SSRCM Flight Logs

This is my modified PTS P-51 just having fun and set to some music. Hope you enjoy it, and do check your volume before you play it :). I’d also like to do some video of other club members activities, please let me know.

I started work at 3am today, so I was able to sneak out a bit early and get a few flights in. I also promised Max that I’d help him tighten up the bolts on the new spool/tables he dragged out to the field on Tuesday afternoon.
It was only 91 today, which is 8 or 9 degrees cooler than it’s been, plus there was a nice breeze blowing from the south. It was a bit warm in the sun, but it was much better than it was Sunday!
I got to the field about 1:30 with the Epsilon ARF, some 3/4″ driver sockets, and a big crescent wrench. I had been out earlier in the day with the Epsilon ARF and had adjusted the regulator on the YS 110, since I had nothing but deadsticks on landing the past couple of times I flew it. It was very lean on the regulator: I opened it up about 3/4 of a turn! It ran extremely well today, though. Yay!
I had to run home while setting up, since I realized I had forgotten my transmitter tray. I didn’t even go through my checklist, since I’d been to the field earlier in the day with the Epsilon, and I thought I had everything. Yeah, that’s what my checklist is for, and that checklist saves my butt on a regular basis, as long as I remember to use it! When I got back with the transmitter tray, I found that Calvin Corriea (one of our prospective members) and Max had all the spools tightened up. Yay! Thanks Calvin & Max. Now I just need to get the plywood to cover the tops of the spools.
Mark Labadie, Grover Parent, and Dan Stelljes were already at the field when I got there. Mark flew his 40-sized Ultra Stick, and Dan had his Seagull Models Yak. Grover didn’t’ have a plane to fly, but he had a plane that he was dissecting for the engine and radio gear. Mark, Grover, and Dan did a lot more socializing than flying, which is pretty typical for Wednesday at the field
Bill Bergen drove in while I was setting up, and he had his OS 32-powered Zen 30. Bill was reluctant to fly, but I badgered him until he flew it once. It flies very nice, but it’s fast!
Max had his Sig Somethin’ Extra, and it seemed to be flying very well. I thought the engine was running well, but Max seemed unimpressed. Those planes are a bit jumpy for me, but they are very maneuverable.
This weekend is looking very good for flying: no rain and cooler temperatures (mid to upper 80s). Get your stuff charged up and come out!

Here is some footage of our own airfield from the vantage point of my Ultra Stick 40. I strapped my son’s camera on the belly and added some Pirate music. Hope you do recognize some landmarks and hope you don’t get air sick!

