Well Guys,

Nice knowing you all, cause here comes Francis[&o]!! We are forecast at the very least to have 60 to 70 mph winds. Our city had us pile all the debris from Charley across the street for pickup. They didn't pick it up yet, so the winds from this one will be coming from the NW. That means that all of the debris will fly into the north side of our home. The roofing felt on the south roof will not hold up. We have to stay here as due to Charley there is nowhere for us to go. If the forecast track shifts a few degrees to the south we will then be in category three hurricane winds. If landfall is further to the north we will have less damage. Wifey says if this one gets us and we survive, we are outta here!! While you are enjoying your Labor Day weekend, please pray for us as we are going to need it. One good thing though my generator has been serviced and I can pick it up in the morning. Brian....

Brian, obviously, 2004 has not been good to you. I admire the fact that after several bad blows, you are still willing to fight. Wish that there was something we all could do to help. Hopefully Susan and yourself can stay dry and out of harms way. Good luck and you both will be in my thoughts and prayers. Joe

Brain, ditto on what Joe said. man, I sure hope this one goes way North and out to sea. Are you hearing anything on the weather about any systems coming from the North that might cause this thing to turn? Here in Al all we are getting is "Bad Strom Coming" news. I hope the best for you and your family. Stay safe......

Guys,
Thank you for you kind words of support. Sometimes that is what makes people in our hobby special. We should know by 5pm tomorrow night where she's going. This storm is so large that it will impact the whole state to a certain degree. How bad depends on where it makes landfall. NHC is staying with the current track for the storm to make landfall somewhere near West Palm Beach/Melbourne. We are directly across on the opposite coast. Like I said, we have to stay here as there is nowhere to go. Got my generator back ths afternoon, so at least we'll have power. The further north it goes the better for us, but somebody is going to get slammed. We got our insurance check today $20,000 in damages but only $13,000 after the deductible and depreciation (Nationwide is on your side). I didn't know you could depreciate drywall, insulation and paint. We'll keep you guys posted and keep an aye on us. Anybody got a nice lot up north for sale??

Brian [:-]
...Just looked at th NHC site.. Hmmm ..good luck, must be a nightmare...the waiting must be the worst bit....we've been looking at this site (NHC) last thing at night, seems that she'l be with you between 2am Sat and 2am Sun...keep in touch ...again, good luck...Dave.

My sister lives in Lakeland, between Tampa and Orlando. They had winds up to 90 MPH with Charlie. I have a good friend who lives in Orlando. He experienced the same. This one looks like it's going to head right for them, but those on the East coast are the ones who will get the brunt force of a category 4. Man, this one is not looking good at all. Prayers are with you guys in Fl.

Joe,

I don't know a whole lot about aerodynamics, but I'm curious on your rudder mod. It seems you cut off the wrong end of the rudder if it couples towards the gear. Have you ever been flying above half throttle and flipped the flaps on? They create so much drag that it will pull you down at first. I think that's what's happening with knife edging. The bottom of the rudder is pulling more drag than the top. What do you think?

I plan on buying a UCD60 this winter, so I've been reading all the posts and getting in my head what I need to do to make it fly perfect. I don't like mixing, I like flying.

Superfly, the UCD .60 has two bad habits, in stock form, when rudder is applied. One is that on application, it drops the opposite wing. Second, it dives to the wheels. With the hight of the rudder, it had too much volume on top, causing it to twist. Therefore, the opposite wing drop. Reduced volume on top has eliminated opposite wing drop when rudder is applied. I am still at a loss for why it dives to the wheels, so I have the elevator slaved to the rudder to compensate. As you, I do not like to mix. The reason for the mix is that those same bad habits in the air will bite you real hard if you need rudder on a cross wind landing.
One thing that I have not tried yet is to applied rudder inverted. If, when inverted, on application, it dives to the canopy, then regardless of attitude, its diving to the earth, then that will lead me to believe that the rudder is still too large and is stalling the plane. If it goes to the wheels when inverted, then its back to square one.
I am still intrigued by this fault, but have not had enough time to deal with it. You have brought a good theory to light. BTW, I do not have flaps hooked up. If you are looking for perfection, a YS110FZ, with the tank on the CG will be a great start. After two years I am still amazed at this planes grace in the air. Joe

Joe,
What do you think about the angle of the rudder hinge line? If the actual rudder, not fin, had a swept back effect (like jets), perhaps that would put more pulling torque on the top of the plane, straightening the airflow on the tail. I'm still going off the theory that the amount of airflow on the bottom of the torque line isn't the same as on the top of the torque line. Am I babbling or maybe getting somewhere?

I'm curios to hear the results of the inverted rudder test. Please post that when you get a chance to test it.

