Ep 17: What keeps you coming back?

[00:00:14] We’ll see you next time.

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

[00:00:38] Hello, everyone, and welcome to the RC Plane Lab podcast. I'm Ron. And I'm Tom. This week, we're going to be talking about what keeps you coming back. It's a question that Tom and I ask ourselves every now and then, because we've been doing this for a while, not nearly as long as, oh, I haven't been doing it as long as he has, but it's one of those things that once you start, it kind of becomes a constant in your life.

[00:01:01] It's not something that, well, especially for us, it's not something we do a little bit, and then we're done with it. life does kind of get in the way sometimes and things happen, but it's a hobby that we always come back to. Like, I don't expect to ever sell all of my airplanes and get out of it completely. Yeah, me either. So, we're just going to kind of talk about what we like about it, what we don't like about it, and what keeps us coming back.

[00:01:27] So, and then we'll also kind of talk about, like, some updates on what we've been working on. It's been several weeks since we've done an update episode. So, we'll kind of cover some of the things we've been doing, too.

[00:01:38] So before we get started, I just want to make a quick correction and call myself out here. I did make a mistake in our last episode about wing loading and I think I said that a standard sport plane kind of hovers around 18 ounces per square inch.

[00:01:57] It's actually expressed as ounces per square foot, and a standard, sport type plane kind of, with a fairly light wing loading would be considered, somewhere in the vicinity of 18 ounces per square foot, which is an easy formula to figure out. It's just basically a wing area divided by weight, and then, that gives you that number. Just wanted to make that quick correction before I get called out by one of our listeners.

[00:02:25] And to put that in perspective, a good trainer, for example, in this case is a SIG Cadet, which is like one of the most prolific trainers, in the RC hobby, been around forever. That airplane is advertised as 12 ounces per square foot on the wing loading. So, very, very light wing loading, very easy to handle. A SIG 4 Star 40, in contrast, standard kind of low wing sport plane, a little bit heavier, a little bit less wing, 18 ounces per square foot.

[00:03:00] And then, a pattern type plane, a little bit more aerobatic, like let's say a SIG Cougar, 23 to 25 ounces per square foot. So, that kind of gives you an idea of the range when we were talking about wing loading, that those are the ranges that you kind of look for. And when you're looking for your second airplane, I would stick to kind of that sport area, which is somewhere, around 18 ounces per square foot.

[00:03:26] Oh, by the way, your SIG Cavalier, in case you were wondering, 22 to 24 ounces per square foot.

[00:03:34] So, that would be somewhere in the, a little faster of a plane than an intermediate one, but it’s still not too heavy.

[00:03:43] Yep, exactly. Yep.

[00:03:45] Yeah. And it's a good flying plane. So, I still like it.

[00:03:49] Yep. So, I just wanted to make that quick correction. I don't want to put bad information out there, so.

[00:03:55] Yeah. Good deal. So, then, yeah, like with, with the beginner planes, when you're talking about like the floaters and, and even like the, the just easy to fly Sunday afternoon flyers, when you don't want to really do anything too difficult, you just want to kind of go out and, and float around in the air. Like a 12 ounces a square foot is fairly low.

[00:04:12] So I can only imagine. I’ve never flown one of those, but I can only imagine. Yeah, it would probably be in the, in the same realm as, like a, a cub or something like that I would think.

[00:04:24] Surprisingly, if you're talking about a, a standard full, full length wing cub, not a clipped wing, they're, they're actually, I looked them up, they're somewhere in the 15 to 17 ounce ring, depending on how heavy you build it. So, even, even a cub is, is not quite as lightly loaded, as a SIG cadet or a trainer type, airplane with the fat flat bottom airfoil, a lot of dihedral and, fairly lightweight.

[00:04:52] Like I said, cadet is one of the lightest, probably 40 size or 60 size depending on which direction you go- airframe that you can build- I mean it’s all stick all balsa, very little plywood, in the airplane firewall, basically in the wing jointer, I think is. If I recall it’s been a long time since I built one, but yeah, it’s hard to find one much lighter than that.

[00:05:15] Well, and so then with that, the, the lighter, the wing loading, the more it’s going to be affected by wind too, correct?

