Monday, June 28, 2010

Some Like it Hot

The Air Conditioning in my home has not been working all season. Until today. It was hot today. I moved my office down to the basement for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it is cooler down here. But it's really not very much underground, so it doesn't stay all that cool all summer long. And as of today, it has been starting to feel a tad warm down here.

But after running around in circles, trying to get the A/C company to respond, I finally got hold of someone who talked me through a couple of things, and we narrowed down what the problem was, and I fixed it myself. The house is now cooling off, the cats will be happier, and I can move out of the basement...if I want to. I like it down here - this is where all my stuff is, and the cats can't bother me. But my wife misses me (when she's home), and it is kind of lonely down here.

Apparently, bugs are attracted to the ozone, or something about high voltage contacts that spark when they snap open and close, because they like to hang out on the open contacts when the relay is open. Talk about debugging. I just had to clean the ants or spiders or earwigs or whatever was camping out in there, and now the compressor is running, and the house is cooling off. Yippie!

Oh, and I did a tiny bit of work on Questor yesterday. Mostly updating the checklist (which still has a long way to go), but progress nonetheless. I was also happy to open up an old box and discover my (wife's) long lost tee square ruler that I like so much - the 24-inch long one. They're not cheap. And I was also taken on a trip down memory lane when I opened a box of old model airplane plans - plans for planes I have, as well as for planes I've had (one, anyway).

I also have a HUGE amount of balsa wood in another box that I apparently consolidated from a number of other boxes at some point in the past. Looks like I better get busy building stuff!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Questor Revival

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

A Real Floater

Here's the latest video sent to me by a friend of mine who designed and built this little beauty.



Enjoy!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

I Have No Ailerons!

I forgot I had this blog, too, so I'm firing it up again:

Bill's Flight Log

All my R/C flying updates will go there.

Also, for those of you who were following the Questor project a few years ago, I am thinking about reviving it. I will post alerts here and on my flight log blog about any Questor project activity so you'll know when to check out the progress. :)

Friday, June 18, 2010

Hello Blue Skies

Well, I actually got to fly sooner than expected. I went to check out another flying club yesterday evening, and I got in three short, but well appreciated, flights. It has been too long, and I was quite rusty, but I'll have my thumbs back in no time.

I brought my cameras, but didn't get any pictures, except for just a few that I shot just before going home. Here's the field where I flew:

Sierra Foothills RC Flying Club

I didn't like taking off or landing on a grass runway. Yeah, it's a bit more forgiving if you have an incident, but I had a few incidents just because it was grass! It offers no ground control, and I can't do touch-and-go's (my favorite maneuver). I'm not sure I'll join the club or not, but I don't have a lot of options out here.

Here's a shot of my plane after a successful day of flying. A successful day of flying is always one in which I bring home my airplane in one piece.

Post-Flight Reflection

I need to get some fuel. I'm going to another flying club tomorrow to check them out, and I was hoping to get some fuel today, but I completely forgot, and now it's probably too late to get to the hobby shop in Marysville in time. Besides, I don't think my back would survive the trip today.

I really hurt my back a couple days ago, and I thought it was going to literally end me yesterday, but I wasn't about to let anything to stop me from flying after all I had done in the past week or two to prepare for it. It actually turned out to be good therapy for my back to go flying!

My first stop on my way out to the field was the chiropracter at 4:30 pm. He straightened me out, which helped a LOT, and I walked around the parking lot afterward, then headed out to the field. I drove for about 15 minutes and stopped at K-Mart to pick up some printer paper, so got to stretch my back there - that car seat is the worst. Then drove for another 15 minutes to the field and got the chance to walk a LOT out there, which was good. But then there was also considerable stooping and bending, but I kept it to a minimum. It was the drive back home that killed my back again, especially after waiting an additional 10 minutes in the car for road construction. Argh!

I spent a couple hours with an ice pack on my back after I got home, and today my back still hurts, but is feeling on the mend. I hope it won't give me any trouble tomorrow. I just can't sit for more than about 30 minutes at a time (if that!). But at least it feels like it's getting better. Now if I can just fix the mattress I'm sleeping on...

Tomorrow is another (flying) day!

Wish me fun. :)

Monday, June 14, 2010

Flying Again

Well, here it is...
My first airplane

This is the first airplane I ever built. I built it back around 1983 or 1984. The engine that is on it is also one of the original engines that I flew it with. I actually sold this engine at one point, and I was so nostalgic about it, that I bought it back. The guy was very understanding about it, and he had a rather large engine collection, so he was happy to oblige.

And I'm happy to have it back. I fired up the engine over the weekend, and it ran beautifully! If I had a place to fly at the time, I would have flown that day. Although, my batteries are very old, and they're not looking too good on the conditioner, so it looks like I have to buy some new ones.

But other than that, this airplane is ready to fly again. I'm ready to fire this baby up! (That comment goes out to the Hobby Hut crew)

Hopefully, I'll even get some video of the flight(s) this weekend. I'm also happy because I found out about another flying club that allows night flying. Woo hoo! AND...they also do float flying...AND I have a float kit that I never opened (until last night) that has been sitting on my shelf for probably ten years. SO...one of these days, I'm going to do some night flying off the lake!

I can't wait!

In the meantime, enjoy this video shot recently by a friend of mine:

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Life on the Horizon

It has been a grueling year of heads-down software development, and I've paid the price. I have been away from my hobbies for far too long. But that is changing. I renewed my American Modeler's Association insurance, so now I can fly my model airplanes at any AMA sanctioned field, and anywhere else that I need protection. I dug out the Questor project again and realized just how many design detail questions remain unanswered - plus, it is hard to know where to pick up on the project. I'm also missing a small but critical piece, which I will have to re-create when I get back to it. However, that is such a daunting project that I decided I simply want to keep that one on the shelf while I get back to the basics.

I dug out boxes of engines and parts and my flight boxes and looked at a couple of my airplanes. Everything is getting invaded by dust and spiders - and I've seen a mouse in the basement, plus quite a few mouse trailings, so I have placed a live catch trap down there hoping to relocate the little critters. I used to have mice as pets when I was a kid, so I can't kill them. I zapped a couple already with this horrible trap that electrocutes them, but I just can't turn that switch back on again. I'm just a softy, what can I say?

I've got pretty much everything I need to fly again - I just need to get batteries in order. They've been sitting around getting old, so I have to see about getting new ones or getting the ones I've got into shape.

I have five airplanes in near flight-ready condition, and I just need some fuel and a place to fly. I am on the hunt for a flying site, which is not easy to find at the base of the Sierra Nevadas. But I am determined. One thing I would love to do is open my box of floats that I have had on my shelf for probably ten years or more, and build them and put them on a plane. I live five minutes from a lake, and there's plenty of room to fly there. I'd love to get a little boat and take a plane out and fly around the lake at night. I can't wait to make my first water landing at night.

I'm headed down to the basement now to see if I've got what I need to test run some engines tomorrow. I'm also going to try my hand at mixing my own diesel fuel for my diesel engines. But that will come in time. First things first - I've got to get back to the basics.