Wow, nearly a month has passed, already?!

So, hmmm . . . what have I been up to . . . ?

Working even more like a maniac than usual;
24 45 minute - 1hr long Parent/Teacher conferences;
Took a scuba refresher course;
And jumped through the last hurdle to finish my Administrative Credential . . . finallyDONE!!!

But, then I needed a vacation, so I escapedto French Polynesia, staying for a week in Bora Bora. Words cannot adequately express the incredible beauty both above and below the water. All I can say is that were I a sailor on THEBOUNTY, I would have mutinied, too!

I snorkeledor kayakedevery day, jet-skied around theentireisland,and managed to get in a couple scuba dives. I dove with four 6-7' manta rays,lion fish,black-tip reef sharks,lemon sharks, an incredible variety of other reef and pelagic fish, and saw dolphins, too.

And "yes" my fellow racers, in addition to discovering a couple new island drinks,I have been inspired to create a new drink that perhaps I will make for you at the next SAM Warbird Race event. I'm playing around with the layering techniques, trying to recreate the varying shades of indigo andaquamarine of the water, with the yellow of the sun,the light blue sky and the varying hues of the white/peach/redclouds during sunset. We'll see how talented of a bartender I can truly become, and whether or not I can pull-off my idea for a "Punarua Sunset." (Punarua was the name of my bungalo.)

Okay, I left paradise behind, now I'm ready to finish some planes!

<span style="color: #008080">Okay, so just as many have complained about in other threads/forums, the new photo loader is not working properly. Doing what I have done all along, suddenly does not work now. My photos are now HUMONGOUS and are elongating my page; making it difficult to read. So, I will have to break up each step and post only one photo per post.

Sorry guys.

So, here it goes:
</span>

Iinstalled aileron linkages . . .

. . . fabricated and soldered a new dual elevator linkage (I was worried that there weren't enough threads to adequately hold the clevis on one of the sides) . . .

. . . reinstalled and realigned everything . . .

. . . thenbalanced, and programed the radio on "Suprise Attack".

One problem I experiencewhen designing my own planes from 3-views, is not knowing exactly where the balance point should be. There is no reference or precedent for me to draw on. The consensus from those I talk to (or have read) state to start between 25 - 30% of the mean aerodynamic chord. The picture below shows the plane just slightly nose heavy at 28% of the MAC. If my calculations are correct, this should put me in the mid-range . . . cross your fingers!

So, today wasa big day for me!

I took the first of the twoP-39s out to the SAMs site for its maiden. (If it matters, just for the record: this is the one that I laid-up prior to the start of this Trinity Build thread.)

First, I began break-in of the YS 110 engine with a tankful of Morgan 30% heli fuel.

My father-in-law suggested that beings I had a good idle, that I finish the break-in in the air. So, next it was time for a couple shots on the ground.

TommyGun wasn't there, so I couldn'tget a shot withhimflying over, inverted with his T-28 (as with myprevious P-39, asused for myRCU avatar) for old-time's sake, soa picture next to someone else's on the ground will have to do.

But wait . . .

SAM's own Andy Anderson (Model Airplane News "150 Best Plans" airplane designer) was kind enough to fly over with his modified Tiger. ("Thanks" Andy. . . that's quite a deflection angle on those flaps. But, it's just not the same without you, Tom.)

Here's the proud plane "papa." (I really am proud . . the sun was just way too bright, and shining directly into my eyes.)

Oh, and CONGRATS again to you Leadfoot, for becoming a "true papa." She's beautiful.

Meanwhile, I'm stuck with merelybeing a "puppy papa", and a "plane papa."
Pathetic, huh? Of course when I watch you do that diaper change, I'm gonna laugh . . . and of course, while you are doingit,Iwillhaveto brag, "That will<u>NEVER</u>be me!"

Moment of truth . . .

She was a little squirly withtoo much aileron deflection.

So, how do you like these in-air shots?

Yeah . . .

My cameraman didn't actually take any pictures of the plane flying.

Nor did he capture the action when I was trying to make an approach, realized I was too hot and better go around, when the engine dead-sticked. Now I am low, slow, past the runway, and over the rough. I have little airspeed, almost no altitude, and little time.

Itried to keep the nose down and didn't think I was that slow, but suddenly the right wing dropped, it rolledover,and it plummeted straight down into the ground.

So, enjoy these action shots:



(See, It's just not the same without you Tommy. Were you there, I'd already embarassingly be on YouTube right now!)

Okay, so you have to use a little imagination. (Sorry, I tried. I took a camera.)

Now, for the devastation . . .

I removed and cleaned the spinner cone before I remembered to take pictures.

Can you believe . . .

. . . straight down, nose first . . . and this is it?


I didn't break, or even crack my cowl. Just a few scratches.

I didn't break my engine mount.

I didn't break my firewall loose.

I didn't bend or break my nosegear.

And NO damage to the engine.

I didn't even break the prop!

Just a few dents in my aluminum spinner cone . . .

. . . and broken hinges and a bent control rod, bothattached tothe rudder.


For experiencing some bad luck today, I can't help but feel kind of lucky. It should have been alot worse! All this rain the lastcoupleweeksreally softened-up the ground.

It won't be long before the P-39 that I laid-up specifically during this build threadwill be ready to maiden. Hopefully, my modifications will correct this right wing stalling characheristic. Time, and the upcoming maiden flight, will tell. Stay tuned. I'll wait for an upcomingweekend andperhaps we can get Tommy to take some video, or at least some pictures.</p>

Be sure to check your push rod tubes. They have a tendency to get pushed off center of the O-rings and leak when having been nosed into the ground.

Will do, Terry. Thanks for the advice.

Thank you Ollie, we think she is beautiful as well. Changing diapers isn't so bad though once you get the hang of it. It took me a few times to learn cause she is always moving around, but now I'm a diaper master.

Sorry to here about your luck with the new p-39. Minor set back though. Sounds like she will be flying again real soon.

Thanks for the inspiration Ollie!! Put a couple hours into my new pair today. I will post some pics in the 2011 race plane thread soon.



Congrats Casey! Being a PaPa is the greatest.........hate to think my first child id soon to be 21! Well there goes the motivation. LOL

Great, 'cause I'm looking forward to seeing more!

However, I just came from the SAM Event Scheduling Meeting, heldearlier tonight. With 5 races scheduled in the normal series for this year(and thenthe Two Minute Tango, in October all pending Board approval, of course), if you and Skids can't stay away from each other, you might just want to start on a third!

Ha ha I plan to keep Jimmy pretty far BEHIND me in 2011. Looks like I am going to be spending a good deal of time in Sac this year. I am about 1/2 way through the build of a new pattern airplane and I know SAMs does at least one pattern contest too. Now if I can only get SAMS to do an IMAC contest...........