old timers look here must be 50+ years only

In Texas/Oklahoma the joke is that we have three seasons, hot, way too hot, still hot and freezing our butts off. With a few exceptions, the central North America is mostly open plains from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Circle. It's an over simplification but a lot of our weather either blows up from the tropics or down from the North Pole.
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Telemaster Sales UK (03-22-2023)

Ya, That was Saturday here? We went to Sam's club, 15 miles away on a sunny morning. Came out, loaded and started North, 5 miles we were in a snow thick enough traffic on the highway was down to 15 mph but at lest not slick. Was down to flakes when we got home and unloaded. Ate some lunch went out the front to get mail and it was bright, sunny, pretty as you please, on the South side. Walked in and told my wife about it called the dog to go throw ball in the back yard, opened the door and snow came in. I walked to the front of the house and could see the blue sky going away. About an hour later we were throwing ball in the backyard in the sun again.
My BEST memory of this area is I was working on a golf course, thirsty, shoveling up and raking a sand trap. I thought it was funny whistling the "Lawrence of Arabia" theme. (didn't sing the lyrics ala "The Hollywood Knights). Went home and cooked out. Got up the next day went to go to work, shut the door and dug my overalls out of the closet, went back outside, scraped the snow off and drove carefully to work where we did machine maintenance all day. It had melted pretty well by the next day. 86,87? Course my wife was dodging a tornado in November that year too, same area.
My BEST memory of this area is I was working on a golf course, thirsty, shoveling up and raking a sand trap. I thought it was funny whistling the "Lawrence of Arabia" theme. (didn't sing the lyrics ala "The Hollywood Knights). Went home and cooked out. Got up the next day went to go to work, shut the door and dug my overalls out of the closet, went back outside, scraped the snow off and drove carefully to work where we did machine maintenance all day. It had melted pretty well by the next day. 86,87? Course my wife was dodging a tornado in November that year too, same area.

Thread Starter

clean......... welcome to the thread
It seems to me you are living in the state of confusion. here in Texas the weather can be weird also I have seen a torrential down pour on one side of the street and bone dry in sunshine on the other more than once. we were to have a jet meet today and tomorrow but it is raining so I wont be going to the field. this time of year the weather is kinda wobbly but I think it gets worse as the years pass. As I type this we have clouds on the front of the house and bright sunshine on the back.
I bought a tracfone to stay in touch with my wife on the fifteenth of this month and have spoken to no one other than technicians from I don't know where and can't get this thing to dial out. I would trade it in but I'll lose the money I spent on the additional minutes card. as soon as my wife gets off our house phone I'll get back with the tech's again and waste another day.
Are you doing any building/flying? how about some pics of your birds?
It seems to me you are living in the state of confusion. here in Texas the weather can be weird also I have seen a torrential down pour on one side of the street and bone dry in sunshine on the other more than once. we were to have a jet meet today and tomorrow but it is raining so I wont be going to the field. this time of year the weather is kinda wobbly but I think it gets worse as the years pass. As I type this we have clouds on the front of the house and bright sunshine on the back.
I bought a tracfone to stay in touch with my wife on the fifteenth of this month and have spoken to no one other than technicians from I don't know where and can't get this thing to dial out. I would trade it in but I'll lose the money I spent on the additional minutes card. as soon as my wife gets off our house phone I'll get back with the tech's again and waste another day.
Are you doing any building/flying? how about some pics of your birds?

