Ep 107: Tony Lewis

[0:03] Ron: Hello everyone and welcome to the RC Plane Lab podcast I'm Ron and I'm Tom today we are sitting down and talking to Tony Lewis Tony how you doing oh I'm doing all right. Tell us a little.

[0:20] Tony Lewis: Bit about yourself I am I live up in Wisconsin okay. I'm about an hour away from Oshkosh just.

[0:27] Tom: North of Milwaukee oh nice so how many times have you been to the Oshkosh show my whole.

[0:33] Tony Lewis: Life excellent so I grew up just about 20 minutes south and across from the fondue lac airport…… So we had a front row seat every night that's so awesome that would be awesome that's.

[0:47] Ron: Been a life a lifetime of aviation there so what took you from growing up watching full-size airplanes at Oshkosh to I want to fly RC airplanes…… Well the RC actually came first.

[1:04] Tony Lewis: I kind of grew up in the hobby my I have a brother that's quite a few years older than me and my dad got into the RC hobby with him when I was about two years old…… So I was just always around it as they came up through and grew into the hobby and then once I became old enough I had an opportunity to start flying as…… Well so I soloed at nine I built my first airplane.

[1:38] Tony Lewis: That winter and never looked back oh that's awesome you've been at quite a while then because.

[1:44] Ron: I started a lot later than that I didn't have anybody around me when I was a kid doing it which is unfortunate…… But that's awesome that you were you were surrounded by it ever since you.

[1:55] Tom: Can remember that's so cool yeah. So just so I have a sense of like what the market kind of looked like when you when you soloed at nine what year was that if you don't mind me asking 92 okay. Yeah.

[2:08] Ron: Okay. So you okay. You were born in 83 then he was in the he was in the gold label era yeah. A couple years younger than me…… So you remember the gold stickers right. Yes I still have one that works I do too.

[2:21] Tom: Yeah. And what we're talking about for anybody that's listening that might be new to it like back in 91 yeah. The FCC mandated that we had to go narrow band on our frequencies…… So every transmitter had to have a little gold sticker on the back of it that said it was compliant with that new FCC regulation…… So yeah. I remember those days got it so does Tony yep yeah. My like I said my dad.

[2:44] Tony Lewis: My brother started flying around 84 85 so they would have been wideband then yep and yeah. They had to send the radios back in and get them updated and stickers and all that yeah. I still have a couple of the original radios from my from my dad and I still even have a matching receiver and that's I have one functioning set yet that's awesome…… So do you have an airplane you ever fly those.

[3:14] Ron: In just for old time's sake not yet is that something you've thought about doing then if you say not.

[3:21] Tony Lewis: Yet yes I have I have a couple plans that way actually because so we grew up flying airtronics that was just what the club that we were part of had…… So I was able to find a airtronics sr that looked looks nearly brand new still in the box about a year ago…… So I picked that up and I was able to find a 2.4 module that you can wire into it and convert it to 2.4 oh that's awesome…… So I'm gonna.

[3:58] Tony Lewis: Have one that is going to be 2.4 and then I still have the original one that's on 72 megahertz and I'd like to do something with each of them that's period correct I just haven't decided what that.

[4:14] Tom: Is yet yeah. Well luckily there's there's lots of options there were a lot of airplanes around back…… Then so and good airplanes good airplanes still nothing wrong with them right. So yeah. That's awesome I wish I could say I still have my old my original radio…… But I'm sure. Somewhere along the line it got traded or sold or well see it's so difficult because it.

[4:38] Ron: Goes from okay. This is what I want to use to okay. Now this is old and not worth anything to me for the longest time and…… Then after a while it becomes okay. This is cool because it's so because it's so you have to keep it in that little band of this is garbage to me and not actually throw it away before you get to the this is old and cool yeah. True I can't do that yeah. I move on too fast from things I don't like yeah. Or don't need I still have an airplane from that era as well.

[5:08] Tony Lewis: A glider that my brother built actually but as much as I'd like to restore that and fly it and do plan to do…… So I don't want to fly the old equipment in it because I don't want to trust something that's got that much sentimental value to right 30 year old equipment that's too much risk yeah.

[5:29] Ron: You don't you don't ever want to fly something you don't want to lose because that's the one that's going to have a problem and you're going to right. Yeah. You can't fall in love with an airplane if you're ever going to fly it no that's absolutely true yeah…… So you said you built your first airplane then after you were nine or ten years old what was that yep it was a top flight sierra trainer oh okay. Yeah. That's before my time I'm not familiar with what that is it's essentially.

[5:57] Tony Lewis: Top flight's version of the great planes pt trainers oh okay. Yeah. Good flying airplane I remember those.

[6:03] Ron: Yeah. So did you get a lot of flights on that or what happened to that airplane.

[6:06] Tony Lewis: Oh yeah. Flew it for three four years quite heavily before I moved down to other planes and…… Then it sat on the shelf for a number of years until I dug it out and refurbished it and flew it a little bit more…… So eventually it did go somewhere in the ground I don't know I don't remember.

[6:29] Ron: That's the ending to most of these airplanes unfortunately yeah.

[6:34] Tony Lewis: When you're 12 13 14 years old and you have the ability to fly and lack the maturity a lot of planes can disappear and you don't remember how.

[6:48] Tom: Yeah. They do and they can so do Tony there do you belong to a club.

[6:56] Tony Lewis: Yes I do and how long have you been a member of that club well I moved to this area at the end of 2018…… So I've been a member of that club for the last three years now okay. Awesome what's what's the name of it the sheboygan area RC sheboygan area radio control society for the sharks ah sharks okay.

