Ep 45: Blue Angels, Duellist Talk, What Are We Thankful For?

[00:00:04] Welcome to RC Plane Lab, a podcast for anyone interested in RC airplanes. We'll share tips and tricks on how to build models and talk about successful flights, epic crashes, and everything in between. Visit us at rcplanelab.com to sign up for our email list and to ask us questions. You can also text us or leave us a voicemail at 818-351-9846. Please help us out by rating and reviewing us in your favorite podcast app. Thanks for spending time with us today.

[00:00:35] Now here are your hosts, Ron and Tom.

[00:00:38] Hello, everyone. Welcome to the RC Plane Lab podcast. I'm Ron. And I'm Tom. Tom.

[00:00:43] Yes.

[00:00:44] I'm sad. Why? Did you hear the Blue Angels are changing the airplanes they fly?

[00:00:50] No, I actually have not heard anything about that.

[00:00:53] So it's not a big change, I guess. I mean, it's still a Hornet, but they're flying the Super Hornet now.

[00:00:58] Oh well, I mean, what’s wrong with that?

[00:01:00] A lot is wrong with that. They don’t look the same.

[00:01:04] They’re better.

[00:01:05] They’re not better looking.

[00:01:05] The Super Hornet is better than the original FAA-18.

[00:01:09] Well, obviously, because it's a Super Hornet, not just a Hornet.

[00:01:12] The angular intakes are cool looking. No.

[00:01:16] So, according to the Military Times website, the Navy's Blue Angels are getting new aircraft for 2021, the team's 75th anniversary season. That's actually kind of cool. I didn't realize they've been around that long. It says, the advanced planes, FAA-18E slash F Super Hornets, will replace the older Legacy Hornets, which have performed in front of millions of people for over 34 years. I think that's where I have a problem with it.

[00:01:43] Like, I am really sad about that because, like, maybe it's because I grew up drawing the Hornet, like, hundreds and hundreds of times. Oh, yeah, I get it. But, the front of the wing that has the two little curves up the shoulder? Yeah, yeah. That always grabbed my attention, like, when I was a kid. And… Leading edge strakes. Is that what those are called? Yeah. Strakes?

[00:02:03] Mm-hmm.

[00:02:04] Yep. Like, how do you spell that?

[00:02:06] S-T-R-A-K-E-S.

[00:02:09] Cool. I never knew that before. Yep. And then, I guess I have to take a little bit of a diversion from you, and I do not like the angular inlets. I really like the rounded ones.

[00:02:21] Well, that’s okay.

[00:02:22] But that's, I mean, that's, I just remember when I was a kid growing up, we always went to the air show that was local to us. And I just, I loved watching those airplanes fly. Air rendezvous. Yeah. And they, I mean, that no longer has been for, God, how long ago did they quit that? I mean, that's been…

[00:02:40] Oh, man, it's… So, the last one I went to, I was working, I wasn't, I didn't, I didn't have the job I currently have, and I've been working where I currently work for 20 years.

[00:02:50] Has it been that long, really? Gosh, that doesn't seem possible. Yeah. But, yeah, I was sad about that. Like, like I said, I remember growing up where we grew up, and how close we lived to the airport.

[00:03:02] Yeah.

[00:03:02] I mean, they would fly right over us all the time, all the different shows that they would put on. You could always see them coming in town and leaving. And, man, it's not going to be the same. And 34 years is a long time. Similar, but just not the same.

[00:03:16] So, funny story. I forget what year it was. Must be probably 96, maybe. The Blue Angels were here in town, and I was actually, I think I was on orders, or maybe I was doing a makeup drill or something at work. And one of the Blue Angels suffered a hydraulic failure, and the gear was locked down, and they couldn't raise the gear. So, they landed, no problems or anything like that, but I actually got to work on that airplane.

[00:03:42] Really.

[00:03:42] Yeah, and I have pictures of me standing on Blue Angels. I think it was number five. Yeah, in one of the hangers with my little white booty, so we didn't scratch the paint or anything like that. So, yeah, I actually got to work on them.

[00:03:55] I think I remember that. Like, because I remember there was something that happened to one of them that was here. And didn't they land and then just take up their spare jet or something for the rest of the show?

[00:04:03] Yeah, that's exactly what they did. They have a jet that they had two seats in, and that's the one they give their demo flights and all that kind of cool stuff to, like, the PR people and the news people and stuff like that. So, they finished the show with that airplane, the two-seater.

[00:04:17] Oh, that is so cool. Yeah. Yeah, it's pretty cool. Our paths crossed so close, but we never quite met at that time. Well, then again, I was 15, so. Oh, right.

[00:04:26] That airplane had, from what I remember, it's been a long time ago, but from what I remember, had a lot of issues. Those airplanes, even though they look very, very pretty, they are not the best examples of what are available in the fleet at the time.

[00:04:42] So it’s a good 100-footer.

[00:04:43] Exactly.

[00:04:44] It looks great from 100 feet, but don’t look under the hood.

[00:04:46] In fact, we couldn't. It had damage in the landing gear trunnion, which on a F-18, the nose gear in this case, the trunnion is a big aluminum casting that the gear actually pivots on, has pins that go into it and stuff like that.

[00:05:00] Okay.

[00:05:01] And that was damaged to the point where we couldn't repair it at our station. So, what they did is they locked out the gear in the down position and flew it all the way, I think, to the boneyard that way with the gear down.

[00:05:12] So, what do you mean boneyard? They, like, took it out of service?

[00:05:15] Yeah.

[00:05:15] Oh, that’s, so sad.

[00:05:16] Well, they had, I mean, they have a whole boneyard full of them. They grab one, throw some paint on it.

[00:05:22] Oh, you mean okay, so they didn’t like junk that plane then

[00:05:25] Oh, no, that plane probably is in the middle of the desert right now at Davis Month and, either in mothballs or it may be chopped up by now. Who knows?

[00:05:33] See, they could just give me one and I could put it back here in our little, our pasture. I think that would be a cool lawn ornament, little yard art.

[00:05:40] Sure yeah.

[00:05:41] Instead of my tractor that I have there. We could have that if I want it.

[00:05:43] No, that tractor’s much cooler.

[00:05:44] No. No way. I think so. No, you don't.

[00:05:48] No, really I do. I like your tractor.

[00:05:50] You really think the tractor is better yard art than a frickin' F-A-18 Hornet?

[00:05:54] For where we live? I think so.

[00:05:57] No. No, I'd cut trees down to put that out there.

[00:06:00] Really.

[00:06:01] Well, I'd cut trees down to put the tractor out there. I'm sorry, you cut trees down so I could put the tractor out there. That's true. I forgot about that. Yeah.

[00:06:09] Anyway, they’re switching to planes and I think that’s exciting.

[00:06:12] Good for them.

[00:06:13] Hopefully they’re going to get some quality aircraft.

[00:06:15] It makes sense. I mean it really does, because yes,

[00:06:18] Well, they’re probably running out of parts to keep the old ones alive.

[00:06:21] And that was the problem they said, that, you just can't get the parts and stuff for them to keep them flying. And, I mean, there's not a lot of regular Hornets out anymore as opposed to the Super Hornets.

[00:06:30] Well, I mean, is anybody still flying them?

[00:06:32] The Blue Angels were. I mean, besides the Blue Angels. I don't think so. I mean, I could be wrong.

[00:06:37] No foreign countries or anything like that? Some of our partners? That I don't know.

[00:06:41] I don't get into that at all. But, yeah, it's going to be a sad day, though, for me. Because, like I said, that's my childhood. I mean, they just never change. So sad.

[00:06:51] Yeah. I remember the airplane before the Hornet.

[00:06:54] And that was the, oh, I can see it. What was that?

[00:06:57] I’m going to let you try to figure it out.

[00:07:00] Oh, we're going to have to take some time out of this one then. Hold on. The F-4 Phantom.

[00:07:06] I thought after the Phantom there was another one. When was the A-4 Skyhawks? I thought that was before the F-18. I might be wrong. But I remember watching A-4 Skyhawks.

[00:07:17] I thought that was before.

[00:07:19] The Phantom?

[00:07:20] I thought so.

[00:07:22] Okay. Well, that could be.

[00:07:25] Please hold. Let me look this up. Okay. You're right. So it says here, by the end of the 1960s, we were flying the F-4 Phantom, the only two-seat aircraft flown by the Delta Formation. In 1974, we transitioned to the A-4 Skyhawk, a smaller and lighter aircraft with a tighter yada, yada, yada.

[00:07:41] Yeah.

