Winter can be a bit challenging when it comes to flying with grey rainy days and dull mornings. However, one bonus it that you do get to see sunrises, when they happen. Taking the Canadair to the field the other day I was treated to a lovely sunrise, made more enjoyable by having the Canadair to cruise around.
As usual, if there's something worthwhile I get the camera out, and in this case put it on top the Canadair to get an elevated view of the sunrise. And, for a bit of extra fun, included a couple of takeoffs and landings in the flight...
...don't try too hard 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...
...very cool The seaplane floats finally arrived, packaged in a demure cardboard box. However lifting the lid revealed two beautifully moulded and carefully painted floats, crafted from thin fibreglass. Despite their impressive size they weigh only 150g each, although I am a little concerned at how the Trainstar will fly with this additional weight and drag.
The floats come with a pair of aluminium mounting struts and braces, as well as mounting hardware. There is also a nice rudder, although only for one side, and sleeved cables for actuation via the planes rudder control horn. There are also brackets provided for securing the cables on the float and to the plane. A very nice set of floats which I look forward to assembling and installing to my Trainstar in the near future...
...fun with the taildragger I've done a few sessions flying touch and go's with the Trainstar, and I must say it's quite entertaining. The aluminium undercarriage, just a 3mm strip, does a remarkably good job of soaking up bumps on touchdown and the wheels are sufficiently large to allow flying off grass fields, as long as they are reasonably well trimmed. However trying to land, or take off, from a field with a generously thick covering will see the Trainstar on it's nose.
Flying like this, on about three-quarter throttle and then gliding in for landings, you'll do about a quarter of an hour's entertaining flying on a 2200mAh battery, which is also packs enough grunt to pull the Trainstar out of awkward situations. Just don't expect it to do vertical climbs or you'll be disappointed...
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...
...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...