[00:05:21] That’s true to a point. If, if an airplane weighs 30 pounds, but it has throw out some numbers- 500, square inches of wing area- you can. You can still get to that. 12 Ounces per square foot, even on a 30 or 40 pound airplane, which would still be fairly lightly loaded but because of the weight, isn’t, as fact isn’t, as affected by wind as a as a as a six pound airplane.

[00:05:51] Oh, okay. So that makes sense. I'd have to look it up cause I, I don't know, but I'm, I'm guessing some of these bigger airplanes then, they don't grow exponentially by weight like they do with, the size of the wing. So some of these bigger ones are probably a lower wing loading too, than some of the smaller, heavier type airplanes that you fly. And that could be why some of the bigger ones fly bigger or fly better too.

[00:06:15] Right. You'd probably be surprised. I don't know what it is. We'd have to, we'd have to weigh it and measure it, but I bet your yak, is probably more lightly loaded on the wing than a standard, 40, 60 size pattern plane, that comes in around 24 ounces per square foot. But I bet that yak of yours based on, how it looks like it flies.

[00:06:36] I bet it’s somewhere in the 18 to 20, ounces per square foot range. Just because it’s, but because it’s so much heavier, just bigger it does better in the wind than a six pound airplane with the same wing loading.

[00:06:52] So. Okay. So I was wrong again. It happens.

[00:06:55] No, no, no, not that you were wrong. It's just that it's, it's, wing loading is just a function of wing area and the weight of the airplane. And that's it. Yeah. I mean, size, physical size doesn't necessarily mean anything.

[00:07:08] Like today’s big airplanes, like our 50 CC size airplanes, and bigger, are so lightly constructed and I mean and still well built, but they’re so lightly constructed that they can keep that wing loading down and make a good flyer out of it, as opposed to 20 years ago when we built the same size airplanes out of kits or whatever. They were twice as heavy.

[00:07:32] So the wing loading was, considerably higher and they didn’t, they weren’t as easy to fly as they are today.

[00:07:39] Yeah. Some of these new planes are engineered so well that they, I mean, they're just built pretty much like real airplanes to where you're not going to have any extra weight up there, than what is absolutely necessary. So true. Yeah. That's amazing. But, so let's, I, I guess let's, let's talk about a couple of things first before we kind of get to why we like the hobby, why we don't like the hobby.

[00:08:03] So getting back to, remember we talked about the, the profile airplane a couple weeks ago, three weeks ago, whatever it was that I, that I had found on, on my computer and I decided to make one. Yep. So, I went ahead and did, I, I did order new batteries because the batteries I had on that were shot. cool. Okay.

[00:08:24] So on that one, if you remember what we were talking about, the, the original one that I, that I made, so it was powered by a, it was powered by a, a five and a half inch propeller. because the first prop slot that I, that I made for it was only like six inches wide. and I, I had a, a 1200 KV motor on it and a 2700 milliamp, three S LiPo in it. Okay. I didn't weigh it. So I don't know exactly what the weight was on it.

[00:08:52] And I, I, I really don't know on a shape like this, how to easily find out the, the wing loading. Cause I don't know how to find the square, like the area of the wing on that first one. I crashed it multiple times. just finding the right center of gravity. And by the time I got it down to where it was pretty close, it actually flew pretty well. It was underpowered.

[00:09:13] Usually with those kinds of airplanes, I like to be able to set them on their tail and take off vertically. It's just easier to me. Sure. For convenience. I think, yeah, you can walk away and then just kind of take off. That one would not do that. so I ended up changing a bunch of stuff on it. change the size of control surfaces changed, a few other things on it too. And I, I made a second one on that second one.

[00:09:40] I also changed the propeller to a, an eight by six and put a different motor on it. There was a 1400 KV motor. the batteries I got are 2200 milliamp instead of the 27, what I ordered. So they're a little bit lighter, but not much. and I did weigh that one and it weighed in at 379 grams. So, like I said that I, I changed some things on it.

[00:10:05] The rudder I changed, the side formers that were, what kept my propeller to the size that it was, I moved those farther out. So I was able to fit that bigger propeller on. Okay. and then the, the Elevons, I ended up widened to be the full, full width of each wing. And that made a huge difference in it. So this thing is, is overpowered now and it's very fast.

