Ep 21: Telemaster issues, Tom’s old friends, and Tom forgets to do a preflight.

[00:00:04] Welcome to RC Plane Lab, a podcast for anyone interested in rc airplane. 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. Now here are your.

[00:00:35] Coach Ron and Tom. Hello everyone and welcome to the RC Plane Lab podcast. I’m Ron and I’m Tom. This week we’re going to kind of take it easy, since I think our last episode was a little more in depth, so let’s, let’s kind of have fun with this one. Certainly more serious, yeah, well, let’s have some fun with this one. Just kind of talk about some things that we’ve been up to lately. Okay, it was actually kind of nice. We spent all day together today working on airplanes and I met one of your old friends and we’ll talk about that a little bit later in the show. Cool, because I, I, I love the.

[00:01:11] Stories you get from people- yeah, yeah, we talked about it before- kind of what brings you back to the hobby. But knowing different people- and I’m normally not a people person, like really I’m not- I have a small circle as well. But when you get, like, when you have that common interest and you can actually talk to somebody about something, it’s always interesting hearing their life story, hearing what they did, the things that they kind of took away from the hobby. But we’ll circle back to that a little bit. The first thing I want to talk about is this: Telemaster. So we’ve, we’ve got it.

[00:01:47] Together. We’ve flown it a few times but I think three flights post trash can, post trash can flights. So it’s been fun. I still have not got to fly it. I think there’s there’s something I don’t understand. The rc gods do not want you behind the stakes, it seems like it. So I’m not the nitro guy. Tom is the nitro guy. I feel like he kind of lied to me with this airplane because I you

[00:02:19] Know, we decided to rebuild it and I kind of took it on because we talked about making it into a gas airplane, gasoline powered, which was the original plan. Was that to use that gasoline engine and we

[00:02:32] Followed that plan but it was a gas powered airplane briefly never flew that way no you taxied.

[00:02:40] Around that way. I did a little bit, but the problem was so, like I said, we had a bunch of feedback from the, from the, from the ignition right. Instead of sorting that out- which I kind of think we probably should have, maybe we decided to simply switch it over to nitro I. It has been probably four years since I’ve flown anything nitro, because I know I have not flown anything or taken anything to the field. That was nitro powered since before my daughter was born.

[00:03:13] Yeah, and that’s kind of how I judge things now, like pre-piper and post-piper, because everything else is a blur. Yes, but understood. So we, we took this out to the field with the second engine that was on it, SuperTigre 75. Oh, thank you because I have no clue. So anyway, we, we, we got it out there and Tom brought everything to fly it, he provided the fuel, he provided the tools, all that kind of stuff. So I didn’t pay much attention, I guess, to what you’re supposed to use for.

[00:03:43] For nitro and I, I completely forgot so anyway, so we, we flew it the first time by we. I mean, I watched and cheered in the background. It was very underpowered it was, and it was under propped and under propped, but so fine, it flew and it did okay. But I wasn’t comfortable flying it when it was- I mean, it was full throttle and it looked like it was just barely lumbering around, yeah, so like a

[00:04:08] Telemaster flies well okay it seemed very heavy it’s because we’re so used to overpowering.

[00:04:16] All of our airplanes these days because it’s so easy to engines make so much power today than they did back in the 80s so that Telemaster when it had the 75 on it now granted it was, it was anemic. Okay, it wasn’t making for some reason. Whatever that issue is with that engine, I’ll deal with it someday- but it wasn’t making the power it should. Probably more than likely because I had the wrong prop on it, but they generally telemasters and planes of

[00:04:49] That era that design. That’s how they flew- just slow and they look like they’re just lumbering along because they are, and that’s how they were designed. That’s why how they were designed to fly.

[00:05:01] Yeah, it looked like it was about ready to fall out of the air. I mean that it that’s. I understand. That’s what I saw, yeah. So anyway, like I said, underpowered, we decided to go out the next weekend, which was last weekend, and flew it again with a. Well, basically it was a thunder tiger 90, so a little bit bigger Chinese copy of the thunder tiger tsk. I believe it was the.

[00:05:29] Initials on the side of it but the knockoff version yeah but it had plenty of power it did have plenty.

[00:05:33] Of power and I was two flights. I was excited to see how well it flew and I was ready to get behind the sticks and actually take it up. Yeah, decide to play around a little bit with the flaps- and we put spoilers on it too, because we weren’t quite sure how. How floaty it was going to be. Fun with the flaps, by the way I. So I saw, but didn’t get to. Didn’t get to experience that, hopefully this weekend. So never have you seen. Apparently this happened before. You said no, so you were flying it the last time. You were going to fly it around a couple times. Then you’re going to

[00:06:05] Land and I was going to take off with it yep as soon as you got up and got to a cruising altitude I.

[00:06:10] Guess what happened. Oh, the engine just stopped. It was running fine at about I don’t know, it was probably have not even half throttle- and the engine just quit running. There was like a loud pop. It wasn’t just slight noise, just nothing, almost like it hit something. Almost is what it’s kind of sounded like. In fact, I think that was the comment you made. Did you hit something? Yeah, and there were no pieces flying. I didn’t see anything like from an impact or anything like that. So yeah, but yeah, the engine just quit. So you were, we’re done flying at that point.

[00:06:44] You brought it down, landed it in one piece, yeah you, yeah, you brought it back, landed in one piece, used the flaps on the landing, which was a nice, nice landing. It was actually more a smoother landing than most of the people I see flying out of that field with power. Unfortunately, I did, I did.

[00:07:03] Have to get it pretty far away from us. It was low enough. I didn’t want to risk a turn to final and then try to land upwind closer to us, so I just landed down the runway. We had a quite.

[00:07:15] Quite a nice walk ahead of us. Yeah, it wasn’t too bad. I didn’t get winded so it couldn’t have been too far, but anyway. So you took it apart and you found something that you said you have never seen.

[00:07:28] Happen. Never seen this before. So the crankshaft- the pin that protrudes off the back of the crank shaft that engages a connecting rod, actually sheared right off. In fact, the pin is still in the connecting rod, but the pin is no longer a part of the crankshaft, which it’s it’s weird to look at.

[00:07:50] Because you can tell in the when we were looking at it you could tell that there was a void.

[00:07:55] Yeah definitely a casting flaw in the crankshaft yeah there was not an actual like.

[00:08:01] Full, solid piece. Yeah, that was coming off the end of the crankshaft and that’s disappointing, because, really, that motor flew it pretty well. It did. For some reason, though, this plane, when I, when I looked it up online, it says that the flying weight should be around nine ish pounds. Very optimistic, oh, is that what it is? Because what? Because when I, when I weighed it, it was a little over 12 pounds, and that seems a heavy girl, pretty heavy, yeah, and I don’t. I mean

[00:08:33] We haven’t done anything really to it. No, wait, it’s, it’s pretty much so. This was the our version, right? Yeah, built by the factory, right, and we, we haven’t, we haven’t really done anything, added anything to the airframe. No, in fact, if anything, we probably have lightened it, because we stripped off the old covering, which was solar film, I think, and covered it with monaco, which is actually a little bit lighter per yard than solar film is. So, yeah, I don’t, I don’t, I mean, it’s just, I think, an optimistic.

[00:09:12] Representation by the company you think so I think so maybe I mean like when the when the kit was built.

