flying in winter
 

I want to go fly my alpha this winter, i installed a set of skis and i am allmost all ready to go try it. I was thinking about the cold that could maybe affect the hinges for surfaces movement... is it dangerous to brake or snap because it could be too cold?

Also, since the last time i flew my plane was summer time, will i have to ajust the carburator setting due to the change of weather? Is there a good tread somewhere here to help setting up needle valve and carburator?

Thanks

Marc-Andre

RE: flying in winter
 

If you can stand being in the cold, your plane can stand it. The biggest concern will be battery life - you will want to monitor your battery after every flight to make sure it is safe. It will run down a lot faster in the cold.

You will need to adjust your needle valves. The factory limiter on the Alpha's needle valve will probably prevent you from being able to set it properly. It is best to just remove it, so you have full range of adjustment. The limiter is just a roll pin stuck into the side of the valve knob. Just grab it with a pair of pliers and pull it out. Your engine will probably run at your "summer" setting, but will need to be leaned out a bit due to the denser cold air to run best.

Another big concern is safety. During the winter, you are more likely to be at the field alone. You may also be a bit rusty in your procedures. Make sure that you do everything very deliberately. Remove your glow starter from behind the plane, don't reach through a spinning prop, be careful carrying your plane to the flight line, etc...

I have shelved my balsa planes for the winter, and have been flying my SPADs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1g047ZLfeM

Have fun and stay warm.

RE: flying in winter
 

Usually it is the fingers that suffer most from the cold, not the plane.
Quite likely, you'll need to adjust the needles for the different conditions.

It is always a good idea to have someone there, who can drive you home or to the hospital. An injured person should not drive, even if it is relatively minor.

RE: flying in winter
 

One quick correction. In the winter, due to the denser, cooler air, you need to adjust the needle richer, not leaner. If you follow the normal procedure (start the engine, run it to full throttle, then adjust the high speed needle to the rich side of peak) you'll be fine. By following this process, you will naturally set the high speed richer.

There should be no need to adjust the low speed.

Brad

RE: flying in winter
 

Of course!! Best time of the year providing the temp is OK. It really opens up the flying area when the lakes freeze over. A little tip on cold weather starting, a couple of drops of lighter fluid'''' 2""" !!! really pops them off.This pix was taken Sunday January 27th, temp a balmy 39 above, what a day! Today Jan 29th 10 below with -40 plus wind chill but no bugs. Going to be -30 or more tonight, more building time! Tnx, Khelsea Lanny

RE: flying in winter
 

colder= denser air. (more molecules of O2) therefore it makes sense that you need more fuel to acheive the same mixture. benefit is more power though. not bad if you fingers can handle the cold.

RE: flying in winter
 

The only downside, other than the frozen fingers, is that the goo on your wings is a lot thicker and harder to remove than it is in the summer. You almost have to scrape it off. But it's a small price to pay.

And I stand corrected on my lean vs. rich mistake. My brain must have been frozen.

I went out today at lunch and flew my Gnat a few flights. It was beautiful, about 38 degrees, and all of the snowmobile ruts are gone from our runway. We could actually taxi our planes without prop strikes.

RE: flying in winter
 

When flying in the winter I use gloves with a small hole cut in the thumbs. If the temps are below 30 degrees I keep heat packs handy that I can slip into the gloves, if needed.

RE: flying in winter
 

i tried to start my plane yesterday... in my driveway. It started ok but kept stalling all the time... i had to play with the needle valve open up... few click... then at some points it seemed not to be enough... or to much....

Should i start from all the way close and after i open it up a few turns?

Also my plane is a alpha trainer... with wings holding with rubber bands... i really dont like how they were when i removed them after i was done with the plane and i was taking it inside my house. They were all frozen up... but stretched up... i dont know if you understand what i mean by that. They were not flexible anymore!!! thats bad to me.

I saw last summer one guy with the same plane as mine but he modified the wing so it kinda bolt on to the fuselage... anyone familiar with that? Because no way i can contact that guy so he tells me how to do the mods...

