...evening walk became an evening flight Wild rainy weather for the day suddenly subsided into a golden sunset, warm rays flooding under the dissipating sheet of clouds. Taking the opportunity for some exercise, I headed out for a walk. However I hadn't made it to the corner before I'd decided that this would actually be a great time for a sunset flight.
I don't often fly at the local fields anymore as there's not that much space, quite a few trees and often people walking dogs or playing. However, with sunset approaching and it having just stopped raining, I packed the Turbo Porter and headed down the road. As ever sunset changes rapidly and the best of it was gone by the time the Porter headed to the skies. However, I managed to capture some of the fading sunset and enjoyed compiling the video...
...finally flying off the pond The field where I often fly was prone to flooding at the southern end; an event which occasioned the influx of birds of all kinds and the occasional kangaroo something for a splash. However, unfortunately the sports club didn't share my enthusiasm at an inundated playing field and so instituted an engineered solution to pump the flood waters away. Happily, after a year or so, this fiendish system has failed, heralding a triumphant return of the ephemeral pond.
I had often been tempted to get something flying off the pond but for some reason never got around to it. However, for once, I managed to get to the field with a float plane while the pond was still full and when the weather was OK, in this case with the Canadair. Unfortunately, as far as the video was concerned, the sun dipped away behind the clouds just as I the Canadair hit the water, so the video quality was frustratingly compromised. Despite that technical hiccup, the flying was a success, making the wait worthwhile...
...a ray of sunshine The weather this autumn and winter has been dreadfully windy, all the more remarkable given that this is usually the stillest time of the year and the opportunity I'd taken to fly off the lake in the still afternoons. However, there have been a few occasions when the gusting northerly has abated and yielded bejewelled afternoons, like this one.
Heading down to my usual spot, lovely cumulus decorated the vivid blue sky, the dark grey of their undersides vividly contrasting with the sparkling white of their peaks. As on the best late-afternoons, the clear horizon allowed a full spread of lush, golden sunlight to drench the lush greenery of the fields and add a sense of magical perfection to the scene. These are my favourite flying conditions, preferred to sunny mornings or even lovely sunrises, except for when I'm suddenly wanting to capture a special moment of exceptional light, or beautiful cloud formation, or ibis flying formation. Fortunately, in some cases such as this, I don't need to worry as I've got the video running and I can enjoy the moment. Flying the Raptor now is lovely, my favourite being it's red and white wings contrasting vividly with the blue and greys of the sky as it sweeps past...
...a little slope soaring I've chosen to set up the Phoenix 2000 as a pure soaring glider without motor, running a 2200 3S battery located right at the firewall and some small-change ballast installed in the nose cone. I have configured the Phoenix with crow brakes, as I discovered that having some sort of brake/lift dump is essential, whether that be fence-type brakes or, in this case, flaps and ailerons configured to generate drag and reflex the airfoil respectively
There are, unfortunately, no good slope soaring sites nearby, however I decided to try the hill at the far end of the paddocks where I fly; not particularly high or steep but enough to generate a little lift. The wind was a strong north-wester, a little gusty too, and I launched the Phoenix with as lusty a hurl as I could summons. The Phoenix flies well enough, catching what little and sporadic lift was available here. I tried the Phoenix with and without flaperons active but, given the very turbulent conditions, I couldn't asses the effect they have. Similarly, I didn't get the opportunity to really test the crow brakes, however they were effective in slowing the glider down and didn't cause it to climb when deployed which is good. However, as a first try, the Phoenix is encouraging, so I'll be trying to get it flying in some better lift...
...back with avengeance The little Fox glider is a beautiful flier, however mine has always suffered from motor vibration. Even the addition of a supplementary firewall didn't make much difference, so the little Fox was eventually consigned to hang on the wall whilst I decided what to do.
Help came in the form of the forced retirement of the Radjet, and I transplanted the Funfighter motor I'd installed there into the Fox. To complement this I'm using a 1500 4S Zippy compact battery, lightweight enough not to tax the speedy motor but large enough to provide generous flight times for the sleek Fox. The result is speedy, the slippery Fox now genuinely fast and very quiet, the Funfighter motor providing it with landscape-traversing speed and generous, although not unlimited, vertical climb. So all in all a simple and very successful transplant, the Fox glider flying with the Radjet's heart...
...blackbird of noisiness The SR71 is a Parkjets design, one of those "stickplanes" which combine simple construction with characteristic design cues that define the aircraft. I chose to do the 125% version, giving a wingspan of 840mm and a length of 1250 and making it quite an impressive aircraft.
I chose to power the Blackbird with a funfighter motor I'd liberated from my old Rarebear. This motor is a little under-specced for a plane this size, yet it managed to give the SR71 a decent turn of speed nonetheless. I was going to use a 1500 4S lipo but, unable to get CoG sorted, opted for a heavier 2200 4S to balance things out.
My main concern approaching launch was not it's flight characteristics which, being a large delta promised to be benign, but the proximity of the handhold to the propellor! Fortunately this concern was unfounded, and the SR71 took to the skies beautifully stably. As the Blackbird accelerated away, it became apparent that this is a very noisy plane, even noisier than the Radjet with the same motor...
...back to the future The Phoenix 2000 was the very first RC plane I purchased, and so this is very much a back-to-the-future episode for me. The Phoenix 2000 is, as it was back then, a very well build and affordable RC plane. It has a sturdy plastic moulded fuselage, which it shares with its sibling the Phoenix 1600, which comes complete with plywood battery tray and rear servo deck. The fuselage comes with the rear control rods pre-installed and, on PNF versions, the servos installed and connected.
The wings are good-quality EPO with moulded-in reinforcements, and a carbon joiner rod is supplied as well. There's also a sleek moulded plastic canopy which clips onto the fuselage. The wings have substantial ailerons, with servos installed on the PNF package, although control rods have to be fitted yourself. There's provision for flaps including moulded recess for servo and linkages included - you just need to cut the flap free where they're moulded to the wing. The kit comes with a folding prop and spinner with collet adapter, and there's a fixed nosecone in case you just want this as a pure glider. So the Phoenix 2000 comes highly recommended as a high-quality entry-level glider, sturdily constructed yet elegant and capable in the air...