[00:10:27] Okay.

[00:10:28] So, I, I really don't want to admit this, but I guess I will. So I took it outside, it's been two or three days ago now, it doesn't matter. And went ahead and threw it and went full throttle. Well, it's fast, like it's very fast and it's very twitchy at high speeds because the control surfaces are getting all that air over it. And it, it moves back and forth very fast with, with the, the elevator input or the, the, aileron input.

[00:10:57] Okay.

[00:10:59] Well, so I, it, I wasn't ready for that. And for some reason, my mind just went stupid. I mean, like I, I had a brain fart. I just completely, the thought, like the thought of turning the throttle down did not enter my mind at all. So I'm going full throttle the whole time and it's doing, I mean, I couldn't tell you how fast it was going, but it was very fast.

[00:11:19] I’m sorry. I can’t get past the fact that you said my brain went stupid.

[00:11:27] Have you ever had that where you just completely forget everything that you should know? okay. Yeah. So I, it was pretty bad, but anyway, I ended up lawn darting it right into the ground and it ended up probably being four inches shorter than it originally was. okay, but I learned from my mistake and I went ahead and I threw that thing right back up in the air and tried it, even with the crash, with the crash nose and tried it at like quarter throttle.

[00:12:00] I tell you what, that flew very well. I was very impressed with it once I kind of at quarter throttle. Yeah. So once I, once I understood that and was able to, to be prepared for full throttle runs, I was able to do that, a couple of times out of stupid, my brain out of stupid. so I was able to get a few passes, not completely full throttle because I don't have a, I have a decent amount of area here, but not a huge amount of area. Right.

[00:12:30] So I was able to get, a few seconds here at full throttle and it ran, I mean, it really ran very fast. It rips, huh? I liked it a lot. so I think, I think what I want to do next, you're going to have to send me

[00:12:44] A picture of this thing. I don’t have any pictures yet.

[00:12:48] No, you don't. I do have a few I can, I can send over to you. Okay. but I don't have any before crash pictures. That's okay. I think it'd be sufficient to give me an idea. Yeah. You have to imagine it being a few inches longer than what you see. but anyway, so I think what I'm going to do is print up another set of plans and give them to you and let you put one together and see what you think of it.

[00:13:10] This is still out of the Dollar Tree foam.

[00:13:13] Yeah. So it's still, it's a buck, so if it crashes, it's no big deal. yeah. So I, I think that's my next plan for that. And then if that all goes according to plan and you like it, I think I'll end up probably just putting the plans on our website and letting people download them if they want to do that. And yeah, like I said, it's a dollar worth of foam. So I'm, I'm very happy with, with how it's turned out on that.

[00:13:39] You’ll have to let me know what, what motor and all that sort of stuff I need to get, because I’m pretty sure I don’t have any of that.

[00:13:48] Oh, well, like I said, what I'm, what I have now is a, a 1400 KV motor as what's on it. And actually, what? I can just give you that stuff and you can put it on yours and kind of see what you think of it. Well, you'd give it back, not, not, I want stuff that I want to keep.

[00:14:05] If it’s going to be my airplane, it’s going to be part of my hanger.

[00:14:08] I'm never going to get rid of it. Oh, wow. Maybe. That's how I am.

[00:14:12] You should know that by now.

[00:14:13] Well, I know, but these are disposable. That's what I like about them. I actually think these would probably be a better idea for training somebody on, on how to fly, than actually buying a trainer. the more I thought about even going over like the, the beginner airplane episode and all that kind of stuff.

[00:14:28] So, so hold on. So this airplane that you're talking about that flies around great at quarter throttle, you're going to, you're going to suggest a new guy getting into the hobby to start out with this and tell him, Oh, by the way, don't fly it around anything above quarter throttle because you're going to crash it.

[00:14:48] So not this airplane per se, but, there are other designs. On these profile foamies that you can get that are, are, are trainer friendly. And if you're sending, if you're spending two bucks on a, on a couple pieces of foam, and, and putting it together yourself and really like the electronics and stuff I have on there are, are, are fairly inexpensive.

[00:15:10] It's just using those nine grams servos that I think are $2 and 50 cents from hobby king or something like that. Yeah.