Building slowly. After my daughter added another child almost 5 years ago I could get nothing done. I've finally gotten time to where I can so I tore down some storage shelves in the basement garage, rebuilt those to usable work benches, threw away some things I haven't seen in 8 years since we moved in here and started unboxing, storing and cleaning all the stuff off the shelves I have now. In the midst I cleaned up and got ready some planes that were out in the barn. Put together a Tower Kaos 40 ARF, and I'm in the middle of a Nobler ARF kit from TopFlite that I won. Once that is done I need to drop the Garage door opener thats above my building bench, run power from that outlet to the wall where there is no power for the drill, table sander, place to plug the Scroll saw in THEN get a new head for the Garage door opener because this one lost it's remote control feature. Then again, maybe I don't want the remote feature as I don't want the door opening on anything thats sitting over the bench. hmmmm. After that, I have a foam club racer needs to be done, an Ultra Sport ARF that needs put together and a Fancy Trainer ARF that looks like it should be fun to fly with flashy lights on it pre-installed. Stuff I bought when I was working a bunch of OT at my job and didn't have any time to put stuff together. I need to put togehter a new Ringmaster and it wouldn't hurt to build a Skyray 35, kits which I purchase long ago. I've got things and recievers and enough servos for another couple birds plus ones that need to come in from the barn for refurb. But before I go to crazy, better make sure I have time to fly them. Soccer starts tomorrow and Volleyball workouts start Monday for the older two grandchildren. My daughter is going to put the littlest in dance, I just know it. There goes more free time ;-)






Quick video of Big Plane flying a couple weeks ago in VERY windy conditions. My Flour bomb fell out after takeoff making two drops I didn't do well for the boyscouts that were watching.






Quick video of Big Plane flying a couple weeks ago in VERY windy conditions. My Flour bomb fell out after takeoff making two drops I didn't do well for the boyscouts that were watching.
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Clean (03-24-2023)

Hi Clean, is that a Charybdis on the shelf in the 5th photo from the top? As for the Garage door opener, I wouldn't bother if it is used primarily as your workshop. It has been over a decade since the last time I got into one but it seems like most openers had a separate receiver module that could be replaced.

Instead, could be the transmitter has gone bad, needs battery replaced, or resync'd. If the wall switch, they wear out, too.

Hi Clean, is that a Charybdis on the shelf in the 5th photo from the top?
But here's the video of my first flight, it was too windy but what the heck. In the video showing the wall in my new shop, where there is a Yellow and green winged plane in the middle next to my wifes senior picture Hanging to the far left are a .049 and .020 Charybdis. Also minus sticks and engines. The 049 last flown in 2005 but plenty of flights with it.

All the transmitters? I have a MyQ hub for it (it hooks into the internet, my phone hits it and it sends the opener signal to the opener) and three different remotes that were programed to it. Thinkin it might have lost it's programming I reprogrammed it, never heard a single remote. The receiver in it is dead. As I mentioned though, not sure I want it opening without me checking to see if it's clear AND there is a side door just to the side of it so I can go in and check then open if I want. However, the closest power to the wall IS above the opener. I'll drop the opener, Open up the power and run a new wire to the wall and down to an outlet then replace the opener. Use it as a button activated only.
FYI, problem with modern computer controlled technology, it obsoletes itself so quickly, plus, unless they used high quality components, can go bad in a flash, too.
I have one of those Liftmaster / Chamberlain systems (both same company, L. is their so-called contractor grade stuff, C. is supposedly residential. Have a mix of both on my G.D. system).
Looked at the parts diagrams, found same circuit boards in my Chamberlain G.D. as their Liftmaster (except for system pricing differences), so a wash. But, had their special remote switch device operating under My-Q. Worked fine replacing my garage light switch. Worked about 4 years, then failed. Electronics went bad, had the 2nd remote button programmed to turn on garage lights. So, restored the light switch rather than replace.
I put a surge protector on the garage door, to help protect the electronics. (We have our share of thunderstorms). It's a simple one outlet one, but with MOV's (metal oxide varistors for clamping spikes) rated for the G.D. current draw. Got the battery backup one, because my wife would have a hard time opening and closing the garage door, if we lost power.
If your G.D. circuit board is bad, parts are available. Just depends whether you want to replace, or replace the whole G.D. unit. Good luck in fixing your G.D.

