Fantastic day

Definitely the best day so far this year. Wall to wall sunshine and WARM! The pits were nearly full all day, that's amazing for a Monday. Jim who was there yesterday said there wasn't as many people.

Good for a Monday

I've been flying the Yak 54 today and doing some engine tuning. The engine runs fine on the ground but when it gets airborne it misfires even at full throttle. I've changed the plug for a cooler type and it has improved a little but the biggest improvement came from a change of propeller. A 15" x 8" Master Airscrew for a 15" x 8" APC. It hasn't cured it but it has improved.

One other little thing, I've acquired an indoor R/C aircraft. It comes complete with everything you need to fly now - even the batteries. On the aircraft there is a very small circuit board with two servos, a receiver and a speed controller mounted on it. The transmitter has trims on all four channels, is switchable mode one or mode two (throttle right or throttle left) and is on the new 2.4Ghz frequency. As there was no wind first thing this morning, and I gave it its first outdoor flights. Its not easy to fly as its a bit twitchy and needs some expertise.

The 16.5" wingspan Ember

I'll finish todays blog now, I'm going to try the Ember in the garden before it gets dark. Until next time...

To the South West Model Engineering Show

Went to the Shepton Mallet Showground to see the SWME Show. A little disapointing really, not much flying going on and then only one aircraft airborne at once with long silent breaks in between. In the halls were a lot of working tanks and militaria complete with owners in camoflague, war gaming enthusiasts and a few interesting Stirling Engine projects, even a radial version. Another interesting project was a nine cylinder rotary, yes rotary engine, an amazing scale working model of a Rolls Royce original. Puts my attempt to shame.

A snapshot of the local Pitney Club stand

I must say I did enjoy the day, but would I go next year?...

Todays forecast is good

I've charged up all three aircraft overnight and I'm getting ready to go flying. I have to go today as I have to work Easter Sunday and Monday. But the forecast is good, so I'm happy. And this means when I get home I'll need to cut the grass for the first time this year. I don't like to cut it too early because it makes it grow much faster and another cut is soon required, but now I have to bite the bullet and get it done.

I tied up the tail feathers on the Ultimate this week so thats a bit further ahead. Theres a lot of work still to be done on the engine, its nowhere near finished.

Ultimate tail feathers

It was a bit breezy up to around 8 mph from the North West and very chilly but the sun shone all day.

I'm so pleased I went today as Gwyn from Cornwall arrived. Last saw him in early August last year. He's here with his caravan 'till Tuesday when he travels to Spain. Its great to see him again.

Gwyn in happy chappie mode

What a day!

Sunny at home, but as I got closer to the Somerset levels the fog was getting thicker, and at WZ it was too thick to fly in. I unloaded the car and parked up and as I was assembling the aircraft the fog was burnt off leaving bright sunshine which lasted all day. Winds were very light and variable to start with but increased later with a Southerly direction.
I'm beginning to enjoy flying the Yak as my confidence in the radio is being restored. I tried some knife edge flying today and discovered the aircraft does it very well, unlike me, and the new canopy stayed intact too, another bonus.
Flew both the trainers, and a former club member visited, haven't seen Martyn for 10 years and he hasn't flown for that time either, so he had to have a go, and he did very well. I didn't have to prise the transmitter from him once. Mind you, when it ran out of fuel he couldn't thrust it back to me fast enough.
Jim flew his Hotspot jet, always impressive, see the video, and he'd been flying an electric "jet" with a rear mounted motor which propels this thing along really fast. the motor turns at 45,000rpm and sounds like a Formula One style V10 engine. Unfortunately something went "pop" and all power was lost. Turns out the motor shaft snapped clean off, losing the prop.

Its early morning...

...and the birds have just started to sing. Earls up and off to a car boot sale (best of luck) and I'm left to feed the cat. Then I'm off flying all day. After all its my only day off this week. The new canopy for the Yak arrived this week and I fitted it last night. Its a better fit than the original and I glued it down with Pinflair silicone glue (from Lins paper crafting) as well as the screws provided. The glue will give it some stability and resistance to vibration. Also I fitted a volt watch monitor in the cockpit.

New canopy and Voltwatch