Dukester

My Feedback: (31)

Finally flew my LS150 this weekend with the Norvel 061 on it. Everything is right with the world as it fires up right off the bat and runs sweet with no needle adjustment required. So I hand it off to a guy at the field to help out with a throw, throttle up and away it goes.

Only two problems. One, its seriously out of trim and requires constant attention to keep it up. Two, at full throttle it was going somewhere in the range of a million miles an hour (well it felt like a million, I later swore that I saw a contrail). By the time I got enough of a feel for keeping it straight and remembered to throttle down it was already about 100 ft up. I managed to wrestle it around into the pattern and brought it down to about 75 ft and half throttle to trim it out.

It's much more manageable at 1/2 throttle and I've just about got it trimmed after two passes. On the third pass, its pretty much level at neutral sticks, so I goose the .061 and it picks up a significant amount of speed. I throttle back again as I was getting out over the trees and started to make the turn back. Unfortunately, my trusty .061 decides to take a coffee break and quits out over the trees. I realized right away that I wasn't going to make the field, so I tried to settle it into the trees as gently as I could. The funny thing was it must have caught a tree branch or something because right after it went out of sight, it popped up again going straight up about 10 ft above the trees and fell straight back down again.

Unfortunately in my disgust, I started walking towards the tree line as soon as it went down instead of making a mental note of the spot it went down. So after scrambling around for an hour in my shorts and tennis shoes, I realized more robust clothing is definitely required. So today after work I'm strapping on my boots and going back.

About now I really wish I had one of those lost plane alarms......

Duke

Tim Wiltse-RCU

Duke,

I am sure you will find it! Sounds like you will have a real ball with it once you get her trimmed out. I fly mine on a modified Black Widow and it's pretty fast with that. I can believe it was a rocket with the .061! So I guess we need to add you to the list of LS 150 owners...let's see who has a LS 150 .....

Lynn
Tim Wiltse
jboy381
Dukester
Chuck

I think there is more let me know if I have missed you!

Later,
Tim

Bipe Flyer

Sorry to hear that Duke. I hope you find it.

cortacesped

I hope you find it soon, according to your words seems to be a good plane. Regards.

Claudio

Bipe Flyer

You're kidding! Lynn has a LS150? I've never heard him mention it.[sm=lol.gif]

I have a regular LS that is in dire need of repair , does that count.

ajcoholic

My Feedback: (10)

Thats sucks - I lost a .61 size pattern plane (with over $1000 worth of gear in it like retracts, tuned pipe, etc) in a swamp after it went deadstick a few weeks ago. I gave up and went home (it was in another city I attended a fun fly at) but the locals found it soon after and sent it back to me

Dont give up hope! Did you put your name on it?

AJC

Raymond LeFlyr

My Feedback: (2)

Tim and others "giant" LS fliers,

I have a "real" LS (you've seen it fly) but not a 150% version. Its my second one. I have only built the same model twice - once before.

Part of the reason that I stick with the small version is that the power comes from my favorite little engine - the TD .010. Oh, do I love the sound of that teeny little engine swinging (that can't be the right word) that teeny little prop - and I can do it all day long on one bulb of 25% fuel. Ain't America great!

Not only that but there's the smug joy of launching that little model into wind that often keeps the "big boys" on the ground is a free treat.

Alas, this LS was recently run over by a friend's .60-size behomoth. My heart reallydropped when I went out to the middle of the runway to pickup the pieces. I had to replace half the wing and all of the tail surfaces. It was ugly before the "incident" but you should see it now (you will on the 11th). But its like getting an old friend back - despite the ravages of time.

So, as I pondered tossing the parts, I thought about taking my time-worn LS magazine article to Kinko's and doing the scale-up routine. Well, I found myself standing there with holding these well-worn pieces of paper complete with the pin holes and rips from the two previous uses.

Nope, I'm not ready yet. So I spent just a few hours repairing my old pal ... and started on Sharkface.

