February flying at the club

Got a little break in the Winter weather today with forecast high temps to be near 70F. It was still chilly and breezy this morning and I was in the shop sewing hinges on the Shoestring when Jim our club president called. He's been wanting me to meet his old CL friend and they were going to be at the field about 1:30. I was thinking it was too breezy for me to have a pleasant day flying, so it was only in the back of my mind.

But, what the hell, I wanted to meet the guy and I might as well take some planes, so I loaded the Mazda and hit the road. I arrived at the same time as Jim and his friend, Wayne, so after a chat, I drove on down to the CL field and started setting up. Wayne came walking over with an armload of gear and a big ol plane, sorry I can't remember what it was. It was a profile with a Super Tigre 39 on it and was a little bigger than the Shoestring, and had flaps. He put it over to the side to watch me getting ready to fly the newer of my Baby Flite Streaks(the one Jim had given me) with the Norvel .061 on it, which has relegated my other BFS that I built last Spring, to the sidelines.

He had never seen a bladder and was interested in how it worked and my fueling and cranking routine. Pinch-pinch-pinching and catching up with the needle. By the end of the day he'd thought up and asked questions, and was impressed with how well the funny swollen fuel hotdog works. So I flew it about 4 flights, not much different than usual except I was knocking down wingovers like mad. I was just hammering them, pulling out at shoulder level. That light little plane is remarkably surefooted. My pullouts are nice and flat on about 7 of every ten and I was happy with that since I've been working on those. Getting better one stunt at a time until I can fly the beginner pattern. I did plant it once. I had stopped to relax with some lazy 8s. The breeze dictated I do stunts(and wingover pullouts) over the side of the field that's 4' higher than the rest of the circle. It went nose in at about 45 degrees, and the 7.2oz plane hit the ground with an unimpressive Bump! Other than a broken prop a ruptured bladder and a coat of dry grass, there wasn't any evidence of a wreck. I don't really know why I guided it into the ground, the lines were tight and I had full control, but I would guess I relaxed a bit too much and just got lazy. Lazy 8s, right...

I decided that was a sign I needed a break, so Wayne rigged up his plane. That was good for me because he had some routines I need to know before I take my Shoestring out. His Super Tigre and uniflow tank worked well together. Cranking it involved me holding it and following directions; tilt the inboard wing down while he spun the prop to prime it(still haven't figured out why that worked), listening to the needle and nosing up to check for lean-out. Other than that it was just like any plane, on signal, let go and GTFOOTW. His first flight wasn't terribly smooth and the wind caused him to bail a couple of times, including his overhead 8s. He does good wingovers, but with a more gentle pullout than I was doing with the Baby. His loops and 8s were immaculate and the engine broke clean rich and lean on schedule.

During his second flight I heard a horrible noise and thought someone had planted a big RC in the trees, and saw the WTH look on Wayne's face. He later said he thought he'd had a flap come loose or something, but the noise turned out to be Chuck up on the RC field with a scary awesome 3D heli, just assassinating the air. We took a break and walked over to watch and chat with the RC guys who turned out some nice equipment today. Chuck and his son make that machine do things I would have said were impossible, and blurry fast. It's a real treat to watch, but I feel like I need a gladiator shield to feel safe. This heli, if out of control, could cover a hundred yards in the blink of an eye and chop your head clean off. But Chuck, or his son, Marcus, always brings it screaming up to them and suddenly floats it to the ground like a dropped handkerchief. Damn.

The wind really started picking up so I went to clean my plane and pack up. But when I got there it had quit, so I reversed course and got my old pride and joy, the red white and blue Baby Streak hooked up. Poor thing hasn't flown in months. Wayne must've seen me rigging up and came back. I had been trying some other props on it last time I flew and had stepped down to a 5-1/4" prop. It seemed slower that last time I flew and I wondered if my Tee Dee was slowing down. But today, I took the venturi off the Li'l Satan, which I had bored much larger than the conservative 1/8"+ venturi the Streak's Tee Dee .051 had been using since the beginning of my Streak days. With the same prop, I fired it up and set it loose. I didn't expect much because this plane is an ounce heavier than The new Streak that Jim had given me with the .061 on it.

It took off out of the stooge and blew away the first lap like lightening, the engine turning faster than I've ever heard it, and FINALLY, no bogging in the loops. This plane has better down elevator response because that's a problem with the other one that I've never gotten around to opening the wing and fixing. It's always been able to do outsides from 35 degrees high and clear the ground. I'd forgotten how well my little Brodak kit flies. And now with the new life that venturi gave it I had my hands full. There was no wind but the sun was low so I was blinded on every lap. As a result my wingovers sucked, but even being heavier it pulls out in an instant turn as low as I want to go. I did get some overhead loops and an ugly couple of overhead 8s. I did a full speed wheel whop on that damn high ground, but it didn't bust the bladder, and I still did a rolling landing after it bounced 5' back in the air, so I flew it a couple more times. I have found the performance solution for this one; the 5-1/4 prop and an extra 5' of line will put it and me right in the happy zone. I love my old Streak again.

Wayne flew the big stunter one more time and with the still air, he did a magnificent trophy worthy pattern. Then we packed out. Good day. The only thing I didn't do that I wanted to try is a double wingover. Instead of leveling off, turn it back up and go back over again. But in all the excitement I forgot to try. Oh well, maybe next time.

So we exchanged e-mails and called it a day. A good day.