1st one is from Ken Willard's book and called the "RotoRiser" there just made out of an old SIG 1/2A 4 inch wing plank. The 40 size was made from my first UglyStick. It was an ARF kit that I had a mid-air with. I made it out with a chunk out of my wingtip. The other guy? Well, when we were looking for his pieces I found the plastic wingtip missing on mine. PUT it back on with a bit of packing tape and you couldn't see that it wasn't whole. I had a trashbag for his. I went to recover it that winter because the paper covering was looking pretty rough and when I pulled the top piece of paper off the fuse, the two sides just fell over flat, the paper was holding it together and the paper was oil soaked as was the wood. Just not worth repairing. So I had a wing. A NEW ARF Stick was cheap. Then I had a piece of wood from doing work on the house. Cut that sucker to fit the hole, epoxy and heavy fiberglass to attach this "axe handle" to a mouter mount and then just size up the flying stab. Darn thing worked. Crzy.
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GallopingGhostler (03-26-2023)

Lord, We adopted a dog this weekend. She's a year old Rott and maybe coon hound or Labrador mix. She's sweet, perky, excited and trys to be as gentle as a teenager can be BUT all our older pets are, too old for kids. The 8 year old Boston and her have their moments and then their moments. My 12 year old cat, has come to see me at night though the last time the dog just looked at her and then carried on. The new dog HAD cats with her but this one doesn't want to make friends. AND all my grandkids were with us this weekend and the 4 year old really didn't help keep things calm.
Why does this matter? Because when I typed out my reply I sent it through Gmail. That doesn't work but Gmail told me this morning that I'd screwed up. I'll sleep in tomorrow. But for now, having fed my cat, taken her to the basement where she can get out and/or hide on things other then under my master bed, I have to go get the kids on the school bus and bring the 4 year old back. So I'll just copy and paste the reply below. It's all good, and I'm glad you have looked this problem over, but it's easier to just paste the response, I gotta brush my teeth and go.
>>I understand that. Most of the chest beating on the internet wouldn't happen in face to face. I thought of looking for the receiver but I kinda like not worrying about the wind not being in the right place, one of my other members opening it without checking. Just a good safeguard to have a Mark One eyeball inspect before opening.My original plan was to just take the door out itself BUT man it's easy to carry planes out of.
I just need to tap the power outlet above it and theres barely enough room to get the plugin for the garage door opener in there. But thanks for the already looked up info if I decide to do it. Though I constantly worked with my Technicians on my problems on my printlines over the years, it's been 20 years since I diagnosed Problems for a 3rd party IBM Maintenance firm for a living. My printer though, gave me enough problems to at least know where NOT to ground things.
It's all good.
Why does this matter? Because when I typed out my reply I sent it through Gmail. That doesn't work but Gmail told me this morning that I'd screwed up. I'll sleep in tomorrow. But for now, having fed my cat, taken her to the basement where she can get out and/or hide on things other then under my master bed, I have to go get the kids on the school bus and bring the 4 year old back. So I'll just copy and paste the reply below. It's all good, and I'm glad you have looked this problem over, but it's easier to just paste the response, I gotta brush my teeth and go.
>>I understand that. Most of the chest beating on the internet wouldn't happen in face to face. I thought of looking for the receiver but I kinda like not worrying about the wind not being in the right place, one of my other members opening it without checking. Just a good safeguard to have a Mark One eyeball inspect before opening.My original plan was to just take the door out itself BUT man it's easy to carry planes out of.
I just need to tap the power outlet above it and theres barely enough room to get the plugin for the garage door opener in there. But thanks for the already looked up info if I decide to do it. Though I constantly worked with my Technicians on my problems on my printlines over the years, it's been 20 years since I diagnosed Problems for a 3rd party IBM Maintenance firm for a living. My printer though, gave me enough problems to at least know where NOT to ground things.
It's all good.


