Aloha Gentlemen,
I was able to fly this morning, with mixed results. The engine fired right up and ran sweet and smooth. In the center of our runway...I slowly brought in the power and the tail rose sweet and clean. By the time I had 3/4 throttle in, she was airborne...and then things got a little exciting. The C.G. was set at book figures 5-5/8", but it was to far aft for my liking. For pitch was way to sensitive for me and I throttle down, and started down wind. As I came into final, she was rock solid...but the wind was gusty...say 15kts and a direct cross wind. She settled down right nice...then pulled hard right and nosed over onto the prop and spinner. My prop was toast, and the spinner had a small dent (all expected), but was surprised me was why the model headed to the right so hard. The Hobby King strut on the right side, actually bent a bit on landing and caused the right wheel to lock up. I had a landing that was a bit harder then my usual...but no where near hard enough to do damage. But it did bend and that was my first flight.
So I took the model home, pulled the (!#$%&) Hobby King struts off and installed some good Robart struts and wheels. I then covered the landing gear doors with red Monokote and installed them. I've one more 17x6 Xoar prop on hand and I ordered three more from Tower tonight. I also changed out my battery in the aft part of the model and installed a 3300mha battery, that is 2 oz. lighter and when I checked my C.G. its now between 5-3/8 ~ 5-1/2" aft of the leading edge. To me the model grooves better with a slightly nose heavy C.G. then with the manual figure. I know some of you guys have flown at the book figure...but I checked what I set it at before...and it was at the 5-3/8 point when I first flew the model. If flew great for me then...so I repeated the same C.G. tonight. Surprising, this new battery is actually 300 mha larger then the heavier battery, and it is 2 oz. lighter. I also pulled the Lado's and set up my landing gear with solid Robart gear.
I'll let you know how Saturday works out for me...and there is suppose to be a high pressure system set in tomorrow and Saturday, so with any luck...I'll have better weather to fly. I also had a surprise at the flying field...one of the guys gave me his T.F. P-51D ARF he built and flew for five years. Yes...it is a bit warn and has a few dings...but this airframe flew with a O.S. 90 two stroke glow and a DLE 20 and has over 200 flights on it. It was just the airframe, and with my "B" conversion kit on hand...I'll make this a "B" model...and have two P-51's to fly again. My last "B" model lasted a good seven years for me and I've a replacement for her. I ordered a new cowl for it, canopy and decals from Tower, for I plan to make this a Red Tail too and will be recovering the model.
Soft Landings Always,
Bobby of Maui
