You guys are having a little too much fun I think, Jack don't hold your breath on that fuel coming your way, I have 7 planes of my own to keep in nitro. Congrats on the new flight record Jack, and thats a truck load of fun you have there for sure.

Mr DownT,, this thread has been missing your antics of the Jack man, its good to have you back aboard, I know I already said it a few threads ago, but I mean it..

Well the twisted twist worked great today, it seems the 3 or 4 degrees of right bend added just the right touch to the offset of right thrust on the engine, I had the most amazing hovers I have ever had with the twist,[X(] maybe I should pile drive all my planes and re glue them back together,[>:] Oh wait, I already have...

we also, like every week, had 3 birds in the sky, thats a minimum for us actually, and there is nothing like the site of 4 birds all banking in formation, especially when we start bouncing off each other.

They predicted rain today and we got it, [&o]but we also were pounded on last week with rain, so we all said to the skys this week, so despite the 12 to 20 mph winds all day, and rain, we didn't care, we had a blast, I got in 4 flights with the twist and 5 with my bipe. the last flight was in a good solid rain. but the Twist handled like a champ. We did lose the Tiger II my cuz's plane do to a little showin off and an inverted flyby about 5 feet off the ground, well he messed up and gave it a little up instead of down in a small panic, and BLAM *** all I can say is it was a SPECTACULAR SMASH,[sm=surprised.gif][][X(] right on the end of the runway, we laughed our heads off. That was the only casualty of the day,

U-can do,, Katana, Ultimate Bipe, Giles 202, and of course the TWIST were the birds in the air today for us.

the only reason we left, was to go the the Not local hobby store in MA. when I brought two more victims who have never flown before there to get them hooked up. and lo and behold it was the hobby shops TENT Sale he has once a year,, AHHHHH,,, I didn't even know, I saw a new Twist just hanging out, and you would have to see this place to believe me on how much stuff he has. and it was all on sale, and I had NO MONEY [:@]

But my two Friends one being my friends father in law, Was like Rodney Dangerfield in back to school, I'll take one of these, 2 of those, whats that thing??, put it in the cart, Etc.. Etc.. he bought 3 planes, a super tote with all equipment included, engines, and then a complete plane fully loaded servos and all, retracts, Supertigre 51, hanging off the ceiling for $250 because he was afraid his son in laws plane would have been faster then his,, MAN,, talk about jumping into the Hobby. and the other guy bought 2 planes as well, I had enough money to get a foam Matt Chapman edge 580 for $20.00 so I did. now I can fly in my basement..

All In all It was a Fantastic Day for me as well, God I love this Hobby.

Geez Waldo, we need to have some sales like that around this neck of the woods. Wife would probably leave me after I came home from a sale like that. Rodney Dangerfield indeed.

Heading to the field, I can hear the twist calling...no, screaming, my name.

Dean

Waldo, I'm tellin' ya, hobby shops are like flames to a moth. I don't care how small and tightly you wad a few twenties and bury them in the dark recesses of your wallet, even if they've been there for decades...you'll have full and instant recollection of their whereabouts the minute you start mentally assessing your financial solvency when perusing the shelves! I've even recalled where I stashed a few hundred bucks that I had forgotten about, while at a hobby shop. (Fortunately, the cash was at home and nowhere near me.) I can't imagine how broke I'd be if I lived anywhere near one as it's bad enough that mailorder takes seven days. (Plenty of time for "buyer's remorse" to set in and to reconsider sending the order back......by-the-way, this has yet to happen.)

It's good to hear that you and your buds are gettin' some flying in. I don't know how you can have so many birds up all the time, though. It's a rush, but it's nice to have the sky to yourself too, as I found that when I'm doing close-in and low work, it's imperative. My condolences to your cuz's loss of his bird, that must have been cool! I smeared a Dirty Bird II all over the snow like that once. (Jack has pics........come to think of it Jack never runs faster than when he has to get his camera after I crash!) He who laughs loudest and longest...wasn't the owner of the bird. Speaking of that, in my observations of this hobby...it's considered good form to laugh after a crash ONLY after the pilot does and to stop shortly after he stops.

Time to make lunch for the kids......

Peace

Downtrodden.

