Wings Across America Pilot #350

In case you don't know about Wings Across America, go ahead and visit this link: http://www.waa-08.org/

The following is a brief explanation of the program taken from the official description of the project:

A group of model airplane enthusiasts will fly a battery powered radio controlled airplane called
a ParkFlyer in all 48 contiguous United States.  The name they have given this adventure is
Wings Across America 2008 or WAA-08 for short.  What sets this project apart from all the
others ever attempted or completed is that the pilots will hand deliver the plane from pilot to
pilot.  The plane will never be shipped by mail to its next destination.  This method will be
creating a "chain" of pilots that will fly this model airplane all across the United States and back
to the starting point.  Upon completion of the adventure, the model airplane will have flown in
48 states and cover a distance of over 25,000 miles.  The plane will end her journey at home field
about 5 years after it made its maiden flight in eastern Virginia.  Currently, 356 pilots have
registered to take part in this history making project as well as 246 Academy of Model
Aeronautics (AMA) Chartered clubs are hosting the adventure as the plane makes its way across
the United States of America.
WAA-08 is the creation of Frank Geisler of Gloucester, Virginia.  Frank is an avid RC pilot,
USAF veteran, and AMA leader member who volunteers his free time to help promote the sport
of model aviation.  When Frank discussed this project with some of his friends it was received
with such enthusiasm that the project was born of this energy.  All that was needed were to find
hundreds of RC pilots across the US and in every state willing to fly the plane at their home field
then drive to the next pilot, thus forming a nationwide network of pilots who would fly an RC
airplane across America. The RC community is always looking at ways to promote the hobby
and introduce the fun, excitement, and learning opportunities this hobby has to offer to young
adults.  This is an excellent way to showcase this hobby to a lot of young Americans. 

I had been hearing about the project for some time from various media outlets and knew that it had already been near the Cleveland, OH area, so I just followed with interest whenever I would hear about it. I never thought I'd be able to see and hold the plane, let alone fly it or become an official WAA pilot. The story starts when I visited my good friend Jack who had been repairing a plane for me. I pull into his driveway and he immediately says, "moose, I've got something to show you..." He opens his tailgate to reveal the WAA box.

I knew what it was right from the get-go and grabbed my camera so I could get a picture of myself with it. He then proceeds to tell me that he needs to get it to Columbus to the next pilot. I could not believe what I was hearing, because in two days time, my family and I were going to be heading to Columbus ourselves to visit COSI and the Columbus Zoo! One thing led to another and I pulled out of Jack's driveway with the WAA plane in the back of the Forester.

After contacting Frank and letting him know what was going on, I quickly made plans to visit my home field of the Flying Aces of Aurora, AMA Chartered Club #4859. There's really nothing exciting to report on the flight. The plane flies like any well designed 3 channel trainers. It handled the 5-8 MPH winds just fine. It was a privilege and an honor to put a flight on the Steven's AeroModel Squirt.

The closing of my personal chapter of the WAA journey ended in Columbus, OH when I met up with pilot #351 Michael See to transfer the plane.

I did adorn the travel case with my name and a brand new ATTF sticker. (created by NachosCheese Graphics) It's an exciting thought to maybe see that same case and plane behind glass at a museum. Is it wishful thinking that it might end up in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum? Pilots ARE dreamers, right?

Showing RC to Cub Scouts

On June 28th, Jeff Maruschek from the AllThingsThatFly.com podcast, along with Bobby Roarison, and Dave Bondi from Austintown Hobby Shop visited the Breckville Cub Scout Day camp to provide after-lunch entertainment for around 140 cub scouts. The goal was to give the scouts a quick glimpse of what RC is about, the equipment we use, how it works, aerodynamics, and examples of planes ranging from ultra-micros up to a 100cc 3DHS AJ Slick. This afternoon's fleet consisted of  8 RC models including 2 30cc sized planes, 2 50cc sized planes, and lastly, a 104" 3DHS AJ Slick powered by a DA 120. Due to the small field size, a few smaller foamies were also brought for some flying demos.

Jeff led the demonstration with a quick overview of the hobby in general. Topics included current radio technology, AMA safety regulations, model sizes and costs. After some questions, the guys wanted to explain how the planes actually fly and how they're controlled. Jeff would explain each channel on the radio while Dave would move the appropriate surfaces on a 71" 3DHS AJ Slick. 

Next, the guys gave a quick flying demonstration with some 3D foamies. Bobby took to the skys showing some general flying and then quickly progressed into some extreme 3D maneuvers. "Bobby's a much better pilot then me, so watch him make the plane do things you'd never expect a plane to do!" Jeff said to the kids. The flying led to another round of questions, however this time it was noticed that more of the fathers were joining in and asking questions!

In the end, the trio kept the 140 scouts as quiet as they had been all week! The administration could not believe how attentive the kids were for the entire demo. There are, however, a few things the guys learned for next year's demo. "This year was more of a last minute thing that turned into a "shock and awe" display for the kids. Next year we're going to concentrate more on trainers, good first models, and buddy boxing" says Bondi.