From Mike Reed's Flame Warrior blog
For home use, installed a parallel print circuit board in an Olivetti daisy wheel typewriter, to have a letter quality printer. Back in the mid 1980's, bought a 40 character dot matrix thermal printer from a surplus electronics store in Sacramento for under $100. (Then, printers were expensive.) The ready line was inverted, so wired in-line with the cable a digital inverter using a transistor and set of resistors. (If a transistor is driven to saturation, it can act as a simple logic device.) Think I used a PNP, it was so long ago. Worked like a charm on my Radio Shack Color Computer II.
Then, the home computers were the ideal digital electronic learning lab. I did also sorts of things, upgraded RAM from 16KB to 64KB by unsoldering the 16KB, sorldering in 64KB, and running jumpers to the right traces to adapt for differences with additional components (resistors, capacitors, etc.). Removed the standard basic PROM and upgraded to enhanced color basic with a new burnt in EPROM wired in.
Programming in assembly language, Motorola 6809, Intel 8088 and Zilog Z-80 at home helped me with learning and incorporating IBM 360J Assembly at work on real time data acquisition and load servo control systems.
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Clean (03-27-2023)

I would put those times in the 80's as my, "What do you mean aircraft lays off constantly AND Civil air is constricting massively and You know, I used to break airplanes for a living and now I'm either mowing acres of grass or head high in a muddy hole fixing a sprinkler head - golf course maintenance" years.
We, survived.
We, survived.

I would put those times in the 80's as my, "What do you mean aircraft lays off constantly AND Civil air is constricting massively and You know, I used to break airplanes for a living and now I'm either mowing acres of grass or head high in a muddy hole fixing a sprinkler head - golf course maintenance" years. We, survived.

I was working at Douglas Aircraft. Was good, 1988 company population grew to 59,000 with all the expansion in programs. James E. Worsham brought the company back into the black then retired 1989. A new boss took over, implemented TQM that lost 329 million in one month stating the cost of progress.



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Clean (03-27-2023)

A little off topic,
recently got one of these engines off a 'net auction at reasonable cost, an early 1960's Cox .15 Sportsman engine. It was Cox's largest reed valve engine, it powered their Piper Cherokee RTF control line aircraft, but also was sold separately. It was one of the largest CL RTF's as most during 1950's and 1960's were half-A. Cox, Wen-Mac (acquired by AMF / Testor), Aurora, etc. (I recall UK had a couple of their own half-A RTF's, too.)

Think I might put this in a Midwest 33 inch (840 mm) wingspan profile Warhawk control line aircraft.
Also recently picked up a venerable 1950's Fox .09 Rocket engine in good condition. Freed up Castor engine drag with some light machine oil. They still sell Gunk Super Oil, but now in a plastic bottle. My can is probably now a collector item.

Peter Chinn's engine article in the Sceptre Flight engine test archives put the Fox (0.99 displ.) at 0.11 BHP at 14,000 RPM on 20% nitro, optimal prop was around a 7x3, (maybe a 6x5), not bad for a side port engine. It only weighs 3.1 oz., which is very light. Some thought it was equal to a Cox .049 Babe Bee, but they probably had it propped wrong. Would be a good upgrade for a .049 trainer to convert into a good sport plane. Some hacked off the approx. 7 cc tank but did a poor job, This wasn't necessary, as it can be bulkhead mounted.


Think I might put this in a Midwest 33 inch (840 mm) wingspan profile Warhawk control line aircraft.
Also recently picked up a venerable 1950's Fox .09 Rocket engine in good condition. Freed up Castor engine drag with some light machine oil. They still sell Gunk Super Oil, but now in a plastic bottle. My can is probably now a collector item.


Peter Chinn's engine article in the Sceptre Flight engine test archives put the Fox (0.99 displ.) at 0.11 BHP at 14,000 RPM on 20% nitro, optimal prop was around a 7x3, (maybe a 6x5), not bad for a side port engine. It only weighs 3.1 oz., which is very light. Some thought it was equal to a Cox .049 Babe Bee, but they probably had it propped wrong. Would be a good upgrade for a .049 trainer to convert into a good sport plane. Some hacked off the approx. 7 cc tank but did a poor job, This wasn't necessary, as it can be bulkhead mounted.

