LOL thats great Down glad to hear you got out there again,, it was a long dang winter...

Waldo .... gee .. I thought the winter was so short! all my northern flying buds came, we tore the sky to shreds, and now they have all gone back north. Seems like it was only a tick of the clock that they were here and gone!. But i managed to crash 3 planes, & got another one hung up in the power lines (not mine either) .... had to call the power company to get it down (got some nice photos of it hanging), and burnt 2.5 cases of fuel!

have you maidened your twist 60 yet? good luck with it.

Bruce

Three planes and 2.5 cases of fuel, Not to bad of average. How many cases of beer?

MOONDOGGIE......you go boy!!!congrats on the maiden..I am very glad to hear that you share our joy of flying the T _ _ _ T. We all knew you would like the plane, but it is always good to hear. You know what?? I share that feeling, that after the maiden you need to have a few minutes to steam off your adrenaline ...Maiden flghts are exiting, but darn...they shorten your life a couple of hours don't they??Keep us posted of your flight experiences brother...consider yourself as of now officially "married" to the group here..there is no turning back now..you have the "TWIRUS"...(or the T _ _ _ T virus so you want....)

DownT...finally got some airtime in huh??..you must be a nervous wreck by now, hearing all the guys flying with their baby and you standing on the side line due to the weather...you had some decent wind during your flight my friend..did all went well??luckily for you, the T _ _ _ T loves!! the wind....

MOONDOGGIE....I am going to maiden my T _ _ _T .60 this Friday..I will keep you posted on how all goes, and every one else of course....This is my 1st T _ _ _ T .60 size, and I am really exited!!All I have left to do is route the antenna cable somewhat decent outside the fuse...and I need to recover part of the bottom of the fuse, after the enforcement-surgery took placeI will definitely take pictures, and I really hope to do some video too.I might have my bud maiden her for me, so I can take some video footage...

TimC..Adam..you guys still out there??Time to wake up and put some flight reports out here..[sm=thumbs_up.gif]you guys doing all right??[sm=teeth_smile.gif]

Dutch,

You're absolutely right.......the T_ _ _ T loves the wind and besides who doesn't like to watch their planes fly backwards? But Dutch,............what's this "having my bud maiden her for me" business? That's the biggest rush in flying .... taking off on that first flight and being willing to accept all the blame if things go terribly wrong! The level of adrenaline one experiences is punch-in-the-gut, knee-buckling ecstasy! As a bystander I get more out of watching the facial expressions and body contortions of the poor schmuck that hasn't quite "let go" of the model he's about to crash then watching him fly. He's usually the one that wipes his plane down BEFORE he flies it (or attempts too, anyway). I pay particular attention to the guy that brings all his gear to the field and sets it up only to sit there and try to develop his "nerve" through osmosis, telekinesis or some shwit like that and then packs it up and leaves......when he finally shows up with enough "nerve"you're usually guaranteed a show. And one surely doesn't want to dull the sensation with alcohol (that's for later.....heh,heh,heh). So buddy, step up to the plate, with sweaty palms, your stomach in your mouth, weak knees, and trembling thumbs and know what "feeling alive" is all about. Take a few of your closest friends along too so that they may learn from your mistakes when you crash and have their important questions answered such as......"How much did you say that plane cost?" "After planting all that balsa, how long till the leaves appear?" "How many years did it take you to fly like that?" I'm looking forward to that video of your successful maiden..........with you at the sticks.

I flew again last night in dead calm. I went to this field were I fly often and during my second flight I heard voices behind me. I brought the plane to a safe height and looked behind me.........where I saw four women and all their children walking toward me.......on the runway.........all spread out. Well, I'm almost out of fuel and this field is surrounded by trees so I had to come in quick or ditch it before I was surrounded. I harriered it down in a hurry and ended up bending the gear, but down and shut off anyway! What is it with people? Doesn't a 2-stroke and prop make enough noise to sound intimidating? How come people don't approach a lawnmower or weedwhacker with such fearlessness? My wife never took my children to a hornets nest and said....."Let's see how close we can get." Note to self........find someone else that enjoys this hobby and can act as a spotter when my head is in the clouds. If this is any indicator of how the year is going to be, I think my alcohol consumption will surpass my plane's.