[00:15:16] But two of them on there.

[00:15:18] Yeah. Yeah. That's all I have. I don't, I don't have a rudder. It's just the, the Elevons. and it, like I said, it's a, it's a fun little, fun little airplane. Actually, what I'd like to do is get a few more of these made between the two of us. And when you can start coming out again and doing the combat thing and trying to smack each other out of the air.

[00:15:35] Oh, that is fun.

[00:15:36] Yeah. Yeah. I'd like to, to get back into that. Well, not back, I guess, cause I've never been into it, but I'd like to start getting into that. I think that'd be, that'd be cool to do.

[00:15:45] It’s not as easy as it sounds to try to hit another airplane.

[00:15:50] Yeah. No, that's, that's fine. I, I wouldn't want to crash an airplane every single time, but it was, it was pretty good.

[00:15:58] Yeah. That sounds like fun. I'm, I'm game.

[00:16:02] Yeah. I, I, I enjoyed that one. And, and I think I've decided I'm going to call it the sandpiper. Oh, I like that. Yeah. I think so too. Yeah. That's very cool. Yeah. Kind of named after my daughter, but, but not completely.

[00:16:17] Yeah. I like that a lot, actually. It was very, very clever.

[00:16:21] Yeah. So like I said, I'll, I'll print some plans and bring them over to you. I, I also have, I also have a rib, a wing rib to bring over to you that I cut on the CNC machine for your, yeah. A balsa one for your, for your duelist. I want you to look at that and see how that turned out.

[00:16:41] Is it the same profile as the plastic one that you printed? Or, or I should say the same, roughly the same size and everything.

[00:16:50] It's going to be close. Yeah. I don't remember exactly which one I printed.

[00:16:54] So I could like compare weights and stuff like that.

[00:16:56] Yeah. You can compare weights and rigidity and, and see what one you like better. Yeah. the one thing I will, I, I do like though, about cutting them on, on the CNC, especially if, if you're wanting to stick with the balsa, if we don't find something that's, very, very worthwhile switching to the, the plastic ones.

[00:17:15] Mm-hmm.

[00:17:16] Printing a plastic one is hour and a half fish. Right. Literally to, from the time I hit start to cutting that one rib on the, on the CNC machine was 38 seconds to the time it was finished and the, the router was back to home.

[00:17:31] Yeah. How about that?

[00:17:33] Yeah. So very, very fast. Yeah. I ended up using a 16th inch bit. I might try like a, an eighth inch bit next time just to kind of see what the difference is and, and quality of cut. But I mean, I think it turned out pretty good anyway, but I'll, I'll bring it into it and you can see it.

[00:17:49] The short video you sent me of it, of it cutting, which by the way, was mesmerizing. I could watch that all day long.

[00:17:55] I know. Right.

[00:17:57] It looked really, really, to me in the video, it looked very high quality. It really did. I mean, when the, when you, when the rib popped out and you kind of showed it to the camera there or whatever, to me, it looked very, very high quality. So, I have high expectations is what I'm getting at.

[00:18:15] Yeah. I think that'll be easiest to do, honestly. especially since I, I already went through and, and traced all the plans and, and actually trace all the wing ribs and stuff for you. so I think that'll be an easier way of doing it instead of trying to cut it out by hand for sure. But I just don't know if it's going to be better to do that than, or if it'll be better to 3d print them. So we'll, we'll play around with it still.

[00:18:38] And the really cool thing is once, once you get that dialed in, it wouldn't be much more work, to stack a few sheets of balsa and cut multiples of the, of the same thing, cause the, cause the 16th inch router bit, I'm sure has a, the, the, the routing surface, if you will, is more than just an eighth of an inch, right? It's probably half inch more maybe.

[00:19:05] No, this one I think is a half inch, but, or no, I'm sorry, this one's a quarter inch, but you can get different, different bits. And especially like if I go up to a, an eighth inch bit, you can get those no problem with like a, a one inch cutting depth.

[00:19:18] Right.

[00:19:19] And especially for what we’re cutting, there’s no, there’s nothing to it. I mean, it’s not like you’re cutting metal or anything like that.

