card not supportin' 3D an' suggestin' maybe I should update my driver. What a pain in th' tutu! More hassle, prob'ly more $, more explanations to my better half, more, more....
RD

roaddog2

I FINALLY got that foolish table done! And here's a pic or 2 of it an' one of the the "Wobblestick" mounted on my DX-7. Someone asked t' see a picture of it; it's the bar 'tween th' sticks.
I owe a sincere debt o' gratitude to the gentlemen who pulled that li'l gizmo together for me.
RD

roaddog2

Went over all th' joints on th' table w/TiteBond; hardened 'er right up! Back to th' REAL buildin' now.
Got into th' cabin on "Lefty" w/a hole saw and opened up a (deadbolt sized) hole in th' fwd bulkhead. Will open that up some an' build a tank mount. Also got an engine mount laminated w/some good ply. Will drill that out for my G-26 an' mount it, hopefully this weekend. We'll see what the therapists leave of me. :O)
RD

CliffordH

My Feedback: (9)

Looking great!

roaddog2

Tnx, Bud! From you, I really appreciate it!
RD

roaddog2

A GOOD day in Montross City t'day! Got all th' touch-ups on th' cream color done! My neighbor gave me a roll of some maskin' tape that promised to not leave li'l "bleeders" all up an' down th' job; an' it "worked a treat", as th' English say.
Tomorrow I'll turn to on th' red stuff and that SHOULD see th' paint-job DONE! One o' th' guys here has said he'll do numbers an' a li'l "Lefty" logo for me. When that's done, she'll get an all-over dose o' Clear an' be truly "Finished".
I'm still hasslin' w/th' motor-mount. 'Got it drilled out to take th' G-26, but m' sweetie's drill jus' ain't up for drivin' that hole-saw thru all that ply. An' mine's got a battery that won't take a charge. An' th' hole-saw's too big for my A/C drill. RATS!
Oh well; plenty t' do 'til I get th' drill hassle taken care of.
Mo' PAINT! RED this time!
:O)
RD

roaddog2

I FINALLY finished th' paint-job! DONE! Finito! Well, there's a few tiny li'l places that'll get some brush-work on 'em. But th' job is DONE! Avaiojet says th' numbers're ready. An' now, "Lefty" is ready. Wheee!
I spent th' afternoon measurin' an' markin' th' firewall for th' engine mount block. 'Took almost th' whole afternoon as I had t' devise ways t' hold a straight-edge in place long enough t' run a line across it... several times. Took th' measurement from th' plan, tryin' t' get as close to th' datum line as I could to center said mount. 'Think I've got it... Everything assumes she's built true... always a risky proposition w/me. We went to Lowe's an' got a 3/8" cordless drill an' I've got th' block hollowed out so as t' save a little weight. 'Not sure th' savin' will amount to anything significant, but every li'l bit, etc.

roaddog2

Couple o' ?'s here. One for th' moderator(s): How'd this thread wind up w/a 5 star rating? (Was it something I said?) Who assigns ratings?

An' th' other for th' whole gang here: How far will a gas engine pull fuel? I'm thinkin' I'll mount th' tank in th' cabin, under th' CG. Make sense? Will th' G-26 pull gas that far?
Tnx, Y'all,
RD

roaddog2

No takers, huh? I got an answer from my "donor/mentor" on th' tank mount issue.
But I'm SILL curious about th' thread ratin' thing.
RD

RAMFlyer

My Feedback: (65)

The G26 will pull the fuel that far with no problem. Will just need to choke the heck out of it for the first flight to get the fuel all the way to the carb. After that shouldn't have any problems the rest of the day. I always use my electric starter on my 26's (Dynatron with 24 volts) just to save my arm but all mine are magneto rather than electronic ignition.

Having the fuel on the CG really makes for an airplane that handles the same from takeoff to landing, with the only balance change being in overall weight.

roaddog2

Thanx, RAM! I sorta expected that was the case; but from my level of experience (nil!), I figured I'd better ask.

Still workin' on th' engine mount right now. Got everything I need on-board, now t' put it all t' work. Flix if& when it comes t'gether.
RD

roaddog2

Aviojet came thru in FINE style for me. I've got "nose art" on an Airknocker! Tnx, Charles. 'Hope these pix'll be a good ad for you.

An' I'll upload a couple 'r three more that show th' progress on th' engine mount.