I'll tell ya,

When I get to the field I'm usually 1st or 2nd there, the Usual rule is, the first flight of the day from anybody!! earns the peace and tranquility of the endless horizon all to their inner being,[8D] after that anything goes, but most times, one will be up there enjoying the nice lines drawn by the bird, maybe some nice lazy rolls or gentle free falling acrobatics, but then it just happens, after waiting a whole week to fly, people just can't contain the extravagant tremors tingling through their veins [&:] and out of the single engine tone that drifts & echoes through the open plain, a harmony of birds orchestrating a symphony of buzzing bees around your head is inevitable, hence,,, the fun has really begun.

We always try and be safe and not endanger anyone, that is the #1 concern, but if we smack together in the air trying a little formation flying, or dogfighting action, then we asked for it. and we always have the respect to stay away from the newbies and the people who are just trying to figure out there craft.

I do have to agree with you about the respect of laughing at another RC pilots fate, But luckily, we have all been flying with each other long enough not to worry about that, even our new comers get a serious bustin on and ribbin when they go down, I have to say we are pretty relentless when it comes to that, and the E-mail wars that go on for the following week are great, Imagine the fun you and Jack have with each other about such atrocities, well thats what were all about down here with about 15 of us, what makes it work though, we all know anyone of us could be the next victim 5 minutes from the last victim, so you have to take your shots while you can.

Sure we all like the skies to ourselves, but there is nothing like trying a nice low altitude hover when 3 other birds come barreling down the runway inverted, knife edging, and at high speed all around your sitting target, just to scare the livin begesus out of you. [X(]


Then it hits you,,,,,,,,,,,,,, for your prepared for anything that comes your way,,, and the best part is, revenge is only minutes away,,, yes,,, your an RC Pilot. is there anything better in the world.

Very well said. Had a tremendous day at the field today. Saw more people there than I have in quite some time. When I arrived there were 4 just sitting around waiting for the wind to die down. I immediately put the twist was in the air, carving it's name in the sky. It wasn't long before I heard engines firing up behind me. I just had to show them it was possible to fly with wind above 15mph. Pretty weak wind as compared to what I'm used to. We ended up with about a dozen pilots at the field today. No fatal crashes, but we did have one ultra stick lose it's legs(gear) on a deadstick.

Ah, only six more days until I can fly again.....it shall be an eternity.

Dean

Jack211 that vehicle looks like my brothe in law's suburban loaded for the beach. I've never seen anyone who could get thatmuch stuff in one vehicle. I gotta figure out how to get my Jerry's big boy and sig mayhem in my envoy. After seeing your's maybe it's possible.

No flying out this way. Spring is the windy season and a gusty 30-50 mph is the norm. I decided to put new bearings in an old .40 K&B. This is an old design with a removable front bearing housing. Well, I got the bearings installed in the housing and heated the case so the rear bearing could slide in. The case was a little too cool and the bearing was balking at going in. No problem I thought, just more heat and draw it on in using the four mounting screws. Easy does it now. Heat/screw, heat/screw, almost there, just a bit more. Snap! One of the ears broke off the housing. $13 bucks for a new housing plus shipping and handling. Crap.

Dean, way to go! I'm damn PROUD of ya. Those boys have to learn the wind is their friend. Everything slows down, except take-offs and the downwind leg. And watch low-throttle turns from upwind--and downwind. Ha. Rick told me the other day that they never flew in anything but "calm" days last summer. Now we've got them flying in 20 mph gusts--and having fun, too. I don't MIND a calm day, but it sure changes my normal, breezy style of flight. I dare say, though, I spend that first flight finding the downdrafts (often over the drainage ditch or in front of the brush at Legion Field, and don't forget the swale at Massie Rd! Bitsheeee. Yesterday Down and I flew at Legion. He was first up with his Twist--and lost 10 feet on this side of the brush. Scared him. I found something like "holes" in the air, too, when the plane (the 540 profile), just seemed to stop flying, no control--for only a second (seemed an awful LOOOONG second), but the holes were there. Gusty winds, weird.

I say again, this RC flying is a very special relationship between the wind, the bird, and the pilot. I can't think of anything more exciting. A sale at the LHS comes close, but not THAT close, money in the pocket or no.