[00:19:24] Right, right. So even, even a quarter inch bit, you stack, stack a couple of sheets of 30, 332 balsa. and, either slightly spray glue them together or whatever, figure out some way to get them, stuck to each other and put those on the table. And then you're, you're cutting multiples of the same part. And now, I mean, okay, so 38 seconds to cut one rib.

[00:19:48] Well, now you cut that in half by cutting two ribs or cut it, in quarter, if you're going to cut four ribs. So, and I really, when we're talking about the dualist, I mean, I'm, I'm set up here, to do two of them. I really am. I mean, and, and I want to, because I think it would be awesome to have two of these things flying around.

[00:20:10] Yeah.

[00:20:11] Even if you didn’t do retracts, even if you just did fixed gear, which it takes the complexity away from the build, makes a lighter airplane actually flies better. Maybe not as cool as having something with retractable gear, but you, you could be into one of these things for very, very, very minimal cost, cause, like I said, I mean I’m set up here.

[00:20:33] I've got, I've got with my, with my recent findings and purchases, I've got enough engines to, to do two for sure. Probably three, honestly. and servos, I have this big stack of servos that, I acquired some time ago. So I, I mean, there's enough here to do two for sure. And, if you're going to cut parts on the CNC machine, that, that would certainly make life easier for the both of us.

[00:21:04] By stacking sheets and cutting multiple parts with one, with one shot.

[00:21:09] Yeah.

[00:21:10] And they look really good.

[00:21:12] Even if it’s not stacked, they’re easy to do individually,?

[00:21:16] True. That’s true.

[00:21:17] It's not all that difficult. The only thing right now, honestly, with me, I was, laid off three weeks ago, whatever it was. So we're, we're watching the funds a lot more, we're not, we're not in bad shape by any means, but, we've cut all the, the extra fun stuff out. So we'll, we'll play it by ear, see what the next few weeks brings before I make any decisions on that. But, I'd still like to build one.

[00:21:42] Like when I, when I say minimal, minimal costs, what I, what I really mean is virtually no cost to you because no, what I'm saying is I'm sure you have a six channel receiver that you could either pull out of something or just one laying around somewhere. Right.

[00:21:58] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:00] And that, that’s really that in your transmitter, that, that’s literally probably all you would really have to provide.

[00:22:08] Well, I, I, you don't have to do that. I mean, I, I'm not that worried about, getting a free airplane or anything, but we'll, we'll, we'll figure it out. We'll get it figured out. I'm not too concerned about it. It would still be more fun though.

[00:22:20] So if all this stuff was over and we were able to do it together, like a build log or something like that, where we would be able to kind of follow along with each other and see what well, just how- each of us would do it,

[00:22:37] Right. No, I agree.

[00:22:40] But we’ll, we’ll see how it goes. I’m, I’m not, we’ll see.

[00:22:44] Yeah. Okay.

[00:22:46] But okay. So speaking of build log though, that was one thing that, I, I think we did kind of talk about doing is, when you build your do list, actually doing like a follow along build log that we'll, we'll post on the website.

[00:23:01] Yeah. Yeah. I can, I can, I can do my best, to try to document everything I'm doing.

[00:23:08] So for anybody that's never actually built a plane from, what is this? This isn't a kit. So is this called scratch building then?

[00:23:15] Okay. So there's lots of schools of thought on what scratch building is. So I'm old school. So to me, scratch building means you come up with your own design, you cut it, cut up your own parts and you build your own airplane. To me, that is the definition of scratch building. What I consider, that I'm doing is I'm going to build an airplane that someone else has already designed. So that, in my opinion, take that for what it's worth.

[00:23:45] That is called. That is called plans building or building from plans. I’m not building a kit, except the kit that I produce myself by cutting my own parts.

[00:23:57] And stuff.

[00:23:58] So that’s, that’s, that’s sort of the old school, take on scratch building and, and building from plans.

[00:24:06] Either way. So this will be considered, this will be considered a plan build then. Exactly.

[00:24:10] Yep. Be building these from Dave Platt's Mark II dualist plan.

[00:24:15] Okay. Yep. But yeah, so we're, we're, we're planning on doing a build log. we'll have a separate page online on the website that will, we'll constantly update with, well, I shouldn't say constantly cause it depends on how fast you work. Well, how much time. But we will, yeah, we will, we will update as fast as possible, with the, with the build of that and kind of, and kind of see where we go.