[7:22] Tom: -huh they had to get that in there yeah. Cool because there's usually there's usually always a cool acronym yeah. Unlike ours are just svf it's not really a cool acronym.

[7:34] Ron: Like shark sharks svrcf no what it's the same valley RC flyers yeah. It's boring we should rename it.

[7:42] Tony Lewis: We should we should totally do that my former club is the faa because they were the fondue.

[7:50] Tom: Like girl modelers really oh that's funny that's actually really good that's better than yeah. It's better than ours also…… So that's wonderful so the club that you're a member of do they have a pretty good a pretty good membership like do they have an active membership or like numbers they do they.

[8:10] Tony Lewis: Do we've I think we're in the mid 30s for membership and I would say 70 to 80 percent active oh wow that's very high yeah. That's yeah. We don't we don't have I think right. Before I came to the club they ended up having some membership that aged out…… So the membership is actually fairly young compared to.

[8:42] Tony Lewis: A lot of the other clubs that I've been a part of yeah. That's good to see and that certainly helps yeah. Our club is we also have a rock crawling track and an off-road track and a dirt oval at our facility…… So we've got yeah. That's all new as of two years ago but that's brought in some.

[9:07] Ron: Some other guys as well yeah. I can imagine that would bring in some new faces and stuff…… So how many like of the members actually are there just to fly then just fly yeah. I would say.

[9:22] Tony Lewis: Probably about 20 to 25 we only have I would say we've got five or six that do both.

[9:31] Tom: We've only got maybe four that are car only okay. Does your club own the field or do they lease it or is there some other arrangement for the field I believe we own it oh okay. That's good because it gives you a certain as a club it gives you a certain amount of freedom to build RC tracks or.

[9:52] Tony Lewis: Helicopter pads or whatever that's cool if we I don't know the details entirely but if we do not own it we have some sort of very long-term agreement because we have paved runways that are in and we.

[10:07] Tom: Have permanent buildings up oh wow see that's not that far away Ron we're gonna go up there.

[10:13] Ron: And visit actually I don't know what are you from springfield are you like four hours or…… So then.

[10:19] Tom: Well if he's north of Milwaukee that sounds about right. Yeah. So that's yeah. Four and a half.

[10:23] Tony Lewis: And we always said we could be through chicago but in three hours remember that when we travel.

[10:31] Ron: Oh we're three hours from chicago here so huh okay. Yeah. When I used to when I used to way back in the.

[10:38] Tom: Day when I used to raise up at trackside in Milwaukee it was it was right. At four hours and 20 minutes or…… So that's to trackside yeah. So then that's in that's in Milwaukee so yeah. We're both 45 minutes north okay…… So five hours that's a day drive yeah. That's a day drive day trip.

[10:55] Ron: So you said you since you belong to a field and stuff and used to fly with your family do you have a group of guys you fly with now or how does that work no we have a group that kind of.

[11:08] Tony Lewis: Gathers and flies at the club but they do so during the day when I have to work yeah. I don't know that they're retired and unfortunately I'm quite a ways away from that yeah. Me too…… So I haven't really fallen into a group here yet when I started flying we had a very active club and there was.

[11:33] UNKNOWN: A group of 10 to 15 of us that religiously flew every wednesday night and even if the weather.

[11:41] Tony Lewis: Was bad we would still congregate at the field talk shop and go grab a burger yeah. That's nice it's nice.

[11:49] Tom: To have a group of guys like that yeah. Hopefully you'll hopefully you'll find a group or even if it's not a big group like our I would say our group is what five maybe yeah. I would say five to six of us…… Well because usually if Dave comes he brings daniel oh yeah. So five or six sure. But it took us a long time really to sort of develop that group and it just…… So happens we're all kind of about the same age roughly well Reggie's a lot older than me…… But what I'm saying is none of us can afford to take a day off from work because we're all.

[12:23] Tom: Still working so it time wise it just works out to the we all have kind of similar schedules…… But yeah. Our club same thing we have a group of guys that they go out during the mornings when it's nice all the retired guys yeah. And they're all yeah. And they're all older retired guys and…… So yeah. I think you could probably find that sort of thing at most clubs yeah. But hopefully you can because it is it is I think it is fun to share it with other people like I don't it depends what I'm doing…… Well I don't particularly care for going out to the field.

[12:56] Tom: Completely by myself unless I'm doing something that I don't want anybody to see like maidening an airplane or whatever…… But I much prefer to go out there and fly with other my friends and yeah. Because there's there's always the tomfoolery that goes along with that the ribbing each other and making fun of each other and whatever yeah…… So hopefully you're able to find that sort of dynamic there in your club.

[13:22] Ron: Yeah. I hope so in time maybe we'll get some other people starting to fly up there and all that too you just you never know that's I think with the way things have been the last couple years like the amount of people that actually fly and do stuff like it fields has gone down I think there's probably a lot more hobby work that goes on inside of houses and stuff…… But actually going out and flying with a group of people I just think oh for sure. Yeah. Kind of like we've noticed.

[13:53] Tom: Put the put the kibosh on a lot of that stuff doing stuff with other people and so yeah. Our membership I don't think went down any…… But the participation certainly did yeah. There's.

[14:05] Ron: A lot of times where we go out there and it's just us and it used to be there'd always be maybe three or four other people out there depending on the time we go…… But it doesn't seem to be that way anymore yeah. Which is okay. In my opinion for that one actually yeah…… But we've had an interesting.

