First post here.

Taking up the hobby again after more than 50 years in the wilderness. Life happens.

Last time I flew RC aircraft was circa 1980.
A lot has changed since then.

Those were the times when aircraft were made of balsa, and you built from a kit or scratch-built form plans or designed your own and hoped it would fly if you put enough power on the front of it.
Exciting times with lots of risky flying and crashes. At least some things don't change.

I would like to think that flying is like riding a bicycle, a skill you never lose once acquired.

To test this theory on a budget, I bought a Ranger 600 from Volantex.

Advertised as a beginner power glider, which is true for many reasons.

I found it to be really twitchy and a little too fast for an old codger like me.

Short story is that it was difficult to figure out which direction it was flying once it flew a little too far away and so I lost it over the sea. It now sleeps with the fishes.

Now I have built the Slowly V2 Foamy from plans.

Power is supplied by a Dualsky 450 Tuning Combo and a 45A ESC with a 1300mAh battery. It weighs about 650g according to my kitchen scale.

First attempt at flying it would veer of sharply to the left due to the fact that the left wheel suffered from an ingress of glue.

Result was an affectionate hug with a pole, and the elevator servo stripped its plastic gears.

Of course, I did not realise this at the time, so I attempted a hand launch with full down elevator.

Fortunately, no serious damage other that the flying surfaces became unhinged.

So now I am waiting for a replacement servo and contemplating how to mount foamy wheels to an axle and researching the latest in hinge technology.

Options are taped or sewn. Sewn not really a solution unless I glue a 5mm balsa strip to the edges. The good old fashioned Dubro nylon hinges of old are hard to come by.

Until next time.