Peace,

Downtrodden

aa2dd The winter was actually short,, I usually go by how many times I had to plow my driveway, only twice this year,, it would have been 4, but we were away for 2 of the major storms, Thank God.... but flying season is when we can access the field, so it was actually a shorter winter, but 4 months with out flying is WAY TO LONG,,, we are usually done in November but last year we were able to get out there for the 1st 2 weeks in Dec,, and we started in april,, I don't own the T_ _ _ T 60

Dutch,, I am afraid I have to agree with Downt on your maiden with the 60, you already fly the 40, so the 60 should be easier,, bigger wing span,, = more stable, but I don't own a 60 so I don't how true that would be in this case, I'm pretty sure its the same for every model, with a bigger plane you get more response time, so to me the bigger they are, the easier it gets, and if you crash, you may just need a bigger body bag and a bigger drink just tape a bottle of your favorite beverage to your arm and when you land you will have a pefectly mixed drink, Shaken not stirred. but I agree with Down,,, you will feel ALIVE,, invigorated even,, and make sure you don't maiden her until the winds are at 35mph if you want the real deal feel. Good luck and make us proud.

DownT yes we use to experience the same type problem back when we flew off the road, we would be having a great flight when a car would pull over to the side right in the middle of our runway to watch what was going on, we would have to be waving them down and tell them to come down by us or get moving, its hard enough to hit a 2 lane highway runway, its really not as wide as you think and tail draggers can get a little squirrly once they touch down, I didn't own a T_ _ _ T back then, so most of my planes landed a little hot, it took a long time to slow down once on the runway, but what people can do is just amzing to me, I mean you could see where we are all parked, but yet people would stop right smack in the middle of where we needed to come in, the most fun was actually timing a dead stick down in between traffic, most of the times you had to ditch, but there were those few times when you settled in right betweeen the cars and coasted off the side of the road,, AWESOME!!! [>:] but scary.[X(] LOL. I'll take a pic of our old runway and post it, One thing though, landing on such a target really helped people become very Accurate in hitting the runway, our runway now is double the size in width, its not even a challenge really to hit this one. Personally when that happens to you,, refer to the movie Silver streak, for when the old woman pilot buzzed the sheep with Gene Wilder aboard, or Waldo Pepper when he buzzed the crowds away from the burning plane that just crashed.

Switch props to the 14x4w, you guys were right, flys like a different airplane. I can pick my spot and land it.
I did`nt get a chance to try high rates yet . After flying the Twist for a few flights , I took up the 4 Star and a jerk turned his radio on an locked mine out. All I could do was watch it spiral to earth. My flying buddies caught the guy trying to hide the radio in the truck of his car. One of them had warned him before hand that I was on the same freq.
Needless to say , I packed up and went home to chill out a little bit before I try the Twist on high rates.
I have a barely use Saito 56, how would that pull a Twist around?

InsaneMoonDoggie,

I hope that fella bought you a new outfit? Especially when he was caught red-handed! Fill us in?

Downtrodden

A .15 could pull a T_ _ _ T around............but how much fun is it? I'd save it for a classic Playboy, or somesuch.

I'm going to try the "Dutch" method of posting.........one right after the other. We just finished flying and what a awesome day! 75 and sunny and probably the last day without mosquitos! I have to tell you about this guy that came to the field with these rubber-powered airplanes. Man! This guy had a flight of 7 minutes and it must have flown well over 700 yards in that time! Sometimes a guy just has to look back at his childhood and go for the simpler things. The T_ _ _ T drew a crowd today.....I didn't touch the tail to the ground, yet, but I 'm getting back into the swing of things. It is just like riding a bike. Man does it feel good to be flying again.

Downtrodden


Adam, email me the specs on your T-Rex........Puhleeeese. Thanks

DOWNT....you're killing me!!!!..I do admit that I need dry undies and a dry T-shirt after a maiden.....I'm dragging to fire the plane up...not knowing how all will go once I hit the throttle and she gets airborne..my heart beat get's out of sight and you are right...the knees are just twitching like crazy...by the sound of it, you have had the same experience several times too......once she is back on the ground in one piece..I have to sit down and blow off steam......so..well....I'll take your advice...I'll need to have someone else doing the video and take her up myself....ghee whizz....I'm starting to sweat already, and it still takes a couple of days....

A Maiden is very simple - (It Is Up To You)- Fuel Up, Start up, Line Up, Rev Up, Speed Up, Point Up, Keep Up & Don't F--K Up. That is all there is to it. Oh Yes You Have to land with the Canopy Up.

Downt, my ears are burning. I think you are talking about me a few years ago. I bought a hot little .25 size Extra and took it out to a big club field in Bakersfield for the maiden. I got it all ready to fly, and just couldn't quite get up the nerve to pull the trigger. I was thinking about asking one of the better pilots to maiden it. I must have wiped it all down about three times. Finally the guy next to me said "you gonna fly that thing or not?". I thought, well, it's just a brand new plane, new engine, new radio gear. I'm not going to let someone else crash it. I took off ok, and realized then how fast it was, After flying around a bit, I chopped the throttle to see how much it would slow down. It didn't. I finally swung it around for a whistling death landing and just cleared the fence on one end of the runway. I set it down and used the whole runway, skidding it sideways into the weeds on the other end, bouncing all the way. After taking the plane back to the pits, some old fart said " that lands kind of fast, doesn't it."