[14:21] Tony Lewis: Dynamic in this area too and again this goes back to my hometown and my one of my former clubs the fond lat club when they relocated back in right. At either at the end of the 90s or early 2000s they built just this amazing facility and there's a lot of guys especially guys definitely giant scale.

[14:49] Tony Lewis: That decided I'd rather drive the extra half hour 40 minutes and go there than to go to my home field because the field there is just beautiful that club is…… Well over a hundred members at this point and membership stretches throughout the whole area of the state it's it's it's an immaculate facility and they host a big event there every year too they have a giant scale warbird and the.

[15:23] Tom: Classics event there that's very well attended oh that's awesome yeah. So are you are you members of more than or are you a member of more than one club not currently…… But in the past I was yeah. So that's that's kind of a kind of a neat thing like if you have enough clubs locally that you can you can join more than one it gets to be it can be kind of expensive…… But it's nice because you're not seeing the same folks maybe every time or maybe one club has an advantage.

[15:55] Tom: Over another like maybe the run better runway yeah. One club or better than the other….. But you like flying at your other club because it's closer to home or whatever here we kind of just.

[16:05] Ron: Have one club one runway yeah. We don't get to choose on the yeah. It's not that it's bad or.

[16:12] Tom: Anything like that but sometimes it would be nice to have an option or another like I said another runway.

[16:16] Ron: That goes perpendicular to the wind as opposed to yeah. Well I guess I said that wrong parallel to the wind as opposed to perpendicular that we deal with all the time I know what you were trying to say yeah.

[16:26] Tony Lewis: That was a mouthful but you got it well my dad worked out of town so the company he worked for had a lot of active pilots and we became and this is where I learned to fly we became a member of the club local to them…… But then we also were members of the hometown club in fond du lac because going out on the weekend or wanting to run out for a quick flight we didn't want to have to drive all the way down to the other club was in beaver dam only a 40 minute drive but.

[17:03] Tony Lewis: You can drive five minutes and fly why would you want to drive for it yeah. It's extra hour wasted.

[17:10] Ron: Time right. Exactly that's understandable so of all of your flights in your past all you all the years you've flown any good crash stories it's a loaded question I know everybody's like I don't want to.

[17:27] Tom: Admit to any of them to relive them but boy do we love to hear about them I was gonna say there's.

[17:34] Tony Lewis: There's been some good ones more than I can remember even but the one that I'm.

[17:42] Tony Lewis: The one that seems to come up quite a bit with people that I used to fly with is I managed to fly into a barn into a barn okay. I hit a barn okay…… So the whole story of this is it was the maiden flight of a quarter scale space walker oh a big airplane we had been fighting this is back in the fm days we had been fighting an interference issue every time we'd start the engine we would have all this interference through the airplane couldn't figure out why gas or nitro okay. Nitro two.

[18:19] Tony Lewis: Cycle no onboard glow no nothings we just we couldn't figure it out and I honestly don't even remember what we found was the solution…… But in doing so we were swapping servos we were stopping swapping receivers we were swapping batteries and disconnecting and reconnecting everything a dozen times finally got it working took off leveled off started trimming.

[18:52] Tony Lewis: And I went to pull the throttle back and the throttle stuck it wide open oh no okay. Like…… Well this is a problem so I yelled back to my dad who was videotaping at the time which yes I do have this all on videotape ton of vhs somewhere I said hey I throttle stuck wide open he's like we'll climb up to altitude we'll have to run it out of fuel…… So I pulled back on the elevator air planked up flying straight and level oh dear so oh.

[19:33] Tony Lewis: I'm like yeah. I don't have elevator either so for five minutes to this thing every time we'd turn it would start to descend we'd level the wings and it would come back up to altitude five minutes we fought this thing trying to figure out what to do with it and in one of the turns the engine saved…… So I quick leveled off the wings thinking it's going to go down in a farm field and I don't know it couldn't have been more than 15 20 feet off the ground.

[20:09] Tony Lewis: The engine picked back up and it flew back behind the pits and our pits were kind of up on a hill I managed to fly down the driveway between two barns and somebody yelled look out the barns or look out for the building…… So I turned and managed to turn directly into the side of the barn.

[20:34] Tom: So you had what rudder and ailerons but no elevator or throttle correct oh boy that's hard to fly that's yeah…… Well it's definitely hard to maintain altitude absolutely.

[20:46] Tony Lewis: It punched a 10 inch by 10 inch hole in the side of the there was a more like a pole building wow…… So it actually went through it actually went through oh dear the airframe laid outside the barn all just destroyed completely destroyed mangled the engine battery pack firewall assembly went through the barn all the way across the building and rolled underneath their.

[21:16] Tony Lewis: Brand new confine oh my gosh holy smokes that's some force there was a crew of four guys working in the barn on the opposite side of the driveway I bet that was shocking…… So yeah. Had I turned the other way I would have hit the barn they were all in wow they got a good laugh out of it and we got to own a piece of sheet metal on a barn.

[21:47] Tom: That should be hanging up somewhere no kidding yeah. The piece that you replaced with the whole yeah. That's.

[21:52] Tony Lewis: Got to be hanging up in somebody's wall I actually think I have a picture of a shop somewhere there was a chunk of airplanes stuck in the side of the barn for a good couple weeks before the.