Right, Waldo, the comradeship that RC flying develops teaches us a good deal about the human animal. There are those who, having crashed, need sympathy, maybe respectful silence. Then there's Down. I can give him all the ribbing I want--and KNOW that paybacks will be a bitc-! Kidding aside, the mistakes we make in the air are a good subject for discussion. How did it happen? Why? Then we learn. My motto is, if we can't learn from our mistakes, why make them?

Down and I had a nice, though brief, evening of flying. 6:30 to 9:00 (5:30 to 9 for me). Down got into several verted spins, one rising. Then an inverted spin clockwise--a first for us. Then, after Down left, I reloaded the Jeep and took JJ for his evening walk afield. THEN I noticed a deer in the east field, downwind, over which we had been flying. Then another deer, and another, and another. 4 deer. All does. JJ and I watched them watch us for a couple of minutes. Then I moved, JJ moved, and four white flags waved back into the woods.

The end of a perfect day. Tomorrow promises to be better. I hope as much for you, working sons of.... Keep working. I need my Social Security, aka, Twistin' security.


J

I'm with propHanging,, 6 days IS AN ETERNITY, I think 22 years in the same place deserves an early retirement. maybe tomorrow.

Great job Dean thats the way to get those planes in the air, wind schmind I say.
If the plane can fly forward or hover full throttle straight into the wind then its a flyin day, If not, thats when the Patten-ed Waldo flyin fish line is activated.

Tim C, I admire guys like you that have the patience to do it, but isn't it more expensive to rebuild an engine than just to buy another one? I know there are a bunch of guys out there talented at such things as model-building and engine rebuilding and I reckon you're one of them. Waldo too, has been on his soap box about building for as long as I've known him, so there must be something to that as well.

I was learning morse code (dit, dit, dit, dah, dah, dah, dit, dit, dit) once from an elderly ham who told me never to become an "appliance user". What he meant by that was...he wanted me to learn the hobby from the ground up, not just to get licensed in 2 meter and use radios solely for the purpose for which they were intended, but rather learn how to design, build, maintain, and use them instead. Well, sorry to say...with regards to RC, I'm an appliance user. (I never became a ham either...well at least not the radio-using type, anyway!) My hat goes off to you fellas that know this hobby inside and out. So far, the only words this dog has been able to bark is "ARF, ARF", but I'm setting my sights on joining the builders ranks soon. I have a few kits and a pile of balsa and covering ready to go. With words of encouragement from the likes of Waldo, I may yet add to the enjoyment I'm already experiencing in RC flying.

We need guys that are dedicated to all aspects of this hobby, so that the lessons of the past are not soon forgotten.

Peace

Downtrodden


*The above was a materialized brain fart* *pardon*[sm=tired.gif]

Waldo,
If 22 years in one place is early retirement what does 32 qualify for? Early early retirment? I have 189 more weekends before am eligible to retire, not that I am counting or anything like that. The nice thing about vacations is the weekends go down by 2. I think after 20 years you should be allowed a 3 or 4 day work week. Congratulations on an outstanding achievement as dedication like that is not common place anymore.

It is now Sunday 05/21/2006 at 11:48:35 PM
Event: Retirement
Scheduled For 01/04/2010 12:00:00 PM
3 years 7 months 13 days 12 hours 11 minutes 25 seconds or
189 weekends or
1,324 days or
31,764 hours (21,176 waking hours) or
1,905,851 minutes or
114,351,084 seconds

Downtrodden, I've been fooling with one kind of an engine or another since I was a kid. That is one part of this hobby I feel comfortable with. As far as building, when I try to glue two popsicle sticks together, I break the sticks and glue them to my hands. I sure wish I knew how to build. I think I started the hobby too late to learn. ARF's (and a friend who loves to build) are probably what has kept me in this hobby.

DownT,
It depends on the engine, what you are rebuilding, and how much it costs. I replaced a set of bearings on a Rossi 45 and and OS 50 FSR for about $35 each motor. I bought the better bearings and could have done it for less than $20 each if I had put in the stock bearings. Now they run like new. The OS 50 is a good engine which you can't get any more so the $35 was well worth it.