Things're lookin' up 'round Montross City; I got th' sim to work! My Sweetie said something t'other night (after listenin' t' me gripe), about th' guy who built my system had said he put in a good vid card. So I kinda rooted around "under th' hood" an' came up w/a driver that wasn't installed. 'Stuck that in an', PRESTO! I can run my sim now w/th' li'l Gizmo. I can get some STICKTIME!!
Color me TICKLED pink!
RD

roaddog2

Gettin' sticktime AIN'T what it used to be! But that "WobbleStick" WORKS! I really can fly (after a fashion) w/one hand! It's a bit... strange, to say th' least, after havin' hundreds o' hrs. under my belt before "my head blew up". But th' same sim I learned on will teach me again. I've got ONE "successful" flight under my belt this go-'round; an' that one (well) off th' runway, and a 3-bouncer @ that; but I taxied it back to th' end of th' runway anyway for another go.
An' if th' therapists (all 3 of 'em!) can't get my hand squared away, shucks, I'll jus' slap th' WS on my DX-7 when I'm ready, an' go for it W/a trainer!
A long haul 'tween that an' now tho".
Got a tank an' assoc. stuff as well as a prop on order fm Tower. Got control rods ready t' go in. Got wood ready t' be cut for struts. This rascal's gettin' CLOSE! :O)

RD

roaddog2

Lefty's got an ENGINE! Mounted! A MAJOR milestone. I'm not real certain it's quite right; cuttin' th' cowl will tell th' tale. An' it looks as tho' I'll have t' do stand-offs, too.

CliffordH

My Feedback: (9)

You probably fly better with one than I do with two that work!

lefty is looking great!

Cliff

roaddog2

OK, so "Lefty" has an engine now. But I'm gonna either have to trim down th' cowl or add stand-offs. Th' thrust washer hits just INside th' cowl, not real sharp. Depending on a fistful o' measurements, it'd be easier to trim th' cowl, but...

And I jus' sold a truck, so there's a li'l piece o' "hobbymoney" in th' house. It's time t' think about batteries an' chargers. An' I need an elec. motor for my ol' Liberty Sport. Anybody w/ideas on such a motor? It's th' Sig kit an' weighs 55oz.

Lefty will need a battery for th' G-26 and one for th' radio system. Th' LS will need one for its motor and, I assume an esc, plus a battery for her radio.

I'm thinkin' I'll go w/th' A123 batteries, and I'll need a wall-powered charger that can handle ANYTHING! Who can recommend products to me?


HELP!!
:O)
RD

roaddog2

Just a bit o' catch-up here. Th' "hobbymoney" evaporated into th' bills-bin. Th' upside is that I'm gettin' MY camera back from th' shop. Not gonna have t' use my BFF's anymore. Downside, that was goin' t' be my battery/charger $. Oh well...
I've drilled out th' wing's center section for mountin' screws, which I'll prob'ly buy t'day. I'm gonna have t' chop down th' stand-offs by about a 1/4". Cowl won't quite fit. "Goal" is to NOT have to cut anymore holes in th' cowl than just for th' plug and open up aft for exaust. If things run a tad hot, I can always open 'er up again.
Off to get beat up!
RD

roaddog2

Hey, Y'all!
Aviojet did it again! I got my numbers in Fri. an' they look GOOD! Tnx, Charles! I'll post pix when I get 'em all on. Only did one wing, Sat mornin' before I had t' go get beat up.

I've been fightin' w/th' router my BFF bought when we went to DSL. Th' stupid thing "half-steps" almost everything I hand it. 'Quits in th' middle of ANYthing I try t' do. MOST frustratin' when tryin' t' up-load a 50-odd MB website. It's taken from last Wed, 'til just a half-hour ago to get it squared away. If y' buy a router, DON'T BUY Cisco's Linksys one. Intermittent... flaky... undependable ... JUNK!

But now th' site's up I can get back to "Lefty". An', BTW, if y' want to see what 54.1Mb and 4 days fight looks like, see: http://www.timepiecephoto.com . There's a Plane page there, too; stuff I shot @ th' local (Fredericksburg) club's field and at an airshow they tried t' put on. That was canc'd for Wx; but a few flew anyway an' I shot 'em!
More when I get "Lefty" a li'l farther along...
RD

roaddog2

I said I was gonna get back to 'er, an' here's a couple o' pix t' prove I'm a man o' my word! "Lefty" has ALL 'er clothes on now! Tnx to Aviojet she's not only wearin' 'er Nose Art, but she's also FAA-Legal now; 'got her N #'s.

roaddog2

The more I look @ 'er, th' more I think I ordered th' tail no's too big. Ah well, they DO look good! An' my thanx to Aviojet for gettin' 'em to me.
Headin' down to th' shop now, to cut th' standoffs down just a whisker, an' drill out an' mount th' cowl.
Cheers, all!
RD

roaddog2

'Not a whole lot t' report this week. I'm almost done w/wing mounting, an' th' struts're next, Po' ol' Lefty, looks SO woebegone w/o struts. 'Wings kinda droop a bit, makes 'er look sad.
I'm still in there pitchin', tho.
RD

roaddog2

Here's th' latest pix o' Lefty! Shot 'em this afternoon. LOVE this digital stuff!
RD