Thursday 19 December 2013

Floater Jet Lightship with 3 Blade Prop

...all lit up and ready to go

I finally received the extra set of LED strip lights for the underside of my Floater Jet after what seemed like a minor eternity. I needed these for the underside of the wings as, while the LED's on the wings and along the sides of the fuselage looked really impressive in the study, it soon became apparent when I'd got the Lightship Mk1 into the air that under-wing illumination was an absolute necessity.

This is especially so as at the local field, being bordered by trees, flights are generally above treetop level to avoid awkward situations.


Anyway, the Floater Jet is decked out and ready to go, along with its new 6x5 prop. The latter works well, making it easier to launch, I think due to the larger prop-wash area of the wing, and also make cruising quieter as it develops quite a bit more thrust (about 20% more at low throttle and 40% more at full throttle)....

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Walrus Moon Fly

... loops around the moon

A few days ago I took the Walrus for an evening fly at the local field, something of a regular occurrence lately and an opportunity to enjoy a calm and scenic flight as the evening set in.

It was lovely and calm, the sort of flying best suited to a Walrus whose slow and gentle characteristics match the serenity of deepening nightfall, yet with agility and manoeuvrability to graciously accommodate exuberance as well.



Of course the first priority on a beautiful evening like this, with the full moon rising orange above the eastern horizon, is putting the Walrus through a few loops around the moon

Flying aerobatics doesn't make for the best sunset footage however, with some creative editing and a lovely violin piece, I've managed to put together a video of the beautiful sunset and moon rising...

Sunday 15 December 2013

Radjet Repair Reaction

...a little heavy on the nose

The poor Radjet has had a very hard life, with numerous crashes in its short life. In fact I'd say the number of crashes to successful flights is about 50:50.

A not-unexpected result of this is that the front fuselage has slowly gained weight with layers of fibre tape and super glue to the point, when I flew it this morning, it was flying nose-down again and only barely neutral at full chat. Not a condition I enjoy, so unsurprisingly the landing wasn't the best. So the Radjet it will be subjected to some reconstructive surgery to restore it's flying balance.

On a more positive note, I've finally got a proper prop for the Walrus, the 10x6 carbon unit to replace the rather over-sized 11x6 blades I've been running with on reduced throttle setting. These new blades have a very nice contour to them and seem to run efficiently, so the Walrus was very happy...

Thursday 12 December 2013

Radjet Wingtip Makeover

...sleek and trim

I've been having some great flights with the Radjet. Equally, however, I've been struggling to get the little buzzjet into the air consistently; some mornings I've managed four perfect launches without issue, the next morning my attempts result in death rolls straight into the turf.



This morning was no different, with two attempts ending abruptly. However I did manage to have one successful launch and a great flight - about ten minutes steering the Radjet at speed doing flypasts, rolls loops and some high-g maneuvers.

Flying the Radjet requires a fundamentally different approach to the Walrus or the Floater Jet. While its speed is a quantum leap above the others, it's the direct nature of the Radjet's flight performance that differs most - it flies flat and straight at almost any speed once you've set elevator trim for the cruising speed of your choice. I've it trimmed for about three-quarter throttle so that it has a gradual climb under full power. 



It was also the first flight with modified wingtips, a result of half a pod going walkabout after an unscheduled outlanding into the reed-grass in the paddocks. I had done a bit of research and found people, who had remarkably similar experiences to mine, had trimmed the wingtip pods off completely. I had a suspicion that they might help to reduce tip loss somehow so, instead of cutting them off completely, I left a small trimmed section.

Although I can't really say definitively whether this made things better, I can say the Radjet certainly didn't fly any worse and, perhaps, maybe a little faster. I agree that the pods do make the silhouette in flight more distinctive I can say that, once I had the Jet howling across the paddocks, I really didn't miss them...