It was neat so see what they look like inside and how they go together. I really felt like I accomplished something like the motor guys at the field by doing it myself. How about you Tim? Of course you want to make sure you don't have any left over parts when it goes back together. I figured it was already broke so why not give it a shot and save a few bucks. Can't really hurt it anymore than what it was and if I did then I can buy a new one or send it away for service.

bluemax, I enjoy fooling with engines as much as flying. My favorite is to be given an old clunker that was heading for the dump and restoring it to prime condition. Most will probably never see a plane, and are not worth much, but I still put them on the test stand every now and then and run a tank through them.

Gaw, you guys bring back memories. When I was 13 years old, I had run through about a 1000 balsa F-86-style gliders--with the lead pin in the nose. I decided to build one of those stick models--and did, laboring over it for days. My 3 year old brother, Bill, found it and crushed it. Not a good beginning for him and me--and I think I hated that kid for about two years because of it. Then, coming home from school one day, I saw an ambulance, red lights flashing, cops too, up the road in the poor folks village on the Fox River (Illinois). I went up there and saw responders trying to revive a kid, about 5 years old, who had fallen into the river and drowned. The kid's face was blue. I recall that. He was very dead.

Within a week or so I had a dream, a nightmare, of all that again, the lights, the people, the crying mother, the blue face. It was my brother's face in the dream. I got up, crying, went to his bed, hugged him, and slept there, changed.

Not long after, in my grandparents' attic, I found my uncle's old RC stuff (from the 40s!), including bits and pieces of a J-3 cub with red ballon-style wheels, cracked they were, so old, but still held air. I never knew that uncle well. He was in California working for McDonald-Douglass (this was in the 50s). When I asked grandma what he did, she said, "Keith's very excited about his work. He wrote to say he WISHED he could tell me what he's doing--but he can't for some reason."

Years later I found out uncle Keith had been working on the "space suit," pressurized, not unlike, maybe the same one, Chuck Yeager and other test pilots used for the first ventures into "space," with the X-1.

My middle name is Keith--and I hope to hell I got some of his genes. I'll bet he loved clouds as much as I. Too bad he never flew a Twist, hm?

I found a pic of Uncle Keith--just if you're interested. Aurora, Illinois c. 1946.

Note he's on crutches--had debilitating arthritis which killed him eventually at a young age. He went to "college" through the mails and ended up an aeronautical engineer, hell of an artist, too. Special talents--and probably one of the first "ergonomic" engineers, putting technology and people together, as in space suits.

I wish I could identify the engine on that bird.

I am back with my update after 2 more days of flying the Twist . It is a beautiful day to day with winds out of the East (right down the runway) at 7 mph gusting to 9 mph so it won't be long and I will driving to the field to get more Twist time . After 3 days of flying I have the dual rates up to %70 and even switched to high rates a couple of times [8D] . I have done the basic rolls, loops and Immelman . Last evening I did a maneuver I didn't plan on and it amazed me it looked so cool . We had a bit of wind and when I came in I flared it a bit and added a little throttle before it was ready to land to get it closer in and to my amazement it was just hanging there in one spot nose slightly up . To my further amazement when I brought it down it just gently floated almost strait to the ground and only rolled a foot or two before I taxied it back to me [8D] . All my landings with the Twist before this in no wind took quite a bit of runway and rolling to get her landed . So what did I accidentally do was that a Harrier maneuver ? It sure was fun I hope I can do that on purpose some day . In no wind or light wind how can I get the Twist down with out using so much runway ? We have a long runway but it seems like I should be able to land in a shorter distance even in no wind conditions . I just put my 4* .40 in the air only a couple a weeks ago but I am having so much fun with the Twist the last 2 days I didn't even take the 4* out of my Blazer .

Thats a pretty interesting story there Jack, I hope for your sake you did grab some of those genes,

TimC, working on the motor is something I wish I was a little better at, I have no problem in taking them apart and trying to fix a non working engine, and I always seem to get them working again, but Half the time I really don't know what I did besides take it apart and clean it or just re tighten things down, I'm sure if I knew how to bore them out correctly and put new pistons in I could get back some of the compression lost over the long years of use.

