Today was the Day

[lperagallo]

To get back out and start flying again:YeaBaby:. Way too much cabin fever. Even though it was only 40 degrees with winds 15-20 MPH, I couldn't just sit there watching them in the garage. After all its almost April 1st:( Got 3 flights with the Raptor and one with the Gasser. I didn't like the feel of the Gasser and I didn't have time to check the needles. The wind was playing havoc on hovering and I felt my elevator control on the Gasser was off. I'm going to check that out again and see if there is anything sticking. It almost felt like it was sticking when giving it back elevator. It wouldn't come back them BAM it jumped back. Again, it could have been me or the wind, so I'll check everything out on the bench again maybe trying to put a load on the servo and see if there is any sticking.

It sure did feel good to be back out though. With the stiff winds, loops were huge and stall turns ended up travelling the length of the field, so I guess I was making "V" turns. The Raptor 50 gets pushed around pretty good, but with the cross wind it wasn't coming at me.

Having the Turbine batteries cycled by a friend to make sure that what I found is correct. Looks as though I might have to get new ones, but I want to be sure before shelling out money on teh new LI-MN chemistry. Can't seem to get more that 1200MAH back into a 4000MAH duralite. :(

Ron, Haven't seen any new videos of your turbine. Have you been taking the winter off?

Lou

[Gary Travis]

LOU
Check the vertcal arm on the elevator control unit (the arm that the elevator pushrods connect to) it sounds like it is loose. More than likely thatis the elevator problem
Gary

[kelly steed]

Sounds like you had not a bad day lou,tomorrow's my day it,s should be +6.Just have to finish cycling my 3000 ma batteries,hit 2150 first round,pulled 2890 second pull,just need to peak them out tonight and should be ready to go.

[rkeith2]

Lou -

Taking her out for a jaunt in the morning.

Ron

[kelly steed]

first flight off the year not so bad,first tank flew very nice had a little hum thing going on.hover, pull up and hover no hum,drop down and hover hums back again.So I went hunting for the proplem,-9 on the ground bingo 30 sec later I need a main gear.I thaught I tighen the collars on the main shaft, maybe not,did I get called away,were they just not tight enough, I don't no.cheap lesson to share with all of you.But I shure did have fun with that first tank,I had a friend wacthing all he did was hide behind a round ball of hay and say holy man.

[rkeith2]

Lou -

Took the turbine out today and had some fun but nobody there for video :-(

I have a bit of grit, notchy behavior in the tail pitch slider and parts on order. Will get a little wild vid up next weekend. :-)

[rbort]

Well after having to do some chores most of the day yesterday, today was my day to play! I packed up 3 models after having brunch -- a flying wing that I haven't flown in quite a while, my BME 44 powered 85" taylorcraft, and the trusty ole Xcell gasser.

Got to the field around 12:30 in the afternoon and the place was filled with guys enjoying the nice weather. I got a couple of flights in with my 1005 gasser but I felt like I was doing traffic avoidance as on my 2nd flight I was sharing the sky with 3 other models. Gets a little busy so decided to save it for later.

Next I flew the Taylorcraft for 3 flights and practiced some hovering and landing slips. Crisp blue skies added to the enjoyment and the wind was a little busy but not bad at all. In between the Taylorcraft flights I tossed the flying wing up and got some airtime on that guy. A few months back I bought a PCM 9 channel receiver from a guy here on RR, and believe it or not today was the first day I flew it. Worked great, thanks seller! On the last flight of the flying wing I ran out of gas and had an unscheduled landing that wasn't perfect. It flipped on its back and the covering got poked with a hole from something on the ground. Oh well, easy fix.

After I packed everything in the car I decided to fly the 1005 gasser again now that everyone was gone. Concentrate on some flying and I worked on backwards inverted flying. I can do it, but I'm very critial of myself as I like to look smooth and perfect and the turns are no where near 100% coordinated. Well at least I'm not falling out of the sky any more due to an incorrect input, so at least that fear has vanished and now I can concentrate on making my turns sit in the groove if you know what I mean. I had so much fun after the first flight I decided to gas up again and go one more as the TX was down to 9.1v and I still had enough for another flight. Incidentally I hadn't charged the TX last night, only last weekend and I didn't use it much then so I figured I had enough charge for today. I gassed up a 2nd time and went up for some more practice. Worked on the backwards again and I'm feeling a better groove coming around and I almost have an inverted funnel going. Not quite there yet but I feel close. It was getting a little darker and I could see the nav/power lights from the jewel power and its cool to stare at them as you fly by.

I really like the gasser helis as they give you SO much time to practice your maneuver that you're trying to learn. On this last tank I went 5 minutes over the 15 minutes timer as no-one was there waiting to fly and I figured burn it instead of emptying it! By the end of the day I had flown 65 minutes on the gasser and about 1/2 that time I practiced backwards inverted. It is my goal this year to get that down pat just as good as forwards flight. When I get this mastered I'm going to work on my piro flips. I was working on those before but changed directions and decided to learn inverted really well first before dealing with them as being able to pirouette and fly around inverted is key to doing the flips in my opinion.

Good day flying, 11 flights for me between all 3 models and now just sitting here simmering in front of the TV and writing you guys a day's story By the way, 1806 flights total on the 1005 gasser, and I'm proud of them all!!

-=>Raja.

[lperagallo]

Gary,

Thanks for the suggestion, It turns out that I have probably worn out the elevator control yoke center since I can see it moving around the pins.:mad: I hadn't noticed that because it looked like all the control arms were snug. I must be tough on these since I had the same issue with the turbine last fall.:confused: I guess now I'll be spending the next couple of rainy evenings tearing down the bird to get to the part. If I remember this correctly, I'll be taking quite a bit apart. Oh well, less time on the Sim learning to fly the plank I built this winter.

I'll be calling Mary Ann in the morning to get some parts a green zeal tape.

Raja,

Thanks for your suggestion from the other site. I've found my problem.

Lou

[rkeith2]

Lou -

Swap sides on the arms as the other will be fine as is a little oblong. Flip it over and it will be like new again.

Ron

[lperagallo]

Ron,

Thanks.:clappp I did as you said and I am back up and running again. I'll save my parts for another time.:)

Lou

[cbergen]

Ron,

You're supposed to help me SELL parts....:)

[rkeith2]

Crap -

I'm busted Lou ... The boss was watching.

[cbergen]

ROTFLMAO, literally!!