[00:09:18] Would it have been like fully sheeted fuselage like that or would it have been just like the angled.

[00:09:23] Like quarter inch balsa or whatever. Oh, the kit. Yeah, I think the kit. If I recall, I think the kit had slab sides like this one. Oh yeah, well, that doesn’t have much either, but I know we did add, just a.

[00:09:38] Little bit of weight because we changed the, the mounting for the wing panels, so we did add a couple pieces of plywood on the inside of that, yeah, but not a pound and a half. No, absolutely not so. And that did extend two and a half pounds worth, yeah. And then that did extend the, the wingspan up by about an inch, because I think we used half inch. Oh, that’s right, I forgot about that. Yeah, but that’s not that much. But yeah, not to account for that much difference. So, but yeah.

[00:10:10] I’d never in all my years I’ve never seen a crank pin break off the crankshaft like that. Yeah, that was a first for me. That was, in fact, I think, when it happened, I think, the first comment out of my mouth.

[00:10:22] Was? That sounds like connecting rod. Yeah, and of course, the first thing I went to was the clevis on the throttle servo, which it didn’t make any sense. I think my brain went into stupid again because of the way it stopped. But and the only reason I went to that is because when we changed that motor over and I hadn’t, like fixed the throttle servo, I hadn’t done that before we got out to the field. And when I got out to the field I did that, I adjusted it.

[00:10:54] By moving that pin the clevis further out. I know what you mean- on the threaded rod, and so that’s the only thing I had changed. Of course, I’m like, oh, what did I do? Yeah, that messed it up, but yeah, I was.

[00:11:06] Glad to know. It wasn’t anything I did, wasn’t wasn’t you, it was a casting. I’m convinced that it was a casting flaw, because there’s a void, yeah, right there where that thing broke off, which you can actually

[00:11:16] See it in the in what’s left of the pin yeah which is too bad but there’s a new motor on it now.

[00:11:22] What is it? Well, it’s not new. Well, it’s new on there to the airplane. Sure, it’s an asp 91, so it should run, hopefully as good as the other one, or at least make as much power, maybe more. This was a little bit. I mean, even though it’s an asp, it’s still chinese, I think chinese, but it’s a little bit better quality than whatever that knockoff was that was on. It feels like it has good compression. It.

[00:11:51] Does, so it should run pretty. It should. It should run pretty good. I noticed like it’s nice too, because that motor that was on it before the one that broke had the pits muffler on it and it wasn’t loud so it wasn’t like there was no reason, I guess, to have a pits muffler on it. Because of that you usually get that different sound of the pits muffler than you do with the stock ones. But I absolutely didn’t like the fact that it just blew all that exhaust like literally.

[00:12:21] All over the whole plane. Yeah, I mean, there was no way to take that out right. Unfortunately that was the only muffler I had for that motor. Yeah, well, beggars can’t be choosers, so I mean.

[00:12:30] I’m okay. But this one, this one- hopefully- knock on wood, hopefully this one will- will last a bit longer. Yeah, at least at least one flight with you at the stakes, hopefully, right, that’s my hope, but we’ll get.

[00:12:44] Out there this weekend and we’ll see how it goes. Hopefully we’ll have some pictures to post on what I guess we’re doing. What facebook now? And then there’s in instagram. Instagram, yeah, my wife is handling that for us. Yeah, I don’t know any of that. I don’t either kind of stuff. I have a facebook.

[00:13:02] Account but if you guys are out there on facebook yeah we’re on facebook too so yeah feel free to.

[00:13:07] Cruise by and drop us a post I don’t know is that what you do I think so I guess yeah whatever I think.

[00:13:14] You like our page or something. Oh, maybe that’s like our post, like our? Well, I think you can. I think, as a visitor, I think you can post. Oh, can you? I think so. Oh, unless I don’t know, my wife is handling that as well, so we should have your wife on to explain to us what that means. Unfortunately she’s not.

[00:13:31] Here now and instagram I have no clue no I don’t what that is I mean I know what it is but I don’t know.

[00:13:38] How that works and I have no desire to learn it yeah I’m old and crusty yeah I feel like I’m your age.

[00:13:46] Now I mean like I understand it’s not bad right it’s kind of fun I can be cranky with just.

[00:13:51] And just be like I’m old, leave me alone, care about anything. I don’t know if I go that far, right. So, yeah, that was a. That was a pretty eventful trip to the field. Yeah, and that was the.

[00:14:06] Other thing I was going to say, which was kind of funny, so that second time I didn’t have any fuel, so we ran to the closest hobby shop, which unfortunately is an hour away. Yeah, so we made a trip there, I bought some fuel and stuff and so I brought that out to the field, fully thinking like I. I could not find my fuel pump. I have no clue where it went, but I figured what Tom’s coming out. He always brings a nitro something, something with him, so I’ll use his. Yeah.

[00:14:39] Get out to the field you didn’t bring any nothing nitro and that is that is very unusual and we.

[00:14:46] Completely switched roles. I know I didn’t bring anything electric, you didn’t bring anything nitro, and it was the weirdest thing. Everything I had in the back of the car was electric and I had no way of doing anything with his airplane. Neither did you, because you didn’t bring your stuff. So, luckily, one of our friends was out there and he was good enough to lend us. Yeah, thanks, bob. He was good enough to lend us a fuel pump and he actually gave us some of the fuel so we didn’t have to open my gallon. So he let us fuel that up a couple times and I didn’t have a glow plug igniter.

[00:15:19] Either so, and not only that, the glow plug that was in the motor was toast. We didn’t check it before we went out there, and we need to check that one. We, yeah, that’s true, but anyway. So he had a glow plug with him also, which was very nice to have our own little hobby supply shop, yeah, waiting for us out there. So again, thanks, bob, yeah, I appreciate that. So this time before we go, definitely I will make a little checklist for nitro stuff, because I don’t remember nitro all.

[00:15:52] That much, yeah, well, yeah, so we’ll see how it goes. Yeah, that’s why I keep my flight box the way I have it. It’s heavy, but it has everything in there I could possibly need. Yeah, I’ll probably have to re redo.

[00:16:05] Mine because it’s been ransacked, I guess, over the years, because I never took it out to the field with me, right, because most of the stuff I would fly was electric and a few gas planes, but other than that it was. I really was trying to get away from the nitro and then, yeah, and then I got you back in, yeah, under the false pretense that we’ll make it a gas plane and 30 bucks a gallon for.

[00:16:31] Nitro fuel yeah that is well for pre-made yeah I mean we could we could mix our own well.

[00:16:38] And depending, we might end up having to start doing that because there’s not a lot of places around, right that yep that you, that we can get it anymore. So it’s just, it’s going to be one of those things. We’re going to try and figure that out. But okay, so we mentioned, we mentioned earlier, our plan today actually was to spend all day together doing nothing but building airplanes and so much airplane stuff right, and get everything kind of buckled up, I guess, if you will right, but it didn’t quite go that way, did it? We got sidetracked for a good reason why.

[00:17:14] Why don’t you tell us what? What happened, please? Okay? Well, lucky for me, I’ve been in the hobby long enough to have made lots of good friends and have worked in a few hobby shops and I had a lot of great customers over the years. And as they get older, they get in and out of the hobby. Well, I got. I was contacted by an old customer of mine.