Small ARF Build Part 2, Extreme Flight 48" MXS EXP

This next part is going to be a simple and straight forward one. I'll go over installing the aileron servos and setting up the pushrods along with installing the landing gear, wheels, and pants.

Before you install the servos, it's best to have some sort of servo tester or have your radio and Rx on hand to center your servos before installation. I use the G.T. Power Professional Servo tester to center mine.

You can also hookup your radio and Rx with a receiver battery pack. Either way, you want to get the servo centered with the tester at a PWM setting of 1500uS or with no trim or sub-trim with your radio. With the servo centered, install your arm at 90 degrees from the servo itself. If you have problems getting the arm exactly at a right-angle, then try rotating the arm 180 degrees and using it for the other aileron. My Savox servos had no problem.

Now you can install the servos into the wing. On this plane, make sure that the output shaft is positioned towards the trailing edge of the wing. A quick tip here would be to install the servo, and then remove it. To harden the balsa wood, place a drop of thin CA in the screw holes and let dry.

On most planes, there are some pieces of string run through the wing that you use to pull the servo leads through. However, on this model, there are none. I was worried at first, but after about 30 seconds I realized that the wing is small enough that you don't even need an extension to reach the root of the wing. It's quite easy to run the lead through the wing so you should have no problem here.

After the servos are installed, it's time to setup the ball links and the push rods. Here's a tip that for many will be common knowledge, but just in case, here it is. At this point, use some blue painter's tape to tape the ailerons even with the wing. This makes sure the ailerons are straight during setup. Similarly, use your servo tester or radio to keep the servo you're working on centered during this step.

Screw on the ball links and use trial and error to get the assembly the correct length with everything centered. Use the bolt with washer and nut on the other side of the control horn. Tighten everything and use either some blue loc-tite or medium CA on top of the nut to secure. Your ailerons are now setup!

The landing gear and wheels are rather straight forward. The instructions are great and I didn't have a problem tightening the axle while inside the pant. Since the instructions are so good for this step, I'm just going to quote them:

Place the wheel onto the axle and secure with a wheel collar. Place the threaded portion of the axle through the hole in the carbon gear and screw the lock nut onto the axle, but do not tighten completely. There is a slot pre-cut in the wheel pant to allow it to fit over the axle. Before installing the wheel pant place a drop of silicon based glue onto the wheel pant just above the pre-cut slot. This will prevent the wheel pant from rotating, but allow it to move in the case of a mishap which may help to prevent damage. Slide the wheel pant into position over the axle and tighten the nut on the axle, taking care to make sure the wheel pant is positioned properly.

 This ends part two of the build log! Thanks for checking it out!

West Michigan Parkflyers Mako Sea Plane

For episode #232 of the AllThingsThatFly Podcast, I interviewed John Van Baren who has designed a new plane for West Michigan Parkflyers. Since the plane is about to be listed on their site for sale, we figured we'd post these pictures here now so listeners can follow along with the interview.


Specifications:
Wing span – 32”
Length – 35”
Wing area 310 sq in
Weight - (without battery) – 13.5 oz      (with battery) – 18 to 22 oz
Center of gravity is 12 ¾” from tip of floats
Motor: 2212 – 1900 KV or 2212-2200 KV
Prop: 6X4E or 6X5E
Battery: 1500 mah to 2500 mah 11.1 V (2200mah is a good size with a 9min flight time)
Speed Control: 30 or 40 Amp


Thanks so much to John for coming on the show!

Small ARF Build Part 1, Extreme Flight 48" MXS EXP

So in preparations for building the 1/4 scale Gilmore Red Lion, I wanted to get a box out of the way and decided to put the 48" MXS from Extreme Flight together. To follow along to just my posts on building this MXS, use the Topics to the right and click MXS and you'll see only the posts related to building this model.

Before I begin, I strongly recommend reading this article by our friend, Scott Stoops. Assembling your new ARF. I'll refer to this article at some points, so bookmark that and jump to it if needed.

SETUP:

I'm usually like going with the recommended setups for high performance aerobatic planes, so I ordered the Torque 2814-820 motor. However, I have a Castle ICE lite 50, so I'll be using that. For servos, I'm mainly a Hitec guy, but because many people are suggesting using a larger servo for the elevator on this plane, it gave me a perfect opportunity to try out Savox servos. I'll be using Savox SH-0255MG digital servos. These will give me the more power on the elevator without having to enlarge the opening for the elevator servo. (and not mention save a little weight) EF calls for an APC 12x6 but I don't have one right now, so I'm going to use a Xoar 13x6.5 and watch the motor temps on the first few flights.

FIRST STEPS:

Scott Stoops recommends going over the covering and re-shrinking first thing. My model was in VERY good condition and I just quickly went over the whole plane with an hot air gun. I really didn't need to, but thought it wouldn't hurt to just tighten everything a bit.