[00:24:38] Yeah. And I'll, I'll try to document everything that, that I do that is, dualist related. for instance, this weekend, I had plans for rebuilding, one of the engines that I'm planning on using on my dualist. And then once I'm done rebuilding it, putting it on the, on the test stand and running it.

[00:24:58] And, so, I mean, I could document that, take a quick little video of running on the, on the test and maybe take some pictures of me, disassembling and reassembling the engine and that sort of stuff. So yeah, I can definitely, yeah, definitely upload that to the website whenever, whenever I get around to doing those things, which for me, my, my limiting factor is time. I'm still working.

[00:25:21] I’m only right now, I’m only getting. I’m only getting one day off a week right now. So time for me it’s a. It’s a little tight. I don’t have a lot of time on that one day off because I’m catching up on all the other stuff I didn’t get done.

[00:25:34] Yeah. And I, I fully understand that because I, I expected to be doing a lot more stuff, actually being home as much as I am. But, the list of the, the honeydew list is growing tremendously.

[00:25:48] Right. Isn't it amazing how, how, how, how much time we, we don't even think about that we spend on doing just normal things,?

[00:25:57] Well, okay. So not only that, but like my, my wife, God love her. And I, I don't mind doing any of this stuff. I really don't. I, I enjoy it. but it's not what I want to do, if that makes sense. I understand. So Pinterest is a problem. She, this has been like a year ago. She found, not even a plan, but just like a drawing of somebody that had, made like a planter out of guttering.

[00:26:30] Okay.

[00:26:31] It's like for onions or flowers and that kind of stuff. Okay. And it's like a, a four tier planter kind of thing. And she wanted one. so I, was, was told that that's what I should do. And it was highly recommended. It was highly recommended. Yes. Not mandatory by any means, but, but highly recommended. and yeah, so I, I went ahead and designed that and, and cut that on the CNC machine for, she liked it.

[00:27:02] But of course then, you had to do everything else with it. You had to paint it. You had to do everything to make it outdoor rated and all that. So that was a couple of days worth of work there. Right. Then she, then she wanted a trellis for her garden, but not just a trellis. It's, a little more involved. I mean, normally a trellis is.

[00:27:23] Not just any trellis.

[00:27:24] Normally trellises are kind of small. but if she's asking me to make something, I don't make things small. So the trellis that I made.

[00:27:32] That’s true.

[00:27:35] So the trellis I made and, and okay, so I like Dr. Seuss. I love the kind of curvy Dr. Seuss furniture and all that kind of stuff. so the trellis I made is kind of in that realm of design. it ended up being, it, it's full width, 101 inches wide. So it's over eight feet wide and then about seven. Oh yeah. It's pretty big. And then about seven and a half feet tall, and five and a half feet deep.

[00:28:04] So she's going to plant, I don't know if it's gourds, I think is one thing she might put out there. She's also going to be putting, like the pole beans and all that kind of stuff.

[00:28:12] That’s a serious trellis.

[00:28:14] Oh yeah. I mean, it looks cool though. I mean, honestly, I, I do like it. but that was another probably three days worth of work there. And just with everything else, I mean, it's, I, I don't mean to complain, but I'd like to get busy, doing some stuff on, on airplanes and I'm hoping in the next couple of days it's supposed to be rainy. It's supposed to be pretty, pretty warm and rainy here. So hopefully I'll be able to do that.

[00:28:36] And, and be able to get back into it. But, like I said, I, I know I got way off topic, but that's just some of the things that come up, cutting grass when we cut grass or your takes half a day. There's just a lot to it. so yeah, so I'll, I'll be getting into doing more stuff here in a little while, hopefully.

[00:28:55] Okay, good, good. And send me pictures. I mean, you're doing all this stuff. I'm not getting anything done. And at least you could do is send me pictures.

[00:29:07] I don't even know if I have a picture of the planner thing. And we just literally, it couldn't have been more than 20 minutes before, we started recording this tonight was when I was putting that thing outside and it took three of us to move it just because of the, the odd, the odd angle. We ended up assembling in the garage because that way, you could glue it together and you didn't have to worry about humidity or anything like that.

