RCDOC,

I saw pix of your Twist, Bipe, and P-51D--so I know you can fly.

You said:
Actually landings an take-offs are fun and a pasttime. try to get the perfect takeoff with the trims only and no outer inputs from the controls. It's cool to just throttle up and see the plane takeoff at a nice slow striaght climb, with no other inputs.

I suspect, after a while, we ALL get a favorite time of flying, cherished moments, when things go right, we stop THINKING of how to fly and just DO it. That moment is awesome, when you goose the throttle and see your lovely bird change from ground-bound rubber wheels and built up balsa to something magical, almost by itself, taking off. Yet we know it didn't take off all by itself. Hours of time building right, prepping right, trimming right, tuning right... results in the grace of flight.

I've always taken pride in landings, probably the toughest part of flying. When you're three mistakes high, you can do anything and still say you're "flying." But when you bring the bird in on approach, come round, float into the wind, reduce power--that's where the rubber hits the road in FLYING, to abuse an adage. My flying goal is ALWAYS to perform a landing when, no sudden elevator, no bumps or crazy meanderings, the moment between being airborne and being on the ground is INDISTINGUISHABLE. It's one of those moments when you sigh, "Wow." It's nice to have an audience at such moments, but one is not truly needed for me any more. I just sit there with the engine idling, headed into the wind at a dead stop, awaiting the taxi back to the flight line. Wow.

I had one of those moments recently with my Twist/SAITO 82. It was such a great feeling I wanted to do it again, so I goosed her, got her 10 feet high--then the engine quit--out of gas. The grace of flight--and a perfect landing--had mesmerized me. I HAD to do it again. Then the realities of the flying world crashed into me. I had forgotten about the clock in the fun I was having. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time with a bird out of gas. I crashed.

But Twist #4 was resurrected and flew again, flew today. And I shall keep looking for those perfect landings, those perfect moments. (And TRY to remember, beyond the grace, that flying is bounded by realities... fuel, light, wind.)

The true challenge with such a landing is with my 3D, tail heavy birds. You have to fly them into the ground, constant up elevator, of course, matching decrease in speed, so a single thread in a gloved hand will wreck a perfect landing. It seems to work best on snow with skiis, I've noticed. And the first flights, before the snow is tracked is somehow very special.

Flying is like that, hm?

Jack