Walrus Flies a Goal

...and a smooth landing

Grey clouds hung heavily in the morning sky, with just a int of colour showing through above the horizon. Not the most spectacular dawn, however the morning was still and cool, perfect for flying which was great!

The kangaroos were on the field in force this morning, grazing on the pitch. They seemed a little less shy this morning, hanging around near the fence as I prepared the Walrus. However the noise of the propellor revving up for launch was a bit much for them, and they had hopped off to join their friends in the paddock by the time the Walrus had cleared the fence.

I had a few good flights this morning, just easy circuits with a few low passes nearby. I also managed some good landings, without flaps though, as I still haven't changed the settings for the flaps.

One thing I have been missing is the relaxed floatiness of the Flyer. That's not to say I don't like the Walrus - it's a great straight flyer without the pitching characteristic of the Floater. However the Floater does produce magic when it floats silently past you, seemingly weightless.

I've just been considering flying the Walrus with flaps (on a reduced travel, perhaps twenty degrees). I think this might give the best of both worlds, clean flight for straight balanced handling, and flaps deployed for slow, floaty relaxed cruising. If the weather permits I think I'll give that a go tomorrow.

On the last flight this morning the Walrus flew a goal, flying its approach through the posts, a first for me...

In the Air Again

...flying with the birds

The winds finally abated to modest single-figure speeds, and the light rain which had fallen overnight ceased long enough to have a quick fly. The clouds were still leaden and, with streaks of rain visible falling here and there, it was clear that rain would reach the field sooner rather than later.

The Phoenix 2000 was all prepped and ready to go, so it didn't take long to get it into the air. Launch was happily uneventful and I powered up into climbs and practiced a few loops and stalls. There were plenty of birds flying over this morning, and one particularly large wings of what I think were ducks. Lovely to see.

I also tried out the flaps on the Phoenix for the first time. They're pretty big and also, with my transmitter being very basic, I can't control the servo travel on my auxiliary switch - it's either on or off. So the flaps have full servo travel and open right down to about forty-five degrees.

The Phoenix was flying back towards the field, a little high, so I thought I'd give the flaps a go. Well, let me say quite categorically, that the effect of them is startling. 

The Phoenix slowed right down and then went nose-up, gaining a few feet in height. I was expecting it to stall, however it just ploughed its way through the air, slow and steady. All I needed was to level the wings a little before it slumped in for a landing.

Not exactly elegant but certainly highly effective...