Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

**RknRusty** Thu Jul 17, 2014 5:20 pm

I got out to the field early in case it needed mowing, and Wayne was already zooming around at 35 mph on the John Deer with the roll bar up and his seat belt on. Good, things are already going my way. While we were running our lines out one of his buddies drove up, one of his fellow marksmen, a guy who'd never seen control line but seems interested. Cool. Wayne brought a few of his gassers again, the Streak, the Primary Force, and a Ukie which is a great trainer. I brought the Skyray and the Yak-9. While we were fueling up and showing Tom basic CL protocol, like not walking on the lines, etc, Bob Zambelli drove in. He had a carload of eclectic flying machines. The first one out to my amazement was one who's picture I've had in my desktop slideshow for years, a Stunt Rocket.

Please forgive me, every damn picture I took with my phone looks like this, Must've been castor oil on the lens.
Bob's Stunt Rocket
Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO) WP_20140717_016_zpsb3b5bf73

Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO) WP_20140717_016_zpsb3b5bf73

And here's the picture of the same plane from the Blackhawk website that caught my eye years ago. never expected to see it fly in real life.
Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO) Stuntrocket-waltmusciano_zps73ce9539

Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO) Stuntrocket-waltmusciano_zps73ce9539

So we flew planes, Wayne taught Tom how to get dizzy and fall down, and we had a big ol' time. And by the way, Ken I told Bob "Hi," from you and Shawn. He lives in Manning, SC now, about an hour and half from Columbia. Looks like this will be his new flying field, as he has no one closer to home to play with.

I Flew a few patterns with the Skyray, and then flew the Yak, nixed uniflow and set it back to standard vent and got a much better run from the Fox. I can probably stand to go even richer, but it's drinking happily. I finally figured out how to land the Yak without floating and bouncing, come in hot and fast and just grease it. When I landed there was some new commotion going on, and I walked over to the pad to find Bob fueling up this beast.

Another greasy picture. It's a Colibri... whatever that is, with three 4-stroke engines. A video of this beast in flight will follow tonight.
Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO) WP_20140717_012_zps1dc91621

Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO) WP_20140717_012_zps1dc91621

Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO) WP_20140717_017_zps819e35a9

Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO) WP_20140717_015_zpsf98fd7b1

Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO) SAM_2698_zps9ccd3a53

I took it easy, made sure I didn't re-blow my shoulder, and had a great day of healthy entertainment.
Rusty

**Cribbs74** Thu Jul 17, 2014 5:37 pm

Awesome!!!!

I love those stunt Rockets. What was he using for power?

Ken Cook Thu Jul 17, 2014 5:37 pm

Rusty, I miss flying with Bob. I was always inspired to see what was coming out next. His colors may not appeal to most, but his building skills are truly beautiful. I don't know if he showed you the Stunt Rocket up close. The fuse is entirely lightweight glass and finishing resin. The 4 stroke plane is a complete take apart plane which is exceptionally engineered. The Stunt Rocket I believe is even signed by Walt Musciano. Bob uses the engine designed for the plane which I believe is a Attwood Triumph. 51. Ken

**RknRusty** Thu Jul 17, 2014 6:45 pm

Right on all accounts. I couldn't remember the engine until you said it, but that's it, an Atwood. Probably the same red prop that's been on it since that old picture was taken too. Wait till I post the video of the Colibri. I haven't Googled it yet to see if it's a one of a kind or not. He asked me where I got the fancy carbon control rods on my Yak. Laughing

I hope he's a frequent flyer with us, and he wants to come back Tuesday. He approved of my Fox run too, but did say it could be a touch richer. It was much better than the run in last week's video.
Rockin' Rusty

roddie Thu Jul 17, 2014 6:55 pm

Hey Rusty.. when you opened with the bit about Wayne mowing the field.. and zooming around on the JD with his seatbelt on.. I had to chuckle. The guys who fly near to me in Wrentham, MA.. have a self-propelled "tethered" mower! It's got about 75 feet of line.. and although I've never seen it in action.. they showed me the weighted center-post that the thing unwinds from. Leave it to an aero-modeler to design such a rig! I imagine that while the circle is being "automatically" mowed.. it frees-up time to get the grill going! Laughing

Glad you had a good time.. and also glad that your shoulder is on the mend.

