Flitetest Viggen. First Flight.

...no bites from the vegan

Preparing for the first flight of the FT Viggen I was both excited and nervous; it looked to be a great flying plane made a little more forgiving with the canards. However, having a completely flat underside, it was also the first plane that I’d ever have to launch underhand.

So, as I’ve done several times before, I headed into the depths of the paddocks to a launch spot with long grass, just in case I needed an arrestor bed. As it turns out not really but it didn’t hurt since, at my first attempt, the trajectory was too flat, and the Viggen simply disappeared gently into the foliage.

The second attempt was good, the Viggen holding an upward attitude till I could bump up the throttle and then it was on its way.

Flitetest Nutball. First Flight.

...a well rounded plane


Whilst waiting for parts to arrive for the completion of the Viggen, my first Flitetest project, I decided to do a Nutball from a spare sheet of foam and a scrap motor.

It's a very easy plane to make, much simpler than the relatively complex Viggen, so didn't take long to make at all.

However, I didn't like the front-mounted motor or externally attached battery, which I thought looked ugly, so I mounted the motor internally and made access to the power pod through the top of the plane.

The result was a much neater-looking plane however required a much bigger battery (a 1300 3S) in order to compensate for the relocated motor.

With a big wing area I didn't think this would be a problem, however it turned what should be a slow floater into an absolute handful of a plane. Additionally, the elevator/rudder setup seemed highly ineffective with the Nutball not wanting to turn much at all. In fact, overall, flying the Nutball it recalled my first flights with the nose-heavy Radjet. 

By the end of the second flight, which ended with the Nutball spiralling into the paddock, I'd decided to reduce weight with a smaller battery mounted on top, and to change to elevon mix layout to improve flight response... 

Firstar Sunrise III

...and lovely clouds

Another lovely morning from a few weeks ago, perfect for for a pre-work sunrise flight. The Firstar is a good camera platform, although I haven't been able to use it for FPV due to interference issues with my Taranis radio.

Also, the motor configuration means it doesn't climb very well. However this will soon change; I'm getting some bandpass filters which will hopefully resolve the 2.4GHz interference, and I'm planning to replace the prop with a low-mounted EDF unit to eliminate the down-thrust of the stock unit.

So, we'll see how these changes pan out; here's hoping for some cloud soaring...

Canadair on the Lake.

...an afternoon cruise

It's not often that I get to the lake; access is restricted so it's only on nice afternoons when it's not to windy. And only on a few couple of days a week.

On this particular afternoon things were looking good, so I arrived at the lake only to find that it was pretty windy.

Now the Canadair is a very capable and stable flyer, but I'm nervous about mishaps on water, necessitating getting my inflatable rescue craft out, blowing it up before paddling across the lake you're not supposed to go boating on.

Anyway, I decided to fly nonetheless and, fortunately, things went fine. The water wasn't too rough nor the wind too gusty, so I had a pleasant afternoon cruising the Canadair around and doing takeoffs and landing without having to call the rescue squad...

Firstar V2. Sunrise Series II.

...sunrise and mist

Going into autumn I again have the opportunity to enjoy sunrises at the field as they coincide with my journey to work. On this particular occasion there was the extra bonus of mist covering the outer fields.

In the suburbs mist is a rare visitor, so I feel especially to spent time with this ethereal visitor, so quickly dispelled with the approach of the sun's rays.

The window of sunrise was quite small, one of those where the light squeezes between horizon and clouds for a few minutes, blossoming brightness growing again quickly dull as the sun heads into the clouds.

Nevertheless, it was a beautifully tranquil morning, with a mix of clouds, mist and sun...

Turbo Porter. S.T.O.L. Fun.

...windy-day fun

Having just successfully flown the Stinger jet after its repair, I headed down the road for a chill-out session with the Turbo Porter.

As it turned out, the wind had freshened considerably to the degree that I had initial trouble getting a stable take-off run. However, having banished those gremlins, I settled into enjoying the PC-6's thoroughbred characteristics.

Despite the breezy and gusty conditions, the PC-6 was always stable and, with flaps fully deployed, could almost be landed vertically. And, one the one touch and go, the PC-6 appeared to bounce leisurely into a near vertical climb with ease.

So a fun end to an action-packed afternoon's flying...

Stinger 64 EDF. Repair Flight.

...back in the air!

It was months ago when, having too much fun with the Stinger, I inadvertently sent it speeding into the swampy paddock grass, where it half its nose and my near-new nanotech battery disappeared into the mud.

Since then I have agonised over how I was to replicate the tapering form of the nose, which also accommodates the canopy magnet and terminates into the join with the nosecone.

Eventually I used rear sections of the original fuselage (funny how you never crash backwards), although this wasn't quite right and had to be cut, and then added onto, and then filled, and sanded, and painted.

However, after this unnecessarily protracted affair, the Stinger was again airworthy and looking pretty good. However, the proof of the pudding if in how well it flies.

Fortunately, in this case, it flew as well as ever, and I was gifted with a good launch as well. So back to enjoying a few run-filled, adrenalin rushing minutes screeching the Stinger around the paddocks...