Elad, did you go flying today? Maybe pick up an Eagle? Don repaired my Fokker DVIII this aftrnoon. I got the covering repaired. Hopefully tomorrow I can finally get it in the air.

Bill,

No need for the "Appleology" but thanks anwway. When I saw what was going on I got really tickled about it. I didn't realize Poe did that. I must have been playing hookey the day the teacher told the class about his mirror.

Thanks for the details on the use for the channels and the differences in the radios. When I have those kinds of details it sure makes it easier for me to understand why I should make a certain decision.

I've always had a hard time making a decision without researching a lot before making purchases, but it seems that in doing so I've always been happier with the decisons I finally made. You guys on this forum are doing a very good job of helping guys like me get the answers we need. I hope you all feel the appreciation that comes from its users.

QSK, huh? Huummmm. If that's what I think it is, the world is getting a li'l smaller. I got up to 30 wpm (not really QSK) but I think I was still counting characters. I listened a lot around 7.033 to 7.035 and could only get snatches of conversations over the rate of about 30. I've been inactive at that for a pretty long while and although the bicycle analogy applies, practice is no substitute for practice. But, that's probably a subject for a different forum.

Again, thanks for the very helpful details,

elad

Tom,

My day started a little earlier than I hoped. Dad called me at about 3:30 AM and said I needed to take him to the ER. His heart rate was up to around 140 and he had some chest pains. By the time we got there his pain had stopped, but the Dr. said he had a touch of Pneumonia, so is keeping him for a few days. He'll get out of ICU today and get a real room. I left the hospital around 3:30 PM and his heart rate was down to 70 or so.

I did go flying. My instructor, Ron, pulled a big surprise on me. After I did a few rounds of just pattern flying he brought the plane down and told me to do take-offs. Well, first, I got 3 minutes of practice steering the plane on the ground with the nose wheel. Boy! The new experience of adding the handling the left controller sure felt awkward. I was hesitant to give full throttle while trying to steer the plane straight down the runway during take-offs. When I finally accepted that it must be done, on the first take-off, the Eagle lifted off the ground not exactly parallel the runway.

I did about 8 take-offs altogether. Four or 5 of them looked like Keystone Cops with the path of the plane resembling an Anaconda, and 2 or 3 take-offs were at a 90 degree angle to the runway. The 8th one was almost straight down the runway and most of the time the descent was nice and smooth in spite of the crooked trail I made.

After I got the plane up in the air and decreased throttle I stalled a few times, but recovered without needing help.

My Daughter brought my 2 Grandsons out to watch. They're ages 10 & 11 or so, and are typically adventerous. After we all got back home I asked them if they would have liked to have been a passenger in the plane while I was taking off. They both let out a ressounding "NO!." I told them I felt the same.. ha

I didn't bring the plane home with me this weekend. I've been flying it with one aileron. I don't know for sure what repair needs to be done, maybe a new servo. The engine is an almost new OS .46, the FX model, I think. It either is still a little tight or was just tuned a bit too rich. My feeling is (from the way it sounded) that it was just set rich. I asked exactly what would come with it and he said he can put a 6 channel radio with it for me. I didn't ask which model of a radio at the time, but I e-mailed him later asking for that information and what repair is needed to get the other aileron working.

Actually, I need a bit of time to clear out some storage place for the plane before I bring it home.

I'll wait until after I solo before ordering a flight box and electric starter. There is another item I need to research. After watching the guys start their engines I'm wondering if a modification can be made to an electric starter that will allow it to be connected to a foot switch. That way the starter could be fastened into a box, and the plane could be started and adjusted without the typical crooking of the hand around the spinning propeller. If that can be done, starting the plane and adjusting the carb would be a lot safer.

I went back to the hospital to check on Dad just before bedtime. His heart rate was up to 110, and they had begun respitory therapy for his Pneumonia because he started having trouble breathing.

elad

Elad, Hope your Dad is fine. Ive been there with the chest pains and high heart rate. Glad your training is coming along. To me the takeoff and landing part is the most fun, with the landing being the most relief. Don't let the starter thing become a problem. Look at what your flying buddies are doing and emulate them. After you're around awhile, you can make changes to fit your needs. Don will probably have some ideas on the starter setup that you are talking about. In the meantime, keep everything as simple as you can. There's enough to learn without making things too complicated. Remember, this is supposed to be FUN!!!

Elad:

Best wishes for your father.

Flying. Sounds like you're getting there. Keep it up.

On the starter set up. The early electric starters were used only by people flying control line speed, they were ordinary automotive starters on a cart with a heavy 12v lead acid battery included. Quite awkward to hold the starter to the plane, so the plane was held to the starter. Just what you had wondered about, except the switch.