[00:17:35] We’ll call him red because that’s his name. I was gonna say that, wow, good job. So he contacted me, kind of. Actually, I should rephrase that he posted a for sale ad on facebook marketplace, which I’m always on facebook marketplace. It’s almost like the new craigslist. Yeah, this has been a couple weeks ago. It’s been, yeah, a couple weeks ago. Hadn’t the ad said rc stuff for sale? Well, of course, that piqued my wife’s interest, who saw it. Thank you, which is ironic, yep, and then she

[00:18:11] Forwarded that ad to me and then I looked at it and made the contact and well the funny thing.

[00:18:19] Two together yeah you didn’t realize at first because he posted under his real name right and.

[00:18:23] You didn’t I didn’t know his real name it’s right I mean he’s always kind of what he goes by yeah I’ve.

[00:18:28] Been red so you didn’t know who it was until you actually made the phone call well until I actually.

[00:18:32] Saw him actually. Oh really, because it was all done through facebook messenger, whatever, whatever. I didn’t realize that’s so, yeah, so I arranged the meeting and, lo and behold, it’s red and we’re like, oh hey, we spent probably 20 minutes worth of reminiscing and talking about what we’ve been up to and, yeah, anyway, he decided that right now, hobby was not going to be his focus. So he thought it would probably be best to sell stuff while he still has value, because

[00:19:04] As time goes on, our rc stuff gets outdated, and then it loses its value, and then it becomes nearly worthless, depending on what it is. Which is funny, though, because the stuff he was selling was more.

[00:19:15] Let’s say it was more updated or more up to date than the stuff I’m flying with now.

[00:19:21] Well, some of it, yeah, yeah, the, the radio and stuff you bought. Well, right, true, fair enough. But his in his mind he had rationalized it as I have all this stuff. I’m not flying right now. This stuff may not be worth anything when I finally decide to start flying again. I’m gonna sell it and get what I can for it now. So, luckily for me, I was in a position where I could help him out- and also help myself out, if you will- by acquiring more stuff that I probably don’t need.

[00:19:55] Well what is need I mean well it makes you happy so that’s true and I am quite happy yeah with what I.

[00:20:03] I mean I got some cool new airplanes I got a new radio which you’re glowing I’m pretty.

[00:20:07] Excited about yeah glowing really glowing yeah maybe it’s the light bouncing off your bald head but.

[00:20:13] Yeah, that could be which? Yeah, so mostly some electric stuff and a couple of gas or airplanes and, like I said, the, the transmitter, transmitter- excuse me, not a transmitter, it’s a transmitter, but a couple of bigger airplanes, though. Right, like what’d you get on? There’s a, a 50 cc size s back, I think. It’s got an 89 ish wing, I think. Yeah, it has a 50 cc twin on it, which is kind of neat. Yeah, I’ve never owned a, a twin gasser before, so, oh really, I’ve tuned a lot of them. Yeah, you’ve tuned mine.

[00:20:48] Before but I didn’t realize you didn’t have one nope never have owned a twin gasser well what’s.

[00:20:54] What’s your other big plane your other 50 cc that’s got a da 50 on it’s just a single oh it’s.

[00:20:59] A single cylinder. I didn’t know that, yeah, yep, so. So yeah, some neat stuff with red. Thanks, red, if you’re listening. I appreciate it. Hopefully we’ll see you back in the hobby soon and I am going to keep in touch with him and let him know when I’m flying and stuff so that if he decides he did hang on to like an electric- I think it’s a carbon z 152, I think. Oh, yeah, okay, so he did keep that. And his older- and I say older, it’s newer than my old dx8 but dx9 radio of his. Yeah, so

[00:21:34] That he could fly and I’m going to keep in contact with him so that if he wants to keep flying, I’ll try to keep him going. Sure, because misery loves company. So, yeah, when we were, when, when I was all done with red and we’d done our deal and the money had exchanged hands out of mine into his and then that was broke. He mentions: hey, do you remember jim? And he gave me his last name. I was like, well, of course I remember jim. He was another.

[00:22:05] Customer of mine even farther back at a different hobby shop in the early starting in the early 90s. He said: well, he’s, he’s getting up there in age and he’s retiring and he’s moving to florida and he doesn’t want to take all of his rc stuff with him. It’s a shame he’s leaving, because he would. He would make a wonderful a guest, if you will. Yeah, on the show. That would be like a seven hour episode, oh, and I would enjoy every minute. Yeah, you would never get tired of no, if you’re into rc airplanes, this is one of those guys that you want to talk to, yeah, almost like a pioneer, because he’s

[00:22:40] There, this guy has done it all, yeah. So, anyway, red says, yeah, we need to go talk to jim because he’s leaving, and he’s leaving like this weekend. So this was last weekend and I’m like, okay, I just gave you all my money, I don’t have any left. But okay, I’ll go talk to jim. And I hadn’t seen jim in a few years- it’s been more than a few years, I guess- but it was good to see him again. So last weekend I went to his house with, and red went with me, and so I had never been to jim’s.

[00:23:13] House. This guy has been building model airplanes since, I gotta say, the 60s, probably, probably. He probably had his first airplane sometime in the 60s and like when I went to his house the first that the first visit last weekend, he was talking about the radios when, when he got in the hobby now I had mentioned this on one of our other episodes about the how radios had come you.

[00:23:45] Know they were am. And then I mean this: he predate, predates am radios, right. So he, he flew with escapement and these other heath kit type. So single channel. And it was one of these weird things where when to control the airplane it was almost like a telegraph, if you will, minus the wire right, you hit a button and it would deflect and you’d take your hand off the button and it would go back straight and that’s how you flew right. Really it was like one step above free flight. I mean you had

[00:24:14] Control of one channel and it was on or off and what channel usually do you control or did you.

[00:24:21] Control. Would it be like? To be honest, I think it was rudder. Yeah, because, judging by the, the, the stories that he was telling us, that it was rudder. Yeah, because they would set the. They would. They would run them at wide open. Right, these were like cocks. Well, they weren’t even. Some of them were larger engines, even like mccoy, made like a 59, I think, a 0.59, Which is almost 60., But they would run them at wide open. Maybe they’d richen them up to slow them down or whatever, I don’t know. Yeah, and they would trim the elevator. And then, yeah, you would.

[00:24:53] Basically fly circles. I think that was it. That was how you, that was our rc right back then- come a long way, yeah, so has been this jim has been building airplanes since then, right. So 50 plus years, 60 plus years of yeah, dang, wow, that’s a lot of. I mean that just hit me, yeah, how much experience this guy had, so leaving the hobby, right, so you can imagine the stuff that jim had acquired over the years.

[00:25:27] Just I mean from every facet of the hobby. I mean I mean he had his, he had his things that he focused on, especially there in the, in the prime, if you will, years, but just an incredible talent, this guy.

[00:25:45] Just I mean I, I can’t. I can’t put into words how talented this guy was and- and I was fortunate enough to be his dealer, if you will like- back in the day he would come into the hobby shop where I worked and he would buy the stuff that he needed- maybe not all of it, because mail order was a thing back then and for those listening who don’t know what mail order is, that was tower hobbies that you’ve got a catalog in the mail. You looked at it and said, hey, I want this. And you would send in a form and a check via the mail or you could call them, and that was how.