It was very, very hot at the field today. I was surprised by the number of people than came out and the amount of flying there was.
I got to the field about 10am, because I needed to adjust the regulator on the YS 110s in my Fusion and Focus Sport. I got the Fusion done, but the Focus gave me more trouble. I’ll just swap the engines for now, since it will be a lot easier to tune the engine in the profile Fusion.
I got 3 flights on the Fusion, and I had little nagging problems with each flight. On the first, I came in too slow and landed pretty hard, which twanged the landing gear a bit where it screws to the fuselage. On the next flight, the fuel line clip on the pressurized side came off almost immediately, and I dead-sticked into the tall grass. There was no real damage, but it was a long walk in the bug0infested weeds for Mike and me. On the third flight, I was floating in for a landing, and I was paying more attention to landing softly (to save the already-twanged landing gear), and I wound up landing a couple of feet in the second cut of grass. Arg…
Mike came out about 11am, and he had his 60-sized Tiger. He has recently installed an Airtronics RDS 8000 2.4GHz radio in it, so we went through the whole range-check process. It checked out fine, so he put it in the air, and spent just a bit of time trimming it before he was happy with the way it flew. He made a few more adjustments to the aileron travel, but he never did get completely happy with that. He’s going to work on a mechanical adjustment to get more throw. The radio did great, and Mike was tickled pink.
Dan Stelljes came out about 12pm, and he had a Saito 56-powered Cub. Dan worked on the engine for a while until he was happy with the way it ran, and then he flew it several times. The plane flew very nicely, and Dan flew it very scale-like during the first flight. On the second flight, I saw him really wringing it out, though!
Max Freeman, Tony Fox, Mark Labadie, Dave Husher, and Bill Bergen came out about 1:30. Max had his Saito 56-powered (or Saito 65?) Sig Somethin’ Extra. He had Bergen help him get it trimmed on the first flight, and it looked reasonably good in the air. Much like Mike’s SE, it is a bit jumpy, but Max handled it well.
Tony had his electric Mini Katana, and he got in a great flight while I was there. Unfortunately, Bergen reported that Tony and Roger Youmans had a mid-air after I left, and Tony’s plane was pretty badly damaged. That’s a shame, because it was a terrific flying airplane.
Mark had his 40-sized Ultra Stick, and he got in a very nice flight. He took off mostly down the runway, flew around with complete control, and had a very nice landing that unfortunately killed the engine. It was a nice flight, none the less.
Dave Husher had his electric mini Ultra Stick, and he got in several flights. His takeoffs veered slightly towards the pits, but all of his landings were right down the middle. I saw Dave do several touch-and-goes that looked very good. Interestingly, Tim Eubanks came out later in the day with an electric mini Ultra Stick, and I noticed that his also veered towards the pits on takeoff. I wonder if there’s something about those planes that makes them do that more than other tail-draggers.
Bill came out for socializing, as he did not even bring an airplane. I fully suspect that makes him the smartest one at the field today
We sat in the shade, enjoyed the light south breeze that came up later in the afternoon, and generally just talked. It was nice in the shade, but it was awful on the flight line where the sun could get you. Hopefully there won’t be many more weekends this hot in 2008
Don’t forget there’s a meeting at the Siloam Springs Airport tomorrow (08/04/2008) at 7pm.

I got to the field at 1pm, and I was surprised to be the first one there! The wind was out of the west and the northwest, but it wasn’t blowing very hard right on the runway. It did take a bit of rudder to keep the planes going straight down the runway, but it wasn’t too bad.
I got in 3 flights on the Fusion with the new YS 110S. It’s doing better, but I’m still running it pretty rich. I think I can lean it out a bit more, since I’ve got 10 rich flights on it now.
Tony Fox, Max Freeman, Bill Bergen, and Dave Husher all showed up about 1:30pm. Tony had his electric Mini Katana, which he flew several times. It does very well in the wind. Max had his 60-sized Ultra Stick, but I didn’t see him fly before I had to leave at 2:30. Bill had his 40-sized P-51, and he flew twice while I was there. He was having a bit of trouble with the wind on take-off and landing, but nothing serious. Dave had his Mini Pulse, and he flew once while I was there. He fought the plane to the ground and made a beautiful landing.
Dan Stelljes came out about 1:45pm, and Roger Youmans was not far behind. Dan had his 60-sized Seagull Models Yak, but he didn’t fly it that I saw. Roger had several planes I think, but I only saw him fly the 40-sized Ultra Stick once.
It was a pretty day out there, and I was surprised there weren’t more members. This weekend is looking good, too. Get your stuff charged up and come on out!

