Windy Conditions.

So, I had fixed my plane after the tree incident, charged a battery in the morning, and set out to do some flying in the field next to our complex. It was breezy, but not too bad. I went ahead and started to fly, and the wind kicked up about 1/4 of the way through the battery. So I started flying into the wind, and the plane was flying like a kite with no string. I did a little inverted flying, a few flips, the rolls were fairly difficult with the wind, but all in all it was allot of fun. Also, the wind kept me from getting too crazy and crashing her. I did the same thing a few days later, so some super heavy winds may keep me down, but those 5-10, maybe 15 mph ones won't kill a really bad urge now. The landings were cool too, bring her down with 1/4 prop or so, and she just comes down still or barely moving, then plops a few inches into the grass. I know flying in the wind depends on the plane, but my beat up e-starter seems to do fine with it.

Watch out for the....

Okay, so this post is a bit slow. I was flying on Wednesday Morning after my repairs from the weekend before. Just about no wind, and the sun was shining off the tape holding the antennae in place. It was a nice flight, and I was having fun. Well, as the battery started to get sluggish, I was bringing her down and I decided at the last minute to fly some more. She didn't climb as much as usual, but as I was turning her to go the other way, CRACK! It was an awful sound as she hit a tree. I had to climb up and bring her down. The wing had broken, partly in the same place as before, and some divits were chewed into the wings. The screw that holds the wing in place pulled up with the foam. I was missing a piece so I've been using rubber bands on the wings instead of the screw lately, no biggie. Got her all fixed by the weekend though.

Some real flying

So this evening the wind calmed down and I got to fly some. I did a few laps and brought her in for a landing. She ended up going into the ditch in the landing, not too hard, but it did take the landing gear off. I then went ahead and hand launched the plane, and flew it some more. I even did a loop almost from level, pretty nice. Enough umpf to get her over the tree when I was a bit too low. Then I brought her in nice and easy for a belly landing in the grass.
I put her up again, and the wind started picking up again. She started getting away from me, and as I was bringing her back, having flashbacks of before, she dove down. I pulled up and she settled in hard, but not nose first. The GWS prop was even fine. A strut mount I just put in had come out, a side of the fuselage had broken, and the aileron I handn't fixed broke. I just read about the control levers tearing through the foam. I didn't see the pieces I was missing, so either they ended up breaking mid air, or they broke when I hit the bush in the ditch. I really should have checked better, but she flew well on one aileron if I missed something.
Anyways, I took a scrap of foam and made a new aileron, glued it on, fixed the fuse, and put the mount back in. It's all drying and should be ready to go tommorrow if everything goes well. The wind is predicted to be 2mph too, best all week.

Preparing for the next flight

So, Friday I began working on getting my plane back together. The propeller shaft was sheared in two, so I dissected it all and got the shaft online. I went to www.gws-online.com and ordered 2 shafts because I hear they'll bend allot if you keep nosing in, and a 6 pack of GWS propellers for 12 bucks. I also glued the wing back together and got the fuse back into one solid piece since it was split along the center and the sides had taken some damage.
When I checked my e-mail on Monday, I couldn't believe I had 3 e-mails stating my order had been processed and shipped out last Friday. I ordered early, but not that early, nice. So yesterday, my wife came back with an envelope that had all the parts I'd ordered, Wohooo! After a romantic dinner and some time with the wife, I started gluing things on. I got the aileron linkage for the broken wing, the motor mount, and the motor itself all put together. I also started re-gluing the strut mounts. So the plane is almost ready.
Wednesday morning there is supposed to be some dead calm, but it should be cold. If it works out, I think I'll go ahead and try flying her again before work, if not I think I can wait up to 3 weeks for calm. Hopefully things will go better this time.

First Real Maiden

So I tried flying my plane yesterday. Probably 2-5 mph winds, breezy but it didn't seem too bad. Still, I'm a beginner and the planes not trimmed yet, but I tried it. Charging the batter took about 20-25 minutes. Once it was charged, I put the battery in and checked the controls. The elevator was sticking and no motor when I tried taxing on my way back inside. hmmm. Well, I took it inside, removed the wing, and checked the elevator for binding. I figured out that I had gotten the speed control into programming mode or something similar so I reconnected the battery and it was back. Next I played with the Transmitter I'd played with before, and I found I had reduced the ability to move the elevator, ahh. Crank that back up and it was back in flying shape.
So I go out to the field next to my house, I try taxing real quick, works ok. I set the plane out and throttle her up and off she goes. She verred right in takeoff so I corrected and had her going straight again with the rudder. Then when I was trying to bring her back around, I was having trouble. My skills, a breeze, and some more were probably to blame. She spiraled down and hit pretty hard, I didn't see the impact through a tree. I ran most of the distance, and checked her out. I also went ahead and tested the controls, they all semed to function except the motor. I managed to bust the prop shaft, but the propeller survived ;-). My solder on the connector to the speed control had broken, probably in the impact.
The damages don't seem to be too bad though. Fuselage needs re gluing, the motor remounted, prop shaft replaced, and the left wing glued back together. Well, she'll fly, maybe this weekend. I went home happy actually. A little embarrased, but happy. I built her, she got up, and I've been reading alot about the crashes to fly yourself in RCgroups. I checked the transmitter once more, and realized my controls were pretty screwed up. Like 50% alieron one way, 100% the other. I didn't realize they were dual controlled, so I fixed them before I could forget about it. Aileron is really low, like 45%, everything else 100 I believe. I'll fly 3ch once or twice, hopefully ;-). Well I'll keep you up to date.

My First Plane

I've been stuck on RC Airplanes since about November or so. My father in-law has a 3 ch glider and I've been drooling over getting an aerobatic plane for some time. Well, Friday I finally got my first plane and all the needed gear. It's a GWS E-Starter which is a high wing 4 ch plane. I spent all weekend obbsessively building it, and it's finall done. I'm going to grab a few more things and hopefully fly it this afternoon. mmmmm, airborne. hehe. Anyways, my intent is to gut this one in 6-12 months when I'm good enough and get a GWS Formosa which is supposed to be a fairly good aerobatic plane. Then I can have some more fun.
On a side note, to note my impatience, I had to try to maide this thing yesterday. My father in-laws plane is allot lighter and he hand starts it all the time. Well, I tried on mine and it crashed. Boo, hoo. hehe, no biggie, just had to re-glue the front landing gear, and I finished everything else that needed doing.
The only semi-major problem I've had is that the battery is supposed to mount from the bottom, but my battery is bigger than the plastic piece that was to hold it in. I've improvised a holder, but I don't know if it will last, so I'm going to need to try something else to keep it in. Maybe a balsa door, perhaps foam padded, with a latch? Something like that at least.