[00:26:18] You did your non-hobby shop business back then, can’t imagine. I know it’s crazy goodness for internet, right, but yeah, I was fortunate enough that I was his dealer. So I got kind of a an inside look, if you will, on the stuff that he would be building and I- I mean I don’t know if I would say that I was influenced by him as a builder, but I got to think and that some of the stuff that I saw him build that he would bring into the shop, just hey, here’s this thing I’m working on, or whatever had

[00:26:49] To have somehow influenced some of my mannerisms or techniques, or whatever you want to call it, when I build an airplane. They had to have yeah, and the quality of his builds incredible.

[00:27:02] So I mean I could, you could, we could have a five hour long episode and I could just barely scratch the surface of what these this guy has done in the hobby. But I’ll touch on the high points. He a very accomplished builder. He worked with a another friend in the hobby, roger, who passed away some years ago, and he pretty much built all of roger’s airplanes and roger would compete at scale competitions throughout the country with these things that he would. That

[00:27:37] Jim had built for him yeah and he was pretty well known in that circle right for the.

[00:27:42] Quality of his flying and oh yeah, and this, oh yeah, roger. Roger was a very, very talented flyer. Yeah, didn’t care so much for the building part of it, and that’s where jim came in and that you, of course, I’m kind of like the jim in this story, if you will. I’m, I’m like the builder, I like to build more than I think a guy like to fly. Yeah, but he would build these airplanes for roger and they would take them to these competitions and they would actually place. They would actually place in the top 10 or the top five even. I think he even has a third place finish.

[00:28:13] Somewhere in that, and I mean we’re talking like that, the upper echelon of scale airplanes. When you look at an airplane and you can barely tell that it’s a model. I mean that’s the kind of build quality we’re talking about here and that’s who jim is. So I’ve fortunate enough to know him, so I’m at jim’s house and we’re talking all these stories and could have spent probably a week trying to catch up with him. But so he’s got all this stuff for sale and try to make a long story short here, or make a short story long, maybe, maybe that’s.

[00:28:47] What I’m going to do, because I’m going to talk about another thing here too, that the that jim has done, which is kind of neat that he you got to actually hear today when we went there, all right, the story of the of the first turbine powered a10 airplanes in the united states. Well, and

[00:29:02] Not to cut you off too much, but the reason, the reason we were sidetracked today is because you got out here bright and early in the morning and then, right before- I mean like literally we had coffee ready, all that kind of stuff- came and started to work on stuff. And as soon as we started to get

[00:29:18] Stuff out and work. You got a text. Yeah, red, red had texted me and the text was pretty simple, basically said: hey, jim has an airframe he wants to give you sooner rather than later because he’s.

[00:29:33] Heading to florida or last weekend yeah he was supposed to be gone already right but things.

[00:29:38] Just hadn’t quite worked. So I got that text and I’m like: oh, an airframe from jim. Yeah, I’m Ron, sorry I’m, I gotta go. You want to go with me and meet this guy? I think you might. You might like this.

[00:29:50] Yeah so yeah we got so that’s how we got sidetracked on that but yeah it was an interesting conversation.

[00:29:55] I’ll let you go back, right, sorry. So anyway, yeah, the first eight turbine powered a10 airplanes in the united states- and I forget it was an english company that had put these- I think they may have been short kits, even they weren’t full kits. I think they provided the pre, some of the pre-cut parts and maybe the foam wing cores, maybe whatever it was twin turbine powered a10 and we’re talking like this is like a nine. Well, yeah, he said it was nine or ten foot wingspan big airplane, huge.

[00:30:26] And he built. Jim built the first two of these in the united states and he built quite a few more after that too. But and so to be to be the first of anything is kind of special. But the fact that this company wanted jim to build these airplanes right, says something about the guy’s, the guy’s talent as a builder, yeah, his ability. So of course I’m gaga. I’m at the house last weekend, I’m just drooling over everything, and then again today we’re there today.

[00:30:58] Most of the stuff was already gone, he’s, I wasn’t in a position to buy because I was already spent my wad, so to speak it with red, but so he most of the stuff that he had. Last weekend I went to another club member who’s going to handle the sale of it and then they’re going to work something out after the fact. But I was able to go there today and jim did have an airframe for me. It’s a midwest aerosport and I mean you saw the, yeah, beautiful.

[00:31:30] I mean it was, it was so it was an airframe in the bones and he had, he had constructed it, did most, he did all the assembly and all the building of it and then ran out of steam or moved, probably moved on to another project, I guess. So the airframe is in the bones, yeah, yeah, and it’s, it’s very.

[00:31:46] Well put together it’s I mean I was impressed by the quality of it nothing like what I.

[00:31:52] Have built, or me stuff. I mean, I’ve considered myself a fair, maybe a good builder, but this guy is an excellent, excellent and it’s a shame that he’s leaving. It really is. Yeah, because it was nice to reconnect with him and it’d be really nice to spend more time, spend more time with him. But yeah, life, life happens and we got a good story out of it and yeah, that’s.

[00:32:17] True and we have this Telemaster that’s a that’s a garbage can plane well we ended up.

[00:32:25] With a couple dumpster planes today, a couple, yeah, we, so they. I mean when I say the guy has 60 years worth of rc stuff accumulated. I’m not, I’m not joking like, yeah, I imagine, imagine, if you will like, the, the, the picture perfect rc building space. This guy had it like in spades. He had two, two workshops, he had two garages where he kept all most of his stuff that was either built or in process or whatever.

[00:32:55] And then he had a like a shed on the back of the of the property that also had stuff in it. I think so when I was there last week. I’m just looking around and just drooling at all the nice organized boxes of hardware and the, the partially built bob violet maverick up here on the shelf, and then the ducted fan, the ducted fan stuff. Oh my gosh, so I had never seen.

[00:33:19] One of those before actually. Oh man, so it’s a it. It’s a nitro powered like turbine style blade, right and they it looked. It looked pretty big like from what I saw. I don’t know what size it’s exactly like.

[00:33:35] An electric ducted fan, except instead of using an electric motor to turn the fan, you’re using a nitro motor. But it’s. It was bigger. Oh yeah, like a lot of the edf that I’ve seen. So that’s that fan. If you want to compare it to rough size, that fan is about 110 millimeter diameter fan. So you could compare that to 110 millimeter edf if you want. But what so? Like what size motor they run on that? That particular one had a 91 in it, so it was a bvm, a bob viola models 91, which was an os. That’s been

[00:34:06] Modified, I believe, but it looks bigger than that. So are those motors built just for that? Then right, like with the cooling fans, be bigger. Yep, okay, so that’s probably what made it look bigger to me.

[00:34:15] Then, yeah, the head. The heads are a little bit bigger for more, because they’re air flow, they’re housed in that and sitting around at idle they don’t move a lot of air. Of course they idle at like 3000 rpm because the engines are designed to run at high rpm. I mean one of these things screaming at 20 000 rpm coming down the runway at it. It’s just a. It’s just a wicked, wicked sight. And I love ducted fans. Yeah, they’re. They’re not in favor today because turbines.

[00:34:46] Have sort of come down and into the reachable range, yeah, where people can afford- not me, but people can afford them more than- and they’re, they’re jets. A turbine is an actual jet, whereas a ducted fan it’s kind of a jet, doesn’t sound the same, but to me they sound awesome because I’m a nitro guy. Oh yeah, that’s pretty cool. So, but yeah, the ducted fan stuff, I’m drooling. I’m just wishing that I could make it happen, but luckily you.

