The First Front Yard Flight of this Year

Kim Sun May 22, 2022 9:09 am

The first flight (by an airplane...drones don't count!) from my front yard this year.

Our fellow Breezy Hill Flyer, Darryl Wilson, built this Dynaflite "Butterfly" several years ago, and I bought it from his estate when he passed away. He also rebuilt one that had been built by Billy's dad, and Billy has that one, so there are a lot of memories passing back and forth when we fly them at Breezy.

I wanted to give it its "Spring Shake-Down Flight", with the intention of taking it to the Sky Squires' Fun-Fly today, though I had to cancel because of the weather.

Still, I managed one flight between storm cells late yesterday, and cranked out a short video of the adventure.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEB49I9e0Pk

andrew Sun May 22, 2022 9:26 am

Nice flight despite the weather. Was that some weight rubber banded to the nose?

I knew you guys were getting whacked pretty good -- we got both fronts, too, but the river knocked the wind out of the storms, literally. Mostly rain with a few fireworks, but no high wind or hail.

getback Sun May 22, 2022 9:44 am

WEEEEEEEE good landing LOL that cedar is in the way (just a little) . Everything is looking good from 200 ft up . Glad you a\were able to get some flying time and the beginning of a new year in the Yard Flying ! RC Plane

Kim Sun May 22, 2022 9:53 am

andrew wrote:Nice flight despite the weather. Was that some weight rubber banded to the nose?

I knew you guys were getting whacked pretty good -- we got both fronts, too, but the river knocked the wind out of the storms, literally. Mostly rain with a few fireworks, but no high wind or hail.

Yeah, just adding a little more ballast....which is gonna be permanent.

My friend, Darryl, LOVED duct tape!!!! He used a bunch to reinforce the Butterfly's tail feathers and even the inside of the radio compartment! When I got the plane, it received emergency surgery, getting all the duct tape pulled from its tail and elsewhere...replaced with some balsa triangle stock.

There's an impressive slab of lead already inside the nose compartment, but the old plane still needs more up front, so that chuck under the engine mount is gonna be put on with screws.

I actually got a lot less wind than I figured on, with mostly hard rain and a ton of lightning, shotgun-smacking the ground all around. I had almost everything unplugged, and nothing got toasted.

Hope you've been doing good!

Kim Sun May 22, 2022 11:34 am

getback wrote:WEEEEEEEE good landing LOL that cedar is in the way (just a little) . Everything is looking good from 200 ft up . Glad you a\were able to get some flying time and the beginning of a new year in the Yard Flying !

Yeah Man! I got sort of a "channel" to fly through to get to my yard! I REALLY don't want to tangle with the power lines, so usually get a lot closer to the cedar tree!

Summer is HERE!!!!!

cstatman Sun May 22, 2022 6:37 pm

what a lovely front yard. the flight was nice too.

Kim Sun May 22, 2022 8:38 pm

cstatman wrote:what a lovely front yard. the flight was nice too.

Thank You. Yes, I'm very lucky to be living here.

getback Mon May 23, 2022 5:07 am

Kim wrote:
getback wrote:WEEEEEEEE good landing LOL that cedar is in the way (just a little) . Everything is looking good from 200 ft up . Glad you a\were able to get some flying time and the beginning of a new year in the Yard Flying !

Yeah Man! I got sort of a "channel" to fly through to get to my yard! I REALLY don't want to tangle with the power lines, so usually get a lot closer to the cedar tree!

Summer is HERE!!!!!

Kudos on not challenging the power lines ; Did you get it figured were you will bee able to fly CL with longer lines in the front yard , I guess I am wondering if your going to fly over the fence lol!

getback Mon May 23, 2022 5:21 am

O Oh this was a the suggested bottom of page and i love this video of some oldies but goodies , shows the Fence HeHe Old Bugger

rsv1cox Mon May 23, 2022 6:29 am

"What a lovely front yard." You can see for miles and miles. Here in WV, I turn east and see a ridge, I turn west and see a ridge, I turn north and see a ridge, I turn south ...well you get it. I live in a bowl.

Love the smiley face one-eyed tongue sticker outer decal.

Kim Mon May 23, 2022 8:53 am

getback wrote:
Kim wrote:
getback wrote:WEEEEEEEE good landing LOL that cedar is in the way (just a little) . Everything is looking good from 200 ft up . Glad you a\were able to get some flying time and the beginning of a new year in the Yard Flying !

Yeah Man! I got sort of a "channel" to fly through to get to my yard! I REALLY don't want to tangle with the power lines, so usually get a lot closer to the cedar tree!

Summer is HERE!!!!!
Kudos on not challenging the power lines ; Did you get it figured were you will bee able to fly CL with longer lines in the front yard , I guess I am wondering if your going to fly over the fence

Hey Eric!

Yeah, I did quite a bit of flying last year with longer lines (52 feet), after my landlord removed the fence line at the end of the cow lot next to the house. This gave me just one fence to miss, with landings in the front yard or the nice tall grass in the rest of the circle.

This made it fairly easy to land, as, if there was any doubt, I could just stuff the plane into the tall weeds.

The real problem was the footing. These days, I can easily twist an ankle if I'm not super-careful, and there was a slope right where I had to stand. Gonna try it again after they mow the lot...standing farther out on level ground...AND getting a little farther away from those powerlines!

I keep hoping they'll pull this last fenceline...I'll have a BIG TIME if they ever do that!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFB7rTUKuVA

Kim Mon May 23, 2022 9:23 am

getback wrote:O Oh this was a the suggested bottom of page and i love this video of some oldies but goodies , shows the Fence HeHe

Yeah, I've got a flat cinderblock, sunk level with the yard, I call "The Brick of Life".
As long as my left foot stays on it, I can fly on 35 feet of line without hitting the fence or powerline...no "Dog Walking" allowed!!!!

Kim Mon May 23, 2022 9:30 am

rsv1cox wrote:"What a lovely front yard." You can see for miles and miles. Here in WV, I turn east and see a ridge, I turn west and see a ridge, I turn north and see a ridge, I turn south ...well you get it. I live in a bowl.

Love the smiley face one-eyed tongue sticker outer decal.

Yeah, I do love this place.

Darryl definitely dolled up the Butterfly, and named it "Barb" after the wife he'd lost years earlier. Unfortunately, many of the stickers are peeling away, but some still remain.

rdw777 Mon May 23, 2022 7:34 pm

Glad you got that first yard flight in… There’s something about flying a model airplane that just lifts one’s spirits

….I have one that qualifies for yard flight but has to be dead calm which is not too often… But I take advantage of it when it is….

I enjoy very much both the RC and CL videos… The different perspectives and editing are first class !! Thanks for sharing those… Please continue Very Happy

Kim Mon May 23, 2022 10:19 pm

rdw777 wrote:Glad you got that first yard flight in… There’s something about flying a model airplane that just lifts one’s spirits ….I have one that qualifies for yard flight but has to be dead calm which is not too often… But I take advantage of it when it is….

I enjoy very much both the RC and CL videos… The different perspectives and editing are first class !! Thanks for sharing those… Please continue

Thank You! Will Do!!!

getback Tue May 24, 2022 7:48 am

Yeah i remember that video were it looks like your hugging the fence , and turning in place is Not as easy as it use to bee lol!

Kim Tue May 24, 2022 7:57 am

getback wrote:Yeah i remember that video were it looks like your hugging the fence , and turning in place is Not as easy as it use to bee

Yep..."When you just GOT to fly"!!!!

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