Finally prepared for glider season

I finally bit the bullet and got myself a second hand glider. It's tough, realtively a good flyer and easily repairable. I got myself the Multiplex Easy Glider. Now that I have a glider and have been talking to more glider experts I'm quite psyched up to see all the unpowered plane up in the sky riding the wind and catching thermals. I will definitely miss flying my Super Zoom though but I will have more time in preparing the Katana Mini which I hope I'll be getting second hand. So by the end of the Slope season I will have myself a "new" plane in my hangar. I think it will gather somme dust before it is finally flown though.

The Super Zoom has been an exceptional 3D/pattern flying trainer. I'll always feel that whatever other 3D planes that I'll fly after it will give me inferior flight performance but it always feel like that when you have something really good which has served you well. There are still a few more moves to master on my Super Zoom before I move on to another plane so that I can actually give a fair assessment of any planes post SZ. It has been a really fun few months since I started this hobby and the journey of practicing and gaining new skills is really exciting.

Well, I have been practicing my "Maximum of 3 planes at any one time" credo and it has curbed costs. So I think I will stick to it all the way. But are gliders considered as normal planes? They only get to go out only once a year.

Signing Off
RandomTask

Flight Log 30.10.2006

1. Hacker SuperZoom 4D

AXI2212/26 Gold Line (upgraded from AXI2212/34 Silver Line)
Castle Creation Phoenix 25amp ESC

Maidened: 10 August 2006
Number of Flights: 45

Still my favourite plane. But today the trims all seemed to be a bit off but just a few clicks of the trim and everything is all ok. Did lots of low level flights for the crowd.


2. Hacker Reno Racer: Mini Mustang

Tower Pro BM2408-21
Tower Pro 18amp ESC

Maidened: 16 September 2006
Number of Flights: 9

My little problem child. The plane can still do with a bit more power I reckon but rolls are too darn slow for it to be exciting. Maybe I'd just work on this plane a bit more instead of spending money on another plane. It's still up for sale in the DaddyHobby Market Place but I'd still fly it for all its worth. Maybe it'll grow on me after some mods. Who knows?


3. Multiplex Easy Glider

Maidened: N/A
Number of Flights: N/A

Finally got a glider second hand from a guy fron DaddyHobby (Ronnie). For a second hand plane the servos all look as good as new. I will have to do some custom paint job as I simply cannot leave anything stock. Elapor should be able to handle some of the harder landings which I will most probably subject this plane too.


Airfoilz Yak (sold off)

AXI2217/16 Gold Line
Castle Creation Phoenix 25amp ESC

Maidened: 15 October 2006
Number of Flights: 3

Finally this beautiful bird has a new owner and I hope that it will serve him well. I did not give this plane much chance to fly as I already have the SuperZoom. The new owner seems to be happy with it especially with the free motor which a local hobby shop had graciously sponsored to help me with the sale.








Pictures by P4cm4n200 from DaddyHobby

Signing off
RandomTask

Gliding through the season

Glider season is impending and I do not know if I'm really looking forward to it. Firstly, I have no glider. Secondly, I have no buget to get myself a glider. And lastly, no one wnats to buy off a plane I'm selling to help me with the funding for a glider.

As it is I'm in two minds in getting a glider. Everybody is just anticipating for glider season to come but I'm still rather apprehensive. Unpowered flight? Come on, there is just so much control you can have. And I am a (remote) control freak. I like the feeling that I am in control of my flying model and not dependent on the erratic whims of prevailing gusts.

My plane of choice for this coming season has to be a Multiplex Easy Glider. It's simple build, tough 'elapor' material and decent manouverability is what's attracting me to this particular plane. I believe, given the right conditions and with sufficient ballast, this plane can be quite a joy for in-your-face sloping (loops and rolls nearer to the slopes) or just relaxing thermal riding. But still, you're at the mercy of the winds.



I would rather get myself a Katana Mini (KM) for my next plane. I believe once I'm proficient enough with my current hangar of planes, the KM would provide me with alot more 'umph' to my flying sequences. It's always a spectacular sight seeing a balsa plane pushed to its (or the pilot's) maximum capabilities. Low passes would simply be majestic, while spins will just have the audience at the edge of their seats. If I were to get myself a KM I could actually use alot of the parts which I already have except servos. And support for this plane is also very comprehensive, with the covering and other parts readily available at a local hobby shop.