[00:35:17] Know it’s not in the cards and he’ll either take that with him or he’ll make an arrangement with someone else to sell it for him. Yeah, so it’s probably good that it’s not in my possession. But that arrows that arrow star is in my position. I’m very happy to have it. Yeah, I’ll be excited to see.

[00:35:32] That one finished that’ll be pretty cool yeah I don’t know maybe you need to build a big a10.

[00:35:38] Well, the a10s are cool. I do have a small electric one. Yeah, maybe it’s time for a big nitro one. A big nitro one- I’m not sure how you would do a nitro well like, because the

[00:35:48] Cells are really short but what you’re talking about with the ducted fans yeah they had.

[00:35:52] Really long tuned pipes to get them to reach those rpms so that would have to hang out of the.

[00:35:57] Nacelle somehow oh really oh okay yeah they didn’t use just mufflers on those things huh yeah interesting.

[00:36:06] So, yeah, that was pretty cool though. Yeah, that was a, it was a good visit and, like I said, it’s it’s a shame that he’s leaving the area, but I was glad that I got to talk to him today and last.

[00:36:18] Weekend, one of the things that I it’s kind of sad, actually. So ironically enough, we were at your house before we went over to his place and I needed to cut some hinge slots in my wing for this.

[00:36:34] Cavalier, and I saw sitting on your, on your, on your shelf, an old- well, I guess not too old, but old, old enough to where it’s electric, but a little- a slot or a hinge cutter or a slot cutter, whatever you call it- a great plain slot machine. And so I asked if I could use it, because I had never seen it before. I’ve always cut, cut those with an exacto knife, and so of course he said yeah and stuff, and before we came back out here, we went to this guy’s house and he had one sitting, of course new in the box, new in the box. I ended up buying it off of him. So now

[00:37:08] I have my own, but there’s a lot of these tools that- and I think we’re going to talk in the next couple weeks probably about like doing a tool episode- right, but there’s a lot of these tools that really do a great job for what you’re wanting to do that are no longer available, right.

[00:37:23] I mean, like you can’t well think about it. So how many? How many? I mean you’re thinking about it now because you’re getting involved in building, right, there’s not a lot of people doing that now. Like the hobby has been kind of moving away from building your own airplanes for quite a while. Arps have kind of all- but I don’t want to say destroyed, because that’s a pretty strong word- but arps have really sort of spelled the demise, if you will, of conventional kit building.

[00:38:01] That’s why there aren’t very many kit manufacturers out there anymore, and the kit manufacturers that are still out there today also have usually an ARF line that they’re having made in china. So the, the tools that you’re discovering now- yeah, I’m late to the game- yeah, so they don’t. They’re not made anymore because there’s not a demand for them anymore. Because people like, like us, and- and a lot of, I think a lot- of- our listeners- yeah, we either already have

[00:38:33] The tools we like to use or people aren’t there’s no demand for them because people aren’t.

[00:38:41] Coming into the hobby the way I came into the hobby by building my own airplane so yeah there are some.

[00:38:46] Really neat tools out there unfortunately you just can’t buy them new anymore unless you find a.

[00:38:54] Good deal like today, yeah, but I think what gets me is that machine is kind of neat because it obviously was designed a long time ago. I think he still had the receipt in it. He bought it in 1999, so it has been sitting and I don’t think it’s ever been used. No, there wasn’t a speck of dust on it and I can now say that after it sat for that long it’s been used, because I use it tonight. Works like champ too. Oh, my goodness, I tell you what that is. And the nice thing about it is it’s actually sawing, and you brought this up earlier. It’s actually sawing it, so it’s not

[00:39:27] Spreading that wood out, it’s, it’s getting rid of the wood material right. So when you put your hands right, so when you put your hinges in, it’s not spreading that, that leading it or that trailing edge out. But yeah, so the thing that’s kind of neat about it, it has two blades, that counter- I don’t want to say rotate, because they’re not rotating, but counter swipe, it’s kind of like.

[00:39:49] Whatever the yeah there you go counter shearing action yeah and then they work back and forth so.

[00:39:54] It’s easy to use because there’s no torque in one direction. That’s kind of making your hand moves. It cuts like a. It cuts like a hot knife through butter and it really does a good job. The other thing that I’d never heard of- and you’ll have to explain this, that I got from today- a wing jig- is that what it’s called a wing building jig? A wing building jig? So it’s a really cool old piece of hardware. I mean, I’m guessing they’re not available anymore. No, that’s unfortunate.

[00:40:27] Oh well I don’t think they are it’s been a long time since I’ve actually searched for one.

[00:40:32] They might be, I, but I doubt it. Yeah, but it’s what do you think? Seven feet wide, maybe, something like that, and in the center you can actually raise and lower to do your different angle of dihedral and stuff, and then it has you have to drill holes through each of your, your wing ribs, that you’re that you’re going to be making, and then you can lay it out on that and I know I’m doing a terrible.

[00:40:58] Job of describing, do you want to try? And well, I mean it’s, it’s so. It’s manufactured by adjusto jig and it’s a just like it says. It’s a fixture for building wings and you can also, with the right brackets, build fuselages with this, and what it does is you drill some holes using a template in the ribs and then you line these ribs up, you slide them over two steel rods and these rods are fixed in position on this fixture, and then it allows you to set the ribs in position, get them exactly the way you.

[00:41:32] Want them and then you add the spars and you can get everything adjusted just right. And then you can go back and go over it with thin CA or yellow glue or whatever you prefer to use, and it’s a great way to build a very, very accurate straight wing. And it’ll build tapered wings, double tapered wings, it’ll build anything, and you use that template and heat discreet like I have. I have one, not an adjuster jig, I have an old great plains one that it’s not as nice as this one. It doesn’t do the cool adjustable dihedral thing in the center, but however it works. You’ve set the ribs in.

[00:42:07] The template and it fixes them in place and you drill the holes and however that works on this one. But yeah, once you have the holes drilled where they need to go in the ribs and you line them up on those rods. There’s no building a twist into it or anything like that, because it holds them absolutely perfectly.

[00:42:22] Aligned right, yeah, and that should make it easier to build a wing, I think. Oh yeah, because, especially if you’re, if you build a lot, yeah, and I would like to start building more, I mean it’s it’s. It’s fun like I really enjoy the. It’s almost like therapeutic, just kind of sitting there and enjoying putting something together. Like that I actually think I have more fun and it’s not like I do it a lot, but I think I’ve had more fun framing than I have doing like the covering and finishing work and all that. Yeah, there’s, I’ve been kind of dragging my feet a little bit on this cavalier, I think, because it’s not

[00:42:55] As fulfilling, if you will right, to just do the finishing touches and go fly it as it is, to actually frame it up, because when you’re framing it up it’s kind of like art. I mean, to me it looks really cool. Yeah, and when they’re done right, especially like that, the one you got from him today, they’re just beautiful. Yeah, I mean, really, I love, I love the look of an airplane in the bones. Well, it’s what we call it in the bones, with when it’s just bare wood, it’s just a bare wooden.

[00:43:23] Airframe. I love that. Look, yeah, and I think that’s why I like to use transparent monoco colors too, so you can see through that and you can see that internal structure. Yeah, I like that. I’m still not.

