Flights of Fancy

[DuncanM]

Bloody wind. I was supposed to be doing my A this morning, but although the rain has gone, it's 20mph winds with gusts to 35. Not flyable, never mind testable.

[TheLurker]

Come to the Dark Side Luke.  Trinity today, where the weather was absolutely perfect for indoor* flying.

Never mind you'll get another chance before long.

*May contain traces of lie.  The gusty wind was forcIng its way through the fan and ventilation system intermittently setting up some quite turbulent conditions and causing us problems too.  At one point I watched my Double Whammy (all 4.3g of it) make a ground speed of 0.0Kt as it flew into a "headwind".

[DuncanM]

I know, I really should get my VMC Pilot built and then I can come fly indoors. I'm kinda behind on the building projects.
Good news on the flying front though - I passed my A yesterday. It was fairly windy, and I was a bit disappointed with how I flew, but a pass is a pass.
Now I can start really learning how to fly!

[TheLurker]

Good news on the flying front though - I passed my A yesterday.

Oh I say, very well done.

Speaking of the VMC Pilot; this is the latest VMC sheet model offering, the Buddy.  Aimed four square at the beginner.  I have (of course) taken a few liberties with it to bring the weight (and so wing loading) down so that it is, possibly, suitable for indoor use.  If it turns out not be, well I've got something fun to muck around with out of doors.  Wing loading is about 8.5g/dm^2 without motor and my target was about 10g/dm^2.  Aye, I know, the units *are* weird, but that (or oz to the square foot) are what everyone else uses.

[DuncanM]

That is very pretty. When are you going to get to fly it?
I had a bit of an ooops yesterday.
2023-08-07_11-21-32 by duncancmartin, on Flickr
The Wot 4 Foam-e needs full up elevator to avoid nosing over when taking off, and I did the same with this one too. Up it went at approx 0mph, and then down it went (from not very high at all). Won't be doing that again. That's one way to learn these things I guess.
The model was secondhand, cheap, and a bit battered before, and the wing survived surprisingly well. Probably a good thing it came with most of a spare fuselage (and an entire other similar plane) so it will be recycled and return at some point.

[TheLurker]

I had a bit of an ooops yesterday.

You are Frank Spencer AICMFP.  Never mind, it'll buff out.

To answer your q. Hoping to test The Buddy at Trinity this weekend.  Actually I'm really hoping I'll be able to get along to the field later this week to get a feel for its behaviour without all those hard, hard walls in the way.

[DuncanM]

The weather played ball this week, it's a bit windy today. Hope it flew nicely.
The orange machine is now in many pieces. Given the price of balsa, buying large cheap models is probably an efficient way of getting raw materials. Smashing them into the ground optional.

[TheLurker]

The orange machine is now in many pieces. Given the price of balsa, buying large cheap models is probably an efficient way of getting raw materials.

Hmmm.  Debatable.

To-day's Trinity Newsreel including a promising 1st flight for the Buddy.  I think I can probably, eventually, get something like 25-30s out of it indoors which will satisfy me.

[TheLurker]

Trinity yesterday.
First batch of newsreel
Second batch

If you appreciate fine, and I do mean fine, engineering, have a look at the last of the "stills" posts. G's new CO₂ motor.  Runs as sweet as a nut too.

[DuncanM]

RIP my mini scout. The wing folded during flight yesterday, and when it plummeted to earth it smashed the fuse as well. Might have been repairable, given sufficient effort, but I'll just build another one - hopefully that one won't roll to the right the whole time!
I am halfway through building a Mini Mustang using the Flite Test plans and the shiny silver foamboard from Hobbycraft. It's 7 or 8 quid a sheet, but this plan uses less than 1 sheet, it's lighter than the paper backed stuff, and it's shiny! I'll post a picture when it's complete...

[andytheflyer]

I had a bit of an ooops yesterday.
2023-08-07_11-21-32 by duncancmartin, on Flickr
The Wot 4 Foam-e needs full up elevator to avoid nosing over when taking off, and I did the same with this one too. Up it went at approx 0mph, and then down it went (from not very high at all). Won't be doing that again. That's one way to learn these things I guess.

Bit late to the party here, ahem.  I used to have the same problem, particularly with a Wottie, but other models too.  Don't bang the throttle open on takeoff - open it gently and as the tail comes up use rudder to keep it straight as you add more throttle.  That'll give you a scale-like takeoff too - even though a Wottie is not a scale model.  It'll help you when you do fly tail dragger scale models. 

[TheLurker]

RIP my mini scout. ... I'll just build another one - hopefully that one won't roll to the right the whole time!