A little off topic,
recently got one of these engines off a 'net auction at reasonable cost, an early 1960's Cox .15 Sportsman engine. It was Cox's largest reed valve engine, it powered their Piper Cherokee RTF control line aircraft, but also was sold separately. It was one of the largest CL RTF's as most during 1950's and 1960's were half-A. Cox, Wen-Mac (acquired by AMF / Testor), Aurora, etc. (I recall UK had a couple of their own half-A RTF's, too.)
Think I might put this in a Midwest 33 inch (840 mm) wingspan profile Warhawk control line aircraft.
Also recently picked up a venerable 1950's Fox .09 Rocket engine in good condition. Freed up Castor engine drag with some light machine oil. They still sell Gunk Super Oil, but now in a plastic bottle. My can is probably now a collector item.
Peter Chinn's engine article in the Sceptre Flight engine test archives put the Fox (0.99 displ.) at 0.11 BHP at 14,000 RPM on 20% nitro, optimal prop was around a 7x3, (maybe a 6x5), not bad for a side port engine. It only weighs 3.1 oz., which is very light. Some thought it was equal to a Cox .049 Babe Bee, but they probably had it propped wrong. Would be a good upgrade for a .049 trainer to convert into a good sport plane. Some hacked off the approx. 7 cc tank but did a poor job, This wasn't necessary, as it can be bulkhead mounted.

Think I might put this in a Midwest 33 inch (840 mm) wingspan profile Warhawk control line aircraft.
Also recently picked up a venerable 1950's Fox .09 Rocket engine in good condition. Freed up Castor engine drag with some light machine oil. They still sell Gunk Super Oil, but now in a plastic bottle. My can is probably now a collector item.

Peter Chinn's engine article in the Sceptre Flight engine test archives put the Fox (0.99 displ.) at 0.11 BHP at 14,000 RPM on 20% nitro, optimal prop was around a 7x3, (maybe a 6x5), not bad for a side port engine. It only weighs 3.1 oz., which is very light. Some thought it was equal to a Cox .049 Babe Bee, but they probably had it propped wrong. Would be a good upgrade for a .049 trainer to convert into a good sport plane. Some hacked off the approx. 7 cc tank but did a poor job, This wasn't necessary, as it can be bulkhead mounted.


Mr Clean, I wish you well of your new dog! About eighteen months ago I was given a Swiss Shepherd called Tiko, pictured below guarding one of the club's battered old ARTF trainers! I take her for two walks a day which does wonders for my physical health and her sheer joy at being alive aids my mental health. I suffer from seasonally affected disorder. She will be five years old on May 2nd. I am thinking of treating her to a bath on that date. Mind you, she hates getting wet.







That's a Fluffy White dog, Purty.
The pups been doing pretty good, and of course by pup I mean 1 year old that's been fostered for a while. Been working on getting the older Boston used to her. Pups don't know personal space. Neither does this 8 year old Boston who just learned how much SHE likes. He older brother passed 2 winters ago and he was a Take what you want kinda guy.
Fiona, seems to have moved in well though I think I'm going to have to move to the couch instead of my recliner because lap dog, she isn't.

A little bit later, after a trip to get a drink of water, my Boston decided to reclaim her spot. Fiona came back, saw Lucy in her spot then decided to look out the window behind my chair. Then she stuck her nose over the arm, then a leg and before you know it, It was kinda hard to breath. My wife opened her office door and everybody was up the stairs while I was writhing in pain from being the pad the missles launched off of.

Later, we were playing fetch in the backyard. Lucy's favorite game. I'll have to go outside with only her to let her play more of it. But for now she's happy with watching Fiona run and get the ball or pull toy and then halfway back she'll try to nibble her ears while they run around in circle playing keepaway tag. Eventually Fiona turns around and chases Lucy back over to me WHERE she drops the toy, I throw the toy and it all started again. They're both downstairs on the bed right now, trying not to be the first to pass out.
I do have my bedroom door open and we spent about 30 minutes eyeballing the cat, or more importantly, the cats food in front of the cat. There was some growling/hissing from the cat. It calmed down and now that she's left the cat is eating her food. Gonna try to have her out of her kennel tonight. Not much use having a guard dog that's all kenneled up although her woof ought to give people pause. I had to work on the chickens and their retaining fence today while she was trapped inside. Because when I didn't trap her she opened the gate and chased the chickens. Not to hurt them, but the same way she plays with the Boston. The chickens, didn't understand. Didn't hurt egg production much though there were a couple eggs in the runs that we're busted. Guess when you're going to run, carrying an egg between your knees goes out the window. Still, got 16 today. Not bad.
Better yet, end of the day I got the hingeline on my ARF Nobler's tail figured out. Hinge slots were too tight and the joiner Control horn hardware I bought to replace the factory not soldered right assy years ago, was just a tad too wide. Had to come upstairs to find my vaseline. Tomorrow I'll lube the joints, lube the hingeline and mix up some 30 minute, get it done. Only 4 days of Puppy delay. Better then I'd hoped.
This is totally not Keep Away. Laying on the other dogs ball while chewing on your bone. She put it down then stretched out ever so casually and picked the bone up.