So, forgive me. As much as I'd like to be one of the guys, I'm just not emotionally ready. Sniff.

Raymond LeFlyr

My Feedback: (2)

Oops,

I think I got my posts mixed up. Heavy sigh - another senior moment. I want now to reply about losing a model.

Some years ago I had a flyaway when I turned off the radio switch as I hand launched a "Dragonfly" I had built from Model Builder plans. The good news was that the model was perfectly trimmed for a slow, straight climb. The bad news was that it was trimmed for a slow, straight climb. The little OS .15 was singing happily and was good for at least twenty minutes. When last I saw it, it was just a tiny dot. Then I couldn't even see it anymore.

That was in September or early October.

One evening the next Spring I got a call from a person who said he had found some "experimental aircraft parts" of mine. I used to put those tags from the AMA with room for your name and address (I don't see them advertised anymore and I ran out). So my youngest daughter and I followed his directions and sure enough there were most of the pieces in a neat pile in his garage. He asked if it was part of a research project. He was clearly disappointed that it was just a hobby item. He told me he found it near a stream in a valley a good ten miles from our field.

All of the Titebond joints were gone and it was just a bag of Doculam. However, the engine ran (it is still "active"). The Futaba receiver and servos worked! The battery was the only non-airframe component that was ruined. Woo hoo.

So, take heart. My message to you is that it could have been worse.

Lynn S

Duke,
You are probably the first person on the planet to ever fly a Norvel powered LS150. All I ever flew mine with was a Black Widow. ...so half power would still be fast. I was thinking about putting a .049 Norvel on mine but the 1/2 A SST needed the radio and engine.
You did take most of the incidence out of the wing I hope.
Dang....I hate that you lost it.

jboy381-RCU

mine flys great with a product cox...you must really have a missle on your hands with yours...mine is a tank,it took about 5-6 nose in dives before it cracked a wing rib(and yes it still flys with a cracked rib)...hope you find it...i would be lost without mine...

ray,if you want,you can have a go at the sticks of mine...it has some battle scars,but she's still flying...see you on the 11th

john

SST

My Feedback: (2)

I'm happy for you guys who love your LSs, but Lynn will tell you where my enthusiasm lies! Life's too short to fly ugly planes...

Tim Wiltse-RCU

[>:]WHAT[>:]

Ok my fellow LS 150 brothers. I am gassing up the Caprice right now and will pick you all up as we have a road trip to MI to make


LAter,
Tim

Bipe Flyer

There are no ugly planes, just ugly flyers!

Lynn S

Raymond,
My Littlest Stick turned out too heavy for the .010. and it was comical to watch it fall like a rock just as soon as the engine died. It was just like it hit a wall. It found new life with a parkflyer 180 motor and I get motor control as a bonus, also its rudder only. The tiny version is a riot to fly, even on a windy day. Amazing what it can do to be so small and stubby.

Raymond LeFlyr

My Feedback: (2)

Lynn,

My LS has an extra rib bay on each side. That might have made the difference as it does kinda fly like a powered glider. But it only flies when that .010 is singing at top pitch. Anything less and it is marginal.

I have accumulated what I'm told is the right stuff to electrify one of Bobhh's Wee Sticks. I am thinking that it might be a little much for my effort in the small electric world. Perhaps something like your version might be better. Could you tell me more about your motor, gearing, prop, battery, esc, etc?

Bipe Flyer

If you want to electrify something you might want to try a Johnson 250.

They are cheap and will fly for 20 minutes on a 2 cell LiPoly. It is about the power of an .020 and spins a 4 3/8" prop at 18000 direct drive.

For a friend of mine, I converted a Hobbico Sky Pilot to RC with a sheeted foam wing and ailerons and it weighs 12.4oz. It will easily loop from level flight, fly inverted and fly at half throttle without losing height.

