Conditions today were idyllic, a beautiful warm afternoon with a light easterly blowing, and the lake deserted as usual except for a flock of moorhens and the odd duck.
With the Trainstar now fully sorted, I was looking forward to a leisurely afternoon flying the floatplane around and enjoying the gorgeous weather.
With the rudder servo keeping things straight on launch I could concentrate on managing the liftoffs; this takes a little doing as one needs to ease off the up-elevator required during the takeoff run, however the liftoff is quite sudden and tricky to anticipate. Anyhow, the launches were a little better but still need some work.
The landings, however, were atrocious, with the first attempt off an awkward approach being all over the place and ending with the Trainstar nosing into the lake. Fortunately it was close to the shore and the breeze assisted in bringing it back without the need to haul out the dinghy.
The flights were otherwise very pleasant, with the 2700mAh battery giving good power on launch and surprising endurance in flight. The controls are still a bit sensitive, and with the weight of the floats the Trainstar is quite sensitive, however I think I just need to dial up teh expo a bit to calm things down.
My last landing, by default, was off a nice long approach after my initial botched effort, and I greased the floats in on what I thought to be my best landing so far, when suddenly the float dug in and the Trainstar was suddenly nose-down in the lake, again.
I have made lots of bad landings, but never has the the Trainstar actually gone in. I think I was trying to get it too smooth and was lacking up-elevator to keep things on an even keel...
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