I dont want to go fly my plane with frozen rubber band... it could be dangerous to have the wings come loose.

here is my plane:

RE: flying in winter
 

You should use fresh rubber bands every time you fly. Every other time max. Buy #64 rubber bands at Staples in the big bag. You can convert to a bolt-on wing, but it's a bit of work.

Close your needle valve all the way, then open it about 2 1/2 turns. That should give you a starting point you can adjust from.

Good luck

RE: flying in winter
 

dont you think that the cold is going to affect my rubber band?

Do you have any ideas of how to do the bolt on mods?

RE: flying in winter
 

Marcus028... to put it simply...if it isn't raining, winds aren't over 20 mph, visibility isn't less than a mile, or the snow is coming down like a blanket You can fly that play. It has been in the low 30s here and we are flying here in Ohio. look at it this way. There are only a few of us out at the field when winter gets here. So we get more flying time. :D You can't beat that can you?

RE: flying in winter
 

Under 40 degrees, rubber bands start to lose their stretch. Under 30 it is quite noticeable. Add an extra set.

RE: flying in winter
 

I flew my LT-40 on skis a couple of weeks ago in pretty cold weather. After flying, I took off the rubber bands from the wing and they just didn't want to shrink back to their non-stretched size. They held OK while flying.

RE: flying in winter
 

okay.... thanks i just dont want to see the wings come off in flight!!! :D

RE: flying in winter
 

Landed a nice basement remodel job about 2.5 miles from our clubs site. I haft to pass it by each day. Descided to toss one of the planes in the truck "just in case" . This week the winds have been 40 - 50 mph cold and dreary looking. The folks let me put the plane and field kit in their garage so I didn't haft to transport it back and forth. Well I went out around 11 am for a breath of fresh air and the sun poked out and winds let down so I ran down and got a good hour of flying time in before the winds started blasting again... That was the best, It's was like playing hookie and doing your favorite thing. That motor really wanted to kick but today. I guess it was all that pent up energy from passing the field every day and not turning in. \/\/3\/\/T

RE: flying in winter
 

Yes, I know what you mean by the rubber bands were frozen. If you can find the brown/orange colored ones, they are not affected by cold like the whitish tan ones.
I am going to change mine over to the nylon bolts for precisely that reason...
Are you flying from skis?
I just got into RC flying myself and have been flying mine from skis. Sure is fun!

RE: flying in winter
 

Here is one...
[link]http://www.masportaviator.com/ah.asp?ID=38&Index=3[/link]

RE: flying in winter
 

I was told this week by a guy that owns a LHS not to go fly my glow powered plane below 20 degrees... what do you think of that? And what if it snows a little bit? Would it be not too good to have some snow flakes go in the air port of the carburator?

thanks

Marc-Andre

RE: flying in winter
 

Lots of people fly under 20F (around -7C) with no problems. A little snow does not seem to hurt either.
Some pics:
http://www.trerc.fi/galleria/Alasella_2006/index.html

If you mean below -20C, it gets hard to keep yourself and especially the fingers in working order.

RE: flying in winter
 

Of course, our -20C winters seem to be long gone, due to global warming. Beginning of February, and no sign of real winter yet. This sucks.

RE: flying in winter
 

your winter is over here. We've had snow every 3-5 days since Christmas, and several nights well below -20C. In the praries, they've been seeing -40's, even in rather southern locals...

Too cold for me, not my planes!

J

RE: flying in winter
 

I'm in New York just north of Buffalo and I installed skiis on my Nexstar and flew the other day. 20 degrees "F" and lite snow falling. Took alittle extra to tune it in, would recommend a hot glow plug, but it flew great. THUMBS WERE NUMB, but it was a riot. Be prepared how easy the skiis slide on icy lite snow covered ground. Took alot of room to slow down on landing.

RE: flying in winter
 

Sometimes the engines won't heat up enough. One of our old timers, that flies all winter, wraps tin foil aroung the jug of his two strokes. You can still grab em when he lands and they are hardly warm to the touch.