Oh dear, winter's here, how much flying are you getting in?

[Seamus O'Leprosy]

Maidened this, this weekend. no winfd no clouds unbeliveable

Edited By David Ashby - RCME Admin on 06/11/2011 18:46:56

[Devon Flyer]

3 hours on the slope yesterday; 3 hours electric on the flat field today......................must get more flying in!

Edited By David Ashby - RCME Admin on 06/11/2011 18:47:26

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Well winter seems to be well and truly on the way and we've had a pretty poor weekend of weather down here in the South East but I'm glad it's been better north of Watford, jealous too

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Did that Tiger go well Seamus?

[Seamus O'Leprosy]

Posted by David Ashby - RCME Admin on 06/11/2011 18:47:47:

Did that Tiger go well Seamus?

Really well, thanks David, but needed lots of left thumb in the turns.

[ken anderson.]

up here in gods country(northumberland) we have had a nice weekend....sunshine and no wind! ...what no wind..ye gazooks i hear you all say..... the only flying i got done was...flying around on grandad/dad duties...... never mind all for a good cause..... did manage a visit to our club site to say hello to the lad's.....

 

ken anderson ne..1 ... dad dept...

[Allan Bowker]

Ran out of time to get to the club today, so the old 'Wild Hawk' got chucked over the local fields instead.

 

Looked really nice in the sunset too, wish I had taken the camera.

 

[Ben B]

I was at the field in Cloudy London from the crack of dawn yesterday. There for about four hours. I did take refuge at one point in the car whilst charging up some Lipos (both my field batteries were flat by that stage). Very very windy.

[Terry Walters]

Taking advantage of a lull in the rain and a corresponding respite
in the high winds we've been having I took the last minute decision to
head for the club strip mid afternoon. Had the piste to myself and
managed to fly!!

 

Had a pleasant starter course- ST Cessna 185 - just lovely to fly in calmer air.

 

Main course- Phoenix Rainbow - hadn't flown it for about 6 weeks - great.

 

Dessert
- fun with the new Fun Cub - 2 batteries worth - just seem to be able
to do anything with it and did my first ever outside loops!

 

Cheese course - Rainbow again just because I like it so much.

 

Carriages
at 5.15pm (our time!) and put the lights on on the way home -
batteries charging by the log fire (well to the side of it), glass of
dry sherry and a roast dinner just eaten - priceless!

 

Terry

[Wingman]

Cracking day here in Aberdeenshire - blue sky and very light breeze. Got 3 flights with the Camel and 2 with the wing and just a slightly bent wheel to fix. By 3 o'clock it was too cold to fly but a great day had by all - suspect there won't be many more in the next few months.

Edited By Wingman on 06/11/2011 19:53:13

[Turbycat]

Been too busy at work combined with the lousy weather when I'm off has lead to a bit of building. First up was a Mini E Panic from Avicraft

Then I aquired this box......

which got finished off at work last night (nights aren't too busy)

 

Then I cleared up the garage a bit

Now back at work with 2 models waiting for a break in the weather to have their maidens!

Andy

[Solid Snake]

Don't think I've flown since the beginning of October

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

The answer to the question in the thread title is - at least as far as the last two weekends are concerned - a lot more than I got over the so called summer! .

 

Bit breezy yesterday, but not at all bad. Quite nice here today - sunny but cool - a bit like myself!

 

BEB

[Vecchio Austriaco]

gust from the north - not the right direction for the NOMAC field - was alone there (the others did know). Had two flights with the E-flite Extra - on the second flight I had a rather hard touch and go - this was the end of the day - I packed up as I didn't want to ruin the second extra as well.

Only minor damage - one of the wheelspats needs repair and this is done just now.

[trev]

Just bought a Nine Eagles Sky 500 indoor foamie, since maidening my E scale phoenix last week and flying again for the first time in 30 years or so, bug well and truly bitten again. So figure that the Sky 500 will at least keep my hand in and I just happen to have a warehouse available to fly it in too.... Going to give it a go tomorrow. If anyone has a nine eagles small fixed wing or small H/C, look in hints and tips about re charging the flight packs. Cheers all.

 

Trev.