[22:05] Tom: Wind finally blew it down that's awesome I can honestly say I've never heard of anyone flying through a wall that's that's a first that's yeah. Usually they just stop and bounce off never underestimate the power of a super tiger 75 yeah. Right…… Well and they're they're kind of heavy anyway super tiger 75 so yeah. That's a lot of inertia that's awesome…… Well I don't know if I'd say it's awesome well it's still a crash but from a long time ago…… So it's okay. It's a pretty.

[22:37] Ron: Awesome crash it's okay. To relive the memories as long as we've learned from them right. Is that how we I guess…… So what we try to say I guess so any other ones Tony that club we celebrated.

[22:48] Tony Lewis: Crashes so there you go when it hit that building yeah. I can imagine see if we did that Reggie would.

[22:56] Tom: Be king oh my gosh yeah. Reggie well but Reggie's crashes are crashes but they're really not spectacular they're usually because he's done something say it stupid he forgets to do something and something and it's usually foam right…… So it's it's it's not really.

[23:18] Ron: That's true I guess if we're going by numbers yes for sure. He wins yeah. So any other ones.

[23:25] Tom: Tony you got any other stories off the top of my head something about maybe a telemaster I'm reading our.

[23:36] Tony Lewis: Notes here ah yes that's the fame telemaster car pickup telemaster car pickup okay. I've got it I've got to hear this one okay…… So my friend and I had this bright idea that just like they do at an air show where they swing down and land on top of a car with like a cub or something yeah. Okay. We could probably do something similar except hook the car and take it airborne.

[24:10] Tom: Yeah. Because a telemaster could do that for sure. No problem at all certainly has the capacity.

[24:18] Tony Lewis: So and that was why we chose columnist which for the record was my dad's plane it makes it all that much better yeah. This gets better yeah. He had a senior telemaster with I think it had a sato 91 on it at that point and the car of choice because it was the only one we had to choose from was a one ace scale four-wheel drive nitro boogie oh geez.

[24:48] Tony Lewis: Which is a big car yeah. Which is a heavy kind of heavy and a lot of power yeah. So yeah. We fashioned about a two foot long metal hook that hung underneath the landing gear of the telemaster and we put a big hoop of wire on the RC car that we set out to do this once again this exists on a vhs somewhere in my collection…… But we managed to swing down and pick up the car we and get it airborne.

[25:25] Tony Lewis: And immediately fly it out of range of the car radio which meant the servos started going crazy including the throttle kept revving and stopping -huh and those four large wheels spinning and stopping spinning and stopping oh yeah. Started a pendulum effect underneath the airplane I can picture this in my head it's funny yeah. It didn't take long that a swinging a scale buggy underneath the senior telemaster started to affect the flight path.

[26:06] Tony Lewis: And eventually managed to swing up and hook the tail oh I didn't see that and drag the whole assembly into the soybean field tail first oh wow with the telemaster at full throttle trying to fly out.

[26:23] Tom: Of trying to yeah. Get away from it oh man how bad was the damage the car was fine.

[26:32] Tony Lewis: Of course actually it wasn't too bad the telemaster comes to a pretty small cross section back by the tail mm-hmm it broke the fuselage at that point it broke the tail off and I it did some damage to the covering poked a couple holes in the wing cracked a couple pieces…… But for the most part the only major.

[26:55] Tom: Damage was that it knocked the tail off oh that's not bad at all then yeah. Really no….. Well it went down tail.

[27:01] Ron: First so that's not so and then soybeans so it was a nice yeah. Something to land on airplanes don't.

[27:08] Tom: Normally crash tail first so that's that's good yeah. So let's talk about some airplanes you have.

[27:16] Ron: Quite a few in your hangar yeah. What let's move on to what's your number so what's your number.

[27:23] Tom: My current number would be 31. Very nice and he's got pictures that he sent to us that I've been I've been drooling over certain airframes I love that tiger cat by the way I know it's foam…… But it's still beautiful so you want to read the you want to read the list Tom oh sure. Yeah. I can read the list you're good at that let me take my glasses off…… So I can so I can see this I know it's it's an old person thing all right. So Tony I'm going to get started here with.

[27:53] Tom: I just want to say that Tony's list that he sent us is color coded and I just wanted to say that I love that because my list also I keep color coded…… So kudos for that so we'll start with the finished ones which are 12 we have an aerotech phoenix I'm not familiar with what that is Tony can you.

[28:18] Tony Lewis: Tell me what that is the aerotech phoenix is a it's a rocket propelled glider what yeah. I was wondering.

[28:29] Tom: Because the word aerotech they're the ones that make the motors right. Yes okay. Yes so this is a plane.

[28:36] Tony Lewis: From it was actually owned by one of the guys that taught me to fly and he flew it for a number of years and when he got out of the hobby he passed it on to me which I was very excited about until I looked at the price of those motors yeah…… So I cut the nose apart and converted it to a electric nice so that I had it's kind of like having a warm liner…… But I did leave the rocket mount intact so if.

[29:16] Tony Lewis: I ever wanted to I can always do some sort of motor in there either for effect or actually try to launch.

[29:22] Tom: Yeah. That'd be cool I've never actually seen one of those stand and everything yeah. I've never actually seen one fly…… But I always thought they'd look cool I think I know exactly what you're talking about now aerotech made a few different we had three in the club back okay. Cool all right…… So next we have a crossfire who makes that is my own design oh okay. Looks like that one's set up electric three cell 2200 and…… Then I have a what's the wingspan on that one.

[29:54] Tony Lewis: 30 32 cool is that like a high wing nope I don't see it is a it's a low wing sport kind of pattern.