Thursday 5 December 2013

Walrus Prop Wash

...unexpected benefit of low flying

Another lovely morning to fly, unseasonably cold and cloudy with a modest breeze.

Following heavy rains, the duck pond had reappeared and was being patronised by a flock of ducks as well as a host of swallows flitting low over its surface. A grey heron trod slowly through the shallow water searching intently for bugs.




Following a few aerobatics, I brought Wally down for some low flying again, over the pond and paddocks. During one of the passes buzzing low over the pond's surface the Walrus dipped a little, and suddenly the prop was kicking up spray; real prop wash!


Fortunately the Walrus had enough momentum to skim to the edge of the pond. A quick inspection revealed damage was limited to a few drops of water which had leaked in through the cooling  vents, nothing another fast buzz around the paddocks wouldn't dry out...

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Shooting the Breeze

...another breezy but flyable morning

Just like yesterday, it was windy home but there was just a moderate breeze at the field, so I had the Walrus up and flying in no time. The breeze picked up noticeably a little later, but nothing too much to disturb Wally's stable nature.



For a little entertainment I stood at the paddock fence and guided the Walrus around the trees and on low passes over the paddocks. Low flying is good fun although something l only try if conditions are stable - it doesn't take much to drop the plane a few feet onto the deck!

I'm pretty comfortable with inverted flight now; it certainly doesn't give me the creepy feeling when I first tried it. However, despite increasing aptitude I still don't do it near the ground, giving myself the option of a positive loop pull-out just in case...

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Cool Calm & Cloudy

...a chance to fly before the rain arrives in force!

Yesterday was very frustrating. The forecast was hot so, despite a beautifully calm and cool morning, I didn't take the Walrus for fear it might melt in the car during the day. However the hot weather forecasted never happened as a cool chance arrived early, so a perfectly good morning's flying gone to waste.



The calm evening boded well for a delayed opportunity to get into the air. Having waited for the sports practices to end, I eagerly headed out the door with Walrus in hand anticipating an enjoyable half hour of floating Wally around in the sunset. Except, as I stepped out of the door, the gentle breeze turned instantaneously into gusty winds. Turn on heel, unload Walrus and glare annoyedly at waving treetops from inside...


So this morning my expectations were not high with heavy clouds populating the horizon and the treetops moving despite the early hour. Nevertheless, somewhat desperate for the opportunity to catch some air I packed the Walrus and headed off to work.

Climbing out at the field I was delighted to find the breeze gentle and steady, and hints of drizzle on the windscreen happily abeyed. So, battery connected and camera in place, the Walrus headed off to say hello to the cloudy sky...

Monday 2 December 2013

Pastel Shades of Flight

...after a very hot day

As evening approached, the heat abated and winds dropped enough to scramble down the road for a dusk flight.


Clouds had amassed with the dropping temperatures, so the setting sun had a blank canvas on which to display fading pastel hues of orange and pink, a vivid contrast to the increasingly dark grey of the clouds.

The gentle cool breeze was a welcome change from the heat of the day as I let the Walrus loose through the skies in a cathartic display of aerobatics and low-passes across the field. Eventually satiated, I dropped off the power and gently cruised the plane as evening approached until, the light fading I turned the Walrus in on finals.

A typically floaty landing would have rounded off a lovely evening's flying, however I had misjudged the wind direction and had the Walrus side-on to the breeze. This sharply tilted the wings, causing the Walrus to thump onto the turf in one of the worst landings it's had.

There's always something...

Friday 29 November 2013

Smoke Stack

...and nearly a Walrus stack as well

I did some flying this morning at the field down the road - a heavily overcast morning with a breeze coming in from the South.



The Walrus's prop pulling off is happily already a distant memory, with several launches and a fair bit of powered flight without so much as a hiccup. Here's holding thumbs it stays that way. As always the Walrus launched with ease and really is so stable to fly that it always makes for a very relaxing outings.  