Edited By trev on 06/11/2011 21:23:23

[Pete B]

Despite the forecast of a 90% chance of rain, it stayed sunny and calm down here today, so it was out, for the first time in a while, with the Ripmax Akrobat. Spent the whole flight wondering why it seemed so twitchy and after landing, realised I'd had it set on high rates throughout............

 

The moral: engage brain before switching anything on!

 

Flew the E-Flite Sea Fury but it seems to eat batteries now, so it was a quick circuit or two and down. Needs some investigation, I think.......

 

As it was such a nice afternoon, I finished up with the Phoenix Tiggie and thoroughly enjoyed some lazy circuits and loops etc

 

As it rolled to a stop after landing, I lost the radio link.....zilch, nothing

Investigation revealed a slack Deans connection between battery and ESC! Phew, a very lucky escape - so I'll carry on converting them to XT60's then........

Pete

[Erfolg]

Coor, we must have had the best of the weather, up north. All the Parkin and Pigs Trotters were eaten the night before, the residual dust particles, from the fireworks and the Bon fires leaving a thin fog.

 

The night before, leaving Yorkshire after fireworks and Fat Rascals (purchased from the world famous Betties Coffee house at Ilkley), there was a visual excess of fireworks, fires to cause total awe, as we descended from the heights of Burnley to the Cheshire flat lands. Oh and the excitement of dodging the fireworks thrown at oncoming cars around Bury?Heywood. No wonder the fog.

 

Back to flying. The Sun soon burnt of the fog, leaving a crystal clear light blue sky. Not a breath of wind. The air temperature rising towards a good summers day.

 

We had two potential members join us. In addition to the usual crowd and those member's only seen "once a blue moon". So all in all, a good turn out.

 

As for the flying! Well that was really enjoyable. In my case three models flown several times. One, my Nobler facsimile flew for the second time, and flew really, really well, as on rails, very positive handling. I will now continue with flight development.

 

The second model is also new, in some respects not quite as good as I had hoped, yet positive enough to continue development. It does not roll as well as hoped.

 

Enough of my gloating, it is of to the building room, to immerse myself into my next dream model.

[Turbycat]

Hopefully going to get these airborne soon.

Black Horse matrix

Mini E Panic

 

Please, please, please can I have some nice weather...........................

 

 

[flytilbroke]

Went through from Fort William to Elgin. Bright blue sky Saturday and Sunday, from calm to a bit wind and not too much of it. Can hardly believe the thashing through the air I gave my PANIC at the Dallachy club. Just as it was getting dark on the way back there was ice on the small off road wet bits. More of this weather, pretty please.

[Erfolg]

Looking out this morning I was greeted by a mat steel grey day. I was considering what progress on my latest model I would make. I suspected not much, as I think it is a little two small, which has lead to a lack of enthusiasm. The previous model stares at me in the model room, needing RC gear and motor etc. Although obtaining a satisfactory CG, proving to be problematical, without excessive weight increase, has killed it for me.

 

Then again looking out of the window, not a leaf shimmered, not a blade of grass moved.

 

Again there was a plus side, all the school kids were back at school, HOORAY!!!!

 

So I grabbed my indoor/parkflyer, and walked into the park, empty, great.

 

 

I launched the model, when all hell broke loose, as a Jack Russel appeared from nowhere, leaping into the air, barking rabidly. Then its attention turned to me, it raced across the park, to sink its teeth into my trouser turn up, I was given a shaking like an errant rat. At that point the dogs custodian turned up. Oh he does love playing, you naughty, naughty little boy. I thought she was talking to the dog. Now stop that, she said. Again i thought it was the dog, but no, it was me. If you stop flying that thing, he will stop and I can safely get him. I turned the motor off as commanded and the dog rushed off to its new plaything. I applied power and climbed away, as I envisaged a dead model. The dog and owner now disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

 

I now was free to do circuits for 10 or so minutes. This is so enjoyable I thought. The park has a large number of trees, so the circuit is quite restrictive. As My confidence grew, I became ever bolder, flying the model ever closer and lower, until, I let the model pass to the back of me and pulled up, to clear gain height, above my head, heading for a largish clear area, to turn, into the next curcuit.