After a bit of weather-related excitement this morning, it turned out to be a very nice day for flying.
Mike and I arranged to meet at the field at 11:30am, but I got out there about 10am to begin breaking in a new YS 110 on the Fusion. I ran a couple of tanks full of fuel through it between 10:30 and 11:00, and then I started to hear thunder off in the distance. It was clear blue skies above me in the pits, so I walked out onto the runway, and it looked very ugly towards the north east. I put my plane and transmitter in the shed and put all my flight-line gear in the back of my car, and it just started to sprinkle when I got it all put up. It rained pretty good for 5 minutes or so, and then Mike drove up. It started raining pretty hard then, and it continued for about 20 minutes. Once it quit raining, it was blue skies with big puffy clouds. Yay! Mike and I started flying about noon I’d guess. Mike had his Sig SE and his 60-sized Tiger. He got 4 flights on the SE and 3 on the Tiger. I wound up putting 7 flights on the Fusion, but it was running so rich that each flight was only 6 minutes!
Dan Stelljes showed up about 1pm with his Seagull Yak and his Funtana. He was tuning on the Saito engine (100?) in the Yak, but he didn’t ever get happy enough with it to fly. He did fly the Funtana a couple of times, though.
Max Freeman, Dave Husher, Bill Whitaker, and Bill Bergen all showed up about 1:30. Max had his Sig SE, and he flew once. Dave had his Mini Pulse, and he flew a bunch. He was practicing take-offs and landings, and it was a perfect day for that, since the wind was very light and right down the runway. Whitaker didn’t have an airplane, but it was great to see him at the field. Bergen had his 40-sized P-51, and he seemed reluctant to take it out at first. He did fly a couple of times, though, after we picked at him
Tony Fox came out about 1:30 also, and he had his electric Edge and Mini Katana. Marvin Hendrix came out a bit later, and he flew his Norvel 25-powered SNJ. Roger Youmans came out about 3:30, and he had a new foam glider that he and David Goetz had cut the wing on. The plane flew very nicely with electric power, and it also glided well off the power. Roger was a bit tentative at first, but he put the landing after the second flight right on the runway! Kevin Sisco also came out early in the afternoon, and he brought his Funtana. He flew several times during the afternoon, and it was great to see him out at the field.

All in all, it was a wonderful day for flying and for fellowship.

We did have one unfortunate incident at the field early today. A young man and his son came out to fly a newly-bought electric. They had it all set up and turned on when Dan asked them what they were doing. They had never flown before, didn’t know anything about AMA, and presumably thought they were just going to go out and fly. Luckily no one was on the same frequency as they were, and it’s also lucky that they didn’t try to fly it alone without warning the rest of us to be on our toes. Dan explained the rules, and apparently the man was less than understanding. Dan did exactly the right thing, but this brings up the importance of the research Bill Bergen is doing into the AMA’s Introductory Pilot Program. If we’d have had such a program in force (and a qualified instructor had been at the field), we could have helped these newcomers get into the air with a much higher chance of success, and they may have left the field with a better feeling towards the hobby.

I’ve posted the pictures from the Fun Fly. You can click on this link to go directly to the photos or you can click on this link to go directly to the slideshow.

Thanks to all the sponsors:

• Extreme RC Hobbies, Johnson, AR donated a $100 gift certificate, which was won by Sherri Hyde.
• HobbyTown USA, Bentonville, AR donated two $25 gift certificates, one of which was won by Dave Husher, and the other was won by Jerry Shrum.
• Radio Shack, Siloam Springs, AR donated a $20 gift certificate, which was won by Bob Lavey.
• Bell’s Office Supply, Siloam Springs, AR donated a $20 gift certificate, which was won by Jerry Shrum.
• Fagans True Value Hardware, Siloam Springs, AR donated two Power Outlet Strips, one of which was won by Arley Schrock, and the other was won by Marvin Hendrix.
• Fastenall, Siloam Springs, AR donated a Craftsman Screw Driver set, which was won by Barry Garner.
• M & D Building Center donated two Precision Screw Driver sets, one of which was won by Arley Schrock, and the other was won by Tony Fox.
• Dan Stelljes and Dave Husher donated a Sig Colt airplane kit, which was won by Jeremy Schrock.