Having done a few circuits of the field I headed off to the north and overflew the old brick factory, with its landmark smokestack rising a hundred feet or so. I ambled the Walrus around and then headed back to the field for a bit more aerobatics and general flying around.



It wasn't until later when I was having a look at the video that I realised how close the Walrus had come to the stack - its left wing had literally shaved past the huge brick stack.

A few inches closer and I'd had spent the morning scaling fences trying to retrieve the remains of Wally...

Thursday 28 November 2013

Motor Shaft Fixed

...and the Walrus flies again

I wasn't too sure of fixing the Walrus motor, although I had read that replacing bent shafts appeared to be common enough, so re-securing the shaft in the motor shouldn't be too hard. However The circlip really didn't inspire too much confidence.

As it turned out I couldn't get an 3mm external circlip anyway, but what I did get I think is better, although it required a little modification to the motor mount. The external locking ring has almost full engagement around the shaft and I really can't see that coming loose, unlike the sad little circlip (which I found hiding in the fuselage).


Champion 3mm Spn Type Ext Lock Ring

The only problem is the outer diameter (10mm) is much larger than the circlip, so the hole in the bulkhead had to be increased from the original 8mm to about 12mm, which I did with a round file.

Having re-assembled the motor and done a brief power test (happily the prop didn't fly off) I checked the weather then dashed off to the field with the Walrus for a fly before the rain came returned...

Tuesday 26 November 2013

An Action-Packed Morning

...never a dull moment

It was another lovely calm morning so I packed the Radjet and Walrus and headed to the field. Having got to a manageable skill level with the Radjet I was looking forward to getting some good airtime to explore capabilities and responses. And I got just that, plus a little more than I expected.



As said before, the little jet flies beautifully and it's speed is now not so intimidating with a little better understanding. It climbs without bound, rolls well and does beautiful loops. I did encounter something completely unexpected - a flat spin. As often with the gliders I put the Radjet into a vertical stall, expecting it to flop over and continue flying. Well, it did flop over but into a flat spin. And, like a Tomcat, I've discovered the Radjet doesn't recover from it - don't do it.

The best I could manage was elevator and opposite aileron which helped to slow the spin so that the Radjet sort of fluttered to the ground. Landing in longer grass the damage was limited to the tip of the nose coming off, again. This time I couldn't recover it, but it flies well enough without it!


I was about to pack up the Radjet when I had an urge to do a bit more launch practice, that being the a little nerve-wracking as it usually rolls and dips to the left, requiring quick correction to keep it off the deck. On my second launch the Radjet climbed steeply so, to avoid another flat-spin scenario like earlier, I let it drop until the speed was well up before I started to level it out heading back towards the field. 



Unfortunately its trajectory coincided exactly with a goal post, so its swift progress was suddenly reduced to a burst of parts. It didn't look pretty, however putting on the wing and aileron should be fairly easy, however restoring the dented leading edge will take some doing, if at all.


I returned to the car for old faithful, the Walrus, for a bit of post-traumatic stress therapy. The Walrus is great because you can launch it at almost any power and it just cruises up. Well, this morning I flipped up a little more throttle to get it buzzing right up. 



Unfortunately, and most unexpectedly, the prop pulled off the front and the Walrus turned into a real glider for a second or two. As it turns out the circlip retaining the motor shaft got a little tired and went to lay down in the back of the fuselage.



So a little work to be done at home so I've got something decent to fly. Odds are on the Radjet, just hopefully it doesn't get crashed again as it's running out of lives...


Monday 25 November 2013

Radjet Takes to the Skies

...and flies beautifully

This morning was absolutely perfect, with cool, calm and sunny conditions prompting me to pack the recently refurbished Radjet. Having previously established it was flying stably, before it 
ploughed into the paddocks on its next ill-fated flight, I was looking forward to having an enjoyable flight with it.

