York County Flyer's Fun Fly 2012
Posted 04-21-2012 at 02:36 PM by Jermo
It was a beautiful day that started with partly overcast ending to partly cloudy with mostly sunshine. I should have worn shorts!! We arrived around 10AM and were apparently the first of the heli crowd. Robin came with me and we decided to setup out in the middle of the Heli "Pitts" area. This was a bad idea as I'll explain later...After paying the landing fee and attending the pilots briefing it was clear there would be NO fixed wing overflights of the heli area.....um.. ok..I'll believe it when I see it...
I had spent 30 minutes or so setting up the head on my newly rebuilt 450, replaced bearings..etc... I didn't have a fresh pack with me but had a 3s 2200 MAH that I use for my started...just enough to check out the swash and setup... quick hover...she rose straight up.. so the head is setup good, tail is holding ..good response...ugh..low battery pulsing...landed.....maybe I'll find a good home for her. If not she'll become my backyard flyer
.
Tom showed up as did Juan, Jeff L, and the other Jeff. Jaun came over and asked where we were flying with the new rules at this field.. he and I stepped out about 8' from my canopy and heard a whirrrrrr CRASH!!!! to our left about 10' away
There laid the remains of 600 size electric plane that had not only been over flying the Heli pitts area..but had almost killed someone..ME 
!!.. I kept calm..nobody was hurt and the safety guy was all over it. The pilot had been told several times already not to over fly he Heli area.....I wonder if the club would lose the field if one of was killed or seriously hurt from an incident like this? Helicopters are dangerous enough without having to worry about another model hitting us. Anyway.. 
Nobody got hurt and it's a lesson learned... the guy's plane is mostly non repairable. He might have salvaged the esc and the extra flight pack. His main packs were extremely damaged and likely ruined. If the motor is usable he'll probably need a new mainshaft/bearings...
I flew the Pantera for a tank of T patterns and kept hearing stuff flying behind and over me. I really didn't enjoy that and think I'll wait for things to slow down a bit. I value my life and safety a bit more. Justin and Tamer showed up. Justin tore up the field with some crazy flying. I don't recall the names of the moves but he was doing most of them. I still prefer the slower style of flying but it was exciting to watch! I spoke with Jeff (not Jeff L but the other Jeff) and was mentioning my idle issues. He suggested we have a look... well couldn't get it started. He told me to pull the plug..ok... plug looks good, now what? it still won't start.. he said to pull the plug and tip it forward....
we dumped about 1-2 oz of raw fuel out of where the glowplug goes..then tipped it nose up and 3-4 oz of raw fuel came out of the muffler...???????? Jeff noticed I had a fuel cutoff valve and asked when I close it. I stated I closed it when I was done for the day..... 
..Bad idea... apparently since I run a YS it keeps the fuel pressurized so it's constantly pushing fuel into the engine....I should only have the cutoff open when actually starting and using the engine...could it really be that simple??? Installed the glowplug, opened the valve and stated the engine... wow...there's idle...she purrs like a kitten now, I'd never heard my motor idle that smoothly 
.... I fueled up and took her out (I believe I had already fueled...just don't recall) to the field..she idled the entire way, I set her on the ground..still idling... came up into a hover..looks good, still rich on the mid stick (on purpose), Jeff asked me to punch it so I did, Tail kicked right about 30 degrees and the Pantera went up without much hesitation.....not bad considering how rich i'm running... Did a few circles and 8s in both directions, turning towards and away...boy this flying area is tight... did a few T patterns..... then started hearing stuff flying over my head/behind me that sounded close... I backed up a bit towards the pitts and brought the Pantera in for a nice landing....Throttle cutoff doesn't work in idle up.. ROFL.. I need to fix that....I went over to Tom at some point just to share what the idle issue was. I think Jeff and Jeff L thought I was asking Tom's permission or something!! ROFL.....I love the way we all joke around. I'm loving this bunch of guys.