[00:07:42] In 1986, we celebrated our 40th anniversary by unveiling the Boeing F-18 Hornet, which we still fly to this day, which is correct, but not for much longer. So you are correct, then. The only thing I remember is the Hornet. Yeah. Like I said, in 86, I would have been 5, so I don't remember anything before that. Yeah. All the air shows I ever saw was the Hornet, so.

[00:08:04] Right.

[00:08:04] Oh yeah.

[00:08:05] I can't remember where I saw or first saw them. So my dad was prior Air Force, and he retired in 78, and that's when we moved here. So, yeah, maybe I saw them flying somewhere, like at a base we were stationed at or something. I don't know.

[00:08:24] Could have been.

[00:08:24] But yeah, very, very small and agile airplane.

[00:08:29] Well, now they're going with a bigger airplane. That's less agile. Less agile.

[00:08:34] Probably more conducive to formation, the big, big, slow, tricks or whatever you want to call it. Like when they're flying at each other and stuff, probably easier to see. Stuff happens probably slower.

[00:08:47] Well, I know they said that they had to actually do a lot of stuff to the new Hornets to actually make them work for what they need. They had to add tanks. They had to do – they even did something like to make the visibility better so they could see more, out of the cockpit and stuff. And they – I could be wrong, but I think they said they had to change some of the flying, like, characteristics or how it flew so they had more control and less computer control.

[00:09:12] Oh, okay. That kind of thing, so they could fly in formation so close.

[00:09:15] Yeah.

[00:09:15] Okay. Because they fly. I mean, they're, like, three feet apart, less than at times, I think.

[00:09:19] Yeah, sometimes they get pretty doggone close.

[00:09:22] That’s scary, going 400 or 500 miles an hour.

[00:09:24] Yeah.

[00:09:25] But –.

[00:09:25] But so cool looking.

[00:09:28] I would like to find – like, maybe go up to Chicago or something when they do the air show up there, if that ever –

[00:09:33] That’s a good show.

[00:09:33] It’s opened up again. I wouldn’t mind seeing that.

[00:09:35] Yeah.

[00:09:37] But no.

[00:09:37] If you've never seen the Chicago Air and Water Show, that's a good one.

[00:09:39] I have not.

[00:09:40] That's a good one. You'd like it. I would. So switch them to the Super Hornets. Well, good for them.

[00:09:44] Yeah, I guess I mean, like I said, it’s sad.

[00:09:47] I mean, that’s only what two generations behind now.

[00:09:50] Well, I guess when you think about it, I mean, airplanes don't change very much. Like, if they've been flying the Hornets for 34 years, that's not when the Hornet first came out. That's a long time for an airplane.

[00:10:02] That’s true.

[00:10:03] For an airframe.

[00:10:04] But it seems like here recently, like within the last, I'll say 15 years, it seems like there's been a lot of, like, I don't know if I want to say updating, but, there's two new airframes in the last 20 years, for the Air Force anyway.

[00:10:20] That didn’t seem like a lot to me.

[00:10:21] Oh, that seems like. I mean, think of how long it takes to develop something like that and build the first one as a demonstrator and do all these other. I think that’s, I think that’s pretty impressive.

[00:10:30] I mean, like I said, I guess maybe I'm used to, like, cars and stuff. Like, they came out with new cars all the time. Airplanes, I would expect, like, a plane that was built 20 years ago shouldn't be as good as a plane that you build today. Like, flight characteristics or anything-wise. Obviously, computers can be changed out and stuff, but the actual shape of a plane, I would think you could get better. But I don't know anything about it, so. So, okay.

[00:10:54] You ready to respond on that one? Sure.

[00:10:56] Yeah.

[00:10:56] Like I said, I’ll cry into my beer later, or something.

[00:10:59] Hey, but you have something to be happy about.

[00:11:01] I do. I got a new airplane.

[00:11:02] Yeah.

[00:11:02] Well, it's new to you. New to me. And it might be crashed, but it's okay.

[00:11:08] Well, there's no might about it. It is crashed, or it has been. Is it crashed or wrecked? I don't know. I mean, maybe the severity of the damage determines whether an airplane has been wrecked or crashed or crashed versus wrecked. I don't know. That's a good question. Maybe our listeners will clarify for us.

[00:11:28] At any rate, it is not a… It is smashed. Smashed. There you go.

[00:11:33] It is smashed.

[00:11:34] Yeah, so I have a little bit of work out of me. But it's a Pilotist PC-6, and it's covered in the Red Bull scheme. You've wanted one of those for a while. I have wanted one of those for a very long time. It's actually probably one of the first airplanes that I ever saw a picture of after I started the RC stuff that I wanted.

[00:11:50] Yeah.

[00:11:50] So I got it from an older gentleman that's a member of the local club. And I don't want to say his name because I know he listens, and I don't want to embarrass him. But he's a good pilot who doesn't know how to fix things and doesn't like to fix things. So I got a really good deal on it.

[00:12:09] So I know who you're talking about. And I wouldn't say that he doesn't know how to fix things because he's fixed a few things that I know of.

[00:12:17] Oh well, that’s exactly what he told me on that one. I don’t know how to fix this and I don’t necessarily want to fix this, but I know you will.

[00:12:23] I think it’s more of the latter. He just doesn’t want to.

[00:12:25] Yeah.

[00:12:25] Because, I mean, it can be somewhat intimidating to repair an airplane.

[00:12:30] It can. And so I'll be honest. I'm going to cheat and draw it up in CAD and cut it on the laser cutter.

[00:12:37] How’s that cheating?

[00:12:38] Well, because it's not something that a lot of people have access to. No.

[00:12:42] But it’s something you have access to and it’s your airplane.

[00:12:45] It is. But at times I feel bad for doing things that way as opposed to doing it like the old school way.

[00:12:52] I’m giving you the what the look You are.

[00:12:54] And I'm feeling judged. But it's okay.

[00:12:56] You shouldn’t feel guilty about using the tools that are available to you. I don’t think.

[00:13:01] I guess not.

[00:13:03] I don’t feel guilty when I use my years and years and years of experience to build something that looks better than yours.

[00:13:09] Oh, that hurt. I'm just teasing. No, it's okay.

[00:13:12] Actually, we're going to get to that. But your airplane looks really good.

[00:13:15] Yeah. We'll get to that later after you chide me for something else, I guess. That's what I do. But anyway, so back to this pilotist. He was flying when it was a little bit too windy. Crosswind is kind of what took it out. And he said he got about four feet off of the runway. And there was a gust, 10 to 12 mile an hour gust that came, like I said, cross runway. Surprised him. And surprised him, flipped it over, and nosed it into the ground.

[00:13:39] Okay.

[00:13:40] Luckily, like really luckily, the only thing that happened is the motor mount box. It’s electric.

[00:13:47] It crunched up the nose a little bit.

[00:13:48] Yeah. But not even like the cheeks and stuff, like where the covering starts and all that is fine. It's just the inside structure that got messed up.

[00:13:56] Oh, okay.

[00:13:57] So it’s going to be, and I should have showed you that before we started.

[00:13:59] It shouldn’t be too bad.

[00:14:00] No, I don't think it is at all. But the only thing that bothers me, why I want to use the laser, is so the actual part where the motor mounts, so the face, what do you call that? Firewall. The firewall where the motor actually screws onto. That is, I mean, it's shattered. And then it goes into the little supports that come out from the side. And it's tabbed into those pieces.

[00:14:26] And so if I can actually get it to cut and just line up perfectly to that, then it'll just go right back into that tab. And all I got to do is kind of strengthen the side of that a little bit more, and it's going to be an easy fix.

[00:14:35] Yeah.

[00:14:36] Which doing it by hand. I think that would be very difficult and I don’t want to do it that way.

[00:14:40] Well, you said that piece shattered. Today's ARFs, they're built so, so light.

[00:14:45] Yeah.

[00:14:45] They really are. I mean, which is great for performance, don't get me wrong. But they are built so light, and sometimes the wood is of questionable quality.

[00:14:54] Well, I mean, if he was four foot off the ground and actually flying and then flipped upside down and nosed it in, it held up pretty good, to be honest.

[00:15:02] Okay.

[00:15:02] Like, it's, I don't know, it's probably a 42-inch-ish wingspan. I think it's just powered by a, he said a three-cell, like 3,000, something like that, 3,300. So, like I said, it's not a big airplane by any means. And it's very light. And that, with the wind, shouldn't have been flying when it was that bad. But when you look at the wings, too, the very tips of the wing have little wingtips that come up.

[00:15:28] And that's probably something, too, that the wind caught and kind of flipped it. Like I said, I should have showed you, but it doesn't matter. I'll end up fixing that here in a couple weeks, and I'll put some pictures on the website when I get that done.

[00:15:38] Cool.