The hand held starters and large r/c planes were pretty much a parallel development - as the planes got larger they reached the point where it became more awkward to hold the plane to the starter, and with flex cables between the starter motor and the battery moving the starter became the more convenient option. Multi engines made moving the starter an even bigger win.

But the foot switch? Of course it can be done, but that sounds like you want to go flying by yourself. Very bad idea. So long as you have someone with you it seems to me like needless complication. You can always have someone else hold the starter for you.

Bill.

I agree wiith Bill. NO FLYING ALONE!!! Besides, what you are taking about, elad, is adding complication. Stick with the KISS principle. What are we doing at the computer? We should be out flying.

elad
in a club i once belonged to there was a fellow that built a box to hold a car batt then he rigged up a starter on a pivot that tripped a switch when you pushed the spinner into it- very well done but -very -awkward- heavy- in the end impractical
get a small flight box -dont over load- it the basic tools are all you need -go back to the pic of my plan-es this flight box so far has been the best for ME as far as starters go -buy someones (sullivan ) heavy duty starter it will last you a lifetime -sorry to hear about your dad life is to darn short take him wth you flying enjoy life while your here

Bill,

Thanks for the good wishes to my Dad. He's better, but still has a way to go before he's well.

My main idea for the starter box is twofold. 1) To make it safer as far as reaching around to miss the spinning prop during start-up, removal of the glow plug heater and tuning of the engine and 2) To add longevity to the starter.

One of the guys said he thought his starter was going out because of the Summer heat. Our runway is black asphalt. I was thinking that placing the thing inside a wood box, painted white, raised off the ground somewhat and adding ventillation holes would contribute to longer life for the starter. Maybe no. 2 is an unfounded concern.

As far as flying alone, the starter box could be used for that too, but I wasn't thinking quite that far ahead. Right now I'm just trying to learn well enough to finaly get to solo in maybe a few months.

I commented to my instructor that I thought he was pulling me along pretty fast, but he said it's because he sees that I can handle the pace. So far he's shown me that he knows what he's doing, and the more he trusts me the more I trust him. I know I need to learn a lot about finessing most of what I've already experienced, but I'll leave the timing for that up to my instructor. I'm sure there are a lot of RC pilots that flew solo in less outings than I've had. In fact, my instructor is self-taught. He said he ruined 3 planes learning.

I think I mentioned he's also a certified flight instructor for a major commercial airline. I was hoping to get a flight simulator for a few hundred bucks. He said his simulator cost $30,000,000. Yep million!

I definitely don't intend to take the starter box/ flight box out with the plane to try a solo before my instruction is finished. I'm trusting in my instructor's judgment, not my ability to learn on my own. The more instruction I get the more I realize how badly I need an instructor. My styrofoam plane taught me that I can't learn without help. In fact, the Eagle, as nice a plane as it is, has taught me the same thing.

And if I think about it, I guess flying is like some other things, hunting, fishing and swimming where it's wise to use the "Buddy System."

Thanks for the tips and encouragment,

elad

Elad:

After the engine starts, you put the starter back in its cradle, or on the ground. Depends on how fancy you are. Then you walk around to the rear of the plane and take it from your assistant to do the engine adjustments. Your time for putting the atarter down and walking around to the back of the plane is not a delay, it's engine warm-up time.

It would definitely cool more rapidly, but when everything is working right the starter is only running a few seconds, it doesn't have time to get hot.

Your simulator does indeed cost a couple hundred bucks. It comes in a package that says "Real Flight Generation Two, with Interlink Controller."

You should not go alone under any circumstances, for safety reasons. I'm afraid this is one that is honored in the breach, I have never hesitated to set up and fly when I was first at the field. That is somewhat mitigated by my knowing there will be more arrivals shortly after I get there. It is unusual for me to complete a flight before someone else comes driving up. But I still should not do it.

Definitely.

Bill.

Don,

I was thinking more along the line of a lawn mower size battery. I am a carpenter, of sorts, and have some mechanical skills, but I wouldn't try anything as complicated as a pivoting switch.

My intended purpose is to keep anything from crossing the path of the spinning prop, simply for safety reasons.

I'll want it lightweight for my ailing back and easy transport between truck to house.

I've also been thinking of making a double decked transport box with separate compartments for the fuse and the wing. It would be slightly padded with carpet or some other thick cloth material. This would help keep all the parts from shifting in the wind during transport in the truck bed. I would make it just big enough for a comfortable fit.

I often see people transporting 2 or 3 planes and they regularly need help to get them aligned while loading up. I'm pretty sure that by the time they get home the covering is getting rubbed where it will eventually make a hole.

just my thoughts,

elad

Tom,

Dad is better. Thanks for asking. His heart rate is back to normal. His biggest immediate problem right now is the Pneumonia.