**RknRusty** Thu Jul 17, 2014 11:11 pm

Here's the video of Bob's Tri-Engine Colibri.

https://youtu.be/gZG35VGjBY0

JPvelo Thu Jul 17, 2014 11:52 pm

That's the most awesome sounding model airplane I have ever heard!

Jim

**Cribbs74** Fri Jul 18, 2014 12:03 am

Neato!

Sounds like a real bird! Even more impressive is it can stunt!

Great video Rusty. Thanks!

batjac Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:17 am

RknRusty wrote:Here's the video of Bob's Tri-Engine Colibri.

https://youtu.be/gZG35VGjBY0

The first time the plane went by the camera, the sound of it put a big smile on my face that didn't leave it until a couple of minutes after the video ended.

The Joker Mark

ian1954 Fri Jul 18, 2014 3:10 am

The Colibri sounds incredible. 3 cylinders firing - I bet that aeroplane took some set up time!

**RknRusty** Fri Jul 18, 2014 4:10 am

Yeah that was a new experience for me too. It sounded just like a full size plane flying over. The sound of the wind off the props was fascinating. I couldn't help making a bouncy video after evacuating my original post. I could see nothing through the view screen. I forget if he later said they were 65' or 70' lines. Then I had to rescue the tripod that I had abandoned in my haste to save my life.
lol!

Ken Cook Fri Jul 18, 2014 4:38 am

Bob is monumental in the use of four strokes for control line. He's a big fan of the smaller mill four strokes especially the Saito .30 which is no longer made. I flew a 80 oz. plane that he had a Enya .53 four stroke on. This plane pulled so hard it required the use of 2 hands. I never ever had anything pull like that. Four strokes use less than half the fuel load a glow engine uses. I didn't know that initially either. Four strokes also don't lean up at the end of the run like 2 strokes do. They just shut off with little to no warning.

I hope if he comes out again that he brings some of his ignition powered models. That stuff is not only cool for the antique factor, but Bob really has this stuff working incredibly well. He uses modern electronics for his ignition system and the engines run terrific. Just for the record, 70' MAX is the length you can fly on per AMA. That means that your handle to center of plane can not exceed that length. Bob flies this plane competitively at Brodak's and therefore I would say his eyelet to eyelet length is probably not greater than 67' Ken

roddie Fri Jul 18, 2014 5:25 am

That was incredible Rusty! The man flies it with one hand "lefty" too!! I hope he becomes a regular at your field.

Kim Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:18 am

Fantastic Rusty!!!!

You get to hang with the coolest people!!!

getback Fri Jul 18, 2014 8:02 am

That was way cool man the sound of that bird !!!!Thanks Rusty looks like you really got it going on in S.C. Eric Very Happy

**RknRusty** Fri Jul 18, 2014 10:14 am

Hey, yeah we sure are kickin' it up a notch around here. Bob said he wants to bring the Sparkies on Tuesday. He was talking about them yesterday and I told him I'd never seen one in real life. He says they are loud. I'll be more prepared with the camera next time. That was a salvage video shoot after I got scared and ran away. lol!

I am getting to hang with some cool people. He said as much about the Cooks too.

Rusty

Ken Cook Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:32 pm

Rusty, your going to love it. The Super Cycylone .60 he has is top notch. One backfire and a smack on the finger will turn you into a man real quick. It's quite impressive how long it runs on gasoline. Dan has turned some of his back into glow. It really is a neat thing to experience. Great stuff. Ken

Sponsored content

Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)

Re: Mild day, new people and good flying (VIDEO)