[00:15:39] But it’s a very cool-looking airplane. I’m excited to have my first pilot.

[00:15:43] I think I’ve seen that airplane. I think.

[00:15:46] I’ve seen pictures of it, But I’ve never seen him fly it, so I don’t know if he actually….

[00:15:51] No, but I mean, I think he, I think I helped him repair that airplane previously.

[00:15:56] Oh, really? What was wrong with it before?

[00:15:58] Something about the wing struts maybe, where they attach to the wings.

[00:16:01] Okay.

[00:16:02] I think the nuts were spinning inside, maybe, and I think I may have either fixed it for him or showed him how to fix it. I remember something about it.

[00:16:09] Yeah, he was talking about that. There's new wood inserts that went into it.

[00:16:12] There you go.

[00:16:12] So, yeah, well, thank you. You fixed my airplane now.

[00:16:16] Well, I'm not sure if I actually fixed it. I think he actually fixed it. I just maybe told him how. Well… It's been a while. I don't remember.

[00:16:23] However it worked, I'm happy that it worked out, and like I said, I'm a new owner. Awesome. And we'll be flying it here before long. As long as the wind dies down, it has been windy.

[00:16:34] It was nice today, though. Of course, we were at work, but…

[00:16:36] Well, it seems to be like the weekends are really windy in bed, because it's supposed to rain again this weekend. Yeah, lovely.

[00:16:43] And I’ve got a bunch of batteries I would like to discharge.

[00:16:45] And it’s better to actually discharge them by flying than it is to just run it on the charger.

[00:16:50] Well, it’s certainly better for my psyche to take them out.

[00:16:53] It's more fun. So, the Red Bull scheme that's on this pilotist, what I think is really cool about it is that's an actual, or modeled off of an actual airplane. Like, I didn't realize Red Bull had…

[00:17:04] Yeah, they have a skydive team that jumps out of it.

[00:17:06] Didn't know that. Yeah. So, yeah, that's…

[00:17:08] Red Bull is in all kinds of aviation stuff.

[00:17:10] I love the color schemes that they use on that, even though I've never drank a Red Bull. I maybe had one, but I've never really drank. For some reason, I don't drink those. But, yeah, they're pretty cool-looking airplanes. And I like the fact, like I said, that it's actually modeled off a real airplane.

[00:17:25] Yeah. So, it's… I'm using my air quotes. Mm-hmm. Scale.

[00:17:30] Oh, I guess so. I never thought of it that way. Right? Yeah.

[00:17:33] So it’s your first….

[00:17:34] Scale airplane. Scale airplane. Well, I guess not necessarily.

[00:17:37] Well, I guess you do have the L4, right, A little electric job.

[00:17:40] I do. And then I also had the T-34. That's true. That's kind of scale, right? Yeah, that's true. I never flew it, though.

[00:17:48] But I did have that one for a while. Well, you're going to fly this one, for sure.

[00:17:51] Oh. A lot, hopefully. I'll fly that here. I mean, like, honestly… Probably will be able to, yeah. Honestly, that's probably going to become my go-to plane, if it flies as well as I think it's going to. Because it's a good size just to leave the wing on, leave it here, and not have to worry about going to the field every time you want to fly. It's really not that much bigger than that other one that I kind of fly here often.

[00:18:12] Oh, that's true. And it'll probably do things a lot slower than the other one you used to fly here. So, yeah, I think that'll be…

[00:18:18] It’ll be a good plane.

[00:18:19] Yeah.

[00:18:20] All right. You can talk about new planes.

[00:18:22] Oh, so speaking of new planes, yeah. Hangar 9 just recently, and we're not sponsored by Horizon or anything like that yet, for anybody that might be listening from Horizon. Anyway, they announced that Hangar 9 is going to come out with a new airplane. It's an OV-10 Bronco, which, if you're not familiar, it's kind of an observation, light attack airplane that the Marines and the Army fly. Very cool airplane. This thing from Hangar 9 is going to be really cool. It's big.

[00:18:52] It’s very expensive.

[00:18:53] It's expensive, yes, but… But worth it, really. I think so, considering what it is and how you can set it up. It's designed around either two 30cc gassers or really big electric. I'm just going to leave it at that because I'm not the electric guy.

[00:19:08] Like 12C batteries or 12-cell batteries and that kind of stuff. For each motor.

[00:19:14] Yeah, so 24 cells on board. But, yeah, scale retractable landing gear, it's available with that gear.

[00:19:23] For $500 more.

[00:19:27] Well, the gear separately is like $699..

[00:19:29] Oh, so that’s a good deal then.

[00:19:30] So packaged with the airframe, it's going to be… It's expensive. It's $1999. It's a $2,000 ARF. But, man, is it cool. The covering is printed and matte. It's not glossy. It has pre… That's awesome. Pre-molded in markings, weathering, the whole deal. And because the covering is matte finish, if you don't like the color scheme, you can paint it with almost no prep.

[00:19:56] Really.

[00:19:56] Which is very cool.

[00:19:57] Yes. I didn't know that was a thing. Yep. That is awesome.

[00:20:00] Yep. So, like, the markings, like, where the star and bar would be on the wing, it's all printed in the covering. It's so it's not raised. So if you put a layer of primer over it, it becomes invisible. It's like a fresh sheet of paper.

[00:20:12] Oh, that’s so cool.

[00:20:13] Yeah. But the color scheme that it comes in, in my opinion, is actually pretty cool. I like the desert camo. It's a desert camo.

[00:20:21] Yeah.

[00:20:22] But, yeah, $1999 with the gear. The gear, I think, is done. It's e-flight gear. So they've been doing electric gear for a while. So it's going to be…

[00:20:30] A good airplane.

[00:20:31] It's going to be a really sweet airplane. And I got to tell you… Are you? I think I would like to own one of these someday.

[00:20:40] Yeah.

[00:20:41] Yeah. It's a big airplane, but it breaks down into seven pieces, I think. And field assembly in less than 15 minutes.

[00:20:48] Oh, that's not bad. That's… Especially for seven pieces. That's what the website says, yeah. Is that like with a NASCAR pit crew? Or is that just like a normal guy?

[00:20:55] Well, I’m assuming that it would be. One guy shows up at the field with his airplane and he’s got a few times putting it together himself under his belt and he can do it in 15 minutes.

[00:21:05] Well, that’s not bad the field.

[00:21:06] So yeah, he actually says in his video, if you want to log in to go to Horizon, you can search for it there and they've got cool flight videos and the designer's actually talking about it. He transports it to the field. So he says in his compact car in the trunk.

[00:21:23] No, I don't. That's what he says. I'm sorry. I don't believe that. There's no way.

[00:21:27] It's hard to believe. But even if you break it up, put a couple of pieces in the trunk

[00:21:31] Because the fuselage if you strap some stuff to the ceiling, to the roof.

[00:21:35] Well, I mean, if you think about it, the fuselage is really not that long, because it’s a twin boom type airplane.

[00:21:41] Oh, so the booms come off.

[00:21:42] So the booms come off.

[00:21:43] The wind panels come off.

[00:21:44] The horizontal stabilizer, which is, the big, tall, long, that comes, off the boom. So, I mean.

[00:21:51] So it would definitely fit in your vehicle.

[00:21:53] Oh, absolutely.

[00:21:53] Oh go buy it.

[00:21:55] Well, it's not available yet. When it's available, go buy it. Yeah, $19.99.

[00:21:59] That’d be a good thing to talk about on here.

[00:22:01] How you put it together. Tom's new $2,000 ARF. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:06] I think so.

[00:22:06] But I think it’s really cool and I just thought it was worth a mention. On the episode:

[00:22:10] No, you showed me the videos, and I was kind of taken by it. I think that's neat. Except, and I hate to admit this, I don't like it in electric. Like, there's just something I think sounds better, looks better with the gas engines.

[00:22:25] So I have to, for the rare occurrence that it is, I have to disagree with you and I actually like the electric version.

[00:22:35] Really.

[00:22:35] Well, here’s why.

[00:22:36] Okay.

[00:22:37] So, the OV-10A Bronco, it's a turbine-powered, so it's a turboprop.

[00:22:42] Oh, okay. So, it doesn't make engine noises. I gotcha.

[00:22:46] So, two 30cc gassers, while, they sound awesome by themselves, I don't think they would sound right on this particular airplane. So, the whooshing sound of the electric motor sounds-

[00:22:57] Closer.

[00:22:58] Closer, in my opinion, to gassers singing in unison.

[00:23:04] Wow. We've switched.

[00:23:06] We have.

[00:23:06] We have flipped. That is so weird.

[00:23:08] Now, if I ever own one of these, it will be gasser.

[00:23:11] Oh well.

[00:23:12] It just yeah.