My biggest problem is keeping him in the hospital here at home where my Sister and I can attend to his needs while is in a hospital. He got impatient today about his progress and wanted to get discharged so he could go to a hospital that's 55 miles from here.

He can't seem to be thankful that they got his heart rate down quickly, and then he gets angry because they couldn't cure the Pneumonia just as quickly. I know a man whose heart rate stayed 160 for a month before the medicine got it down.

It sounds unreal, but Dad thinks his body is a car engine and that Doctors are mechanics. When he goes to a Dr. he expects to be fixed,,, quick.

I'll kep the starter thing simple alright. My main reason for thinking about doing the starter that was is for the safety of the pilot. It might also help the starter motor last longer, but the primary purpose is for pilot safety.

I had typed this reply much earlier than the order it was placed on the forum, but it somehow got lost and I just re-typed it.

Thanks again,

elad

Thoughts are with you and your father.

Thanks for your thoughts Tom, they are very much appreciated.

elad

Bill. Don, Tom, Sincraft et. all,

Sincraft, I didn't mean to leave your name out for the past few posts. Sorry...

Well guys, I made the deal for the Eagle 2. I will bring it home with me this weekend.

The radio is a Futaba, Comanche? It does start with the letter C. I lost the e-mail confirming the model. It has 6 channels, atv, proportional control etc. It comes with a charger for the transmitter and receiver batteries.

The other aileron can be made to work by addding only a "y" connector. The radio is programmed to make the ailerons work as flaps. Flaperons?

I'll order a few tools I don't already have around and get a starter and wireless glow plug heater.

Ron said that he will solo me before building season, so wish me luck and soft landings.

Iv'e found with time and exposure that I can easily live with the sound of the 2 strokes as long as the muffler works good. I can esily see the big advantage of the power of the 0.46 FX's 1.5 hp over the (nearly) same size/weight 4 stroke with 0.56 hp.

Ron says, "You'll have to watch out because the power will eat you up."

elad

Elad, Glad you took the plunge! The eagle is a good plane and all my radios are Futaba. Solo before building season? Up here that could be next week. It's only been in the 50's the last couple of days. I'm gonna have to hurry and get my first flight on my Fokker DVIII. Good luck and keep us informed as to how you are progressing.

Tom,

It will be building season there a long time before here. Here in the mornings it's still in the 60s and the highs are still in the 80s.

Often here we can wear short sleeves in November up in the afternoon.

We get snow for a day or 2 about every 2 or 3 yrs., unless it's a freak Winter.

I'll Keep you posted.

Thanks for all the tips,


elad

And good luck with the flight on the Fokker DVIII.

Thanks Elad. If the weather is good this Sunday, I hope to try again. Usually we fly late into the season. If ther's no snow, we fly. Or should I say, Don flies and I sit in my truck where it's warm. Snow, I think we average 150" a year. Nothing like doingthe driveway after working all day!

Shooooooo!

Work all day then shovel snow. That's a bummer.

My work day is 12 hours. I'd be trying to think of a way to solar throw the snow. Maybe a set of solar heated water pipes just below the dirveway.

Don sounds like a never giver upper.

elad

Elad, The sun has to shine for solar heat. The other part of all that snow is that we seldom see the sun from Dec.1-April 1. There's lots of time to build if you're not blowing snow.

elad
yep up here in the frozzzzzzen north about oct it is dark when ya get up -dark when ya get home- come mid nov -ya snow blow the drive to get out of the drive an then ya snow blow to get back in -come the deep of the winter we have to dig tunnels from town to town. it leaves us time to build and stare at the snow -this is just my view of course but it sure seems like it -the pic is what we see out the window from oct to apr ha ha
don

How'd you do that? Elad, he's kidding (sort of). But we do get plenty of snow. Can't really use skis to fly from it as it is too fluffy and the plane sinks in. What we did last year was to build some small electrics. You hand launch them. Five minutes is about all you can handle before your hands get cold. Sometime you sucker somebody else to take over. As soon as they take the sticks, you run for the truck and the heat!

Hey Don,

What's this with Tom?

I think he believes you're the seriousest feller on the BLOCK, of ice, up there.

elad

oh well I have people down here that believe I'm seriouser than that.

If it's rise, rose, and risen

Why aint it squeese, squoze, and squizzen?

And then freeze, froze, and frizzen?

Oh yes,

The picture must be of Tom after staying inside all winter while he's standing in front of a snowbank.


elad

if ya click on it for full size, then click on the expand arrows then print it out and hold it up to the light you can almost see where he has his eyes squizzen shut.

Ya real funny. Mr. serious