[b]Good Morning All,[b]

Special Hurricane Update.
Winds right now at 7am are a sustained 50mph. So far our temporary roof repairs are holding except for the NE corner of the garage roof. As the wind is coming from the NW, it appears that this will be the critical spot. If Frances tracks as predicted we may be spared the brunt of this storm. As you look at the radar images, we are located in the SW quadrant that is the weakest part of this storm at this time.

[b]Roger,[b]

This is a very low moving system with a lot of rain. The latest forecast track brings it over Alabama sometime on Monday. By then Frances is expected to be a tropical storm, but will be passing over the Gulf Of Mexico. That means winds of 75mph or less with 8"-12" of rain associated. Remember that it fuels itself off of the water. Please pay attention to where this storm is going and be prepared. We have done all that we can here and will have to ride this one out as there is no place to go. Be back in touch with everyone after this storm passes if we do not lose our power.

Life is wonderful, Ivan became a Hurricane and the forecast track makes it look like another Florida storm. Three in one year in one state has never happened. History in the making?? Brian...

Hey Brian,

Yes, we've been watching and saw that it might spare you guys the worst of it. But hey, after Charlie this was the last thing you guys needed. We are anticipating much rain as it moves our way, but far enough inland so winds should be minimal. If we get dumped on rain wise we could have some some problems.

I also saw the third storm developing. Yesterday, they said the forecast models show this one developing into a cat-5 storm by the time it gets to Puerto Rico. I haven't heard much more about this possibility. Let's hope no history in the making with this one.

Stoney..

Hope things aint to bad.. we've been watching this chappie here...its on the News regularly, with rather nasty looking pictures...dont look nice.

This is meant to cheer you up a bit ...beautiful w/end here.. hot and v.sunny...and ..." JET DAY" at the field ...i'd forgotten 'bout it with all the Gloom of the B-52 last w/end....loads of people from all over the country....another great w/end ..it really has been non stop all summer long ..few pics for ya to have a look at [8D]...1 millisecond and these things are gone..[:-]..

David,
Nice Pics!! I would love to be flying to England right about now.

Joe,
Got your PM, Thank You.

Roger,
You should be feeling effects from whats left on the NE side of the storm today if not already. Looks like from the NOAA satellite photo that Frances went more towards Georgia than Alabama. We still have 20mph winds here and intermittent rain bands. It should clear up by tomorrow.

To All My Friends,
We weathered this storm with minimal damage. Some of the temporary repairs to our roof started lifting, but the patchwork held so no more water intrusion. We lost some more roof shingles this time off the north side, so we'll have to work on that ASAP. Our steel roofing material has arrived. We are hoping that the new system can be installed prior to any visit from Ivan. The problem as I understand it from the engineering side is unless the whole system is installed and tied together, it will we suceptible to lifting and water can get underneath the steel panels. Once tied together the system is exceptionally strong and rated for 200mph. Wish us luck that we can get this done in time. Brian and Susan....

Morning Brian, and glad you guys made it through without much additional damage. Yes, we are getting just a little wind right now with a little rain. The storm did take more of a NE track, giving Atlanta more of a blow than us, so far. Thankfully, we aren't expecting much more than a blustery rainy day. Winds around 15-20 mph out of the NE and dropping off as the day progresses. Same thing for tomorrow, Wednesday, but then sunshine on Thursday. My middle son lives in Boone, N.C. and said this morning that they are getting dumped on. As the newscasters have said, the NE side is the worst, but this thing covers such a broad area. It's really amazing.

Fl. sure has taken a beating from what we can see in the news. Sure hope Ivan fizzles or stays away. Not looking all that good with the latest reports.

Roger,
We are still hoping for the best this weekend. Right now Ivan is taking more of a southerly track to the west than first expected. I would hate to wish this on anyone else, but I think we've had enough for awhile!!

Good news is the roofing crew showed up at about 10:30 this morning. If the weather holds throughout the rest of the week at least we may be dried in and have a new steel roof. Bad news is no flying for awhile until our house gets back in order[]. All I have left to do on my UCD is mount the canopy, final balancing and running the new engine in. Like Joe said sometimes it takes forever to get an ARF into the air.

Guys, I'm thinking about selling my Dynaflite Decathlon. It's basically brand new with all the expensive goodies. Please keep your ears open if you know someone that might be interested. If so, PM me for details on the aircraft.

Glad you are ok Brian!! These storms are crazy this year!![&:]

I am having a hard time finding the sweet spot with the Saito 100 when trying to hang on the prop, I am contemplating switching the prop to a 16x4 instead of the current 15x4. Currently my throttle response in the mid range is not as linear as I would like and when I get close to the sweet spot the plane simply climbs up slowly, when I decrease the throttle click by click it simply falls out of it.