[00:23:12] Well, that's because you're scared of the batteries. I am. You don't want to-

[00:23:16] 12 Cells.

[00:23:16] 12 Cell battery.

[00:23:17] I got it. Like, how many volts is that? That's crazy.

[00:23:20] 12 Times. I didn’t do the math, I don’t know A lot.

[00:23:23] 12 Times 3.7, Right, Or something like that.

[00:23:25] Yeah. So, 36. I mean, like, golf cart voltage. Gracious. That's not that bad.

[00:23:31] Scary to me. But anyway, check it out. go to Horizon and check this thing out. It's really cool. Yes, it's really expensive. But, man, is it cool. So, that's what I wanted to say about new airplanes.

[00:23:44] And one of these days, Tom is going to have one.

[00:23:47] I’m not saying that I’m not going to own one someday.

[00:23:50] So, let's move on to Duelist updates, huh?

[00:23:52] Hey, airplanes, I can’t afford.

[00:23:54] Airplanes we have. First off, I want to remind you guys that if you go to the website, rcplanelab.com, you can click on Duelist Build Logs, and you can see a picture of all the stuff that we're working on.

[00:24:05] Yep. Don has been so nice to take the pictures I send him and put them on the website for you guys to laugh at.

[00:24:12] What do you mean laugh at? You do a good job. Mine look bad. But anyway, no, I digress. Yours looks good. What have I done on mine, you ask?

[00:24:21] Ron, what did you get done this week on your Duelist?

[00:24:24] Well, I actually, I think I made a good amount of progress. I would agree. So, the bottom part, we know we talked last time about how when I built that on the adjusto jig, I couldn't get to the bottom to actually finish that up. So, I did get the piece cut for that and glued in. Yep. But I wasn't really sure, like, a good way to keep pressure on that, because it's, once again, compound curve. So, it's weird the way that all goes together. But I just use masking tape.

[00:24:55] Like, I used a lot of masking tape over and over and over again. What, I mean, was that, is there a better way that you could think of that I should have done differently?

[00:25:04] Given the shape of the fuselage, I think that's a perfectly acceptable. And, in fact, when I get to my updates, that's probably similar to the technique I'm going to have to use.

[00:25:18] Okay.

[00:25:19] Yeah. So, no, I don't think there's anything wrong with using it.

[00:25:21] Okay, good. Well, then that's what I did. And then, after that was on.

[00:25:24] And it worked out well because it looks great.

[00:25:26] It did. And then I went out and sanded it. And I found out, by the way, it's very easy to sand through balsa with a belt sander. Like, all the way through balsa, to where you just have a big hole in your airplane. It's not a big hole. Well, no. But I'm saying it's easy to do that. It is. If you're not careful. Luckily, where I did that is in a spot to where you're not really going to see it, because it's going to be covered by the canopy. So, it's not that big of a deal.

[00:25:55] Well, you’ll still see it through the canopy right.

[00:25:56] Well, no, I’ll put something over it to where you won’t see it.

[00:25:58] So you’re going to put a covering patch over you.

[00:26:01] I'm going to patch up my, oopsie. And that, it can be covered with covering, even, and stuff. So, you won't ever know it's there, except for the fact that I just told everybody.

[00:26:12] Now, they'll be looking for it on all the pictures. So, make sure you get it in one of the pictures.

[00:26:15] I should actually. I’ll just do a close-up just on that And just label that.

[00:26:19] Guess where this hole is.

[00:26:22] But, no. So, I got that done. And then I was actually able to use my slot machine. Oh, my gosh. Isn't that fun? I love that thing. Isn't that fun? Like, I want to put more hinges in.

[00:26:31] Funny story. RC Groups, like, in the last week, five. Really? I've counted five of them have been sold on RC Groups.

[00:26:40] Yeah. Really?

[00:26:41] And they’re bringing about 40 bucks.

[00:26:42] Okay. Which is about right. No, I gave 20 for mine, didn't I?

[00:26:46] Yeah, yours was quite a bit cheaper than that.

[00:26:48] I got a good deal on it.

[00:26:50] But, I mean, market value. There you go.

[00:26:53] Yeah. Great tool. I remember when I bought that, you tried to get me to pay more for it.

[00:27:00] Yeah.

[00:27:00] Because when we were at Jim's house, and he was going through stuff, and he's like, well, I don't know, what do you think this is worth? And you're like, you looked at the thing, and it said like $30 or $29.99. You're like, oh, it's easily worth a lot more than that now. It's got to be like 40, 50 bucks.

[00:27:15] I was trying to help you out.

[00:27:16] Help me out? Yeah.

[00:27:17] Why? Because you would have felt better about spending more.

[00:27:21] He gave it to me for 20 bucks. He looked at you, and he's like, what about like 20? I was like, 20 is great. So, thank you, Tom. Anyway, I feel better now that I have that off my chest. But, no, it's a great tool that I absolutely love.

[00:27:35] And it’s fun to use.

[00:27:36] Well, right. And it does such a good job. I know it is. I'm not worried about cutting myself with the X-Acto knives anymore. Yes. Like, there's just something about…

[00:27:44] Even just from a safety standpoint, this thing is worth the money.

[00:27:47] Well, and the other thing that's good about it… It's certainly worth more than $20. Don't… You sound like you're a little bit jealous. Is that what it is? Are you a little…

[00:27:58] I paid considerably more than that for mine, but that’s okay.

[00:28:00] Same for your Justo jig. You paid more for that, too.

[00:28:02] Yeah, that I did.

[00:28:04] Anyway. Oh, salt and wounds is what we're doing now.

[00:28:09] It’s okay.

[00:28:10] But, no, the thing I like about that, too, that's different than when you use an X-Acto knife. X-Acto knives make slots, but they don't remove material. That's right. So, it's nice and easy to use the wing slot thing.

[00:28:23] Because it actually removes material.

[00:28:24] Because it actually is a saw.

[00:28:26] Yeah.

[00:28:26] And saws that out of the way. So, it works great. The other thing…

[00:28:30] So, here… Okay. If you don't mind, I'll talk about it real quick. So, using the X-Acto knife for cutting hinge slots. Fine. It does a fine job. And 90% of the time on our sport airplanes, it's just fine. But what it does, because it doesn't remove material, something has to go in there and take up that space, that the hinge is going to take up.

[00:28:54] Well, if you're not removing material and you're sticking a hinge in there, you're actually, making it bigger and thicker. That's right there. So, if you look carefully down the trailing edge after you've hinged with an X-Acto knife and not remove material, you can see bulges where the hinges are. And that's annoying.

[00:29:11] You really get into the things like that, though that like that would not bother me.

[00:29:15] Oh, drives me nuts.

[00:29:17] I know. That's why I don't want you to ever look at my airplane. Because the things that I don't worry about…

[00:29:22] Well, it won’t be a big deal because you used the proper tool.

[00:29:24] Not on this, but I’m sure there’s something else.

[00:29:25] So, there's a technique when you, if all you have to use is an X-Acto knife and you don't have the benefit of using a cool, slot machine from, Great Plains or an aero brooch, which is another tool that maybe we can talk about some other time. But anyway, you can use an X-Acto knife. But like once you make the slot, flip the knife blade around and use the back of the blade, the square edge of the back of the blade. Usually, they're kind of sharp corners.

[00:29:49] And usually, you can dig some material out with that. Oh, really? Especially if your ball is soft enough.

[00:29:54] Now what about…? I never had….

[00:29:56] You just want to get some material out of there so it doesn’t bolter, and you stick your hinge in there.

[00:29:59] I never had luck with them, but I bought the blades for cutting hinges.

[00:30:04] The Dubrow ones?

[00:30:05] Yeah, the ones that look like double horns. Yes. How do those…

[00:30:08] They work okay.

[00:30:09] Do they? Same idea. I couldn't get it to work.

[00:30:11] So, the… Well, there's a technique, like everything, right?

[00:30:14] Sure.

[00:30:14] So, you take the two prongs and you kind of work them in there to the proper depth. And then what that does is if you can imagine a cross-section view of that, now you have compressed that material towards the center to which you use the other hook-shaped tool that comes with that set to dig that material out.

[00:30:31] I didn’t get a hook-shaped tool, I just bought the blades.

[00:30:36] So did you buy a set of blades, or did you just buy the devil?

[00:30:39] No, it was just the blade, just the devil blade thing.

[00:30:40] Well, they’re available as a set.

[00:30:41] Oh, I didn't know that. So, I mean…

[00:30:43] Oh, it makes them with handles attached to them and everything. So, there's the horn, devil's horn thing that you talk about.

[00:30:49] Yeah.

