Pimp my Plane

I have finally finished repairing and modding my second hand Katana Mini and now (at least in my opinion) it looks so much better and should give much better performance as compared to when I originally got it.

The Katana Mini has new servos for the tail feather section; HS55 for the elevator and HS65 (pull-pull system) for the rudder. I have removed the original tape used to seal the gaps in the aielerons and have replaced them with llighter Blenderm tape. The cowling has also been re-dremelled to give it nicer appearance and cooling holes were added at the bottom too. Cooling holes were also cut near the tail section, this will facilitate the cooling of the hardware in the fuselage and also helps in reducing a bit of weight aft of the centre of gravity. Holes from the previous placement of the tail feather servos have also been covered up with white tape.

















On Saturday, I did some testing with different Flightpower Evo Packs to find the most suitable one that will suit the centre of gravity on the Katana Mini. I have found the 1800mah pack will put the centre of gravity at 8.5cm from the leading edge at the wing root, the recommended one. It also keeps the all up weight of the Katana Mini down. As it is, the weight of the Katana Mini without the battery to be at 650g (if I measured it right). And that should help keep the wing loading down, reducing the chances of tip stalling at slow speeds, something the Katana Mini is infamous for.

That Saturday was a very good day for slope gliding too, there was a rather bigger crowd than usual at the slopes and the winds were strong and relatively constant, I managed two flights that day, a 35 minute one and my longest flight ever, a 65 minute one. This puts the total flying time for the Easy Glider at a whopping 2 hour 30 minutes. I have to say this plane is an excellent all rounder, it catches the wind to gain lift like the big boys (2.5m wingspan gliders) very well and highly manoueverable (I managed to put it through loops and a roll). The Easy Glider will definitely see much more air time as the season comes in, maybe even see some air time in Sedili. This is definitely the glider of choice for the the beginner or novice to slope gliding.

The winds were so strong on Saturday, there were at least four incidences of planes getting stuck in trees. Wei Yao also managed some beautiful low dives and immediately recovered altitude without much effort. Nice.

I'm hoping the winds pick up over the coming weeks then we'll enjoy more air time and have a good time at the slopes. Let's just hope and see.

Until then, signing off
RandomTask






P.S.

2nd YEAR ANNIVERSARY




Today, 4th December 2006, is my second wedding anniversary. My wife has been so supportive of me.

Hi Shahirah, I know you're reading this now, and I just want to thank you for all our great years together. It has been wonderful and I hope it continues for a long, long time.







I love you hon and happy anniversary!