[00:43:36] A huge fan of the look of the transparency, but I think if, when you put it that way, I can, I think I understand it more yeah than before, right, so it’s like I said, it’s it’s not my favorite thing to look at, but once again leds inside, really brings a whole other thing to it. I’m gonna have to try that because I think I think that would be really cool. Well, let’s tear the covering off this.

[00:44:01] Stick you have over here that you haven’t done anything. I just got it covered months ago. Well thanks, covid, I know, but still, and if we hadn’t gotten sidetracked today, I may have actually finished that you probably would have actually, I mean it’s, it’s less than three hours of work, probably. Yeah.

[00:44:19] What are you doing tomorrow? I don’t know, we’ll see. Yeah, but yeah, so I think it’s going to be fun to try and use the that tool. Yeah, and, like I said, there’s there’s lots of really.

[00:44:31] Cool tools that were made for builders out there I mean that I mean you’re just you’re just scratching.

[00:44:36] The surface with some of these tools. Well, and one of the other things I thought was cool that I that I bought from him today- maybe I should know this, but like I have a covering- iron mm-hmm and it’s- I think it’s from hanger nine or something like that- to find the temperature on it like it has one through five and you have to know the temperatures when you’re, when you’re putting the covering. Yeah, especially for ultra coat. Yeah, and so I would always use a non-contact thermometer. Just put it up there, it will tell you what it is. Yep, it gets you close, well, it.

[00:45:08] Does a pretty good job. But so I bought an old covering iron from him, and you bought a cadillac of covering irons, buddy. Oh, I bought the same one you had, I know. I knew it had to be good and especially for him to have it. You figured it was probably top of the line, whatever, but unfortunately it’s still. It’s another one of those things that’s no longer available. They don’t make it anymore. And what? What kind is it? I don’t remember what you said. It’s a cover right, 21st century. So that’s my new iron. So yay, and then I got off him a little one of those. What the trim iron.

[00:45:42] Kind of things: seal tool, trim seal tool. But he had in there a thermometer that I the cover right thermometer. Oh, so that’s actually from oh yeah, oh, I didn’t realize that it look it’s a spring, yeah, and you just set it right on top of that and then the spring moves, obviously based on the heat, and then it tells you with an analog gauge on the top, what- and I, I know that’s probably how a lot of these old like thermometer or thermostats worked and all that kind of stuff, yep, but to see it out in the, in the raw, it’s neat, open and just set it on there. And then you see the spring contract and go.

[00:46:16] To the actual thermometer, the temperature, and it’s very accurate. Yeah, I mean like setting, I think I had it set it. I think it expands, right, oh, I don’t know. It contracts when it cools, is that what it is? Yeah, okay, well, because when you’re setting it down- okay, yeah, that’s true. I guess when you have it sitting on there, you can’t actually see the, the piece move, but you see the- yeah, the dial move. Yeah, yeah, the needle spring, yeah, but it. What’s neat, though, is I set it for that covering iron, I set it for 300 degrees and it was right at 300 degrees with that thermometer, so it’s like that’s right on, whereas

[00:46:53] This hanger 9, one that I bought, but eight years ago. Whatever it was, one, two, three, four, five, so who knows what you’re actually setting it to. So it’s it’s nice now to have one that you can actually.

[00:47:03] Pick the temperature and it’s. I’ll tell you what you. It’s what you could do if what, what temperatures you’re trying to, to pinpoint or to dial in what I did on mine.

[00:47:16] Like I, I don’t even look at the on the on the iron, it’s off the real set. You can turn it to whatever temperature, right? Yeah, like I don’t even look at the numbers anymore, because I have taken a sharpie and I’ve highlighted or drawn a line on that scale of key temperatures, if you will so. Like I have three lines on mine. The first line is the temperature at which ultra coat becomes sticky, and then the second line is the temperature at which ultra coat begins shrinking, and then the third line is the max temperature that ultra coat stops. Like

[00:47:52] Shrinking I guess or maximum shrink yeah I guess I have four lines and then I have my.

[00:47:55] My monaco line, which is maxed. Yeah well, I mean that’s a good idea. I mean it’s easier, I guess, than trying to remember the temperatures. But yeah, it’s. It’s nice having something, though, that actually tells you what temperature is, because when you’re, when you’re looking- and I’m I’m not familiar with this as much as you are because I don’t, I don’t know the differences in monaco and the other ones you were talking about, the coverings, temperature wise especially- but it’s, it’s nice to have the actual temperature, because when you’re looking at the directions on there, it tells you.

[00:48:26] Where exactly I said so, instead of, like I said, one through five, it’s nice to have an actual thermometer on it, yeah or not thermometer, but an actual setting to where you can go to a temperature, like I said, the.

[00:48:37] Cadillac of covering errands right there. Buddy, nice, I’m glad I got one. Yeah, I’m kind of getting excited, so I need to do a little bit more. I wish I had bought like several of those back when they were still available, because they are. They do have a small microprocessor in them to help maintain that temperature. Yeah, and those do go bad. Yeah, so I noticed that one too.

[00:48:59] When I was using it today that, like the, the hanger nine one I have, there’s a big- I shouldn’t say- fluctuation in temperatures when it’s on, because you can, you can spin that dial and you can hear when it turns on and off. When the thermostat turns on and off and you can listen to it when it’s on and then it turns off and it’s off for quite a while, then it’s on for quite a while and when you’re looking at the one, the cover right one, I mean it’s like constantly just like on and off, on and off.

[00:49:30] On and off. Oh, the led, yeah, which, which you said, that’s when it’s actually heating, right, so it has a much shorter duty cycle. So you’re not going to have that huge amount of the gap between on and off. So you’re not going to, yeah, do the 20 your temperature fluctuations will.

[00:49:46] Instead of being potentially 20 degrees, maybe they’re only a couple degrees, yeah, which makes a difference, especially with ultra code, which is I’m not a big fan of ultra code, like their colors and stuff, but seems to me like just from my experience, it seems like ultra code sags in the sun more than

[00:50:04] Anything else I’ve ever used is that what do we put on the Telemaster oh that’s monaco that looks.

[00:50:11] Terrible in the sun. Well, I mean, it’s black, number one. So black absorbs heat. True, it’s soft, it’s even. Even the red did it though? Yeah, it did, and that could be just technique. Oh, like I, like, I f’d it up. Well, I’m not saying that, I’m just saying there’s, there’s ways you can get it on there so that they won’t sag like that. And the product I use- balsa right, also made by coverite, who no longer in business. Oh, I still have a small stash of that, but it was something you

[00:50:45] You brushed on the airframe, you let it dry and give it a quick light sanding and then it helped to stick the covering to the airframe. The biggest problem with sagging, honestly, is the covering is not stuck to the wood, because either they didn’t didn’t press the covering down into the wood when it was hot- I’m saying when you’re ironing it on, yeah- or the wood was like not properly cleaned first. So it’s, it’s sticking to the dust and then it pulls the dust away from.

[00:51:16] The airframe and now you got well I could have done that’s quite possible who knows it could be.

[00:51:21] Any number of things, yeah, or it could be bad. Monoco- remember that monoco that’s on that airplane- came from the same house that the airplane itself came from, so that covering may just be maybe the.

[00:51:35] Adhesive on the covering wasn’t as good as it could have been or really old and went bad over time too.