[00:30:50] And there’s like a couple other tools, but then there’s another tool that you’re supposed to use after as a finishing tool that has a little hook on it.

[00:30:56] I did not know that.

[00:30:56] That you can dig out the material of the slot.

[00:30:58] That’s probably why I didn’t have a lot of luck with it then.

[00:31:01] Yeah.

[00:31:01] Because, like I said, what I bought was just that blade. Yeah. And that blade was just supposed to go into the end of your X-Acto knife. Right. Huh. Yeah.

[00:31:10] Well. They make those blades in a set, which I guess they make them individually too. I didn't even know you could buy them individually, but they make them in a set as blades that you can put in your X-Acto knife. And they also, Dubro makes a set that have handles attached to them and everything already.

[00:31:25] It might have been like a swap meet or something when I bought it. But, I mean, they were packaged. I mean, it wasn't just like an open box kind of thing where I was picking stuff out. So, it was new. It was new, yeah. So, well, that's good to know. But I don't have to worry about it because I have my slot machine.

[00:31:41] That does a wonderful job.

[00:31:42] That is an amazing job. Everybody should buy their own. So, yeah. And then, okay, moving on then. I also got to shape my elevator. I was very nervous about that.

[00:31:51] Looks very good.

[00:31:53] Thank you.

[00:31:53] I'm really impressed with how nice and even everything is. Like, all the lines are sharp and straight. Very good job.

[00:32:02] Well, that is because I used the belt sander. And, I mean, like, so it was a little bit longer than the belt sander. So, I still had to kind of flip it around. And when I was done, it had a little bit of issues with it still. So, I just sanded the rest of it by hand. Yeah, touched it up by hand. But, man, that was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. And so, I ended up using, okay, this goes back to quite a while ago.

[00:32:23] So, you, I had asked you about that center finder thing for the slot machine. That little black looking tool.

[00:32:31] I think yes.

[00:32:32] I know what you're talking about. It was like accordion shape or whatever. Yeah, because you said you were throwing it away. I love that thing. Like, I don't know why you were throwing that away. Like, to me, that's just sacrifice.

[00:32:45] Because I have something else that I can use in its place that I like better.

[00:32:48] What, that red thing? No. Like the actual Dubrow? No.

[00:32:51] Oh, I have one that was, it's a handy-dandy little molded plastic thing. It was made by Carl Goldberg Models.

[00:32:58] Okay.

[00:32:58] Carl Goldberg Models. Yeah.

[00:33:00] Yeah.

[00:33:00] And it's just this round white nylon tool has two kind of ears on it that are rounded on the insides of each. And centered exactly in the middle of them is a molded in point.

[00:33:12] Okay.

[00:33:13] And you take this thing and you kind of rotate it until both things are contacting one on the top and one on the bottom. And then you press this thing in and you slide it down and it creates a perfectly straight indentation along the center line of your trailing edge or leading edge.

[00:33:28] Oh.

[00:33:28] It works really, really well. And that's what I use.

[00:33:31] Well, that's kind of what I did with this other thing, but I just used a pencil. So I can actually see the mark, but yeah.

[00:33:37] You can see the mark. I come back usually with a Sharpie and fill in that line. And the Sharpie follows that line because it's an indentation in the wood. Sorry about that. Oh, okay. Because it's an indentation in the wood.

[00:33:47] Oh.

[00:33:48] Well, I still like that. Either way, yeah. I still like the thing that I have. I don't know what it is or where I even look for it.

[00:33:53] Yeah.

[00:33:54] I wouldn’t have no clue where to find that, Because it’s just such an odd-shaped, weird-looking little thing.

[00:33:59] But it works. I think it was probably made for cutting hinges. Because if you look, it's about the right width for that slot machine. Oh, yeah. And it's a self-centering thing, so it doesn't matter how thick it is. Right. But it's over-engineered, I guess, compared to the part you're talking about. But your thing doesn't actually line up to where you can just set the blade on it.

[00:34:22] No, it doesn't. It just marks. It just marks.

[00:34:24] That's all it does. Okay. And so I've seen center finders like that before, so I know what you're talking about. But anyway, so with that, I marked the center of that and then went ahead and just sanded to it. And it, yeah, I was very, like I said, I was concerned about doing that beforehand because I didn't have any more wood. And I knew you said you had some, but I didn't want to have to take any from you.

[00:34:43] But no, it worked first time, and I was very happy and proud of myself. So there's a lot of things I'm learning with this that as you're building things and doing things that you haven't done before, you get nervous about doing them.

[00:34:59] Apprehensive.

[00:34:59] Okay, apprehensive.

[00:35:00] How am I going to do this?

[00:35:03] And then how am I going to get to look good? How am I going to get it done without being made fun of by Tom? How am I,. I hope that doesn't really factor into your mind. Oh, it does.

[00:35:12] Oh gosh.

[00:35:13] There’s a lot of things that I’m like. Well, I got to hide this so he doesn’t see this.

[00:35:16] Oh, come on.

[00:35:16] I'm going to hurry up and build this a little bit farther so he can't see what I've done. I hope you don't really do that. No, I really do. Actually, there's sometimes I've done things like that, and it's like, oh, gosh. It's going to be easier to just move on than to pay for this for the next five years.

[00:35:32] Gosh, I sound like such a jerk.

[00:35:34] Well, at times. But anyway.

[00:35:39] Knowing is half the battle.

[00:35:41] That is true. And the takeaway from that, though, is, all the things that I was afraid of, all the things I was apprehensive about, you get through it step at a time. Right. And it's not difficult.

[00:35:54] No, not terribly.

[00:35:55] I mean really, you just got to get through your mind that the worst thing that’s going to happen is I’m going to mess a part up and I have to redo it.

[00:36:01] See, that surprises me that you're apprehensive about stuff like that, because you're all about figuring stuff out and figuring out ways to get things to work and stuff. So, I mean, it's really the same principle as, figuring out some new electronic device, really. I mean, there's really not much at stake.

[00:36:17] No, you're right. There's not.

[00:36:20] Except apparently your feelings.

[00:36:22] Well, and that's – I don't want to upset you, but, yeah. I mean, that's the biggest thing. Like, I don't want to say have you looking over my shoulder, but there's been a lot of times where I know what I do doesn't live up to your standards of building. I'm so sorry. No, no, no, no. You're a perfectionist when it comes to that stuff. Like, just what you were talking about before where you can see the bulges with the hinges.

[00:36:45] I would not in a million years think to look at that, let alone be annoyed by it. And it bugs you.

[00:36:51] On my – well, hold on. Let me rephrase that. On my airplanes, it bugs me. I don't go around looking at everyone's airplanes critiquing their hinge jobs. I really don't.

[00:37:01] Just mine.

[00:37:01] Well, no, because we were talking about it, and that’s one reason I like to remove material from the hinge pockets.

[00:37:07] Right.

[00:37:08] Because on my airplanes I don’t like that look, but I don’t –.

[00:37:11] And it’s a good hint.

[00:37:12] I don't even notice it on anyone else's airplanes other than mine. Okay. True story. Okay.

[00:37:18] Really. No, I believe you. I don't – That's fine.

[00:37:21] I feel so bad now because I feel like –

[00:37:25] It’s okay, I expect it from you. I mean it’s –.

[00:37:28] That doesn’t make me feel better.

[00:37:32] That's why I said it. I know. No, but like I said, it's one of those things to where it's not as hard as I expected it to be. And like I said, just take it step at a time. And this – honestly, so like this – What? What?

[00:37:47] You said it's not as hard as I expected it to be. And I really wanted to say. Okay. 12 years old. I can't help it.

[00:37:57] So anyway –.

[00:37:59] It wasn’t as hard as – or as difficult as you were expecting.

[00:38:03] I can't even get that out. No, it was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be. But what I was going to say, though, like this is probably – would you consider this like more of an advanced type build? I mean like –

[00:38:14] It’s not a simple build by any stretch.

[00:38:16] It's not – it's not a square side of fuselage. It's nothing like that. So there's a lot of things I'm dealing with for the first time. Yes. Obviously going completely from – not scratch, but from plans, whatever. You're definitely not building a kit. Right. And it's one of those things, though. Like I said, just as I'm getting through it, I'm feeling more confident in doing more and wanting to do more. And getting more excited about doing more.

[00:38:42] Right.

[00:38:43] So if you’re still listening and you’re thinking about doing a balsa build or something like that, just take my advice and just do it.

[00:38:51] Jump in.

[00:38:52] Get yourself an easy kit and start off with it, like a beginner type plane. And just try it because balsa is fun.

[00:39:00] It really is.

[00:39:01] Now, I don't like a lot of the sanding dust and all that. There is some negativity to it. Yeah. But there's a lot of –

[00:39:07] Yeah, it's not all rainbows and unicorns. No.