[30:09] Tom: Is that the blue or pink and white one blue orange and white yes okay. There it is bottom left yeah. That's.

[30:16] Tony Lewis: Good so in the last year and a half I've kind of started to play around with some of the flight test ideas the flight test planes and the dollar tree foam board okay. As I've gotten a little more curious about what you can do with foam and I realized that there's a whole side of this hobby that I wasn't really familiar with there's a company over on that's called the hanger RC that did a design contest and this was my entry for that cool okay…… So it's it's built a dollar tree.

[30:54] Tony Lewis: Foam board and it's I did printed skins on it which turned out relatively okay. How'd you do in the in the competition don't know yet still ongoing oh okay. I didn't know that…… So voting is still going on right. Now but yeah. It's inspired heavily by some of the classic pattern airplanes I was just getting ready to say that it looks very patterned to me king cobra a lot of king cobra in it yep.

[31:26] Tony Lewis: Chaos played into that the blue angel mk blue angel and that's in fact the color scheme was kind.

[31:36] Tom: Of stolen from that yeah. Okay. It does look familiar cool and you designed that's awesome all right. Moving on a diana 54 okay. What's that is a 54 inch version of.

[31:54] Tony Lewis: A free flight glider from the 50s so the diana was a tow line free flight tow line glider made by frog which was the england english manufacturer okay. And I scaled it up to 54 inches and made an RC two channel RC version electric…… Well three channels.

[32:21] Tom: Yes is that the purple and white one yep okay. Yeah. Good looking airplane also yes it is you do nice work Tony thank you all right. Next we have an e-flight blade mcpx we have an e-flight commander mpd.

[32:37] Tony Lewis: Is that the one that just came out I think so yes and no okay. So the one that just came out is a re-release for a new version oh I didn't realize originally yeah. It originally came out a couple I'd say in 2016 2017 and I've got the older version oh okay. Yeah. I was gonna say I didn't think the new one had.

[33:04] Ron: Actually been released yet so I was confused when I saw the pictures and I saw that I was like wait a minute original one's red the new one's blue yeah. I noticed that too…… So that's probably the only thing they changed and just re-releasing it that way you have to buy all new things for it if something.

[33:19] Tony Lewis: Happens to the old one that was my and that one was one of the first airplanes I splurged on as far as for a foam airplane I've I've never been a fan of buying some of these more expensive home ready to fly planes yeah. Me too…… But I was in a place where I knew I wasn't going to have a lot of building time for a little while and I wanted something quick and easy I could throw in my car to go fly I thought this fit the bill and it's a good looking airplane yeah. I really I really.

[33:56] Tom: Dig the way it looks and I like the blue version too the new one all right. Next we have excuse me an fms tiger cat which that thing is really sexy even though it's a foam airplane I love that thing great plane shoestring we have a live wire 80 which is a that's a the live wire that's like an old robin hood ish type plane I think that's the one that looks like it's in.

[34:21] Tony Lewis: In the bones here in your picture with the yellow wing nope the live wire no because you're reading.

[34:28] Tom: Off the finished list oh okay. True well that could have been clear covering oh there you go I guess he's got one in here with clear covering on it…… So okay. You just hush over there all right.

[34:40] Tony Lewis: Which one is that the live wire is a holdable design from the 50s as well in my pictures it's the one that's blue and cream with a black lightning bolt and that's another one where I took the original design I scaled it up to 80 inches and that's a good looking airplane design some of it to be built a little lighter and…… So forth it looks like it flies nice it's actually my go-to airplane as basic as it seems it is very mildly aerobatic…… But it seems to be.

[35:21] Tom: One of the planes have the most fun flying I think I think everybody has that one airplane right. I know mine is a is a stick we always that's one of our questions…… So usually but cool the sig and I'm gonna pronounce this the way I pronounce it I don't know if it's right. Or wrong.

[35:40] Ron: But demazelle that's the way I pronounce it good so what do you think of that one like I would like to have one of those someday how do they fly very slow that's what I like that just that looks like it would be a very relaxing airplane to just go out of an evening and fly.

[35:59] Tony Lewis: Yeah. It made a very good indoor flyer okay. Really even at that size yeah. Well we had a fairly good size gym to fly in okay. And it took all of it…… But yeah. It flew very well indoors it's very light and it's got that under cambered air foil it won't handle wind very well.

[36:29] Tom: I like the color combination what'd you cover that with I don't know I didn't it almost looks like I know I know it's not…… But it almost looks like tissue.

[36:41] Tony Lewis: It feels like tissue it to me it feels like I don't know if you guys ever use cover light.

[36:49] Tom: No I can't say that I have huh cover right. For a short time was selling a synthetic.

[36:56] Tony Lewis: Heat shrinkable tissue that was called cover light ah okay. And that's what that feels like yeah…… But reading the manual for the airplane it came with some kind of covering so I think it might have actually come with the kit…… But it does look like tissue I like that I like I like that color combo all right. It's it's not one you can fly a lot and that's why it actually is currently hanging.

[37:25] Tom: In my office at work that's cool that you can that you can hang airplanes at your office is awesome I have an airplane…… Well half of an airplane at my work it's an old tail off the edge of the viewers that I crashed a long time ago yeah. I remember that one all right. Next we have a tiny twister and…… Then a.

[37:45] Tony Lewis: A willy-nilly speedster right. Is that what that is yep that one as they hosted a design contest where you had to use one of their wing kits and the speedster was my design for that contest awesome.