To all Non Builders - I helped my Pop build his first plane and I didn't really know what was going on I was 8, But I guess I held a little of that info, My next build was a Super sport with a foam wing, all I built was the fuse,, (Very Simple) Then I received a Carl Goldberg Eagle for one of my very first complete Builds on Christmas, and let me tell you I was able to do a great job on that plane, the Directions and parts were so simple and easy to follow, I have since built many kits, and if it wasn't for Carl G. I may have had a tougher time learning, now a days some kits you get, Have a box of sticks and a direction sheet, the end, but because of all the other kits, even those are completely easy to understand now too. I have recommended the Eagle to many new people in the Hobby, just to give them the skills at Basic building, and they are building masterpieces these days. now I need to build a masterpiece, I do see the beauty in an ARF as the Twist is my very first ARF, but after 3 basic rebuilds & 1 total rebuild, I feel like I have built the Twist from a kit now.

To build a kit to me, is about the same as the feeling of waiting to go flying, [&:] the anticipation is overwhelming, I find myself at work just waiting for the bell to toll so I can get home and start Gluing my prize together. and when she's all done and takes to the Sky, you know it was all you who brought it there. (okay, well the designer Helped too) but I have made a few home designed planes as well, & Thats a feeling you just have to experience for yourself.

Try using a bigger, lower pitch prop. That usually slows a plane down on landing. It did for me. I was using a 13x8 on my Saito 82 and the Twist would just come in hot and float right by me. I switched to a 14x6 and my Twist lands in half the space it used to.

I'm now useing a 14x4 on my .70 4 stroke and I do believe its just about perfect for 3D, but you do lose a little speed, bar none though, she lands like a feather on a pillow with that combo.

Wow, a lot of great posts. Great story, Jack. And Waldo, I think the last sentence in you post summed it all up perfectly. It's the anticipation which I do seem to enjoy when building. I build(assemble) not only my planes, but also my buddies, who don't like to build. They say that when they spend the time and effort to build one they have too deep of feelings for the bird. Then when they fly it, they're too worried about crashing to try any type of acrobatic maneuver. However, when I do the build for them, they have no time or effort tied up in it, so they can go all out without worry. I tell you what, my heart has been broken many times after seeing one go down, but then it's lifted when I realize I will soon have another plane to build.

I'm lucky that my wife is so forgiving of my hobby. She knows how happy it makes me and for that I love her more. But on more than one occasion she's given me the evil eye when she comes into the shop and sees three planes still in their boxes ready to be assembled for others.

I've had the thought in my mind for a while to build a kit. All I've done so far is assemble arfs and rebuild after crashes. I just don't know what would be needed or how to go about it. I've seen some kits, like the ultimate bipe(which would actually kill two birds with one stone, the biplane), but I don't think I could take it if I built something that just wouldnt' fly right, ya know? I want something aerobatic, capable of 3d. Any ideas or suggestions?

Keep em flying,
Dean

One more question:

I've noticed that with the twist, when I pull up hard for an elevator, it wants to roll. Is this common? I figure it's due to the combined elevator, and the wire flexing. Are you all mixing it out, or just "smart thumbing" it? I have been able to give it some aileron to compensate, but I haven't been able to keep it consistent.

Dean

Dean, it's called "snapping." I'll bet it's always go to the right, hm? Well, first reduce the throw or just don't go full UP on the elevator--or it will happen all the time. Several of my airframes seem to have that bad habit. I've never tried mixing, but the amount of rudder needed to CORRECT the snap is like... equal to one click, but it depends on speed, wind direction, and amount of rudder input up.

I've tried using carbon fiber rods. No help.

If you find an answer, let me know. Every one of my 8 Twists did it, some less, some more.

J

Jack, I hope you and the Boyz had a great day flying...and I really appreciate you not calling and rubbing it in! I've spent the day gathering RC paraphernalia from all over and bringing it to the shop. I still have a few more planes from the front porch to get but it's almost done, but man is my workshop a disaster. The thing is, I have a few cabinets to build next week and now I've got to find a place for all of it! This is what I get for putting it off all winter! Yeah, yeah, I need help....

Peace.

Downtrodden.

P.S. What do you think of my two-headed "Hydra-plane"? (Free-handed airbrush) It's a ST .51-powered SPA3DT. I cut my 3D teeth on this bird and you couldn't beat the price of $6. Check out the free plans at www.spadtothebone.com .

Down, I tried to see a plane in that........uh...........disarray and could almost make out something that looked like one. Possibly where the two dragons are?