[00:39:09] But there are more rainbows and unicorns than there are – Than there are – Non-rainbows and non-unicorns. Exactly. So –

[00:39:15] Yeah.

[00:39:16] Yeah. So like I said, I've got a lot of – Well, I'm glad you're enjoying the build.

[00:39:19] I really –.

[00:39:20] I am. I’m ready to move on to another airplane And then another airplane after that, because I still have a couple of them that will be coming up.

[00:39:27] Well, yeah, I mean, I have airplanes, I want to build too.

[00:39:31] Well, there we go. I think yours is a longer list than mine. But, okay, so the last thing I think I wanted to talk about on mine, I got my speed controller and batteries delivered today. I am very, very nervous now about how much weight I'm going to have to put on the tail in order to get that balanced out. So I might be cutting the wing a little bit and trying to get those batteries recessed into the actual wing itself.

[00:39:58] I still think a better option is mounting them in the fuselage.

[00:40:01] Do you? I really do. Well, I don't know. I mean, we'll ask you how that goes.

[00:40:05] I mean it’s got to be what works best for you because, like you said, mounting them in the fuselage, essentially on top of the wing, when the airplane’s right side up, will be a pain to swap out the batteries, Unless you build some cool hatch with the….

[00:40:19] No, that’s way too much work.

[00:40:20] Not as much as you would think. I mean because the shape is already there.

[00:40:24] True.

[00:40:24] We can talk about that.

[00:40:25] Yeah, we'll figure that out. My other option, too, I guess, is just get smaller batteries and just not fly as long. But I don't like that as much.

[00:40:33] So what kind of time do you figure you’ll get with these 5,000 milliamp batteries?

[00:40:38] Under full throttle? Well, okay. No, I mean, that's what I'm figuring out. Under full throttle.

[00:40:43] Okay.

[00:40:43] Like, probably nine minutes. Oh, gosh. Eight to nine minutes.

[00:40:47] I probably won’t even get that on mine.

[00:40:49] Well, that's fine. With the nitro. But you can just come right back down and fill up and take off again.

[00:40:55] Well, that's true. That's true.

[00:40:58] I'm more worried about the hour that I have to wait in between for batteries to charge. But anyway, so we'll figure that out. I don't know. I've still got a few things to do on it, but hopefully it'll be done pretty quick. Oh, and I ordered covering today, too.

[00:41:11] Talk about that.

[00:41:12] Well, I don't know how it's going to turn out. I think it's called, because I found it on eBay. New cover. New cover. Is that what it is? Yep. Okay. So I ended up getting white, metallic, blue, and silver. So we'll see.

[00:41:26] Oh, switching it up.

[00:41:28] Yeah.

[00:41:29] So you’re not going to do the red black. Silver, red black.

[00:41:32] Well, I have black. So I have plenty of black if I need black.

[00:41:37] Okay.

[00:41:38] But yeah, I didn’t buy any red this time.

[00:41:40] Oh, I’ll be darned.

[00:41:41] Weird, isn't it? Almost like I just got, like, a Red Bull plane and thought, huh? I wasn't going to say anything.

[00:41:47] But yeah, those are a little bit of yellow in there too somewhere.

[00:41:51] Well, I have a whole roll of cub yellow.

[00:41:52] Well, there you go.

[00:41:53] From when I had my cub from the six-foot roll of MonoKote.

[00:41:57] Yeah.

[00:41:58] Or I don’t know the difference.

[00:41:59] You don't know what I think is funny? What? That you're not going to cover it in the red, black, silver. Why? Because that's your colors. That's sort of your thing.

[00:42:09] Well, I don’t need every single airplane. I have being red, black and silver.

[00:42:13] No, but I mean, they do look good together.

[00:42:15] They do. But, like, when I do the Yak, it's probably going to be in that color scheme. And so I don't want that many airplanes being the same.

[00:42:24] All right.

[00:42:24] And plus, I want to see the metallic blue. I like metallic blue. So I want to see what this one looks like. Hopefully it's okay. I bet it will be fine. Yeah, I bet it will. But, this is Monday that we're recording this. I'm hoping I get it before Thanksgiving because I've got four days coming up to where I don't have anything going on. I mean, we're not doing Thanksgiving with family this year. It's just going to be us here at home.

[00:42:45] So we're smoking some stuff, and it's going to be an easy dinner. So I'm going to have a lot of time just to do this.

[00:42:52] Funny story. We usually travel for Thanksgiving also. We go to, see my mom. We're not doing that this year.

[00:42:58] Yeah.

[00:42:58] And we're going even easier on the dinner. We bought our dinner pre-made. Did you really?

[00:43:03] We ordered it ahead of time. I’m a little jealous.

[00:43:05] First time we've ever done that, and it just made sense this time because it's just going to be us. It's going to be a small dinner. Why go through the huge mess of making a huge dinner for just the three or four of us that are going to be there? Five maybe at the max.

[00:43:19] Yeah.

[00:43:21] So, yeah, we pre-ordered it from Hy-Vee.

[00:43:24] Yeah, good for you. That's awesome.

[00:43:25] The price, we probably couldn’t cook the dinner ourselves. For the price, I mean, by the time you figure, a 20-pound bird and then all the stuff that you use to make the sides and all that stuff. I mean it’s going to be a wash and we don’t have to do any of the cooking.

[00:43:41] Yeah. That's awesome.

[00:43:42] Or make any of the mess or any of that.

[00:43:44] Good for you guys.

[00:43:45] For the first time ever, yeah, we pre-ordered one. We'll see. It may not be as tasty as the turkey that Lori always makes.

[00:43:53] All right. Way off topic. So let's move back. Sorry. Yeah. Sorry. What did you get down on yours?

[00:43:58] Okay. So I think I got some stuff done. Not as much done as I got the previous weekend because I didn't have as many days to work on it. But I did get some stuff done. So I think where I left off was I had the formers. I got out my adjuster jig, put it together, put your standoffs on it that you made for me, that you printed for me. And I think I had my fuselage formers on the jig. I think.

[00:44:22] I don't think so. Last I heard, you just had the stuff set up. You didn't even have it lined out yet.

[00:44:26] Okay. Well, I have my fuselage in the bones.

[00:44:31] Okay.

[00:44:31] So basically, the formers are actually, it's off of the jig already. So I have the formers are on the big side, the crutch. I call them crutches, but they're stringers that run front to back. That is also the datum.

[00:44:47] Oh, okay.

[00:44:47] You should know that.

[00:44:48] I should, but I didn’t.

[00:44:50] Well, that's the datum from which everything else is taken, I've discovered, measurements anyways. So anyway, the fuselage is pretty much ready for sheeting. And I have the sheets glued together. They're actually taped together and drying right now. Oh, cool. I taped them together before I left to come out here tonight.

[00:45:12] And then I was going to say, we found another error in those plans, by the way. So you sent me a picture that that datum line didn't line up to the plans when you were laying it out on the side view of the airplane. It was off by what, eighth inch, three sixteenths, give or take?

[00:45:32] Yeah, it was like three sixteenths, I think.

[00:45:34] So I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong because that's, it didn't make any sense that it was that far off. Well, when I looked at the actual files that I traced from, which is where they show you the actual 2D view of those, the formers, the formers that they have printed on the plans don't match the formers that they have. I mean, it doesn't line up.

[00:45:55] In the view.

[00:45:56] In the side view of the airplane. I'm not surprised. There's another one that's a little messed up. So, yeah, when we actually built it, and I didn't think anything about trying to line those up to the actual plan after I cut them because I knew it was cut right onto what the file said. And you put it on top, and I was like, well, crap, did I mess up his? Did I change something? Did something get messed up?

[00:46:18] Maybe it was, I don't know, a millimeter to inch designation or something that I missed somewhere or something got shrunk or something. But, no, it's an error in the plan. So, I feel vindicated.

[00:46:31] Oh, yeah, it definitely wasn't your fault. And I only noticed it because, funny story.

[00:46:36] Is it, though? We'll see. Well, it's kind of funny. Okay.

[00:46:38] So, I was trying to figure out which former was which because the guy that cut them for me didn't print the number of the former on the former for me. So, I was lining them up on the plan to make sure I had the right former in the right location. And that's when I noticed the little weirdness about where the crutch cut out from each former was.

[00:46:55] The reason you didn’t have that on there, though, is because you said you didn’t want it.

[00:47:00] Well, that's beside the point. That's true.

[00:47:04] You’re right, I offered. I mean I said you want me to put the numbers on there.