[00:51:40] New for new, a new role of monocoat and a new mole or new role of ultra coat. You cover an airframe with both. I should rephrase that if I cover an airframe with both of those, I guarantee you the one that’s going to look better after I’ve applied it, it’s going to be the monoco. Now, probably there’s somebody out there that’s really good with ultra coat and maybe they can give me some hints. Go ahead and drop us a line, sure, but I have yet to get ultra coat to. I mean, it looks beautiful when you’re done, as long.

[00:52:11] As you leave it in the house and don’t ever put it in the sun. It looks great, yeah. But yeah, I’ve just not had as good luck with ultra coat as I have with monocoat- which, by the way, that little airplane that I’ve been working on downstairs will be ready for covering, hopefully tomorrow. So I’ll try my cheaper coat. Oh yeah, I forgot, you ordered some of that from hobby king. Yeah, yeah, I’m excited to try it because it’s a lot cheaper than monocoat. Yeah, that’ll be interesting. Yeah, it’s.

[00:52:39] What I think he said it was 11 or 12 bucks for a five meter roll yeah that’s so for rob at.

[00:52:46] Balsa workbench he uses it and he says he loves it so we’ll see okay I’ll I’ll be interested.

[00:52:54] To hear: yeah, so maybe we can talk about that next week a little bit, if, if you get that done and covered and we’ll see what you’re thinking about. So I definitely, if you like that, I definitely think it’s. It’s probably closer in my future for recovering the yak and getting that back in the air. Yeah, because you’re looking at a lot of covering for that project. Yeah, that’s even at 15 foot rolls. It’s probably going to be seven or eight rolls. You think, yeah, at least, yeah, that’s a, that’s a big.

[00:53:22] Airplane. So yeah, and factor in some extra, because you’re not gonna- you’re not gonna cover it all in one color, correct? Yeah, so there’ll be some waste. I think it’s a little easier for me to stomach.

[00:53:32] Spending what? 100 Bucks on, covering as it is, to spend 300, 200, yeah, whatever, yeah, so we’ll, we’ll see. Yeah, as long as it works well, yeah, I don’t want to have to do it now and then everything I’ve.

[00:53:45] Read online and the and the groups and guys I’ve talked to they say it’s it’s great.

[00:53:51] Stuff so we’ll see nice I don’t want to have to do it now and then do it again later so yeah we’ll.

[00:53:57] See although for me personally covering is kind of therapeutic too oh good I don’t mind covering.

[00:54:02] You can do my own airplanes. No, I’m gonna rope you in to help me with this one. Oh yeah, I’m not. I’m not used to cutting covering for big things like that, so it’ll be good to get some ideas on how to do it. Okay, it’s always good to have an old friend that knows what they’re doing.

[00:54:17] Old huh. Okay, all right. So something that’s a little bit easier to cover than a big yak what? Something that takes no covering at all? Oh, are you talking about the, the sandpiper? Yeah, my design airplane. Yeah, we could talk about that a little bit. I finally got to fly one today.

[00:54:37] After, after a somewhat scary start. So it’s funny because we did a whole, whole, whole, whole episode on pre-flight checks. Yeah, and what did you do, Tom? What I’ll.

[00:54:55] Take this one because it was all me it was all my fault so if you’re not if anyone listening is.

[00:55:03] Not familiar Ron has designed a flat foamy electric like a profile yeah it’s actually flies really.

[00:55:11] Really good. I’m quite pleased with how it flies, but we’ll start. Yeah, so I built one today. I brought the Ron was nice enough to print. Print me some plans and I laid them out on the, my piece of dollar tree, one dollar foam board, cut out all the parts and assembled the airframe. And it’s actually a cool looking airplane. Is there a picture of it on the website? No, I haven’t posted.

[00:55:36] Anything yet because I’m not sure how we’re gonna finish it. Okay, I mean, like there’s, I think. Anyway, after talking to you, I think we’re gonna make it a little bit bigger and making or maybe make it out of two sheets, yeah, so it’s a little bit more stable. Yeah, I know, but you’re doubling the cost, but yeah, but still so, no, we’re not finished with the design kind of thing anyway. So prototype number four:

[00:55:58] Four, four. Oh no, it’s a version two, airplane number four. Yeah, so this is my first experience with the sandpiper, so I built it today, installed my radio and I was really, really jazzed and excited, because these things are a lot of fun to just throw out in the backyard and fly them around. Yeah, so got the radio installed, fired up the speed controller and it did not play any songs tunes.

[00:56:31] At all, except I wanted to slap you the whole time you were talking about it because you kept calling it a speedo. It’s like okay, yeah, let’s not do that. Yeah, speed controller, speed, weirdo. Oh, I think I may have.

[00:56:43] Said something on the last. I think you did yeah, which that’s weird, but okay, it’s weird. At any rate didn’t have to do any weird programming or deprogramming, so it didn’t play me any weird songs. So I was all excited and I was really excited to get out there and fly this thing because the battery was charged and it was ready to go. So I did a, I did a quick pre-flight. Actually it wasn’t really even a pre-flight, it was a programming right because that’s an elevon right, so we have to. It’s a different set of mixing. It’s not a standard airplane setup on in the radio, correct? So I selected the right.

[00:57:18] Profile on the right elevon megs, and just assumed, kind of I think, that everything was going the right directions. When I pulled back on the stick, both elevons went up. I’m like, ah great, it’s cold. And then I moved the stick left and right a couple times and they moved left and right like they’re supposed to. I was like, yeah, cool, let’s go. So I gathered the stuff out and you followed me outside and plugged the battery in, gave it a quick little check to make sure the stuff was moving and I tossed it in the air and off it went and yeah, the ailerons were backwards.

[00:57:49] -Huh I seem to have an issue with backwards ailerons for some reason so yeah the thing so.

[00:57:58] This thing rolls like, I mean at full rate, which that’s something we’ll have to dial in. Yeah, because it does not need that much aileron and it doesn’t really look like that much, but I have never. It just becomes a blur. Yeah, like when you move the aileron stick, full deflection. Yeah, I mean, it’s just like, it’s like a blur. It looks like a blender. Yeah, no clue what way is up and down. So for the first flight and backwards ailerons, you can imagine what happened. Yeah, gave it a toss advanced.

[00:58:36] The throttle went to turn right. I probably had to turn right because it always wants to go left on takeoff or on the launch. And of course, when I gave it the old right aileron, what did it do? It became a blur, spinning to the left, and of course that freaked me out. So I’m like, oh okay, the ailerons are back. Like I knew, as soon as I moved the stick and it started rolling the opposite direction, I knew in my head that it was backwards, but there was so little time and the thing was rolling so fast it was hard to tell which end was up. Yeah, so by the time I realized all that was going on, I mean

[00:59:08] We’re talking like what was it? Two seconds maybe from the time it left my hand. I don’t think it was that long. I mean it was fast, it was less than 20 feet it was. It was a long enough for me to realize that the ailerons were backwards and I better try to, and then by that time it was already. It was already too late. And so what? I mean? Yeah, we discovered a weakness in the air, or I discovered a weakness in the airframe. Yeah, and we’ll fix that. Yeah, which I did. I put a couple of patches on it and I did. We went out and flew it two more times after that and the thing flies great. It’s funny.

[00:59:41] Though, because that is the fourth time that design has been flown and I have never seen it actually fly through the air without a crushed, crumpled nose. So who knows what I promise?

