Hi JPEE,
I never got the chance to congratulate you on getting to see the Starlink launch a few weeks ago. I think that was a polar orbit which is why it went from your side. I also saw that this batch was the first to have laser signal to help the satellites send the signal directly to other satellites instead of the need for a ground station. I read that the ground stations are expensive, plus with the need to have them all over the globe as the satellites orbit, trying to put them in areas that are "politically active/hostile" can be challenging and dangerous. So a good move for SpaceX.
The Inspiration4 flight was a huge success. It'll be interesting to see what direction human space flight goes now that this door has been opened.
I was able to get out one Saturday morning a few weeks ago and finally, finally get the maiden done on my sorta-new Stinger jet. This is the 4S version and it flew just fine - no issues, no surprises. I only did one flight with it as I didn't have the lipo's velcro'd and didn't want the battery sliding back during the flight. So the flight was very simple (no rolls, no loops, no vertical) plus gave me a chance to remember how nice it was to get out and fly. Waiting for cooler weather to arrive!
I also ordered a new front landing gear for my 70mm F-16 jet as my current one is severely bent, guess I had a bad landing I forgot about!
I was happy when I fired up the jet and everything else worked just fine. All servo's, motor and fan, main landing gear - all ready to go. My other 2 jets are also all good and ready - the 64mm F-22 and 64mm F-18. I had to do a bit of bodywork on the F-22 and resolder the ESC wires as one had a cold joint. I still need to finish building the Trex500 - hopefully I can get back to work on that soon. Weathers still been in the 90's so have time...
Been a busy past few weeks with the layout, trying different things and researching new methods. I'm almost done with the tunnels and am almost ready to do the volcano mountain. I also did some of my first ballasting of the track. That was a very interesting experience - laying out the ballast, brushing it to spread it out, then gluing it in place. You mentioned about tunnel portal clearances - the HO tunnel portal was the worst one to date. I took 2 of my son's longest cars - an Amtrak double decker sleeper car, and used that to set the tunnel. I had to do a lot of sanding of the tunnel portal to get the cars to clear the opening, and even then it is very close. But I got it glued in place and the cars can pass through with no problems.
On the nscale forum that I am part of I got a suggestion for the volcano (in addition to LED lights) - a smoke generator. Yep, lets take it to another level!
Its a bit long but gives you a basic idea of how to do it. I figured I could put it at the base of the volcano along with some LED lights and connect it all to a switch so you can turn it on and off from a control panel of sorts.
Meanwhile, some pictures of my ballast track and my almost finished tunnels...
Mark