Lessons learned today: There's a lot to learn from many different people. Each have something to offer that will help me if I'll just listen. If I'll do the work the skills will improve, my patterns were much better and I'm relaxing more. It's better to be friends with someone and enjoy the hobby than try to be right. Fuel cutoffs are suggested for the models for a good reason..use as required for best results...
Have a super weekend and may all your landings be soft and your weather be mild.
Jer
I had spent 30 minutes or so setting up the head on my newly rebuilt 450, replaced bearings..etc... I didn't have a fresh pack with me but had a 3s 2200 MAH that I use for my started...just enough to check out the swash and setup... quick hover...she rose straight up.. so the head is setup good, tail is holding ..good response...ugh..low battery pulsing...landed.....maybe I'll find a good home for her. If not she'll become my backyard flyer
. Tom showed up as did Juan, Jeff L, and the other Jeff. Jaun came over and asked where we were flying with the new rules at this field.. he and I stepped out about 8' from my canopy and heard a whirrrrrr CRASH!!!! to our left about 10' away
There laid the remains of 600 size electric plane that had not only been over flying the Heli pitts area..but had almost killed someone..ME !!.. I kept calm..nobody was hurt and the safety guy was all over it. The pilot had been told several times already not to over fly he Heli area.....I wonder if the club would lose the field if one of was killed or seriously hurt from an incident like this? Helicopters are dangerous enough without having to worry about another model hitting us. Anyway.. Nobody got hurt and it's a lesson learned... the guy's plane is mostly non repairable. He might have salvaged the esc and the extra flight pack. His main packs were extremely damaged and likely ruined. If the motor is usable he'll probably need a new mainshaft/bearings...I flew the Pantera for a tank of T patterns and kept hearing stuff flying behind and over me. I really didn't enjoy that and think I'll wait for things to slow down a bit. I value my life and safety a bit more. Justin and Tamer showed up. Justin tore up the field with some crazy flying. I don't recall the names of the moves but he was doing most of them. I still prefer the slower style of flying but it was exciting to watch! I spoke with Jeff (not Jeff L but the other Jeff) and was mentioning my idle issues. He suggested we have a look... well couldn't get it started. He told me to pull the plug..ok... plug looks good, now what? it still won't start.. he said to pull the plug and tip it forward....
we dumped about 1-2 oz of raw fuel out of where the glowplug goes..then tipped it nose up and 3-4 oz of raw fuel came out of the muffler...???????? Jeff noticed I had a fuel cutoff valve and asked when I close it. I stated I closed it when I was done for the day..... ..Bad idea... apparently since I run a YS it keeps the fuel pressurized so it's constantly pushing fuel into the engine....I should only have the cutoff open when actually starting and using the engine...could it really be that simple??? Installed the glowplug, opened the valve and stated the engine... wow...there's idle...she purrs like a kitten now, I'd never heard my motor idle that smoothly .... I fueled up and took her out (I believe I had already fueled...just don't recall) to the field..she idled the entire way, I set her on the ground..still idling... came up into a hover..looks good, still rich on the mid stick (on purpose), Jeff asked me to punch it so I did, Tail kicked right about 30 degrees and the Pantera went up without much hesitation.....not bad considering how rich i'm running... Did a few circles and 8s in both directions, turning towards and away...boy this flying area is tight... did a few T patterns..... then started hearing stuff flying over my head/behind me that sounded close... I backed up a bit towards the pitts and brought the Pantera in for a nice landing....Throttle cutoff doesn't work in idle up.. ROFL.. I need to fix that....I went over to Tom at some point just to share what the idle issue was. I think Jeff and Jeff L thought I was asking Tom's permission or something!! ROFL.....I love the way we all joke around. I'm loving this bunch of guys. Lessons learned today: There's a lot to learn from many different people. Each have something to offer that will help me if I'll just listen. If I'll do the work the skills will improve, my patterns were much better and I'm relaxing more. It's better to be friends with someone and enjoy the hobby than try to be right. Fuel cutoffs are suggested for the models for a good reason..use as required for best results...
Have a super weekend and may all your landings be soft and your weather be mild.
Jer
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