patternflyer1

My Feedback: (11)

I would really appreciate if someone could do a writeup on the YS 170 vs the 160, or even the 140.. What makes it better.. And such. Also, I would really like a writeup on the Black Magic V3.. Not just from somebody local to Mike (even though that's ok) but from someone who wants to share their experience with Mike's design, the V3.
Same with the Shinden, the Integral, the Aquila, the latest and greatest Oxai's (too many to mention) or any other design being sold right now. Maybe you've owned two of these designs. What sets one apart from the other. And so forth. Pic's are great too!!!

Also, if you have a pic of your plane (or possibly yourself with your plane), send it in along with some info and your District number. There will be a picture collage in a future Kfactor.

Please help me fill the Kfactor with things we all want to read about..

Please submit to [email protected]

Thanks!!!!

Chris

MHester

My Feedback: (1)

Chris,

You're doing a fantastic job as K Factor editor. I KNOW what you're going through trying to get people to submit stuff. They just....don't, unless you individually seek them out and prod them. What I did was keep an eye out on this forum and others and watch for someone who likes to type and take pics and share thier experience. Then go after them LOL

Cover shots was the one thing I could never seem to get enough of.

And now I am part of "them"....so, I need to come up with something and type it up. Let me see what I can do.

Great job!
-Mike

jrpav1

My Feedback: (17)

Chris,
I have some stuff you might be interested in but I need to find the time to put it together for you. I'm in the middle of building 2 Black Magic VF-3's AND writing a book for my magazine (Fly RC). Oh yeah and I have a full-time day job and a part-time consulting business too. See, I'm busy all the time. What I was thinking of for starters is a short article on my new magnetic (steel top) work bench. I'm going to frame up the Black Magic fuselages on it as soon as the fixture details are worked out. Let me know if that sounds like something you'd like to use in the K-Factor.

John Pavlick
Team Black Magic, Tech-Aero Designs

patternflyer1

My Feedback: (11)

Thanks Mike.

I know you know how difficult it is. (Hey, you want your job back?) lol..
This is a slow time of year for the Kfactor, so I'm trying to put some interesting stuff in there that we all want to read about. I think it's possible that people don't think their thoughts, setups, planes are interesting enough to write about. But it is exactly the type of stuff we all want to read about. There was a lot of Black Magic info some time ago in the Kfactor. Why has it stopped? The Kfactor is still the same.. Yes it's in different hands, but there are alot of BM's out there Mike. I can't believe nothing gets submitted about them. Not even a pic. Your planes are interesting to the whole world. There aren't many wood kits around!! I know I would build one, but at this point, I can't afford to buy a rec pack.
I really try not to localize the Kfactor to me, or to D7 (my district). Just looking for some help to make it interesting to everyone. Even those that don't live in this country, but that are members for the Kfactor.

C

patternflyer1

My Feedback: (11)

Thanks John.

Glad to hear you are busy working. Pretty slow for me. Heck, maybe soon I'll have to quit editing the Kfactor because I can't afford my dsl..

Anytime is fine. No rush. That bench sounds very interesting!!

Chris

MHester

My Feedback: (1)

Nahh you keep the job, you're doing a much better job than I did

When I was editor, I didn't ask anyone to do up a write up on a Magic for obvious reasons. Now, I have a feeling the reason might be more practical: any idea how much room it would take? There's a LOT to one of these planes from building, to finishing, to flying. Each part taking a whole section to even get close to describing it. As in to do it any justice, it would be a 2 or 3 part review.

I would love to see it myself because I either hear they love it and it's great, or someone is cussing me because the instructions aren't like say, a SIG or Goldberg kit. Mark Atwood probably gave me the best feedback during the building phase of anyone. if he didn't like something, my phone rang....and it rang quite a few times. Nothing catastrophic or huge, just "why did you do it like that?" or, "man this is a lot of work!"

I'll tell you what, it's really difficult to put one of these things from an idea to a kit that someone else can build. I keep trying to simplify it, and have made some serious progress along those lines, but really I just can't think of everything. It's always the most mundane stuff that people get stumped on...like the tailwheel for instance. I just sort of take that for granted. or the fuel tank, or something. us pattern types each have our own way of doing everything, and sometimes it's hard to remember that the utterly new guy just needs details.....lots. And lots.....

Flying-wise....haven't heard much of anything bad at all. It flies pretty good even out of trim, and when it's REALLY trimmed, it's pretty cool indeed. The only bad stuff I have heard is from people that don't own them...LOL but I have noticed you don't see a lot of flying VF3s for sale? In fact I haven't personally seen one for sale yet, anywhere, but I know somebody somewhere must have. I hope that's a good thing? I just hope it means they like what they have and they're happy.

Most of the ones in the Southeast, either myself or Dean built/painted them....all of them so far, I think. I know I'm finishing up #20 out of my shop now. There's a LOT in D1,4,5,6. And a few in D2 too. Not too many in D7 and D8, but an awful lot in Canada and Australia as well. And a lot in South America, come to think of it.

They're out there. But they may be too busy flying, building or painting right now [8D] but hopefully, somebody will give it a go because I'd love to read it myself.

-Mike