Well, I cannot say I can complain with what I currently have. The planes in my hangar is serving me well and I do hope they'll last me for more months or hopefully year to come. As much as I would like to upgrade to a better built, but more importantly, flashier plane. I still have to improve my skills slowly. I must constantly remind myself that is not a race to get better at my flying skills. It's the friends you meet every weekend to wind down from the stress and drone of work. But the showman in me will be hard to surpress.

A glider or a balsa 3D plane? Until I manage to muster the funds for either, the answer is blowing in the wind.

Signing off,
RandomTask.


P.S.
I've always liked Leonardo (the turtle not the artist). And he wields two katana blades. Imagine that.

Bedok Reservoir Bloggers (BRB?)

So far, it seems that 3 members of the local flying site at Bedok Reservoir have their own blogs including me. I would like to call ourselves (unofficially) the first three, and currently only, mebers of the Bedok Reservoir Bloggers or BRB for short.

Writing about our hobby also gives us another outlet to enjoy it instead of just being out in the field. Sharing with the online world, or the very few who actually do view our blogs, our experiences, thoughts and opinions. It is way more cost effective and somewhat still satisfying, Still, nothing beats the morning sun on your back, the company of good friends, the wind blowing in the exact opposite direction of what you want, and the whirring of the electric motors on our planes.

Until more blogs sprout up from more our members, I will be trying my best to keep my blog up and running and constantly updated with more stuff.

Signing off,
RandomTask

Flight Log 19.10.2006

1. Hacker SuperZoom 4D

AXI2212/26 Gold Line (upgraded from AXI2212/34 Silver Line)
Castle Creation Phoenix 25amp ESC

Maidened: 10 August 2006
Number of Flights: 37

My favourite plane as yet. 'Nuff said


2. Hacker Reno Racer: Mini Mustang

Tower Pro BM2408-21
Tower Pro 18amp ESC

Maidened: 16 September 2006
Number of Flights: 8

Found a perfect prop to haul this plane around with the current motor setup without excessive amps drawn: GWS 8060 HD. Now it has much more speed due to the higher pitch which is a trade off from the high torque it had previously. Flies very nicely with the newfound speed so tip stalls seems a thing of the past. Just need to get a few more 2S lipos from KPModelSports so that I get to fly this baby much more.


1. Airfoilz Yak

AXI2217/16 Gold Line
Castle Creation Phoenix 25amp ESC

Maidened: 15 October 2006
Number of Flights: 3

Signing off
RandomTask

Hitting a snag - literally

In the past week I had alot of flights on my SuperZoom 4D. Been Hovering lower and lower, practicing slow rolls (but accidentally come out as rolling circles), knife edges (which has been difficult cos there just been a bit of coupling). Inverts are a breeze with this plane and even need some up elevator inputs from keeping it from climbing ( a sign of the plane being a bit tail heavy) but it flies well enough right side up too with the proper trimming.

A friend (Wei Yao) finally maidened my Airfoilz Yak. It flies really well without much trimming and doesn't have much bad tendencies. But I was reluctant to fly with my 11 inch size prop which would have given it mad power as the sttatic amps drawn were way through the roof. Around 11 amps through the roof. Will have to experiment with other props over this weekend.

Over the weekdays, I also flew the Yak on my own. It feels very good in the air even though tad underpowered. It just floats and floats and tracks very well. This then got my confidence up. Started doing some tail touches and once I achieved it with the plane right side up without much problems I decided to push the envelope and do inverrted tail touches. And guess what, this plane makes it soo easy. I was pleasantly surprised. After a few passes I finally got the plane low enough but it was around 20 metres in away from me. I manged to do an inverted tail touch!!!! So I gave the plane a little down elevator input to climb and it suddenly jerked and nose-planted itself into the ground. Crap! I went up to the plane and found a stray mimosa entangled in the rudder joints, the tail feathers have disjointed itself from the plane and the nose a bit crumpled. Of course the propellor was broken. This just blows. My SuperZoom takes much more abuse and still stays in one piece.







