...mining the archive Although I no longer have the Walrus glider, I have plenty of videos from when I used to frequently fly it with the trusty 720p wingcam. Much of the video I uploaded to my YouTube Channel in its raw state, however there are also quite a few videos that have remained in digital storage.
Having a bit of a lull, I decided to go through these for some rough gems, and the first I looked at was this one, of the Walrus having an outing on an absolutely exquisite sunny afternoon, something especially appreciated watching now as we approach winter. So I've edited it a little, the full flight being a luxurious eighteen minutes, and set it to some music which I really enjoyed listening to whilst I compiled the video...
...some wheel camera action
This morning a blanket of light mist lay across the paddocks and fields, and kangaroos quietly foraged on the far side of the field. There were there in numbers I hadn't seen previously; a few large adults and some really small joeys. As usual, at the first hint of activity on the field they melted away into the mist. The covering of mist over the field was light enough to fly, so I hauled out the Trainstar for it's first flight in this regular location.
I had the Trainstaroutfitted with a wingcam on the right wheel cover - I'm not sure how good this would be due to the vibration of takeoff and landing but I thought it might be a more interesting view that on top of the wing. I expect it might be a bit quieter as well, out of the direct wash of the prop.
Anyhow, I have filmed a few take-offs, touch and go's, as well as a nose-plant! The latter was fortunately just a minor incident - I had aborted a take-off and cut power due to the Trainstarveering left, and it had almost slowed to a stop when it gently keeled forward and rested on the prop. Most amusing and, as I said, no damage caused - the best kind of accident...
...but not necessarily together The Radjet is now glued together again and ready for another fly. This morning would definitely have been too breezy for the little craft, however I'm keen to get it into the air again for a bit more high-speed fun.
As far as mass-balance is concerned, I'm now packaging the receiver into the fuselage as well after the battery, and I've put a couple of screws in the rearmost section of the fuselage so as to get the maximum counterbalance for the minimum weight, and without disrupting the airflow.
I have also received the new micro SD card for the wing cam, a class 10 U1 speed rating. I'm not sure that the U1 rating will do much in this application as I gather it's some sort of software driven feature aimed at mobile devices.
Anyway, it won't do any harm. I'd love to put the camera on the Radjet however, considering its delicate balance and propensity for crashing, I think we'll reserve on-board video for the Walrus and Floater Jet...
...a brief flight of hopefulness Today was going to be warm, so it wasn't entirely unexpected that the morning was already a bit breezy by the time I got to the field. I had opted for the Floater Jet today as it fit's more comfortably into the car so was less likely to suffer thermal effects than the Walrus. The Radjet was, of course, in for routine maintenance (crash repairs). Eager to get into the air I rated the weather flyable and readied the Floater for an outing. This was the first time I'd had a camera on the Floater, and was interested to see the the difference from having the camera in front of the prop. The fresh northerly would assist getting the plane launched, the Floater's Achilles' heel, so that was good...
The good feeling lasted several seconds until the Floater climbed a few metres into the mainstream breeze, at which point its characteristically floaty nature disappeared out of the window. Things were clearly quite gusty above tree-level, and after a few busy seconds of trying to steady the craft, I was convinced that today really wasn't the best day to fly and I turned the Floater into a landing circuit.
Despite the considerable altitude the plane had achieved, understandable when flying into that much of a headwind, I was surprisingly able to land it straight ahead, quite evident from the camera footage. Having watched the video I can tell you that, while there's no buffeting from the propwash, the Floater's annoying noise prop noise is still dominant, perhaps not unexpectedly as I mounted the camera just ahead of the engine pod. I have a couple of propellor options on their way, however, with a 6x4 triple blade to be followed shortly by a 6x5 twin blade. I am hopeful that, while generating more thrust, these might also abate the dreadful droning. Having successfully brought the plane down, the final foot or two of descent were a little less successful, with the Floater bumping down onto the turf a little roughly. No damage done, fortunately, although you do get an insiders view of the rather busy workings of the cockpit, crammed with batteries, controller and wiring for the lighting...
