Long time coming

It has been a crazy long time since I last did a blog entry. Almost a year now. I blame it on facebook. Also I don't really know how many do read this blog so the motivation is not always there.

Lotsa stuff happened the last year. The highlights:

1. Manic Street Preachers concert
2. Ashraf's 2nd Birthday
3. Trip up to Sedili with the family
4. Finally got my Yak 54 project completed (almost)
5. Started DLG (Discus Launched Glider) flying
6. Got me a Panasonic LX3 to document stuff

Well let's just hope this is a start of more regular updates with pictures and stuff. If not, you can always find me on Facebook Hah!

Cheers,
RandomTask

Head in the Clouds

There's still no updates on the progress of the Yak on this channel cos I have not touched it. I've been amazingly busy this past few months and I have to say it's a good thing. Long gone were the days where I could think of packing up early to go for a flying session at the end of the day by lunch time. That's now a distant dream. But it's good flying weekends with good friends. That's what's it's all about in the end isn't it. Meeting up with friends, catching up on the week and fly. A good way to release the pent up tension that has been built over the week.

Since it has been over a month since the last update, Here's the big roundup:

1. Telink Multifun is ready to take on the slope.
My first, new slope glider for the upcoming season is ready to hit the slopes. I decided to get ready my gliders early this year so that I won't be missing slope action when it comes by not having gliders for the slope. This one should be my primary sloper for the season an I think I'm gonna have shitload of fun with it. Aerobatic + EPP. An unbeatable combo for low flying fun at the slopes.

2. Multiplex Park Master 3D
I decided to pick this plane up as I had no 3D plane to fly. The progress of the Yak is slow and time consuming so I got myself somthing that will come together quickly, a handy size, tough enough to endure accidental inverted landings and a genereally well-engineered plane. Multiplex planes usually fits this requirements. And since this is a relatively small plane and I had hardware to fit it, I got it. One of the best profile foamy I have ever flown. I think it is the best one thus far. The Flash comes in a close second. But this one really makes me look good. I've had only around ten flights or so with this plane but I'm already flying low and slow. This plane makes me look good. I like,

The colour scheme is an attempted re-production of Gernot Bruckman's XFC 2007-winning Krill Model Katana. I wanted the PM3D to not look like it was orignially just white and I believe I have suceeded in doing so. If the plane looks good, iit'l fly good.

3. First ever ballet/dance show.
NR and I went to a da:ns show. I'm not a big dance fan, but since we got tickets why not have a new experience. We went to a show titled Copelia. It was the opening show of the whole da:ns festival and wow was i blown away. These dancers are fit and everything looked so good. I think since this particular dance show had a very strong storyline, and a rather modern tone, it made the show very appealing and "easy" to watch. I'd rather not delve and describe the whole show cos that'll be whole different entry. Instead I'll just say it feels very humbling to be able to experience something new. It's always an experience to try something new. It may be uncomfortable but that's no denying that'll it'll be memorable.

4. I've got a new MacBook Pro. WooHoo!
I needed a new computer to cope with all the new projects coming in so I got meself the latest and greatest from the Apple factory line. Ok. Maybe not the greatest, but definitely the latest. It's still in its infancy and there's a few teething problems, but i can definitely feel the difference in processing speed when compared to my work horse: the PowerBook G4 which I got 4 years ago.

Ok, that's all for now. Watch this post as I'll upload the pictures soon enough.

Signing Off,
RandomTask

Big Roundup

Yeah, I have been slacking off, not updating my blog. With constant work (Alhamdulillah), I don't feel like an out of work designer. In fact its just pushing me to take on more projects and improving the chances of expansion. Also, I have been out and about with NR and BB quite a bit since the last blog post. A short list of major events since the last blog post:
1) NR, BB and I went to the Zoo.
Loads of fun, but the zoo is going through some major upgrading and not all of the attractions are up and running. Breakfast was fun though but a pity that Ashraf missed the white tigers' feeding session cos he fell asleep. Cute little bugger.

2) Air Force Open House @ Paya Lebar Air Base.
NR really wanted to go ever since I mentioned that there was going to be an open house this year. So we did. NR did a real good job acclimatising BB to the roar of the fighter jets. He was so used to it, he did not want Me and NR's hands over his ears when the jets were off to a screaming take off. Ashraf also had a ball running around Paya Lebar Air Base. The little boy just needs space to run and run. He really appreciates being free and unrestrained by walls.

3) Missed the first F1 race in Singapore.
But we did manage to catch it on TV. Ferrari came home empty handed. Alonso had his first win of the season. Montezemolo had choice unkind words about the track. Boo!

4) I got an electric rc Corsair plough the back of my head.
Major bleeding. Stitches. Bandages. The works. More of this on another post. Grisly photos of bloody scars coming up. I've gotta love NR for being strong to help me clean up the bloody mess at the back of my head.

As you can see, I have been quite busy up and about. So that leaves me with little time to work on my Yak. But I did mange to get two gliders ready for the next season though. More of that in another post. And more posts to come soon.

Signing off,
RandomTask

Bling Landing Gear

I've been bogged down with so much work the past week I've almost had no time to work on the Yak.

One of the stuff I managed to get done though is drilling the mounting holes on the carbon fibre landing gear which I'm going to use in place of the original aluminium ones. I've weighed them some time back, and found that both carbon fibre LGs were still lighter than one side of the aluminium ones.





If anything, they look so much sexier than the stock ones.