[00:47:06] And I thought it would be just an easy matter of matching. But, believe it or not, it's not exactly like it's. Oh, really? You have to really kind of, oh, well, this former could be. Because not every former goes all the way to the bottom and all the way to the top of the fuselage.

[00:47:20] Thickness, though, is what I went with. Like how wide it was. How wide. Yeah. Because that, tapers to the back. And that's easier to figure out.

[00:47:27] Well, unfortunately, because of the area that I have to build in, I have to cover one portion of the plan with my humongous adjuster jig. So, I had to cover the portion of the plan that had kind of the width. And I would have to move it out of the way every time I needed to see the top view. Anyway, my fuselage is ready for basically sheeting. So, I'm hoping this weekend or my next day off, whenever that is, maybe it'll be Thursday with Thanksgiving.

[00:47:51] Yeah, you don’t have to cook.

[00:47:52] I don't have to cook. So, I'm hoping to get to that. And I think I'm going to pretty much use, I might do things a little bit differently. Like I'm going to make a reference point, a couple of reference points on the airframe, on the fuselage framework, that I can transfer to the wing skins so that I can know that I'm getting wing skins in exactly the right spot. And I think I'm going to go ahead and make the wing saddle cut out in the skins before I glue them on.

[00:48:21] I did that. Oh, you did? Excuse me. I did that. Yeah. All right.

[00:48:24] Okay, cool. So, that's, yeah.

[00:48:26] I was probably a half inch big on the whole thing. Oh, I got you. I did a little bit long so I had enough room to, actually get it tight, I guess. Because, like I said, I used the vacuum bag on mine. So, I didn't want so much extra wood sitting up top to where when it was under vacuum, it was either going to be too close and not actually be able to pull it. Or, yeah, snap because it pulled it too much. Okay. That's why I did that.

[00:48:54] So, yeah, pretty much going to line them up on my two reference points that I'll incorporate into my template. And then, yeah, I'll wet them with ammonia. And then I'll tape them in place and let that sit for a night to sort of give them, let them set up in that shape so they'll be easier to glue on with the tight bond when I go to do that. Nice. And then I'm going to use lots and lots of masking tape and rubber bands.

[00:49:20] As I mentioned, the fuselage is off of the jig, so I was very happy to completely disassemble my adjuster jig and clean it up a little bit and put it back in the box that it came in. And now it is stored away for…

[00:49:34] That lasted all of like two days.

[00:49:35] Yeah. I wasn't… Well, I didn't build my wing on the jig because I got the jig after I'd already started, so…

[00:49:41] Yeah.

[00:49:42] Anyway, it's off the jig. The jig is put away, so now I have my building table back. And funny story, so I deviated from the plans on the wing where I mounted the gear because, if you recall, I wanted slightly longer gear legs for prop clearance. That's an issue with the… That's been an issue with the dualist on all of the versions, right?

[00:50:07] Mm-hmm.

[00:50:08] The Dave Platt Mark II version sort of corrected that, and they did move the gear out a little bit. Well, I put the gear in the position that is called for on the plans, but I cut my legs long and bent them. So my tires almost touch at the wing root when they're retracted, right? So I have lots of gear leg. So I've got lots of ground clearance, because I needed the clearance for the pipes and all that kind of stuff anyway. What I didn't think about was the nose gear.

[00:50:43] So I got my fuselage, and this is before I glued anything together, thank goodness. I was looking, I set my nose gear on the print, and I'm like, oh, yeah, this is going to work out fine. I'll mount it, it's a firewall-mounted gear instead of a rail-mounted gear, so that's fine. I made myself a quarter-inch F1, the first, fuselage former. And I'm lining everything up on the plan. I'm like, oh, this is going to look great.

[00:51:07] And then I was like, oh, I wonder how this will sit compared to the, to the gear and the wing. So I'm like, okay. So then I set the gear on the side view on the fuselage. I set the mains approximately where they're going to sit on the plan and noticed right away that my gear legs were, like, extending off of my building table. I'm like, oh, dear. So then I extended the nose gear and put it in position, and yeah, there's, like, a two-inch difference between lengths.

[00:51:35] So like the airplane would sit like at an extremely nose-down attitude if I didn’t do anything.

[00:51:40] Yeah, which is bad.

[00:51:41] Which is bad, right? So I'm like, oh, so now what do I do? So I'm trying to, I'm brainstorming, trying to figure out, well, I can just make the nose gear leg longer, which is fine. I can, cut the gear, put a robo strut on it to, to, with a set screws and all that kind of stuff to make it longer. Well, but then, when it's retracted, it's retracting into the leading edge of the wing.

[00:52:02] So then I'm going to have it cut a slot, and then I don't want to get into that. So what I did was I extended F1 out an inch and a half.

[00:52:13] So where I'm going with this. Oh, yours is longer.

[00:52:15] Now, my fuselage is longer than yours.

[00:52:18] I’m going to have a four-foot nose on it.

[00:52:21] I haven’t cut my blocks yet for the nose.

[00:52:23] Neither have I. Speaking of which, how do you do that? That was one thing I wanted to ask. So I still have to do my nose, obviously. What do you do, like, with the blocks and stuff? Is it quarter-inch, like, that you just laminate together, or what are you going to do?

[00:52:35] You can do it that way. Yeah, you can, I mean, whatever you have available, you can use. Which I have quarter-inch. Even if you wanted to build up a nose kind of like a three-dimensional tail group. Like, how you built up the horizontal stab? You could kind of do the same thing with the nose if you wanted to, just in three dimensions instead of two.

[00:52:57] Myself. I’m going to laminate whatever big blocks of balsa I have, sand the one end of it nice and flat, stick it to the nose with double-sided tape or whatever, and then basically carve it until I have a nose shape. I haven’t looked through my blocks to see exactly what I have available to use.

[00:53:18] If I have one big block that would be perfect for that, all I would do is trace the outline on the block, shape it to that, glue it onto the nose, and then use my razor plane to finish it off. That's basic. I mean, you can do it however you want. And then I'm going to hollow mine out as much as possible.

[00:53:36] Well, I’m probably going to have to do the same, because I do not need any more nose weight at all.

[00:53:41] Well, if you put the batteries in the fuselage, you may not need to worry about it.

[00:53:45] We’ll see.

[00:53:46] We'll see. So anyway, yeah. So my fuselage is ready for sheeting. The sheets are gluing or are drying right now. And the nose gear situation I have figured out. I moved that F1 farther out, an inch and a half, to give room for a longer nose gear leg. And now I will have clearance for maybe even 12-inch props if I want to run them. It's going to be sitting very, very tall. It may look a little goofy, but I don't care.

[00:54:14] But it's not the plans, Tom. What happened to that?

[00:54:16] Well, yeah.

[00:54:19] I made a slight….

[00:54:22] True.

[00:54:24] No, but a slight deviation is okay.

[00:54:27] I give you permission. In this case, it wasn't for form. It was for function.

[00:54:31] Yeah.

[00:54:32] I had to be able to get… because we fly off of a grass field.

[00:54:35] Yeah.

[00:54:36] And prop clearance, is an issue. I don't want to be fighting, especially if, no one has been out to mow the field and we happen to have a day off with no wind and we can go fly. Oh, well, I can't fly the doulas today because the grass is too tall.

[00:54:49] Which I will say they actually do a decent job of keeping that cut.

[00:54:52] They do a very good job. Yeah. Pat does a good job at the field there. He took very good care of it this year. But, yeah, I just don't want to get in that sort of situation. So, yeah. And she's going to be sitting a little bit taller than most other duelists, I think.

[00:55:07] But that's a good thing. Yeah.

[00:55:09] So I feel really good about where I’m at. I’m still just a few steps behind you, I think.

[00:55:17] Yeah. That's okay.

[00:55:18] But if I have a good few days to work on it, I’ll be ready for covering probably about the same time, if not just right after you.

[00:55:25] Yeah.

[00:55:26] And I think we're on, I think we may be on track to fly these things January 1st.

[00:55:31] We better be. I mean like that. There’s no reason. I think that’s going to happen.

[00:55:35] I mean, I really, I feel like, I feel like I'm in a, like, I don't see any roadblocks, at least in the construction of mine. The only thing I see for yours is maybe the balance thing, figuring out where you're going to put the batteries. But even that, an evening, you can have that sorted out, I think.

[00:55:51] Yeah, I’m just nervous to actually start cutting into my wing. I don’t want to have to do that, but I’m going to have to do that.

[00:55:58] Maybe not.

[00:56:00] We’ll see. I don’t want to put the batteries in the fuselage. I just think it’s going to be so much more difficult to put the batteries in and out.

[00:56:08] I don't think it's going to be as difficult. Especially, like, the base of the cockpit is the perfect shape for a hatch. I mean, it's like screaming, hey, cut me just right along this outline, and then there's a place to put in your batteries without removing the wing. Easy peasy.

