Fun flying at Fort Jackson - Bob Z's Viking- videos and pics

**RknRusty** Fri Oct 10, 2014 9:03 pm

We gathered Thursday at the Jackson Flyers site at Fort Jackson, SC for some warm October control line flying. I brought my Osprey, Shoestring and a couple of Baby Streaks and a Li'l Satan. Wayne brought his converted e-Vector for some trimming, and Bob apparently can pack more planes in a Ferrari than most people cam pack in a minivan. I took photos of each of our fleets, but every time I pointed the camera at Bob's it was a collection of different planes. Before we get to the movies, lets look at some photos of our planes.

From left: Rusty Knowlton, Wayne Robinson, Bob Zambelli
Fun flying at Fort Jackson - Bob Z's Viking- videos and pics SAM_2753_zps124dd852

Fun flying at Fort Jackson - Bob Z's Viking- videos and pics SAM_2753_zps124dd852

Here's the Viking, tank full of gasoline and a spark ignition ready to kick it into action.
The Vampire is in front with its Fox .36(I believe. Bob may straighten me out on that)
Fun flying at Fort Jackson - Bob Z's Viking- videos and pics 1ef46121-5fac-434b-acb7-8c0640c4d560_zps66608345

Fun flying at Fort Jackson - Bob Z's Viking- videos and pics 1ef46121-5fac-434b-acb7-8c0640c4d560_zps66608345

Here's the fleet I brought. Three 1/2As, the Osprey and the good ol' Shoestring. The breeze settled down later in the day, so we got some 1/2A action in.
Fun flying at Fort Jackson - Bob Z's Viking- videos and pics Rustysfleet_zpsccad2beb

Fun flying at Fort Jackson - Bob Z's Viking- videos and pics Rustysfleet_zpsccad2beb

In my first two outings with the Osprey I haven't been able to fly it with any confidence at all. Jerky loops, near misses, and generally inept performance. While I was again grounded, I added some nose weight hoping to tame it. I was pleasantly surprised that I can now fly it much more easily. Not pretty, but if I gut out a would-be abort here and there, I can at least get the pattern points. That'll have to be good enough for now. At least I know I can probably make it through a full pattern next weekend when it counts for points. So I came away feeling better about all the time I spent on this plane. And it was nice to get a little time in with the little planes, that's always exhilarating.

Here's Wayne wringing out one of my baby Flite Streaks, BFS-II. That's a Norvel Big Mig .061 with Sig 35% fuel. I never get over what a badass plane that is.

More movies of Bob's wild high speed stunt flying to crunch. Neither the man nor his planes hold any regard for the wind. They are the boss. Damndest thing I ever saw. So please stand by as the files are crunched, along with their accompanying pics. I'll get them up as soon as I can. What a great day.
Rusty

**Cribbs74** Fri Oct 10, 2014 10:21 pm

Fun times!

Looks like Bob had his hands full. Lot's of eights...

If that is truly a Fox .36 in that Vampire then that is a lot of engine for that little thing.

Ron

Ken Cook Sat Oct 11, 2014 5:34 am

Bob uses silk almost exclusively. I see the Viking is a bit faded. I recall when he had the plane out some time ago how much different it looked. That's a drawback of silk. When you dye it, the UV rays really bleach it out and the same goes when you put pigment in clear dope. Careful wood selection is of the utmost importance due to the silk shrinking. The silk shrinks so much it can break the wing. This is why it's a good idea to follow up your top coat clear coats with non taughtening butyrate (Sig Lite Coat). I never fully covered a plane with silk. I've used it on tail surfaces, never entire wings. My father loves it and says it really is a joy to work with due to it easily following compound curves. Old sparkers get some serious fuel economy. You can run the same engine on glow. Those old engines have quite a bark to them.

I believe that Vampire might be the first Vampire ever produced by Brodak. Ken

**RknRusty** Sat Oct 11, 2014 8:10 am

Ron you ain't seen nuthin' yet! Wait til I upload the Vampire. Then wait till upload the Red Hot Angle. It just gets more and more jaw dropping. I tried to get him to fly the Baby Streak but he wouldn't. He said it was the best flying Streak he ever saw. I asked him if he was serious and he assured me he was. Ha! That's cool, got the Bob Z seal of approval. lol!

Ken, flying with Bob is quite an experience. He's certainly enthusiastic and has a lot of fun doing it. He had me lying on the ground next to center circle showing me how to fly the overhead maneuvers. That was with his slowest plane, an old old Nobler. And it was slow, but flew with rock solid authority.
I never did look to see how he got all those planes in his yellow Ferrari.
Rusty

Ken Cook Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:24 am

I always enjoyed swapping stories and techniques with him. In fact I like that part of it better than flying. If you indeed ever get a chance to see his engine collection, don't hesitate. He's a very talented builder one which admire a lot. If this is the same Nobler, that particular Nobler is Fox .35 powered? No one, even experienced pilots would believe that that plane is Fox .35 powered. If you happen to remember, ask him to bring his Stinger out. This is the Dale Kirn design. I remember Dale called him up a few days before he flew it as someone made mention to Dale in regards to him building it. A very interesting and good flying plane.

If you think this stuff is cool wait until he pulls out the four strokes. Those really grabbed my attention. The Saito .30 is his all time favorite engine and he uses that in a few stunters. I believe he has one currently in a Argus. Ken

**RknRusty** Sat Oct 11, 2014 4:18 pm

I'm sure that's the same Nobler you are talking about. It's very old, but still looks great, and has a Fox 35.
Rusty

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Fun flying at Fort Jackson - Bob Z's Viking- videos and pics

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