Much the best plan, there are only so many repairs an airframe can bear before the additional glue & reinforcing bits compromise the wing loading and or handling. And besides, the next one *will* be better 'cos you've already done one and know where the quirks are and how to deal with them

I am halfway through building a Mini Mustang using the Flite Test plans and the shiny silver foamboard from Hobbycraft. ... post a picture when it's complete...

No! Want pictures now! </VioletElizabethBott>

And I can't insist on snaps from you if I don't post a couple of current WIP.  Bragging rights up for anyone who can guess what it's intended to be.  It's another of my, "I wonder if I can build a ..." builds.  It *ought* to fly, but...

It's based on a VMC kit and although I'm using as many of the pre-cut parts as possible (yes, I *am* lazy) the only unmodified sub-assembly will be the fuselage.

Bits so far

Tail group plugged together

[DuncanM]

The Mustang is just missing the canopy, I'll take a picture when I've finished it.
I've got the plans for a Jetworks F18 Hornet, and also a 3d printer to print all the complicated scale details, so that's this winter sorted.

Yours looks warbird esque, but I can't work out what it is. I'll probably facepalm when you say (or show us the finished one).

[pcolbeck]

Looks like a Hurricane.

[TheLurker]

Looks like a Hurricane.

Oooh, you're half way there.  Want another go?

[JonBuoy]

Looks like a Hurricane.

Oooh, you're half way there.  Want another go?

I'm guessing that that probably makes it a Hillson FH.40.  That would certainly explain the duplicated wing bits.  Is it going to deliberately do the slip thing?

[TheLurker]

Very well done that boy.  Ten house points and you may have a half holiday. 

Yes, an FH40.

Is it going to deliberately do the slip thing?

Deliberately?  No.    It's the sort of trick you might be able to pull with an electric powered RC model, but not with a small (17" span) rubber powered FF model. It's hard enough trimming FF rubber models in one configuration without throwing away half the lift while airborne with no way of applying more power to maintain the new higher V_min  required to maintain level flight.    I don't feel too bad about this as there's no evidence that an inflight wing jettison test was ever tried with the FH40, unlike the bi-mono test-bed. 

[TheLurker]

Nijmegen Indoor International Fly-In a few weeks ago and the videos have started to appear.  To save (me) time and energy go here ==> IIFI

HPA's a bit poorly at the moment so the link may or may not work according to the tide.

[TheLurker]

And after the Lord Mayor's Show...  pinned the various bits together to see whether or not it looks about right.

[Morat]

That looks very right to me! Gorgeous

[Morat]

Well, you have inspired me to get back on with it. I have now managed to make the prop move! So, just the tail wheel, aileron servos and wing attachment to go. Oh, and learning to fly the thing...
In the meantime I'm going to admit that I have bitten off more than I can chew bby buying a ridiculously over-specced radio and watch some "ELRS for Dummies" videos.

[DuncanM]

That looks great Lurk.
The weather has been rubbish for flying for about the last month. I managed to crash my 3d foamie trying to fly it in too strong a wind (now stuck back together), and I flew my EDF for the first time (someone at the club crashed it and when I was trying to persuade them to fix it gave it to me with words to the effect of "you think it's fixable, you fix it". It's a Freewing MIG 15, and it's had a couple of crashes since, on on launch (hand launch) with me at the controls, and 2 when being set up for me to take over.

I'm halfway through building a Jetworks F18 Hornet out of depron and 3d printed parts, but I don't think I'll be flying that until I've got some stick time on the MIG first (and the weather is nice).

[TheLurker]

The weather has been rubbish for flying for about the last month.

Been fine indoors.

...Freewing MIG 15... F18 Hornet....

I am looking forward to seeing film of both in the air so do get a wriggle on old chap.

When bicycles and aeroplanes collide, ermm, no that's not quite what I meant, never mind. This is fascinating.   

The Early History of the Airplane by Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright

[DuncanM]

I flew the MIG 15 today. It's one of these: https://www.motionrc.eu/products/freewing-mig-15-silver-64mm-edf-jet-pnp-fj10221p
but significantly more battered! I got 3 good flights, with 1 good landing and 2 so-so landings, and then the 5th battery was a bit crap, so I tried to land straight away, ballsed it up and stuffed it into the ground nose first from about 3 feet. Bulged the nose up again, and broke one of the horizontal stabs off the tail. Once fixed, it will match again (the other stab has already broken at that point!).
The F18 is still making progress, I need to do a lot of sanding and fit the tail feathers, but hopefully it will be done in a few weeks...

I need to sort out some sort of hatcam so I can take video.

[JefO]

Any of you guys fly in South Essex at all?