Signing off,
RandomTask

Yak 54, Work in Progress

The rate of progress for the Yak 54 may seem so slow it seems as if I have not been doing anything. Quite the contrary. It has come a very long way since I opened the box the very first time. Here's a brief progress report so far:

Cooling hole for Dualsky Voltage Regulator

I've scratched my head for sometime before I made the decision for the placement of the voltage regulator. Ideally the regulator has to have ample cooling. And I am loathe to put the regulator all the way up in the cowl as that would mean I have to increase the length of the wire from the regulator to the receiver (RX), TWICE over. Since both wires have to be plugged in for it to pump the max amount of juice to power the servos.

In the end, I cut a rectangular hole at the bottom of the fuse. The voltage regulator can now be close enough to the RX without any extension wires and the heat sinks can be exposed to moving air, further facilitating the cooling of the regulator. I do hope it works though.

"Blinged" Battery Tray

The Yak 54 being a Nitro powered plane, does not have any battery trays built into the fuselage. So I had to fabricate one. I wanted a rigid one without adding to much weight. This brief to myself was closely followed and I made a battery tray from balsa sticks (which made up the frame) and some carbon fibre plate to get the whole structure very rigid. I added some cooling holes for the battery and this should reduce the overall weight of the battery tray too. The carbon fibre also adds some nice "Bling" to the insides. Pimpin my plane man!!

Once You Go Yellow and Black, You'll Never Look Back

Hellboy profile on left wing (WIP)

Well I was supposed to finish this plane in the same week as the local premiere of the Hellboy II movie but it was not to be. Nonetheless, I love Mike Mignola's art in his comics and this is just my version of fan art. :)

Well that's the progress so far, not bad right (hehe not shy). I will update more as I progress with the build. Hope it's soon.

Signing off,

RandomTask

Completion of the High Power Shunt for the Yak 54

It has been some time since I've done anything to complete the Yak 54. Projects have been coming in, and I have not had time to really put my head down and get the plane up and running.

It's been so long since I worked on the Yak, that I managed to trash three perfectly good planes. All rx-related problems. Sigh, it's one thing to crash by flying too low while showing off, it's another when it's totally out of your hands. I've gotta find a way to avoid all this shit, Fasst. :)

My new foldable plane!

Ok. Since I've already completed the plug for the shunt, it's time for me to complete the whole thing. The other part of the shunt will be on the red power lead of the ESC. The shunt will basically not let power flow to the ESC when the plug is out. Thus rendering the ESC un-armed and safe to handle the plane to the flight area.

A few things I took not of was the length of wire used on the plug side. So when I did extensions to the ESC power leads, I made sure both the red and black wires are as similar in length as possible. I'm not sure if any difference in length will have an adverse effect, but I'd rather not find out.





Soldering the gold connectors to the wires is more or less standard stuff. And this is how the shunt looks.

Next up, more work on the fuselage.

Signing off,
RandomTask

Flowers in the window

So... the day after the Singapore vs Brazil match, Shahirah, Ashraf, my mom, my sis and I went to the Singapore Garden Festival. I thought I'd get bored out of my skull initially, but when I was there it just seemed fun. Almost reminiscent of time when NR and I went out to do research for our wedding deco.

There's just too much to talk about the exhibits at the Festival but since there are numerous reports on it and NR has written quite a comprehensive write-up on it on her blog, I'm just gonna show the pictures I took at the Festival.

The Ashraf Magic Show: Just now he was sleeping, now he's awake.

This has to be considered one of my fave exhibits.

Help me please!!!

Yeap, that was a fun day. And I'm actually looking forward to the next Garden Festival. Flowers are just fun. And all that negative ions definitely had a good effect on my mood. I love flowers!!!

Signing off,
RandomTask

Unachieved Goals

Last Monday I went to what will most probably be my last trip to the "old" National Stadium. It has been slated to be demolished and rebuilt since goodness knows when. C'mon, they even had a farewell to Kallang stadium event but still it has hosted numerous events there.

Anyways, last Monday Shahedan had two tickets for the Singapore National Team vs Brazil Under-23 team friendly match. Alas, his tickets were only for kids under 12 years old, and he still needed a minder to bring him. I wasn't much up for going out but since it was his first football match and it is a Brazilian team, I knew if I went I wouldn't be disappointed no matter what the result was (unless of course if it turned out to be a goal-less draw, then I'll be pissed).

Well we reached the stadium at around 7pm. The east entrance seats were beginning to fill up but we still managed to get quite decent seats. And lucky for us, we were very close to a contingent of real hardcore Brazilian fans. They were armed with maracas, tambourines, drums and a whole assortment of other percussion instruments. The fans were already going strong with their cheers, drumming and dancing way before the match even started. And seriously quite a number of the Brazil female fans looked like Gisele (Bundchen). :)

They were moving too much, can't get a sharp picture with my camera phone

The two teams came on the pitch to warm up. I pointed out the most prominent on the field, and one of the biggest players around in the world to Shahedan. His reply; "Who is Ronaldinho?" I could net help but chuckle. Well it is his first live football match. Come to think of it, that was the first match he actually watched from beginning to end. He told me that he'd be supporting the Brazil team. I took the patriotic approach and supported the Singapore team, knowing full well that I will be disappointed at then end of both halves.

The Brazil team setting up for a free kick

During the match, I willed the Singapore side to push forward towards the Brazilian goal. I cheered every time Hassan Sani and Lionel Lewis parried the ball away from goal. I got on my feet many times in anticipation of the Singapore goal but it did not come. The Brazilians scored three goals against a valiant but overwhelmed Singapore team. You did us proud Lions. At the end of the match Shahedan was visibly happy. He also said that he could really enjoy soccer after this match.




All in all it was a fun day out. I do hope there are more big matches between the Singapore Team and some other big teams. Maybe a Man U full squad. Or even Chelsea then I can boo the shit out of them. Oh well, till then.

Signing Off,
RandomTask