TimC,

I think you might have wiped too much "air resistance" off the plane and gave it a zero drag coeffecient of friction...............hence it wouldn't slow down? Whadda ya think? That would never happen to you anymore, would it?

Peace,

Downtrodden

And if it's much easier to fit back in your car when you're heading home, then suck it up.

Dutch ....

I just about have my twist 60 done. I have to screw the canopy on, and do a final balance check. Had the battery and rx in it today. Taped canopy on temporary. to balance at 5.25", i had to add 4.7 oz of BB'S over the engine. ..... that is a lot less than the 14+ oz i had to add to the last one. The battery is located tight to the rear of the fuel tank wall. I mounted the engine so that i have 5.5" between firewall and the prop washer. Like i was thinking before, a Saito 125 would just about balance her with no extra weights. I might have to make a trip to Graves' Hobby in Orlando. Gettin low on fuel too. Hope to test her out Friday am.

Bruce

Man you can tell its flying season all over the world the nerves are on edge, the humor's in full [sm=lol.gif] the abundance of advice[:-][][8D] but most of all,, the stories[X(] yes this thread is alive and breathing again, you guys are the best !!!

Moondog if that guy doesn't set you up,, in my neck of the woods we call that a challenge, to hell with a streamer fight, thats when we go full at it, we will take the fastest plane in the hanger, and when they go up, its a fight to the finish, I like to wait until they start their motor, and then I start my plane and taxi up like a tiger stalking its prey, then start reving my motor up and down,,[>:][>:][>:][>:] by now everyone knows there is a challenge, its tougher for an unworthy bonebag of bait to back down, so when they take off, I'm right on the tail, usually both planes end up trashed, but I have landed with a victory a few times also, I take great pride in the classic dogfight, I fear nobody, but I rebuild lots of planes[:-] all in the name of great fun. good luck

Dutch,, thats what we like to hear,,, if your knees ain't a knockin,[sm=what_smile.gif] your plane ain't a rockin.

And on a small off side note,,, we were just told we are opening for the Outlaws in August and Blackfoot in June,, Maybe we can get a tour out one of these groups and I may get to visit ya's,
Now how can I add the flying portion of my life to our show is all I have to figure out. hmmmm trailer full of band equipment and a trailer full of planes,,, I'm going to need a bigger vehicle.

Bruce...I just got out of the garage.....mine is ready too. I ironed white ultracote back on the bottom of the fuse...velcro'd the battery right behind the tank and guided the end of the antenna nicely along the fuse to the rear, on to the stab. I too will maiden her this Friday.......I'm hecka curious how she will do....I have the S/T 90 in the nose, with no additional weight..balancing at exactly 5.50...Too bad we can't maiden her together....that would be lots of fun!!This is my first S/T engine....we'll see how she does with it, but it should be more than enough power....haven't programmed the throws in my radio yet though...will do that on the field...I just did a quick check up and noticed I had forgotten to put a servo screw in the servo arm from the rudder servo..I actually don't use the rudder a whole lot, but still.... they did a good job glueing all the hinges in..all surfaces are really smooth..I use a 6V 1650MAh battery, so plenty of juice for the servo's.......well...one more work day tomorrow, then my weekend starts..I'll keep ya'll posted..

......well...it is short and sweet...and you are right!!...that is exactly what it is about...but the mind, connected to the heart and knees...seem to have a mind on their own on just that very moment all of the sudden.....can you believe that???..

Moondoggie.....FWIW..I have the O.S. 61FX in the T _ _ _ T, and the power it delivers for the T _ _ _ T is sooooo smooth!! I think your Saito will fly the T _ _ _ T around without a problem, but I do not know if she will deliver enough power to take your baby up vertical unlimited...Although it is not all about power, it has saved my Dutch rear several times as well, just because I was about to crash her and hit full throttle, taking her up to the sky in the blink of an eye!!..If you have the possibillity, put a nice powerhouse in her. It will benefit you for a long, long time and gives you an adrenaline rush from America to Tokyo...

Friday is going to be "THE" day ehhh??!! Wish we were flying them together ... it would be fun. Mine will only be a partial maiden! The wing has been on a few flights and one crash .... lessee, i have Hitec digital servos for elev and rud. ail are Hitec ... 425BB ... throttle .. hitec ... hs-81 ...... Battery .. 5 cell homebrew @ 2500 ma .... Saito 100 and APC 16x4W. Receiver ... Hitec RCD3800, TX .... Futaba 9Z. ...... Come on Twist .... DO IT FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tear the sky apart ... leave me in awe, gasping for breath, heart pounding, and my shoes full of !!! whaaaat ... who threw water on me???!!! and on landing, kiss the ground gently!

