...need to gather the nerves I returned today to the lake, ostensibly for the second attempt to take flight, but found myself so uncomfortably nervous that I ended up refraining from any attempt, despite the immaculately calm cool and sunny conditions. I haven't abandoned hope of flying the floating Trainstar, rather that I didn't want to risk flying it when very much not in the zone. As I'm sure I've said before elsewhere, flying when you're not all there is an invitation for disaster, something I've proven repeatedly. However, there is a fine balance between tenacity and dogged stupidity. The problem is you don't know where the line is until it's been crossed, with evidence posthumously clarifying with hindsight. However, there is a very familiar feel to this chapter, learning to fly all over again, very much like with the Floater Jet; I don't know why the takeoff run is all over the place, yet I don't want to give up. But I'm also wary of carrying on regardless and ending up with a capsized plane.
On the plus side, however, is the fact that the floats are oversized, have been positionally optimised and have proven to be a very stable setup. Also, the Trainstar has actually taken flight, and landed basically by itself, needing nothing more than a straight-ish run and a nudge on the elevator. So, what's all the panic about? Well, I don't have the takeoff run under control, as I mentioned. And I wasn't even sure it'd fly, although that has been demonstrated, even if only briefly. And, if things really go pear-shaped, I have a rescue boat at hand, which would actually be fun to try out even if the motivation for the outing may be less so. So, in reflection, all I need to do is put the Trainstar on the water and get it running reasonably straight. Really not a huge drama...
...disappointing but not disastrous Today was the day I'd been anticipating for a while; the Trainstar floatplane had been adjusted and fettled following from its initial water test, I'd decided on a flight test venue which provided acres of open water and the weather was immaculately calm after weeks of windy weather. Despite the anticipation, or perhaps because of it, I was anxious rather than excited at the prospect of finally getting the seaplane into the air. Nevertheless, with golden opportunities like this afternoon hard to come by, especially lately, I wasn't about to postpone proceedings due to indeterminate uncertainty.
Arriving at the lake the conditions were absolutely ideal, a far cry from the windswept expanse of water I'd experienced on my reconnoitre here. The Trainstar was unpacked and installed on the lake without much ceremony or excitement, nerves serving to rather deplete the joy from the occasion, despite the fact that the Trainstar cuts a most appealing figure in floatplane configuration. The first few runs didn't offer much encouragement, with the Trainstar suffering from the same take-off skittishness it exhibits in wheeled form. Not having been too fussed with ceremony, I've always just worked around this characteristic of the Trainstar, after having abandoned my efforts to get it taking off straight; flying off a field means no runways to follow. Unfortunately the flipside is now that the Trainstar is much heavier, being able to haul it off at an indecent angle is no longer possible.
In fact the Trainstar is only just sufficiently powered; the "oversized" battery at full power now seems decidedly moderate with the extra baggage and drag. Having said that I did once manage to get the Trainstar into the air, however it was heading for the dam wall and, being too low to start turning, I just cut the power and let it land. This, in itself, was an enlightening experience, with the Trainstar actually bouncing on it's floats several times before settling down. The landing was rather unsupervised; I really hadn't planned it much, but I was rather expecting it just to splosh straight down onto the water. In another more alarming incident the Trainstar, approaching planing speed, actually dipped a wing and prop into the water but then managed to right itself, in a testament to the stability of the floats. However I wasn't able to get the plane airborne again, which was disappointing. However, having had the experience and having some video to review, I'm hoping that i'll be able to return for another, more enlightened, attempt to get the floatplane flying...
...fine tuning the floats Having done a water test with the Trainstar floatplane I've been researching techniques on launching floatplanes. In the process I came across more detailed sketches of floatplane configuration which caused some concern regarding how I'd installed the floats. While I'd got the basic setup correct, with CoG in front of the step and the front of the floats ahead of the spinner, the proportions weren't right, with the CoG being too far ahead of the step (around 45mm) when it should be about 10mm, and the tip of the floats was about 25mm ahead of the spinner when ideally it should be greater than this.
The setup and installation of the floats is quite fiddly and awkward so I wasn't really keen to repeat the experience, and additionally moving the floats would mean a set of open holes in the floats which wasn't desirable. However the rationale behind the setup criteria were quite compelling; having the CoG too far ahead of the step means rotation during takeoff is harder, and having the floats extending further forward reduces the risk of the plane capsizing which, despite having invested in a rescue craft, is a highly desirable feature. Finally, and perhaps the deciding reason, was that the Trainstar's CoG was in fact a little far back, which would be corrected by moving the floats forward without needing ballast, something I absolutely don't want to do.