Despite it's now very battered appearance, the little propjet flew beautifully - as stable as you could wish but still very manoeuvrable. I'm still adjusting to the "bank and yank controls", sometimes finding myself wondering why it isn't turning after I've put it into a bank. However it flies so well now that small pilot delays are accommodated without disaster. Orientation miscues, like looping down instead of pulling up, are likewise rectified by the quick responses of its aerobatic nature.




The last surprise is how well it now glides. Coming into land with power off and full elevator, it floats along as if it were a glider and lands with as much elegance as you could expect from anything.

I'm still a long way from mastering this little firebrand simply because it's so 
much faster than anything else I've flown and I need time to adjust - the flight this morning was at no more than half throttle. I've also experienced some difficulties in picking orientation which is a little worrisome, although I think it's mainly as it's been getting a bit too far away ("why isn't it turning?").

So I'm looking forward to exploring it's capabilities of the Radjet, hopefully without further damage. And, when the nerves are a bit shot from high-speed manoeuvres, there's always the dependable Walrus to take for a relaxing fly...

Friday 22 November 2013

Radjet on the Mend

...and hopefully flying soon

Well, the routine maintenance on the Radjet is progressing well, with the nose re-attached as well as the wingtip, which got ripped off as well. The nose will need additional work, however it is at least attached and reasonably well aligned, which is a step in the right direction.


It will probably be a couple of days before it gets in the air again, enough time to make sure the glue has fully cured. 

However, I am confident based on the brief flights this morning that the Radjet's balance issues have been resolved and that it is now quite manageable to fly, as well as capable of impressive turns of speed as well as being highly manoeuvrable.

Here's looking forward to the next test flight...

Thursday 21 November 2013

Radjet Success

...followed shortly by misfortune

After completion of the now-routine crash repairs, the Radjet was up for its first flight with all mass balance mods completed, giving it the best possible chance of flying decently.

A gentle westerly was blowing as I launched the Radjet on max power, helping it climb quickly into the overcast sky. Happily, I soon discovered that the Radjet was now flying much better, although I still had it blasting around the skies of full throttle as I was still concerned about it losing lift and stalling. However, after a few heart-stopping episodes, I managed to calm the beast down and bring it in nicely for a good landing.



Reflecting on the flight I realised that, with it's improved flight characteristics, I no longer needed to be flying it at full pelt just to keep it in the air, so I decided to give it another go at a more moderate pace. Finally an opportunity to experience how the Radjet should fly...

Which, I can tell you, is really very well. It's stable, fast and responsive, with a super-high snap roll rate with just a flick of aileron. Also, its now docile enough to be able to fly around at moderate throttle settings. So all good except that, as I made a circuit of the field, the Radjet passed behind one of the trees. Now this is a common enough occurrence that has happened frequently with the gliders. But this wasn't a stable-flying glider...

After a second with still no sign of the little plane I ran to the fence for a better view, occasionally feeding a bit of elevator in the hope keep the plane from crashing. As I stared across the paddocks hoping to catch a glimpse of the Radjet in flight it was as if the plane had vanished into another dimension. It had just disappeared!

Not for the first time I climbed through the barbed-wire fence and went walkabout in the paddock. The cattle had fortunately gathered to graze at the far end so there was no trouble from them, and I greeted the curious observations of the kangaroos with a friendly hello.



After tramping through the swamp and up and then down the hill, I finally spotted a small orange fin of Radjet sticking above the grass. I hoped that gliding down without power it had managed to land without incident, however on reaching the plane it was clear this was unfortunately not the case: the nose was almost completely ripped off and the fuselage splayed open. In fact it exhibited the classic "peeled banana" look as if there had been an explosion in the cockpit.

Still, at least it would be repairable with the usual suspects, super glue and fibre tape...

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Radjet Ready & Camera Card

...but not necessarily together

The Radjet is now glued together again and ready for another fly. This morning would definitely have been too breezy for the little craft, however I'm keen to get it into the air again for a bit more high-speed fun.