Next, Scott talk about covering reliefs. These are the holes in the covering where you mount servos, run the wing tube, anti-rotation pins, etc etc. On most ARFs, this is not done, but I have to give EF credit for having this done already. Even hot air exhaust holes on the bottom of the fuse are cut out already. I got to skip this step!

ASSEMBLY BEGINS:

The manual has you begin on the wings first. Gluing in the aileron control horns is very straight forward. Before you do, look at all of your G10 control horns that come with the plane and one will have a slightly shorter tab. THAT one is for the elevator. If you do use it elsewhere on accident, it's not that big of a deal because you can always sand down the one you end up using. To glue these in, just make sure you sand/scuffs of the G10 to give your adhesive a better grip. The manual says to use medium CA, but I used the white gorilla glue. No problems here.

Next is hinging the ailerons. The manual doesn't mention T-pins, and I really like using them to make sure the CA hinges are centered. So check out Scott's article and the section entitled "Flight Control Hinging". Scott describes perfectly how to hinge the ailerons and this is exactly what I did.

All that is left is to remove the pins and drop some thin CA on the hinges and make sure you're getting the throw that you desire.

That's it for part one. Next post will have installing the aileron servos and setting up the control linkages.

ATTF March Giveaway Drawing

Hey everyone! I just wanted to first apologize for taking so long to do this. A very busy April and May didn't allow us to pull the winner for the Velocity-RC Voltron GPS Logger until now.

Due to conflicts and bad luck, we weren't able to hook up with Fred to help with the drawing this time (pretty much all Moose's fault) so I enlisted the talents of 4 year old Izzie to pull the winner. Congratulations to Roger Bohn of California!

Thanks again to Velocity RC for sponsoring the ATTF March Giveaway!

FMS HS-123 Conclusion and Flight Report

I'm going to split this up and talk about the build and then flights.

Building was pretty much straight foreward. I have now decided that I'll be using Welder's Glue on all EPO planes. Just throw away the stuff that comes with the ARF.

The plane itself goes together rather nicely. However, as with every single 1400mm FMS plane I've owned (4) the wiring resembles a rat's nest and can be a little daunting. Due to the way the wires run to the ailerons and flap servos, you need to run a few long servo runs. Here are my building suggestions:

1. Setup your Rx and center your internal servos and tail control surfaces BEFORE you attach the bottom wing.
2. Mount and bind your Rx before you attach the bottom wing.
3. Test fit your battery and be prepared to cutout some foam to fit a 3S 2200 pack in there.
4. Keep some servo wire slack inside the carbanes so you can have some room to remove the wing a bit if needed.
5. Reinforce all seams of the fuse halves with your glue. Mine were glued fine, but I saw some play, so I didn't want to take any chances.
6. Remove the motor and reinforce the firewall everywhere you can. There have been some reports of the firewall coming looks without this step. Also, this give you a chance to make sure the motor mount screws are nice and tight. 
7. Secure the small bombs with just a tack of CA to make sure they don't fall off in flight...but not so much that you'll never be able to remove them. (Two of mine fell off on landing)
8. Find some thick black thread and wire up an antenna between the vertical stab and the pole. There is a little hole in the pole to tie the thread around. It's amazing how much better the plane looks with the antenna.

The plane comes with grey stickers to cover the servo wire channels on the bottom of the plane. I've left mine off because I've had to remove the wing a few times to make adjustments. Also, don't be afraid to remove some foam from the battery compartment if you want to use a 3S 2200.

This plane flies like a prop-driven biplane. It's as simple as that. The landing gears being rather close together means that the plane will tip over on a wing if you do a doughnut. Be prepared for some runway tattoos. Many pilots have bought or made some plastic guards to go on the bottom wingtips to help prevent any damage to the EPO foam. Landings are easy especially with the flaps, however, once it's rolling, the ground handling is not very good at all. Each one of my landings were near perfect, and once it starts rolling, it gets out of control and either turns one way and skids to a stop or goes right into a ground loop.

Lead turns with the rudder! I've found that to make GREAT looking scale turns, lead with the rudder, and most of the time you don't even need to add aileron....in fact, you'll more then likely to hold in opposite aileron (as expected)

Not a ton of power with this one. (as is par for the course with stock FMS planes) However, it does great flying scale and there is no doubt that this plane LOOKS AMAZING in the air and will defiantly turn heads at the field.

I'm happy with the plane and I'll be keeping it. I don't think it will handle wind very well as 7-10 mph winds were blowing her around quite a bit, so she's defiantly a great candidate for Dawn Patrol.

Pros:

• Looks amazing
• Scale details
• Great scale flight
• A nice size to fit in your car
• Inexpensive

Cons:

• Ground handling is not very good
• Lots of wires, not a lot of room.
• No easy access for Rx and internal servos
• Wings are not easily removed
• Not great in wind