[38:06] Tom: Cool is that the green and white one yep with the gullwing yeah. That is really a sharp airplane I think that would be awesome scaled up to about 65 inches or…… So with like a.

[38:19] Tony Lewis: Old kmb 60 on it that'd be that'd be a sweet combo well there is an old design called the pacific ace.

[38:27] Tom: Sweepster or pacific ace sportster that has the gullwing like that and it spans about 70 72. Perfect and.

[38:38] Tony Lewis: I saw one in toledo years ago and this has stayed with me I've I've wanted to do one for a while now…… So I pulled a lot of inspiration from that when I designed this it looks really sharp I really like that one okay. Unfortunately it looks a whole lot better than it flies oh I hate to hear that because it looks it's a little squirrely and I don't know if it's a servo issue because I'm.

[39:08] Tony Lewis: Using the equipment out of a e-flight umx so it's got those little linear servos yep and those can be a little bit finicky yeah…… But it just seems to have kind of some quirky tendencies well that's.

[39:32] Tom: Unfortunate control all right. And then last one on the finish list you have a hanger 9 cessna 182. That's a good flying airplane that one's gas it's got a 20 cc rcgf on it okay. That one I.

[39:46] Tony Lewis: Refinished after it is painted in the colors of the cesna that my father and my sister got their pilot's license oh really oh that's awesome yeah. Is that a brown or is that black it is orange and brown.

[40:01] Tom: Orange and brown yeah. That's really sharp actually that was that was a swap meet fine that.

[40:06] Tony Lewis: I the guy had kind of cracked up the belly of it and it needed a little work and I had been wanting to build a model of that airplane for a while and yeah. I think it picked it up for a hundred bucks with the servos and everything in it that's good that picture if you didn't know that was a.

[40:23] Tom: Model you would that picture you would think that it was yeah. That's a real airplane or a full-size airplane yeah. That's a really that's my wife and her photography skills okay. Yeah…… Well she's really.

[40:34] Tony Lewis: Really good at it you can let her know I said that's that was that's her expertise that's what she went to college for oh okay. I have a lot of really good airplane pictures thanks to her.

[40:46] Ron: That's awesome so you have you brought up a couple words that have hit me you said toledo and…… Then you also said swap meets do you do swap meets often or how does that like where what's around you.

[40:59] Tony Lewis: Swap meet wise there is a big one down in the walkie area every january and that one's probably one of the best ones in our area unfortunately it always falls right. Around new year's it's like that first saturday of the year…… So I'm not always available to go down to it that might be one worth a drive from here I've been to that one yeah. They would get vendors and things like radical RC usually showed.

[41:34] Tony Lewis: Up and remember the other one but or batteries america I think was usually there okay…… So that one was pretty good we had a I lived further north for about 10 years and there were a couple up in that area not quite as big if they're if I can make it I try to make them they're kind of they're fun to go to and walk around I don't really like going to them if I'm going with the purpose of selling things.

[42:11] Ron: Oh that's because you don't sell things.

[42:14] Tony Lewis: I hate sitting at a table and bartering back and forth with someone that's when you're especially when you're trying to sell something that you built in.

[42:28] Ron: Yeah. And they're often they're offering you pennies on the dollar yeah. That's yeah…… So back to the list back to the list sorry didn't mean to take us off topic looks like you have four.

[42:40] Tom: Under construction you have a cadet junior that you're turning into a night flyer I presume.

[42:46] Tony Lewis: Yeah. It's that's a foam build somebody on the ft forums threw up some patterns for a foam board cadet junior and I just happen to have a roll of leds around from a previous project and I thought this would be fun.

[43:03] Tom: Yeah. There you go all right. So next we have a proctor antic parasol I was admiring the wheels on that one because I have a pair of those wheels and…… So does Ron and he's going to put his on an elder right. No.

[43:18] Ron: That's gonna go on the top yeah. Top and I didn't know you had a pair of those I have a pair for my.

[43:23] Tom: Elder biplane when I build it someday now that you say that I knew you had a pair of those a sig mr mulligan that's a really fun airplane and…… Then okay. So I you're gonna have to help me.

[43:35] Tony Lewis: With this one a spawns wonder yeah. So dan spawns hole or spawn holes he does all the cad work and design work for flight test and he's got a couple designs that he's put out himself and he's local to me he is doing a with bruce tharp's permission he is doing a foam board version.

[44:05] UNKNOWN: Of the single wonder and I was able to build this is actually the second one I did for him as a.

[44:13] Tom: Prototype or a test build from these designs oh well that's kind of cool all right. So that's four under construction…… Then you have which the this is the bigger part of his list and usually the big part of most of ours that have been in the hobby for a long time the not started list yes…… So I'll quickly go through this one a quarter scale aronca a balsa usa spad bridey trainer domiko livewire.

[44:44] Tom: Kitten domiko sonic cruiser a fisler storage I make a good one yeah. I do fly line mega coop hanger 9 toledo special joy products oh another aronca okay. Park scale models mini drake a royal mock mini oh that's a good flying airplane I used to have one of those scientific commodore if it's what I think it was…… Anyway sig customer toc acromaster and a top flight and terry's cool.

[45:12] Tom: So going back to the oh the mock mini is that is that the one that was used to be a half a powered yes okay. Yeah. That is a great flying even with a with a cox td I think I had an o51 on mine with a throttle if you remember way back when…… But yeah. What an awesome flying airplane that was.