The pups been doing pretty good, and of course by pup I mean 1 year old that's been fostered for a while. Been working on getting the older Boston used to her. Pups don't know personal space. Neither does this 8 year old Boston who just learned how much SHE likes. He older brother passed 2 winters ago and he was a Take what you want kinda guy.
Fiona, seems to have moved in well though I think I'm going to have to move to the couch instead of my recliner because lap dog, she isn't.

A little bit later, after a trip to get a drink of water, my Boston decided to reclaim her spot. Fiona came back, saw Lucy in her spot then decided to look out the window behind my chair. Then she stuck her nose over the arm, then a leg and before you know it, It was kinda hard to breath. My wife opened her office door and everybody was up the stairs while I was writhing in pain from being the pad the missles launched off of.

Later, we were playing fetch in the backyard. Lucy's favorite game. I'll have to go outside with only her to let her play more of it. But for now she's happy with watching Fiona run and get the ball or pull toy and then halfway back she'll try to nibble her ears while they run around in circle playing keepaway tag. Eventually Fiona turns around and chases Lucy back over to me WHERE she drops the toy, I throw the toy and it all started again. They're both downstairs on the bed right now, trying not to be the first to pass out.
I do have my bedroom door open and we spent about 30 minutes eyeballing the cat, or more importantly, the cats food in front of the cat. There was some growling/hissing from the cat. It calmed down and now that she's left the cat is eating her food. Gonna try to have her out of her kennel tonight. Not much use having a guard dog that's all kenneled up although her woof ought to give people pause. I had to work on the chickens and their retaining fence today while she was trapped inside. Because when I didn't trap her she opened the gate and chased the chickens. Not to hurt them, but the same way she plays with the Boston. The chickens, didn't understand. Didn't hurt egg production much though there were a couple eggs in the runs that we're busted. Guess when you're going to run, carrying an egg between your knees goes out the window. Still, got 16 today. Not bad.
Better yet, end of the day I got the hingeline on my ARF Nobler's tail figured out. Hinge slots were too tight and the joiner Control horn hardware I bought to replace the factory not soldered right assy years ago, was just a tad too wide. Had to come upstairs to find my vaseline. Tomorrow I'll lube the joints, lube the hingeline and mix up some 30 minute, get it done. Only 4 days of Puppy delay. Better then I'd hoped.
This is totally not Keep Away. Laying on the other dogs ball while chewing on your bone. She put it down then stretched out ever so casually and picked the bone up.


Thread Starter

The weather has been gray wet and chilly, we have taken the time to relax and watch videos but being indoors and chilly all the time is beginning to drag us down into the world of gloom. I am ready for some sunshine.
I do not know if it is the weather or I am sick, weakness, dizzy instability, constant urination, sleepiness and I don't know what else is bugging me. I hope you guys are doing better.
If you like videos The game of thrones series is quite complicated, bloody an action packed we are hooked, the last two seasons has eluded us but I am sure we will find them at a reasonable price somewhere.
meanwhile Take care and enjoy as much as you can.
I do not know if it is the weather or I am sick, weakness, dizzy instability, constant urination, sleepiness and I don't know what else is bugging me. I hope you guys are doing better.
If you like videos The game of thrones series is quite complicated, bloody an action packed we are hooked, the last two seasons has eluded us but I am sure we will find them at a reasonable price somewhere.
meanwhile Take care and enjoy as much as you can.