As far as mass-balance is concerned, I'm now packaging the receiver into the fuselage as well after the battery, and I've put a couple of screws in the rearmost section of the fuselage so as to get the maximum counterbalance for the minimum weight, and without disrupting the airflow.




I have also received the new micro SD card for the wing cam, a class 10 U1 speed rating. I'm not sure that the U1 rating will do much in this application as I gather it's some sort of software driven feature aimed at mobile devices.



 Anyway, it won't do any harm. I'd love to put the camera on the Radjet however, considering its delicate balance and propensity for crashing, I think we'll reserve on-board video for the Walrus and Floater Jet...

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Breezy Morning

...but still good to fly

The treetops waving indicated the chances of getting some flying in weren't good, but it turned out that the breeze, although reasonably strong, was actually pretty smooth so the Walrus was unpacked rapidly and sent powering quickly up into the sky.

Conditions were quite pleasant, as it turned out, so did a little more inverted flight practise and tried flying knife edge as well - quarter snap roll then full opposite rudder. The result was just a slowing down of the Walrus heading down, however that's at seventy percent travel. Next time I'll put the rudder onto full travel and have another go!

I also had the flaps down for the latter part of the flight, slowly driving the Walrus around and seeing if I could get it at "standstill", which it managed on occasions when the breeze stiffened. With things getting a little too gusty, I brought the plane round to land, with flaps still deployed, and had a bit of fun trying with VTOL.

Unfortunately I think the Walrus suffered tip stall while I tried to correct a wing drop due to gusting, and it dropped a couple of feet onto the wing. There was a tell-tale crease in the wing decal, but otherwise everything was fine thanks to the robust EPO...

Monday 18 November 2013

Floater Jet Gusting

...a brief flight of hopefulness

Today was going to be warm, so it wasn't entirely unexpected that the morning was already a bit breezy by the time I got to the field. I had opted for the Floater Jet today as it fit's more comfortably into the car so was less likely to suffer thermal effects than the Walrus. The Radjet was, of course, in for routine maintenance (crash repairs).

Eager to get into the air I rated the weather flyable and readied the Floater for an outing. This was the first time I'd had a camera on the Floater, and was interested to see the the difference from having the camera in front of the prop. The fresh northerly would assist getting the plane launched, the Floater's Achilles' heel, so that was good...


The good feeling lasted several seconds until the Floater climbed a few metres into the mainstream breeze, at which point its characteristically floaty nature disappeared out of the window. Things were clearly quite gusty above tree-level, and after a few busy seconds of trying to steady the craft, I was convinced that today really wasn't the best day to fly and I turned the Floater into a landing circuit.

Despite the considerable altitude the plane had achieved, understandable when flying into that much of a headwind, I was surprisingly able to land it straight ahead, quite evident from the camera footage.

Having watched the video I can tell you that, while there's no buffeting from the propwash, the Floater's annoying noise prop noise is still dominant, perhaps not unexpectedly as I mounted the camera just ahead of the engine pod. I have a couple of propellor options on their way, however, with a 6x4 triple blade to be followed shortly by a 6x5 twin blade. I am hopeful that, while generating more thrust, these might also abate the dreadful droning.

Having successfully brought the plane down, the final foot or two of descent were a little less successful, with the Floater bumping down onto the turf a little roughly. No damage done, fortunately, although you do get an insiders view of the rather busy workings of the cockpit, crammed with batteries, controller and wiring for the lighting...

Sunday 17 November 2013

Radjet Take Three

...and it flies!!

This morning I packed the Walrus and the Radjet. Having enjoyed several days of great weather I was happy to send up the Radjet understanding there would be reasonable probability at having to play fetch. However, finding the cattle grazing in the vicinity of the field, my resolve waned and I hauled out the Walrus instead.