[45:37] Tony Lewis: And fast at least mine was oh that's my hope yeah. I have a line RC outrunner out of one of the t-rex helicopters that's a really high kv that I'm I'm hoping to put in there and a lot of I've seen some videos in that the guys are using this and some of the hotliners and they're.

[46:03] Tom: They're well over 100 miles an hour yeah. Oh yeah. And I noticed that it says it's a balza workbench.

[46:10] Tony Lewis: Shortcut rob does great work by the way yeah. Actually there we in my previous club there was a group of us that we decided to go out and build a bunch of these half a models…… So we bought a bunch from him and this was one of the designs that he actually didn't have at the time…… So I did the cat.

[46:31] Tom: Work and sent over to him cool yeah. I was I was fortunate enough to get to build his prototype cloud dancer 10 kit for him which was which was really enjoyable I like working with rob went together pretty quick for you yeah. It really did actually you were fast yeah. He does he does great work and honest as a day is long that guy he'll tell you just the way it is which I.

[47:00] Ron: Appreciate yeah. That's awesome all right. So that's the list yeah. So you said you grew up with obviously balsa airplanes because that was what was around back…… Then what do you prefer at this point like I'm looking at your list and there's a mix of both balsa and foam and like dollar tree foam board stuff what's your what's your preference at this point to build with I'm still far more.

[47:25] Tony Lewis: Comfortable building with balsa than anything else yeah. If I if I had to decide to build a certain airplane and do it quick in an expedite build or whatever that would be my go to yeah. I think I understand I've done a lot of research on foam and I think there's a lot of merit to what you can do with foam and right. Now with balsa the balsa prices and supply being what it is yeah. There's some.

[48:02] Tony Lewis: Advantages to being able to build with foam but at the same time I really don't like all these all foam airplanes yeah. They look great out of the box…… But they get dinged up and dented so.

[48:17] Tom: Easy and then they just look right. Yeah. I'm shaking my head in total agreement yeah. I feel.

[48:27] Tony Lewis: The same I think there's a lot of merit to foam and this is nothing new back in the 60s and 70s 90 of the pattern planes had foam core wings and foam core tails and things like that and even a lot of hero vests do yeah. I think there's a lot of merit in building with both materials yeah. You can save a lot of weight and you can save a lot of time by building with some of the components with foam…… But I think the outside finish needs to be something sturdier to make it less likely to.

[49:04] Tony Lewis: Have hanger ash yeah. Have some longevity to the finished airplane yeah. I agree with that.

[49:14] Ron: Completely like you said the old built-up foam like cores and stuff for wings they hold up really…… Well they're strong they're light yeah. It's it's a good building technique because you get the best of both worlds…… So yeah. I absolutely agree with one of the big tipping points.

[49:34] Tony Lewis: For me I started following some builds online and I guess I was first made aware of this because years ago I built the curtis helldiver from jerry bates plants probably one of my favorite airplanes ever both model and full scale okay. And…… So I'm always kind of keeping helldiver stuff on the radar because it's not a very common airplane…… So I'd like to see what other guys are doing when they build them and on the RC skill builder forum somebody popped in and.

[50:09] Tony Lewis: Said I'm building this helldiver from the cherry-based plants same size as mine and he was worried about the weight of his finished airplane and I looked through his build and I saw that he was building it all out of foam instead of doing it on a falsa and he's fretting over it he was worried it might hit 30.

[50:31] UNKNOWN: Pounds and I'm thinking to myself mine weighed 42 right. Mine weighed 42 and it flew on a g62 and I.

[50:42] Tony Lewis: Mean I flew I had 80 flights on it when I sold it was a great airplane yeah. So I messaged him and I said hey look you don't need to worry he said you can get 30 pounds this plane's still gonna fly just fine yeah…… But I followed the rest of this build and I was intrigued at how he was able to build this big airplane on a phone he still did a fiberglass skin on the outside like you same as you would do with a wood build right. Look beautiful weighed 26 pounds or anything to fly oh man I'm like.

[51:18] Tony Lewis: He's almost 20 pounds lighter than mine same exact plans yeah. And fully functional on both models bombay diverx a whole bit yeah…… So then I started following some of his other builds and what he was able to do with foam was incredible he did a lot of giant warbirds 80 to 100 inch warbirds and they were all mid-20s I think there were even some that didn't even hit 20 pounds.

[51:50] Tony Lewis: Were they were they electric or yeah. Okay. Yeah. I and that's the caveat to that you can't I don't think the foam especially built that light right.

[52:06] Tom: Well not to mention electric not to mention the fact that foam and gasoline don't get along.

[52:11] Tony Lewis: Looked as good as a balsa build and that was the biggest thing they didn't look like a foam right. Yeah.

[52:18] Tom: Well if you fiberglass them and paint them they look as good or better than a wood built airplane for sure…… So which actually the discussion brings me to my next question for you is I see a lot of electric airplanes on your list do you do you prefer electric.

[52:37] Tony Lewis: At this point yes yeah. I don't blame you of course I washed literally washed my hands of nitro yeah. About 10 years ago I went electric on anything that would have been nitro sized yeah. To me once you got up to about a 20 cc size airplane…… Then it was worth it to go gas right. With that said I'm starting to go electric even now at that size I still wouldn't go much bigger.

[53:11] Tony Lewis: And try to go electric like I have no interest in doing a 12 cell to playing with two battery packs or even lower yeah. And that whole gamut…… But I do like the toc acromaster that's on my list that's a 70 some inch wingspan pattern it's a 1978 design pattern plane and that would be it was designed around a weber 90 and I'm planning to put electric in that…… But six cell single battery packs so still a not a high voltage setup yeah. I am fighting.