Anyone else exp the same? I suspect its in my engine setup and/or the prop


matt

Matt, not enough prop. You will see a huge difference in a 16/4 and it will definitely help bite into a hover. Be advised that you may have to keep a little power on in a normal landing approach. It will be different until you settle in with that prop. At Idle that prop acts like a parachute. Slows you way down. On the up side it has more torque and more of the needed wash over the tail. You will see a big difference and your buds will see a big smile.

I maidened my latest distraction last night to way cool results. I might start making cabinets out of foam. My foam Extra. 38 inch wing, hollow, swept and tapered, 31 inch fuse, hollow, box construction. 360 sq. in. wing area @ 20 oz. AUW. Himax 2025/4266 brushless, with a 12/6 prop. @ 42.4 oz. thrust. Pheonix 25 speed control, Thunder Power 2100/3 cell LiPo and 4-HS 55 servos. Electron-6 RX. What a floater. Now I can start practicing hovers with the tail in the weeds. Goes way vertical out of hand. Next build will have to be an all foam UCD. Later, Joe

These little electrics are a lot funner than you thought aren't they Joe

Coo, you got that right. Its like when I first got the UCD. Just can't wait to get back out there. A little intimidating at first with all the possible scenarios to draw amps with different props, etc. etc. I'm learning a little at a time. We secured a dome for some indoor flying this winter. I'm really enjoying this. Joe

JOE

...Nice looking stuff...can you ship.....go on then in the air price..[:-]

..whats happened to the site...?

David, its that time of year. Everyone is flying. Its the last hurrah, summer is waneing. I can't speak for other parts of the world, but here in the northeast, we had two wet summers in a row. Its raining now, obviously left overs from the troubles down south in Florida.

Thanks, I'm glad you like it. This is one that will make it to the beach. If your looking for a foamie, check out the Pigi from HobbyLobby. Flies like no other and is all EPP foam. Nearly indestructable.LaterJoe

YOU GUYS GOTTA BE KIDDING.

ALMOST EVERYONE IS FLYING, BUT SOME OF US CAN'T GET A BREAK FROM ONE HURRICANE TO ANOTHER. ENJOY LIFE EVERYDAY WHILE YOU CAN AS SOMETIMES LIVING IN WHAT'S CALLED PARADISE AND WHAT GOES WITH IT IS A NIGHTMARE. IT'S AMAZING THAT THERE ARE EVEN FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT HAVE HAD NO DAMAGE, SO LIFE IS AS USUAL FOR THEM. APPARENTLY THIER BIGGEST PROBLEM IS HAVING TO WAIT IN LINE TO FILL UP THE CADILLAC OR LINCOLN SUV, OR BEING LATE FOR A ROUND OF GOLF OR HAVING YOUR HAIR DONE DUE TO CLEAN UP EFFORTS. WE HAVE GUYS COMPLAINING THAT THEY CAN'T FLY AS OUR FLYING FIELD FIXTURES WERE ALL DESTROYED. AFTER WHAT HAS HAPPENED THIS WHOLE YEAR AND WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT ABOUT MONDAY, I AM GETTING A WHOLE NEW PERSPECTIVE ABOUT PEOPLE. THINK I HAVE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH AND WILL BE LEAVING THIS WHOLE GIG..

Brain, hang in there pal. It sounds like this one might miss you guys based on the reports I am seeing today. It appears Ivan may give you a glancing blow as it heads up to the Panhandle, but still to early to tell for sure.

Roger,
Thank you for the support. With cautious optimism we are hoping that this one will now thank god, miss us. We worked feverishly throughout this past weekend making preparations to our home. Our roofing crew worked Saturday and Sunday but have not been able to finish. My Durango has been packed for four days now in the event that we might have had to evacuate. There is so much devastation in our area that even the normal afternoon thunderstorms that we get cause problems.

Be on your toes Roger as the NHC models show that this one might nail Alabama somewhat more than the last one. Haven't heard from Joe, so I hope that he is alright. We have heard here that there has been quite a bit of flooding in the northeast after these things get us. After dealing with all of this I am still hesitant to think that we are our of the woods yet. We were not supposed to have had a direct hit from Charley either!!

Still diggn' the UCD. Here is something that was less than gracefull, and now overcome by the power of YS. Low, slow, knife edge passes. Did them all last night the length of the field and back. In the past, with less power, they were difficult to say the least. Now with the low end power and the larger prop, it all just came together. What a blast. Also I tried a 17/4 APC prop, whoa!!! Not very comfortable with it due to its slow, higher torque qualities. I'm sure with some time I could get used to it, but I have to say, that extra inch and lower pitch helped it right into a harrier without much effort. Also a definate step up in hovering. Just pull up and hang. Changed the flying characteristics too drastically for now and needs throttle to land. Cutting the throttle is like dropping anchor. I know you guys have UCDs, anybody flying them? Roger and Brian have been grounded with good excuses, but I didn't see any hurricanes in Alaska or England, or the DC area for that matter. Joe