Of late I've been practising inverted flight, although having to feed in lots of "down" to keep it flying level is a bit alarming, especially at first. While I have managed to sustain inverted flight no quite comfortably, I have only done this at comfortable elevation as it is too easy to get spooked and go the wrong way. I think I'll maintain the altitude buffer, sufficient to loop downwards safely, until my capability in this endeavour has progressed far beyond novice...



Walking back to the car having flown the Walrus until the battery gave out, thoughts turned again to the Radjet - the weather was still calm although with a gentle northerly which would help things. Yes, why not? So I swapped the Walrus for the Radjet and returned to the field for attempt the third...

I set the rates to high, gave the elevons a test then cranked the throttle to maximum and gave the little plane a good throw to launch it into the cool morning sky. To my amazement the Radjet arced into the sky and responded to the aileron inputs with a gorgeous roll. However not all was good - slacking off of the elevator input had the Radjet nosing down heavily. I found I had to keep about half elevator for level flight, still better than the first attempt where a flat trajectory was the best it could manage.

After a few circuits I decided to give landing a go, so I cut power, put full elevator and hoped for the best. To my surprise the Radjet still flew (I had suspected it might drop like a brick), and was quite even still manoeuvrable! I also managed a pretty good landing, which i was happy with. Not exactly greased it, it just sort of plopped down, but then it's certainly not a glider.

All up, a very good morning's flying...

Friday 15 November 2013

Where You're At

...and how you fly

Friday morning at the paddocks relaxing and enjoyable with the calm weather, beautiful clouds and varied wildlife contributing to an engaging and relaxing morning's flying. By contrast, despite the immaculate morning, the flying at the local field was less than ideal with the challenge of dual-level fields surrounded by trees adding stress and detracting from what might have been a lovely morning's flying. Location, location, location...

Unfortunately in the suburbs the potential for open paddocks is virtually non existent, certainly not nearby. One needs, therefore, to find the best spots available and then learn how to fly there. The local field in question, the nearest potential flying spot to home, was the location of my first crashes of both the Phoenix 2000 and then the Floater Jet. Not exactly brilliant credentials, however neither incident was locatio-related, just inexperienced driver.

While I managed to fly both the Walrus and Floater without incident (although the latter did come agonisingly close to ending up in a tree, twice) it wasn't an entirely relaxing experience.

Fast forward to that evening, with the sun just setting and the full moon freshly over the horizon, throwing the Walrus up from the top field gave things a completely different perspective, with space to move aplenty giving the loops around the moon a sense of freedom...

Thursday 14 November 2013

A Perfect Flying Morning

...tranquil Zen flying

This morning dawned still and overcast with the promise of lovely flying conditions. Happily things were still calm and settled by the time I arrived at the field, and I wasted no time in getting the Walrus into the air.



The Radjet is actually ready to go again, looking a little battered and worse for wear, but with the limited flying opportunities lately I wasn't going to risk wasting a lovely morning searching the paddocks for errant aircraft.

There was the slightest of breezes blowing and, despite heavy rain clouds forming in the east, no imminent threat of rain. To add more texture to the beautiful canvas of the morning, lighter cumulus clouds  were framed by fringes of bright blue sky.


The calmness of the morning meant a worry-free flight, barring a close call with one of the flood lights, so low passes, slow flying and aerobatics at will were all on the cards. On one of the flights I also trialled cap-cam, the RD32 camera attached to the peak of a cap. It seemed to work OK so I'll have a look at the video this evening.

So, a lovely morning's flying and communing with nature...

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Finally Some Luck

...amidst the rain and the wind

The weather forecast predicated rain to stop by dawn and moderate breeze to be, both of which appeared correct when I stepped out this morning. However it wasn't long before drizzle had appeared and the wind had picked up in places. Nevertheless, considering the dearth of flying opportunities lately, I wasn't about to be dissuaded by minor details so I headed to the field.