[53:55] Ron: Buying anything bigger than a four cell like anything over four cell I just want to jump up and go with the gas engine…… So we'll see how that goes I've got a couple of them that I think I'm going to be getting rid of soon because I don't want to spend or I don't want new batteries like I don't want to have to go buy six cell batteries just for a couple airplanes…… So just do it just do it.

[54:16] Tony Lewis: So that's I was kind of at the same point ever I had I had not had an electric that was bigger than maybe 30 40 inch wingspan park flyer size when I decided to do my first nitro conversion that nitro conversion was on a gray plains trainer 60 the joe pretty design with the full symmetrical air foil and at that time I went to a five cell setup and that plane on that setup flew…… So well that I was hooked on electric for that size.

[54:59] Ron: I just I don't know like I get it I fully understand like well that's a road once you go down…… Then it's if I buy the batteries I don't have to get rid of the airplanes right. So I guess I have to make a decision on exactly is it worth giving up a couple airplanes…… So I don't have to buy batteries for them or should I just bite the bullet and not trade them in and get a new airplane.

[55:23] Tony Lewis: Yeah. I don't know we'll have to see so once you have your first set of six cell packs the amount of planes that it opens up to fly at that size yeah. I understand I get it like I.

[55:41] Tom: You are making complete sense to me I'm just you're fighting going up to six cells the way I'm fighting.

[55:48] Ron: Going electric period well and I understand that yeah. Like it's perfect for you with nitro you don't mind nitro no that's what I'm trying to skip the smaller planes to bigger planes just like Tony did by getting rid of nitro completely right. We'll see yeah. I guess my mind's not completely made up yet…… Well yeah. We'll have to talk about that well even the planes that I.

[56:12] Tom: Fly nitro are these days easily and fairly economically converted to electric but I'm oh yeah 40 sizes I would have to start completely from nothing I have those two batteries for that jet and that's really everything else is the 2200 the park flyer type stuff…… So three cells yeah. So I'm I'm fighting it the way you're fighting I'm just fighting going electric period and you're just fighting going from one step to the next there's.

[56:45] Ron: No reason for you to fight electric because you're not trying to get away from something else like you already have plenty of nitro engines you don't mind the tuning and all that kind of stuff right…… So there's nothing that says hey I need to get away from this whereas with me I don't want to deal with all the nitro and the cost and all that kind of stuff…… So it's easier for me.

[57:07] Tom: Just to stick with electric does that make sense no it does okay. But I think I think and that was the.

[57:11] Tony Lewis: Big thing that pushed me to go electric too I liked nitro I never had a problem with the engines yes they're finicky…… But especially if you run four cycles they were a lot less trouble and they sounded nice that smell still takes me back to all those memories growing up mm-hmm…… But I can buy two batteries for the price of three gallons of gas and at the time between the.

[57:47] Tony Lewis: Way work and everything else was for me I wasn't able to fly enough to burn up of maybe more than a gallon and a half a year…… So you're throwing out a half gallon every winter and that's 15 bucks down the drain if you don't use that up because at 30 at the time it was maybe 30 a gallon it just electric the convenience of electric was…… So much better than.

[58:18] Tom: Nitro yeah. No I totally get it I really do but for me maybe one other reason I'm I don't want to say I'm fighting it I'm not really fighting it…… But it's it's another okay. So I have all this nitro and I have a couple of these gas airplanes will now throw some electrics and batteries into the mix now I'm maintaining batteries on top of maintaining the nitro engines.

[58:44] Ron: On top of what it's just more for you it makes sense to stick with nitro so anyway it's not that I'm fighting it I just you don't need to even consider it right. The way you're exactly…… So that makes complete sense but like I said for Tony and I know nitro I'm cool with that.

[59:00] Tom: Because I still get the and I don't think I don't think any less of you well and you shouldn't actually.

[59:05] Ron: But like I said I still get the smells I still get the yeah. I get to watch you be frustrated with them and all that kind of stuff…… So it's like I'm still living it even without owning them so that's.

[59:15] Tony Lewis: That's one thing and full disclosure as much as I had gotten away from nitro I once again own one yeah. I acquired a half dozen airplanes at the end of last year and one of them was that quarter scale aronca that's got a gemini 160 on the nose and the full scale has that exposed twin cylinder engine on it the os is a perfect scale copy the model has functional scale exhaust and.

[59:46] Tony Lewis: It those engines just sound so nice yeah. I can't fathom pulling that off and putting anything else.

[59:54] Ron: In there yeah. Well and that's that's why we're doing the nitro on the tri motor just because of.

[1:00:01] Tony Lewis: The sound yeah. Like pretty much and on that airplane too there's a lot of sentimental value to that it came from the estate of a good friend after he had passed away yeah. I feel very honored to be able to get that in you that legacy and keep that airplane airborne in its memory it's not an airplane I'm going to run.

[1:00:18] Tom: Out and fly every weekend right. No I totally get that I have one of those too yep that completely.

[1:00:24] Ron: Makes sense so well Tony this has been fun is there anything else you want to talk about before we get off here not that I can think of okay. All right. Cool…… Well I appreciate you coming on as a guest it was a lot of fun yeah. Until next time I am Ron I'm Tom and you and I am Tony goodbye all right. We hope you.

[1:00:45] Announcer: 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.