I balanced at 5.25 for cg. It required 4 oz to get it balanced. It should fly great. If i crash again, think this time i'll just stomp the remains into the ground and leave it RIP!

If i can get off my two month roll, I would like to get back to building my new SPAD. It is about 75% done, but lately i have been detracted ... hehehe

Good luck on your maiden . I hope all goes well for you.

Bruce

Bruce...I maidened the T _ _ _ T .60......and it crashed!!!It took off....and tumbled over..the 1st tumble I recovered..the 2nd killed the plane!![:@][:@][:@]...neither my bud or I have an explanation of what the heck happened!!!The plane was in good shape...well build....checked several times before take off. S/T ran like a dream.....fuse is cracked in 2...wing has a minor dent in the tip..but nothing bad. Rudder and elevator are just fine...gotta order a new fuse I think....I wonder if the CG should have been closer to 6 than 5.50.....that is all we can think off.....

I'm so friggin bummed..it is not even funny.....I'll get over it in about a day or 2...for now..I don't even want to look or touch my gear....I can live with it if it is my own stupid fault...but this made absolutely no sense....I hope yours went way better...keep me posted...I'm curious.....

Dutch,

I hear ya........it's a biiitch when you know it ain't your fault.........and the real biiitch of it is they won't take responsibilty for it either..........and we both know who "they" are. I'm with ya, on this one.

downtrodden.

Dutch ..........

Sorry hearing about your crash. I know the feeling well. What do you mean by "tumbling"? Not sure about going back to 6" with the cg. they will fly nose heavy, but tail heavy is a BIG handfull to deal with. Does not matter how agile and aerobatic they are with the 6" cg, they are worthless if you are on verge of a crash trying to get it back on the ground. the nose up, ballooning thing is dangerous to the longevity of the bird, especially if it is windy. Might better be nose heavy than the other way, till you get things sorted out.

I flew mine this morning. was windy, but steady. soooo ... fueled up checked everything again. fired the Saito .... put her on the ground and taxied to the far end of the runway. figgered if i played it smart, I could get a good feel about flyability before running out of runway! Isn't that a brilliant idea? anyhow, throttled up to maybe half throttle. she started tracking down the field. when it looked "right" i just barely gave a touch of up elevator. she rose in the air to altitude of about 2 feet or so. I eased off elevator and let sticks go to neutral. She seemed decent. Soooo ... thought hmmm .... gess it's a go. throttled up and climbed out to 50 feet or so, leveled off and throttled back and done a few laps around @ half throttle. one klick of right and one click of up and she flew straight and true. done a couple of touch and goes. it showed a slight tendency to balloon up the nose when landing, and the elevator is VERY sensitive. My balance is at 5.25" Not really 100% sure yet, as it was pretty windy, but I think it's still a touch tail heavy. It got terrible windy and gusty, so did not fly again. Will play with the balance next time, providing i can catch a low wind day.

Bruce

Sorry to hear that Dutch, you have a right to be bummed, but don`t let it discourage you. When I smuck a plane , I have to leave it set a few days to mourn. I know that sounds silly, but thats the way it is. But after a few days , the rebuild frenzy starts. Maybe Murphy showed up . He seems to like maidens.
Just a dumb question , When you say tumble , do you mean a wing drops or end for end. If I had a plane tumble end to end on take off , it would freak me out lol.

Took my Twist up in the wind for the first time to day. I took off a bout 1/3 throttle and flew an oval . When I turned into the wind the plane about stopped. Flip upside down, thankfully it flys that way. lol.

Bummer Dutch. Just remember that it is all part of the game. Over my many years of flying I have stuck my share of planes in the ground. Do you remember the show - The Six Million Dollar Man. You can rebuild it, you can make it stronger, you can make it faster, you can make it better than before. Now it is time for the Ribbing. You apparantly didn't follow my 9 step plan (Fuel Up, Start up, Line Up, Rev Up, Speed Up, Point Up, Keep Up & Don't F--K Up. That is all there is to it. Oh Yes You Have to land with the Canopy Up) [X(]. Sorry Dude I couldnt resist.

Just thought I would add this. This is a story I told almost a year ago.

Gotta Short Story. My son & I was flying behind the house yesterday afternoon. We had his 4star up & I was bringing it around to land, Well I landed in a tree (stuck way in top of it). After my son stopped laughing at me I got a rope and hooked a tree limb shaking it to get the plane to fall, Well when it did that sucker hit me in the top of the head, D--- near knocked me out. Well my kid is telling everyone we see about it ( Dad crashed my plane and it hit him in the head). Spent all day rebuilding it. Almost ready to go again.