Alighting from the car conditions appeared OK, although marginal as the rain could well develop. Not a second to lose - unleash the WalrusWith checks hurriedly done, I launched to the north from into a slight breeze. The dark grey clouds hanging heavily in the sky provided an impressive backdrop, with the Walrus' occasional erratic behaviour belying the unsettled conditions above.

Following on almost two days of constant rain, the duck pond was as large as I'd ever seen, with a trio of brown ducks enjoying the expanse of water. A flock of swallows joined, swooping low over the water before sweeping into the air, sometimes almost hovering into the wind with their small wings beating rapidly.



The wind direction changed abruptly and with it the drizzle disappeared. Taking advantage of the respite, I swung the Walrus into land and popped on the camera. Unfortunately the SD card I'm using isn't fast enough which makes the video jerky. 

Fortunately help is on its way...

Tuesday 12 November 2013

Rain Rain go Away

...and take the wind with you

The run of miserable flying weather continues with a southern cyclonic cell now shipping in cold wind and soaking rains.

I had hoped that the run of breezy weather would have abated for at least a few hours to allow a quick flight. Having obsessively observed the tree-tops for signs of slackening wind on the weekend, I dashed down to the field late Saturday afternoon to take advantage of a drop in the wind.

Arriving at the field I noticed some occasional gusting in the trees but decided it was still calm enough to get the Walrus up for a bit of exercise. Very shortly afterwards, when the economical cruise speed left the Walrus stationary against headwinds, I had cause to reconsider my bravado. A few bumpy circuits later, including a full-power emergency climb to avoid a tree, I'd had enough and decided to bring the plane back in.

Coming in on approach the wing kicked violently and I suddenly realised that things could go horribly wrong very quickly and that, if I managed to get the craft down in one piece, I would have done well.

Fortunately, as the plane descended so the strength of the gusts eased, and I eventually could bring the plane in to kiss the grass in tranquil touchdown...

Sunday 10 November 2013

Simple Magic

...rediscovering the joys of flight

I'd come across rubber band-powered models whilst browsing for my latest purchases. I remember having fun with these planes from my distant youth, along with the sore finger resulting from doing hundreds of propellor-winds!


Having spare space in my parcel I opted for two - a small Piper Cub and a larger Sukhoi 29 aerobatics plane. I also got the battery powered winder - an absolute must especially as you can have it for only a few dollars!

Arriving in a large parcel of other aircraft and ancillaries, it was not altogether surprising that these diminutive craft were left sidelined for some. However they eventually piqued interest and were assembled easily enough. I had thought that both models were of similar scale, however it turned out that the Sukhoi was an altogether larger and more powerful craft compared to the diminutive Cub.


A lazy sunny afternoon was the perfect opportunity to take the little craft to the field for an outing. The Sukhoi was the obvious point of interest being much larger and equipped with quad rubber bands compared to the mini-Piper with only two. The Sukhoi was needed 200 turns (the battery winder is actually equipped with a winding counter, believe it or not) while the Cub needed just a quick 70.

Now, considering the total package cost only fifteen dollars one would not have expected much entertainment from these little planes, but we were soon convinced otherwise. Launching the Sukhoi revealed a marvellously-well balanced plane that flew gracefully like a much larger craft. Remarkably it would often manage to execute an excellent landing, quite remarkable something of such rudimentary construction.

The Cub, which appeared to be much too small to be used outside, proved perhaps the biggest surprise, accelerating at a jaw dropping rate before executing loops and stalls. It would also often finish with acrobatics landings, cartwheeling before flipping or landing on its nose, all without the slightest hint of damage to its delicate frame and wings!

It was many launches later, when the winder's batteries was beginning to run low that we finally picked up the little flyers and headed for home. The Cub had made one bad landing which had split the wings in half, causing spontaneous mourning for the plucky little craft.

However we reassured ourselves that two piece of sticky tape carefully applied would restore it to pristine flying condition, ready for another afternoon at the park...