[00:59:56] You, you did. You printed me another set of plans. I have another sheet of foam. I’m going to make a pretty one and make sure I get the pre-flight correct on this next one, which it should be, because I’m just gonna take everything off of that one and actually I want to fly that one for a while, are you really? I am, that thing flies great. Well, so the new one that’s not smashed? Well, yeah, but I mean, this one’s proven. Now, true, it’s a veteran. Well, I don’t know, I’m not convinced that’s not going to.

[01:00:23] Fold in half when you pull the I don’t know the elevators back really hard I ain’t got it pretty.

[01:00:28] Hard this evening it didn’t I mean it didn’t even put a crease in the paper that turns on a dime.

[01:00:34] It does. It’s so cool. Let’s see, you have to have those throws then. So if you want to, you’re not going to be able to get rid of your roll rate if. If you get rid of those throws, so well, that’s true. I don’t.

[01:00:46] Know, we’ll see. It’s just something, not for beginners, no, we’ll just. We’ll just caveat that right away. When, when this thing finally is done, yeah, we’ll throw the plans online. People can have it.

[01:00:56] I don’t care it’s they can build it and just see what they think the sandpiper not for beginners no.

[01:01:02] But it’s fun, it’s a blast. And you say your version was faster than mine and mine I feel like moves out pretty good for what it is. Yeah, basically a dollar’s worth of flat foam, no airfoil shapes whatsoever, yep and the things like. In my opinion is a rocket. Yeah it, yours looked slow compared to the.

[01:01:22] One that I actually last and it does great slow too it does yeah it slows down nicely yeah but.

[01:01:28] It makes you giggle. It did the first time. The first time I did a full-on, controlled yeah, roll in the direction I wanted it to go, and when it just became a blur, I was. It was like immediate giggling. Yeah, you have to do that at altitude though, because it’s easy to lose direction. Oh, I can never tell.

[01:01:50] Where it’s ended up until it starts moving yeah so and like I don’t even think it would matter if.

[01:01:54] The bottom was like black and the top was white, or the bottom was yellow and the top, it wouldn’t matter, because it would just be one color, green or whatever, those two colors combined, gray or whatever.

[01:02:05] There’s nothing special about it. It is just a piece of foam that’s cut into a certain shape, but it’s, it’s a neat shape. I like the shape. Well, thank you, but it’s it’s. It’s great to build out of balsa and all that kind of stuff, but it’s also fun to have something that is, I mean, so inexpensive. Yeah, like what I like about this is- and I didn’t realize I wanted to get another motor and speed controller and we, we looked online and stuff and you decided to go order one from hobby king. I did. I found one on amazon. Oh, this is amazing, I know so. It was two propellers.

[01:02:43] A motor speed controller two servos and the prop adapter so all the electronics minus a battery.

[01:02:52] Minus the radio, yeah, 20 bucks. I know that’s that. That just slays me right to. For let’s say you mess up the first airframe, cut it wrong, whatever. So let’s just say you got two dollars worth of foam, twenty dollars worth of electronics. You throw a fairly inexpensive spectrum park flyer receiver in there for 30 bucks and you’ve already got a dx7 or a dx4 or whatever. I mean that’s a really, really cheap entertainment. I mean, how much, how much fun did I have flying that thing today?

[01:03:24] Yeah I think you enjoyed I mean I giggled quite a bit not very manly but it was funny.

[01:03:31] But yeah so I think there’s a place for nice cheap airplanes too I agree so I mean I’m not saying.

[01:03:38] That I dislike at all. Going out to the field with my car full of nitro planes. That is extremely satisfying to me, but once in a while something like this to go out there and get your giggle on.

[01:03:48] I mean, see, it’s funny because that’s where we’re the opposite. Once in a while. To get your giggle on, going out to the field with the nitro plane is okay, but to me I’m just I don’t know, but I do find it funny. You’re coming more electric than I am going to nitro. Well there, yeah. So in this, in this,

[01:04:08] Recent purchase that I did nearly all of it is electric yeah a good percentage but the.

[01:04:16] The big planes I mean the ones that count are gas right well I mean come on the ones that count are.

[01:04:22] The ones that are but let’s look at the ones that I’m going to fly the most are probably the electric.

[01:04:28] Ones to be honest well because it’s so easy to charge a battery and I don’t deny that I don’t.

[01:04:33] Go. I’ve never. I’ve never denied that electric is less convenient or less fun or any of that. It is, I mean, but I still predominantly enjoy my nitro powered stuff and gas. Gas too, the one.

[01:04:50] Thing I will give you. You will never get with an electric plane, that you get with a nitro plane: the smell. Yeah, I love that sound. Yeah, that sounds good too, but the smell is better. But to a guy like

[01:05:02] Me who likes to tinker. They’re like: once you have an electric plane set up, there’s nothing to tinker with. You just charge and fly, and charge and fly and charge and fly, and which, what you’re describing is perfect. I understand, I love that, but for me that doesn’t. That doesn’t. That’s not what makes me tick. I like tinkering, so, and that gives me a lot of opportunity to do that. That’s what got me out of.

[01:05:24] Nitro car stuff is because, I mean, tuning on that cost is what got me out. Well, I never did the racing and stuff that you did. Yeah, I you. I mean you competed in las vegas and stuff, didn’t you with that? Yeah, I did. So you were a lot farther into it than I was: wisconsin, a lot of places. Maybe that’s another episode. No, this is about airplanes, not cars. Oh, that’s true, but still, what do you say before? It’s my podcast? We can do it, that’s true. It absolutely is. No, I mean, we, you’re right, we don’t.

[01:05:56] Have to do that. But the, the, the nitro cars, the tuning on it is so exact where I and I’ve noticed, like with tuning a nitro airplane it’s not as exact as a nitro car is like a nitro car, a sixteenth of a turn, oh yeah, is going to make the difference between it running well and you having a boring time with it because you can’t keep it from bogging down, yeah, whereas the airplane you’re not worried about that instant throttle response that you want in a car. So I’m not, as I don’t want to say anti, but I’m not as turned off, I guess, by the nitro in this, because I can handle.

[01:06:30] It. I don’t like to tinker. It gets easier, like the more. The more you do it, the more you’ll develop like an, like an ear for it, like you’ll be able to tell by the sound it’s making whether it’s rich or lean, or how it’s behaving at idle, or if you let it idle a little ways and then you advance the throttle, it acts a certain way. You’ll you’ll develop that sort of that intuition.

[01:06:54] If you will, yeah, I never got that. Yeah, you’ll get it if you. Well, I don’t know, we’ll see I might. But the airplane stuff I might. I mean car stuff, like I said, my kids getting back into the rc, car stuff with nitro, and oh, I don’t like that. I gotta say I don’t like that either. Oh, you’re gonna.

[01:07:14] Get drawn back in no oh okay I didn’t like messing with it the other day we were out there trying to.

[01:07:20] Get that thing running. Well, yeah, I think he’s got to buy a new motor for it, but whatever, yeah, that’s pretty low on compression his money. He can do what he wants with it, right, or he can do what he wants with it anyway. Well, I don’t know, do you have anything else you want to cover? No, that’s, that’s. I think that’s all I got, okay. Well then, everybody, thanks for listening, until next time.

[01:07:42] I’m Ron and I’m Tom. Good night. Good night. 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 landing be gentle.