It was supposed to be much nicer today than it was. Having said that, though, it was still pretty darned nice! It got up into the upper 70s, but in the shade it felt wonderful. The wind kicked up to 15mph or so once in a while (like when I came in for a landing), but mostly it was 7-10 and right down the runway (from the north). Serious, my first flight, I set up for a landing approach, and the wind picked up strong enough to take my hat off. On my second flight, it was fine until I set up for a landing, and the wind kicked up strong again. I must have had my hat better secured that time, because it didn’t come off.
I got to the field about 12:30, and Dan Stelljes was already there. I got my planes assembled and then visited with Dan for a while. Dave Husher came out for a bit, but he didn’t bring an airplane. He had work to do around the house, and I think I heard him say he needed a prop. Bill Bergen, Mark Labadie, and Max Freeman all came out about 1:30.
Bill had his 40-sized Ultra Stick, and he flew twice. The wind was kicking him around pretty good, and he found that landing without flaps or crow was the best idea for today.
Mark had his 60-sized Ultra Stick, and he flew once. He set up for a landing approach, and the wind kicked up hard enough to send my portable awning for a triple roll, so you can imagine how it affected Mark’s plane. Luckily Dan was there to save the day, and he set it down for a nice, smooth landing.
Max had his 60-sized Ultra Stick, and he flew it once. The wind didn’t seem to be bothering Max too badly. He put in a really nice flight with lots of aerobatics, and he made a great landing.
Dan flew his U-Can-Do once. He had his Yak, but he said it doesn’t behave very nicely when landing in the wind. We talked about that a bit, and the Yak had a double-taper to the wing. My Epsilons and my Fusions are both like that also, and they do not like to be slowed down too much. They don’t have bad tendencies to snap, unless you’re going really slowly.
Dan also had a foam 747 that we all got a chance to fly. Dan got the first flight, and Bill hand-launched it. It stayed just barely higher than the grass in the field, and it did a beautiful right-banked turn. It was a thing of beauty. It turns out, that’s the planes only trick I flew it next, and when Bill launched it, it did a beautiful right-banked turn right back towards us. After than, we got smart and put a weight on the left wing. Bill flew it the last time, and it flew straight. Yay! Turning is accomplished with variable motor speed, and when Bill tried a left turn, the whole plane yawed and just skidded but went straight ahead. Since it was getting close to the edge of the field, Bill made a right turn. The plane banked hard right and nosed into the field. As with the previous flights, there was no serious damage. What a hoot!

It was cloudy, windy, and cool today at the field. At 10:30am I was mowing the lawn, and it was 60 degrees and almost sunny. I had high hopes that the weathermen were wrong, but it started cooling off at noon and was down to 54 by the time I left at 1:15pm. Arg…
I got to the field, and Tony Fox was already in the air with his mini-Katana. Bill Bergen, Dave Husher, and Mark Labadie all showed up shortly after I did. Bergen didn’t even bring an airplane! I flew my Epsilon twice, Tony flew his Katana twice, Dave flew his Mini Pulse twice, and Labadie/Tony flew Mark’s 60-sized Ultra Stick once. This was the first time Mark had flown his new airplane, although Dan Stelljes had maidened it last Wednesday. Mark said it flew nicely, and it looked very smooth from the ground.
The cold and wind drove us off by 3pm. Bummer. Hopefully next weekend will be better.

It was a perfect day for getting work done at the field, and we had a tremendous turn-out. I got out there about 9am and spent the first hour weed-eating the gate area. Tony Fox, Marvin Hendrix, Mark Labadie, Barry Garner, Mike Lavey, and Jeremy Schrock were all there before that and were busy getting stuff done. Carl Connell and Dave Husher came out just slightly later. Tony, Marvin, and Jeremy were working on the picnic tables: replacing boards, scraping/sanding off old paint, and applying new paint. They also got paint on the new rafters in the shed. Dave had his belt sander out there, and that made short work of smoothing up the picnic tables. Barry Garner and Carl Connell were working on the limbs: Barry had a normal chain saw, and Carl had the chain-saw-on-a-stick. Mike spent the whole time weed-eating the west fence row and cleaning up sticks and twigs. I cleaned the bathroom and helped Mike with the weed-eating.
By 11am, all the work was done, and the field looks great! Thanks a lot to all those who came out to help.