Motor
http://www.backyardflying.com/secure...6415868.2.html

Propeller
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXTS29&P=V

Lynn S

Raymond,
I built a more rounded version of the Littlest Stick with an extra bay on each side and didn't fly well at all with my motor battery combo. I put the standard wing on and it flew better but a bit heavy with a elevator servo.
What I'm using can be ordered from www.readytoflyfun.com (parts)and is the smallest motor flight system, the 280 motor would be better.

Bipe Flyer knows a lot more than I do, so his setup would be better I'm sure.

I just used the motor and radio out of a Megatech SkyVector because it was what I had on hand. The SkyVector was a real dud...hardest plane I ever flew with no elevator.

Dukester

My Feedback: (31)

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I went out today and spent nearly 2 hours trudging around looking for it with no luck. I posted a 'lost plane' sign on the board at the clubhouse and inside on the news board. The people who are out here are all good guys, so I have no worries that if it is found it'll show up at the clubhouse. Since I'm pretty much the only guy who flies 1/2a planes, I doubt anyone else could think of a use for it anyway. Though I hadn't flown it but once with the throttled baby bee, I had brought it out to the field a number of times so a lot of the regular guys had seen it before and would recognize it. I'm definitely going to do another one though, as even though it was poorly trimmed, it was still a blast to fly.


Duke

Lynn S

Duke,
It doesn't come down like little baby brother LS but it does drop fast, so it needs to stay up pretty high in case the engine dies on you, but I guess you know that already. In fact I guess this is true for most of these small planes. My neighbor likes to get far away and low and thats not good.
I'll send you my LS150 if you want it. I probably won't fly it this year anyway.

Lynn

Bipe Flyer

That's why I like to "fly 45". Think of a 45 degree angle going up starting from your feet. If you stay above that imaginary line you should have plenty enough height to make it back to the runway deadstick.

SST

My Feedback: (2)

OK... Got HEMI bowtie boy?

Tim Wiltse-RCU

Doug,

No Hemi just 9C1 LT-1 that is slowly going to get a LT-4 conversion on it! Should be good for about 400 hp at the flywheel. I got rid of my Mopar last January! I do have to wear a bib every time I see a new Magnum! That is one tight looking wagon! I bet it would haul the crap out of a bunch of 1/2a planes!


Later,
Tim

Dukester

My Feedback: (31)

Lynn,

I appreciate the offer, but I prefer just to build another one myself. Its not a huge buid to beging with, but I also want to try a few things different this time. On of my buddies gave me a pack of the 3/32 robart hinges that I was thinking to try on the next one and I wanted to do a slightly larger rudder and extra wing bay.

I didn't really mean to be so far out, but the thing was so quick that it just kind of got a lot farther away faster than I planned .

Oh well, back to the LHS for some 3/32 and 1/8 sheet.

Duke

SST

My Feedback: (2)

Yeah, that Hemi Magnum IS hot. My wife would love one ( all women are closet hotrodders! ). I know I'm getting a major kick out of my new truck, though. I've always been a Ford truck guy, and I still have my '73 F-350 Crew cab Camper Special. Dropped a 460 into it and with the Top Loader & 4:10 posi, it'll move anything. But I needed a 1/2 ton 4x4 4-door to replace my old Continental as the new family car, and the new Ford just didn't impress me like the Dodge w/hemi. Last really hot car I had was my '66 GTO. BTW, I hear they're gonna hemi-up the V-10 !

Tim Wiltse-RCU

Doug,


[X(]What[X(]

The V10 is already making 500hp!!!! Enlarge the picture below and notice the badges on my old Dakota I loved that truck even though I had the engine replaced, rearend rebuilt, tranny fixed and a bunch of wiring replaced. It's only down side was the lack of room to haul 1/2a's or any plane for that matter in the cab. I had a 69' Chevelle with a 406 smallblock before I moved here to NC. It would haul the mail and models of most any size. The 95' Caprice has a huge trunk with plenty of room of my plane/s and my little flight box. And the good thing is I don't even have to take the wing off.

Later,
Tim

PS with a 460 and 4.10's you could pull your house off it's foundation!