...at last
All the planets, including Pluto, finally aligned to provide an opportunity to get the Canadair in the air. All flight modifications had been completed, with the water rudder deleted, differential thrust programmed and the wing-float angle modified. All this with a plane I'd got as an easy-flying companion to the touchy Trainstar floatplane! It was a lovely spring afternoon with just a moderate south westerly breeze as I turned into the still-open gates to the lake. Unpacking the Canadair I wasted no time in getting it onto the water, first trying a few mock takeoff runs which showed that the wing-float modification was working a charm, allowing the Canadair to run up to planing speed without risk of submarining.
However, realising that I was on the wrong side of the lake for the breeze, I left the Canadair floating mid-stream and sprinted to the the other side of the lake at a moderate pace. Finding the Canadair still out of the weeds, I taxied it over and lined it up for takeoff. The first attempt was both alarming and laughable. Running the Canadair up to speed with full elevator, as I do to prevent the Trainstar from nosing in, the plane lept almost vertically into the air, dropping a wing in the process. Over-correcting, it then lurched in the opposite direction before finally flopping down onto the lake, its airspeed exhausted.
Trying again with just a touch of elevator had the Canadair executing a perfect lift-off, blurring the line between floating and flying as it eased off the water. As with the Trainstar, finally getting the Canadair into the air was a major achievement, although actually flying it was a breeze. Unlike it's companion, the Canadair is light and highly powered, making it easy to fly. Its abundance of stabilisers, winglets and large control surfaces also makes it easy to control. Landing it was also pretty easy, again being light it slows down very quickly and, being low to the water, is pretty stable. So, now that it's all set up, I'm now looking forward to some relaxed flying with the Canadair...
...no more inverted launches After a frustrating few days, this morning finally turned out to be a decent flying opportunity; almost still, the low cloud created an inverted mist and shadowed the just-risen sun to a ghostly orb. The benefit of this was that it abated the sunshine enough to risk flying the Stinger without losing it it the sun, but still allowing enough light through to be able to track the fast planes. Breaking with tradition, I decided to go with the Stinger first up, usually giving the gliders a go before the breeze has a chance to pick up. Having finally had the courage to fly it again, I have been enjoying getting it out, although one can never take success for granted with something this twitchy. The last few launches have been OK, however the Stinger has been three-quarters inverted at the top of the launch. While the jet thrust makes it quite stable during launch, giving enough time to correct it, this was something that needed to be resolved before becoming a problem.
Happily, this was fixed by simply adjusting my throw, I must have been dragging it over a little, and with a straighter throw it went up nice and evenly. I launched with high rates by mistake, changing to more sedate settings in time. However, trying the high-travel ailerons while in a climb amazed me at just how fast the Stinger can roll...
...a few issues to address I decided to get the Canadair as a companion for the Trainstar floatplane, a well-recommended twin-engined flying boat, high-powered unlike the marginally-powered Trainstar in floatplane guise, which should be easy to launch and relaxing to fly. Well, after several visits to the lake I can attest to the former not being the case, certainly for the uninitiated, and that I have therefore, unfortunately, not been in a position to enjoy the latter. There are a few tricks, it seems, that one needs to know. I haven't yet been able to test or master these, however I have an inkling on what needs to be done to get this boat flying.
Wing Floats Problem - the wings floats leave a gap to the water and, therefore, the wings are initially tipped to one side. Unfortunately getting the wings level involves a conundrum; the ailerons are ineffective at low speeds and, if you attempt to speed up to remedy this, the wing floats end up submarining and causing the Canadair to execute a handbrake turn. Solution - trim a 5mm wedge off the wing float mounts to increase the angle of incidence of the float. This makes the float less likely to plough under the water during takeoff. Take-off Run Problem - as above, so many of the successful launches I've seen are executed with a very short takeoff run. Those that have a longer run are either done in absolutely calm water conditions or are marginal/unsuccessful. Solution - get the Canadair moving and then quickly increase the power. The effect of this is to cause sudden downforce on the elevator before the Canadair speeds up much, effectively pushing the back into the water and getting it onto the plane almost immediately. Additionally this same effect means the front of the wing floats is rotated up by the same effect, supplementing the incidence modification as described above. I think there is a knack to the latter solution; I have managed to get it planing in this manner but have aborted the launch due to concerns of the wing floats digging in and causing a crash (splash). I am hopeful, however, that with the wing float modification and a bit of practice, that my next attempt will be more successful...
...the jet's back in the air After a very long recuperation period, the Stinger 64 is back and flying. It had suffered severe damage after it had refused to pull up coming down from a loop, leaving the nose crumpled and twisted as it plummeted into the ground at full throttle. Ironically, despite all the close shaves I'd had when first flying it, it had crashed when I everything appeared to be well under control.
Despite the massive impact, the Stinger was not completely wrecked, with everything from the wings back having been protected from the impact by the crumpling of the nose section. The only exception was the actual fan unit itself which had shattered, however a direct replacement was fortunately available for a modest sum.
My skill in EPO repair had also improved and, along with an investment in some good super glue and accelerator, I was able to coax the Stinger back into shape. The final piece was the nose cone, so deeply embedded into the ground that I couldn't find it, although fortunately happened to have one on my shelf.
So, with the Stinger literally back in shape, it was just a matter of getting it out to the field. Which took a while, quite a while in fact, as I pondered whether I was ready to handle this speedster in the air, with it's twitchy nature and tendency to drop in turns. Having given some thought to the latter, I decided that it couldn't be flown like a Radjet or even Rarebear, which will happily sit in steep turns losing little or no height, but that the Stinger needed a positive bank and yank approach, or "turn like you mean it". So, on a beautifully sunny afternoon with a moderate southerly coming through, I finally summonsed the courage to fly it again . Fortunately I hadn't lost the feel for the Stinger, although you do need to be careful and super-observant, and the launch and flight went well, with the screecher finally running out of battery and gliding in to land...
...an impressive little guy Following my chequered history with mobile cameras, the last RD32 having broken its CCD when falling from a tree, I've taken a deep breath and invested in a Mobius ActionCam. Being of a more integrated construction than the RD32, having the lens incorporated into the casing, it should be more robust than the previous incumbent and, being full HD (1080P compared to 720P), better quality video as well.
My Mobius had it first outing recently, on a gorgeous sunny afternoon providing perfect weather for demonstrating its capabilities. I took video of the Radjet getting a bit of exercise, and the footage is very impressive with excellent clarity and lovely colours. I am looking forward to hooking the Mobius up for a high-speed ride, probably on the Radjet for starters being the largest and most stable of my buzzies. That should be fun to watch...
...airborne meditation Following my efforts to get the Canadair airborne, and considering I only get two goes a week due to lake access, I've been chilling out flying the Phoenix, interspersed with a bit of high-speed fun flying the Radjet(aka buzzy jet )and Rarebear (aka little buzzy) around the paddock.
Having suffered reconstruction nerves, which saw the Rarebear nosediving on launch and the Radjet almost knife-edging into the lake, I've now got both of them launching most enjoyably.
The last couple of outings I have also been enjoying a little meditation with the Phoenix, climbing it hard till just under the clouds and then letting it float down slowly, hanging almost motionless in the air with the flaps down. Today, with winds gathering up high, the Phoenix was actually drifting downwind, almost imperceptibly, despite there being barely a breath of wind on the ground...