So I bit the bullet and uninstalled the floats. I'm still in the process of attaching them about 30mm forward, however this position has adjusted the CoG perfectly in terms of the step and the floatplane as a whole. So, I just need to finish off the screws and the seal around the mounts, and do a bit of sealing of the unused holes and a cosmetic touch-up. The weather has been terrible lately, so I might just pop down to the local pond again and do another water test, this time perhaps trying to get the Trainstar planing more and, perhaps, even airborne for a few feet to give myself a bit more confidence...
...I'll join the boat club Having done a little research, it seems that watercraft recovery is a whole separate genre - who would have guessed? Some people have recovery frames attached to standard boats while others have custom u-shaped recovery craft to captured capsized boats or planes. I did some investigation and found that dedicated recovery boats are not readily available, presumably the one's I'd seen had been custom-made. Also, not being familiar with boats, I wasn't really sure what to choose. The obvious choice would have been tugs, but of the two I saw the SeaPort Tugboat seemed more of a pool toy (unless you upgraded all the electronics) while the Atlantic Tug was a eye-watering four hundred dollars. The other option of an inflatable dinghy was something I'd not considered, but which seems the most cost effective option. Doing some research locally confirmed this, with options of boat and pump at less than a hundred dollars, not bad at all. The benefit of this is allowing retrieval in situations where an RC craft might be stymied, such as a craft stuck in reeds. I've decided to go with the latter, a two-man inflatable dinghy and an electric inflate-deflate pump, delivered for $92. There you go...
...clearly requires more consideration Having successfully completed anon-water test of my Trainstar floatplane, I've been searching for suitable large expanses of water for it its first flight. Suitably large is a requirement as, with an additional 300g of mass, I'm not sure how well the Trainstar will fly.
I've found a couple of potentials, a dam and a lake,however standing on the shore and picturing the Trainstar scooting across the water one is struck immediately by a quandary; what if something should go wrong? While a large expanse of water mean no obstacles to avoid, it also means a swim if anything goes wrong.
Although I think the risk of a tip-over is small, the consequence is a rather unpleasant swim in cold lake. This sort of consideration isn't immediately apparent while enjoying watching videos of seaplanes happily taking off and landing. The local boat club has a dinghy for retrieval of boats in these circumstances, although this isn't something I have access to. My ideal venue for flying the Trainstar has therefore been revised to a large expanse of water no more than a foot deep. I'll let you know when I find it...
...and still floating at the end This morning I did my first on-water test of my Trainstar fitted with 0.40 size floats, conducted at the local duck pond and home of the local model boat club.
I had no intentions of getting the Trainstar into the air here, simply because there are too many tree surrounding the pond, combined with the fact that I'm not sure how well the Trainstar will fly with carrying additional 300g of floats.
The floats will provide a little lift, given their curved shape at the front, however there will be a lot of drag, so the slow Trainstar will become very slow. I am going to increase the flap angle, and I'm also thinking of dropping the ailerons by half a turn of the clevis to make the wings higher-lift as an initial precaution. The other concern regarding the flying capability is the need for a long pond or lake; while the local duck pond was fine for this first test (although I even managed to overshoot once into the bushes), I'd like somewhere to land straight ahead as part of the flight evaluation. It would also give the choice to opt out it things didn't look good, without having to go round when you might not make it. Anyway, the water test went well with the Trainstar happily buzzing around the pond. The water rudder worked well with just the single cable operating it off the rudder control horn, and on a couple of occasions I got the Trainstar to the point of lift-off, which was encouraging. It is a little tricky to keep it on a straight take-off run, something I've experienced with it on wheels as well. Anyway, now just to find a larger venue to get the Trainstar into the air...
...but I'll fix it The Rarebear met with a rather sad fate yesterday, clipping a wire fence as it flew low over the paddocks. Keeping an eye of the attitude of the plane, I'd not realised just how low it was until I heard a noise as it passed me and glimpsed the little buzzy disintegrating violently. The nose was ripped off, as well as one wing, and there's bruising of the foam, including one aileron. The nose, fortunately, is undamaged as is the tail section, so hopefully I'll be able to get the diminutive speedster back into the air with some careful repair. The sky reflects...