I went home, did all the necessary repairs and it looks as good as new. I reckon it will fly as good as new too. But I have decided to sell off the plane and use the cash to fund for a glider for the slope season. I already have the SuperZoom which has proven itself a worthy 3D trainer which is good enough to withstand my learning curve and more. Just hope that it will be sold off soon.

My babies

'Nuff said.

Got this ultrasound taken last Monday (2nd October) at Kandang Kerbau Hospital. The foetus was 6.5 weeks old then. I was so jazzed when i saw the picture you wouldn't believe. Now I can truly say I can be part of the DADDYHobby forum cos I'm gonna be a daddy this coming May. So from now till then I will get as many flights as I can with my current fleet of planes cos I reckon, after the baby's around, I won't have much time to fly (that doesn't mean not flying altogether).

Flight Log 09.10.2006

1. Hacker SuperZoom 4D

AXI2212/26 Gold Line (upgraded from AXI2212/34 Silver Line)
Castle Creation Phoenix 25amp ESC

Maidened: 10 August 2006
Number of Flights: 25

Had lots of flights over the past week. Been practising landings and hovering. It's been such a joy to fly this plane. The most abused part of this plane has to be the landing gear area. It has been glued and micro-ballooned many times. but as long as it can fly it's good enough for me. Also tried it with an APC E prop somewhere in the week and found that the plane reacts totally differently with just a change of prop. With an E prop it takes the plane a longer length of the runway to take off but just have that extra speed in the air and much more efficient thus increasing air time. I still have more experimenting to do.

2. Hacker Reno Racer: Mini Mustang

Tower Pro BM2408-21
Tower Pro 18amp ESC

Maidened: 16 September 2006
Number of Flights: 6

I have not flown this plane for the past week. I'm considering getting a GWS Brushless motor with a 2150KV just to get that extra bit of power. I reckon this will be a nice aerobatic plane with the correct power supply.

1. Airfoilz Yak

AXI2217/16 Gold Line
Castle Creation Phoenix 25amp ESC

Maidened: N/A
Number of Flights: N/A

Signing off
RandomTask

Unpowered plane. Gliders... not really.

I was helping my mom-in-law clean the store room today and boy were there lots of treasures. I found my wife's unfinished B-17F flying fortress from around ten years ago. I also found some nice small profile warbird planes kits, the kind we used to buy from the corner "mamak" shops for 50 cents. My wife got it from either the RAF Museum or the Imperial War Museum in London. But this is way cooler. It has a moving propeller (which works more like air brakes), under-cambered wings and landing gear. Way cool for something with a wingspan of around 25cm.







Maybe I shouldn't get anymore powered planes but just get these types of planes instead, its cheap, hardy and takes no skil to fly.... Yeah right like that's gonna happen.

Happy Landings,
RandomTask

Flight Log 02.10.2006

1. Hacker SuperZoom 4D

AXI2212/26 Gold Line (upgraded from AXI2212/34 Silver Line)
Castle Creation Phoenix 25amp ESC

Maidened: 10 August 2006
Number of Flights: 17

This plane now flies great with the new motor with the 10x3.8 prop. Flies nice and slow with enough punch to get out of trouble. With this current setup, lower altitude hovering (still trying to get it right) is possible with much more confidence. But broke the prop while doing funny things after landing on the runway. Bloody Kerb!


2. Hacker Reno Racer: Mini Mustang

Tower Pro BM2408-21
Tower Pro 18amp ESC

Maidened: 16 September 2006
Number of Flights: 6

I tried running this plane with a 3S battery. Oodles of power. It had unlimited vertical climb and with the heavier battery, the centre of gravity was inadvertently moved back which really helped in the climb. So I had lots of fun just climbing high and puutting the plane into spins. It had som much power that during ROG the Mini Muustang took off with a slight crab-angle. Overall too much power for a small plane and I will revert to my 2S lipo. I won't suggest anyone getting this model as it just seems to have lots of drag in the air. I will try find a solution to this and post any updates on the performance of this cute little plane.


1. Airfoilz Yak

None (Planned for AXI2217/16)
Castle Creation Phoenix 25amp ESC

Maidened: N/A
Number of Flights: N/A

Signing off
RandomTask