 

Suddenly I was showered by leaves, not even the soft hum of the motor was to be heard. Yes I had managed to fly into the tree that was the rear edge of the circuit, I had positioned myself at this very spot, to ensure that I would not hit the tree. After all, we all know, we never fly behind our flight line.

 

So off home, get a 10-9 foot 1.5 * 1.5" piece of wood and a 6 foot carbon boom (fishing rod blank) and a roll of masking tape.

 

On returning, I could not immediately see the model, but soon found it. Assembled my retrieval pole. It was only just long enough, but long enough. It was as expected just on the edges of the branches. So it should come down easily, should it not? That assumption was so wrong. After about 4 minutes it came down, rather battered by my administrations.

 

The tailplane is at this minute sticking together.

 

I am sure there is a moral to the events, although I do not know what.

[Phil Claridge]

moral= if you fly in a park dont park in the trees

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Dogs can be a real pain to model flyers, as we all know - but sometime the opposite can be true.

 

A few years ago now a clubmate of mine was flying a nitro powered heli, suddenly this dog came up and starting chasing the helicopter round. Up the park, turn round, down the park - the dog running wildly from one end to the other chasing the model. The pilot by now is thnking "How do I land this thing?" Fuel is getting low.

 

So he came up with a cunning plan; fly the heli right to the edge of the flying area, let the dog get there underneath it, then come back up to the strip like the bats out of hell and land close in - theory being he would get to the model before the dog did. Unfortunately - for the dog - it turned out to be much fleeter of foot than the pilot expected. As he plonked the model down - head still spinning of course - the dog gets there, well before him.

 

"Grrr - Attack attack" goes the dog. "Whoosh" - go the heli's blades - "plonk" goes the dog's nose on the floor! Yeap - as neat a canine rhinectomy (nose amputation) as you'll ever see! At this point the dog's owner shows up - my mate is expecting the worst - but no....the owner just says "It wasn't your fault mate you tried your best, damn stupid dog" (Well he didn't say say "damn" but I'm sure you can supply the missing adjective!) Off he went, with his very subdued dog bleeding profusely and carrying the remains of the dog's nose.

 

Just another day at the field - thankfully not!

 

BEB

[Erfolg]

I think my problem, is that initially I was very aware of where the tress are. As time went by, my concentration turned more to the model, and what else I could do. To the extent my mental model of the park and trees became fuzzy, particularly what was directly above and behind me.

 

With respect to the dog, I was starting to think in terms of flying the model directly at me and then catching it. It being light, I was more concerned would I do more damage catching it than the dog. It had actually become academic, as the dog had gone, as quickly as it arrived. It was during this exercise that I found the tree.

[Erfolg]

Well, its Wednesday, club flying afternoon for the old f............s! The rest of the membership hard at work (hopefully), to pay for our pensions, my previous contributions having been squandered by previous governments,

 

Arriving early, as I thought, after stopping of at Aldi for cat biscuits, I thought I would be the first, surprisingly I wasn't. Hardly a parking spot to be found.

 

How I wish I could write about, blue skies, warm zephyr like wind. The reality was a streaky grey sky, with dark purple clouds approaching from the south, together with a 15mph or so gusting, ever changing direction, cold wind. So unseasonal I thought, hmmm.

 

But how was he flying? Not nice, My latest low aspect ratio winged model, coped, a few loops, a roll or two, I did not. I had had enough. What I would give for a Valium I thought, maybe a Whiskey would be better, or would a glass be considered binge drinking. After all it would be my second this year.

 

Most models remained rooted to the ground, there being no inclination of others to fly.

 

I did not bother, running down the Lipo, never mind getting another model out of the car. I went home.

 

At home I noticed the cat was fast asleep, been there all day, yep, that confirmed the weather was absolutely dismal.

[Shane Sunday]

This past Sunday was just perfect. This was the first time I was to fly my Pilatus on an actual air field. Makes you feel good on the fourth flight ever with a model and you can land it better than some of the seasoned vets. Enough gloating though. Seagull PC-9 is such a dream and taking off and landing on an old WW2 air field is a dream.

 

Today the customary clouds are back and the sky is crying. Feel as if summer never happened.