[00:56:30] Yeah. Maybe. We'll see. I mean, that might happen.

[00:56:32] Anyway, that's the only, that's the only real challenge I see for either of us is figuring out balance. Yeah. Because I, with mine, I have really no idea yet. I mean, I haven't gotten it complete enough to a point where I can figure out, well, do I need to put the rails for the servos aft in the fuselage or forward, or should I mount them in the tail? I haven't, hopefully I can get to that point after I, after I sheath the fuselage.

[00:56:57] I can kind of get an idea: pin the tail feathers on and figure all that out.

[00:57:03] Yeah. We'll get there. And I think you're right. Once I get everything together to where I can actually bolt the wing on, get the gear on, then I'm going to know exactly where I am.

[00:57:10] Yep.

[00:57:11] And really the only thing that I have to move around is going to be the battery.

[00:57:14] Yeah.

[00:57:14] So cool.

[00:57:16] Yep.

[00:57:16] So, that's where we're at. Yeah. So, you also wanted to talk about things that you are thankful for.

[00:57:21] Well, right. So, today's Monday.

[00:57:25] Thanksgiving is Thursday. Thanksgiving is Thursday. If you're in the United States.

[00:57:29] Right, right. Which we are.

[00:57:32] Yeah, we are. That's where we are. That's true.

[00:57:34] So, by the time folks are listening to this, Thanksgiving will have come and gone. And hopefully everybody had a great time at Thanksgiving, even with the restrictions here in our state. Anyway, we can't have gatherings. So, a lot of things, as we mentioned, have been put off. Like, I'm not traveling to see my family, and, you're not having a big get-together with yours.

[00:57:54] So, since it's Thanksgiving, I mean, it's never a bad time to talk about things we're thankful for. So, how about it? What are you thankful for? Like, in the hobby, I mean. Like, as far as the RC airplane hobby goes.

[00:58:11] Well, that's a tough one. Because I honestly haven't thought about this, so you're putting me on the spot.

[00:58:16] Oh, would you like me to go first?

[00:58:17] No, that’s okay, because I don’t want to cop out and just copy your answers.

[00:58:22] Oh, I'll copy yours if I like them. I have no problem with that. I have no problem with that. Sorry about that.

[00:58:28] So, to be honest, like, I'm very thankful that we are in a position where I can enjoy the hobby. I know it's an expensive hobby. It's a hobby that puts a lot of stress on family.

[00:58:43] It can.

[00:58:44] It can. I guess not necessarily, but, it's a hobby I enjoy on my own. I do have Cody sometimes that likes to do stuff with it.

[00:58:52] Which I think is cool.

[00:58:54] Crystal, obviously, it's not her thing, which is fine. I mean, that's a normal thing. But I'm thankful that, like I said, we have the means to enjoy it. We have the support of my family to let me do this, to let me do the podcast, to let me do the airplanes, to let me do everything that we're going to be doing in the future. It's just, it's a nice, thankful feeling to know that I have support from my family for this.

[00:59:19] Yeah, I think that’s swell.

[00:59:23] And I’m thankful for our listeners.

[00:59:25] Thank you, everybody, for listening. Thank you to our patrons. Thank you to everybody that's reached out to us and given us input on what they want to hear. Thank you for those that have sent us emails. Thank you for those that have, filled out the survey and just given us any kind of feedback. It's nice hearing from you guys, and I'm thankful for everybody that listens.

[00:59:44] Yeah.

[00:59:45] And now it's your turn, Tom.

[00:59:46] Yeah, the feedback has been especially helpful.

[00:59:49] Very much.

[00:59:49] I really appreciate that. So, yeah, some of the things I'm thankful for, just like you said, I'm thankful for the listeners who tune in to listen to us ramble. So, even though we would probably do it anyway, it's nice to know that people are out there actually listening. And the feedback we get through the survey has been really nice. There's been some really, really thoughtful, nice comments about you and I and the relationship we have. So, that I'm thankful for.

[01:00:21] And speaking of that, I'm thankful that you asked me to join you on this adventure. It's been fun. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I do. So, thank you for including me on that. More specifically, I am thankful for 2.4 gigahertz. I mean, I cannot tell you the last time I've had any, like, interference-type issues with any of my 2.4 equipment.

[01:00:53] So, the first, when you just said that, for some reason, I went to internet with 2.4 gigahertz routers. And I was like, why, is he making fun of my internet now because it's so bad here? But, no, I got you.

[01:01:05] Specifically Spectrum. I'm really thankful for the technology. And, Futaba and all the manufacturers have it also. But, so, I'm really grateful for that. And also, lithium polymer batteries. I mean, how much have these things revolutionized, especially electric flight? Oh, my gosh. And brushless motors, right? So, for that, I'm thankful.

[01:01:29] I’m thankful for the technology that has allowed us to really push the envelope, especially with electric flight.

[01:01:35] Yeah.

[01:01:36] I remember the days of flying electrics with, 12-cell nickel cadmium batteries. And what a nightmare that was. So, anyway, those are a few of the more specific things that I'm thankful for. But, most importantly, like you said, I'm thankful for my family who puts up with me.

[01:01:54] It's, yeah. It's good to be kind of doing it introspective and look inside sometimes and just kind of reflect, I guess, on how things have gone. And, what we have accomplished as a, not only us with the podcast, but as a family, as a, as a group of friends with RC stuff. the friends we've made from this, it's, it is pretty cool.

[01:02:18] Well, yeah, you met me. I mean, you really hit the jackpot with that one. I’m just teasing.

[01:02:25] No, I mean, you're right. I mean, it's amazing how these little toy airplanes that we fling around in the sky really have so much more meaning when it comes to the relationships you build and the people you meet and the things you learn. I mean, it's, it's, from a bird's eye view looking down, it's just a weird little piece of wood or foam or whatever that you just stand there and you play with this toy. But it really goes much, much deeper than that.

[01:02:50] And yeah, so for everybody involved in this, I’m very, very grateful for it.

[01:02:55] Well, yeah, it’s therapy for me anyway. I mean, it’s my, it’s my, my release, if you will. I have a bad day at work or whatever. Go downstairs for an hour or whatever and I’m right as rain.

[01:03:07] And you’re happy again.

[01:03:09] Yeah. So, yeah, so those are a few of the things that, that I'm thankful for. And certainly the accessibility of the hobby cannot be understated. Like I remember getting started in the hobby used to be an extremely expensive endeavor.

[01:03:26] Yeah.

[01:03:26] And the RC hobby now is available to more people than it’s ever been available to.

[01:03:32] No, it is. You're right. I mean, I, I, it's funny because I laugh. I, I don't know if I would have gone the same route had I known when I first walked into that hobby shop and saw that airplane there and thought, what, let's try this. Had I known how all encompassing it was going to be, how expensive, I mean, how many thousands of dollars has been spent, really just on these little toy airplanes.

[01:03:59] I was going to say I don’t think I would have done the same thing, but I, I do, I, I would have done the same thing. Oh, absolutely, I mean there’s, I wouldn’t have changed anything about it.

[01:04:07] Me personally, I would, I wouldn't change a thing. I might have, I don't think about what I've spent, so maybe that helps. I, I tend to not think about it, but, but what, hobbies cost. Absolutely.

[01:04:19] It doesn't matter what hobby you're in. Oh yeah. things cost money and if you can get enjoyment out of it, then it's worth every penny.

[01:04:26] Yeah. Yeah. So happy Thanksgiving, everyone belated by the time you're listening to this. I hope, hope everybody was able to do something cool for Thanksgiving and if not, our thoughts are with you.

[01:04:38] Yeah.

[01:04:39] And if you're not, celebrating Thanksgiving, if you're some of our listeners who are, in other countries or whatever that don't observe Thanksgiving, well, just because you don't observe your, Thanksgiving in your country doesn't mean you shouldn't reflect on what you're thankful for sometimes.

[01:04:54] There you go. How about that? I, I like the way you said that. So, all right, Tom, is there anything else you want to get to on this episode?

[01:05:01] Nope.

[01:05:02] That's all I got. Well, until next time, I'm Ron.

[01:05:06] And I'm Tom.

[01:05:07] Good night. Good night.

[01:05:09] We hope you enjoyed this episode of the RC Plane Lab podcast. For topic suggestions, to ask questions, or to give any feedback, connect with us at rcplanelab.com or email us direct at either ron at rcplanelab.com or tom at rcplanelab.com. You can also text us or leave us a voicemail at 818-351-9846. Please subscribe, rate, and review us on your favorite podcast app. Until next time, may your landings be gentle.