[00:29:29] We could keep the doors closed, keep it, the temperature controlled and stuff in it. So, ended up building it there and then, and took it out tonight. And, oh, that was a, I'm glad it's done. But now, but now the next thing she wants is a sign for it. So tomorrow, I'm going to be cutting a sign to be hanging on it and, and she's going to paint it all up and do all that.

[00:29:50] So, yeah. Okay. Well, I mean, it's just, it's, it's part of it, right? I mean.

[00:29:57] Yeah, no, you're right. It is.

[00:30:00] Got to do what we got to do, and we, if you have skills, you may as well put them to use.

[00:30:07] Yeah.

[00:30:07] No. And like I said, it's fun. I, I, I can't complain at all. So if, if she listens to this, I hope she doesn't think I'm complaining, but I, I don't know if she listens or not. I'm kind of hoping she doesn't, but we'll see.

[00:30:19] Oh, she listens.

[00:30:20] Oh, she probably does. And I'm sure I'll hear about this, tomorrow night actually is we'll be posting this one tomorrow. So I'm sure I'll hear about it before too long.

[00:30:28] Yeah.

[00:30:29] Anyway. Yeah.

[00:30:31] I mean, she can’t complain too much cause she got what she wanted, right?

[00:30:35] She did. She did. But I think there's still a list.

[00:30:38] It sounds really neat actually.

[00:30:40] Yeah, I, I like it, but I think there’s still a list, probably five or six things long, that I’m I’m going to end up having to do. But we’ll, we’ll see.

[00:30:47] Okay.

[00:30:48] I'm not, I'm not holding my breath yet. So, on one of the last episodes, we talked about, the T-34 that you have. Right. right. I, I, I do hear you might have a lead on another one.

[00:31:03] Oh yeah. Yeah. So, I forget, I think it was, whatever day, Sunday, whatever day it was. I had some time after work, so I went out to the field and, kind of met up with some of the guys out there that I haven't seen in a while. And, I happened to be talking to one of the, one of my good friends who's met, thanks to the hobby. And, we've been friends for a long time.

[00:31:26] He's, he, we were talking about, I was just telling him about the dualist project and that I was, I had bought a couple of engines, well, more than a couple, but engines, I'll just say engines, recently on eBay and, and other sites. And, he said, yeah, he'd said he'd, he's really more into the electric and the, and the larger, gassers. He flies some World War I stuff and he's a fantastic builder.

[00:31:54] He actually taught me a lot of the stuff techniques that I use, today. but at any rate, he said he wanted to kind of get out of the nitro game. And of course, that's, that's what makes me tick. I love, I love nitro and I love these little nitro. So he got my attention right away.

[00:32:12] Yeah. Your ears perked up.

[00:32:13] Sure. And, so, I mean, he's been friend, a friend of mine for a very long time. So I know, I know a lot of the airplanes that he has and, a lot of the airplanes he has, I also have, a contender and, a few others, a Sig wonder. And, but he mentioned that he had a, a hanger nine T-34, mentor, which is what we've, the one we were talking about, in the last episode.

[00:32:39] And of course that got my attention right away. Cause I completely forgot that he had that airplane. and I've actually seen it fly. It flies, it flies good. so we were talking about that and he said, yeah, I'd be, I'd be interested in, in getting rid of the nitros.

[00:32:54] And so I was like, okay, well, I mean, sometime when this is all over, I'll come over and, if you want, and we'll, we'll, we'll kind of go over what everything you have and, we'll, come up with a, a price that's agreeable to both of us. And I would definitely be interested in that T-34, keep your receiver and your servos and any of the stuff that you can use.

[00:33:17] But, for certain I'm more interested in the canopy than anything because, cause the canopy on his is in a little bit better shape than mine. I think his, I think his might be a little more yellow, although I'm looking at mine right now and it's, it's pretty yellow. So, but I know his isn't cracked and it doesn't have the, the spider webbing that or crazing, I think is the correct term, that mine has.

[00:33:43] So, yeah, I may, I may pick up another T-34 and, if I don't fly it, I'll, I'll use it for parts. And maybe, about that time, that's about when you showed up out at the field when we were talking and we started talking about maybe making a mold or something of this canopy so that maybe I can make a few spares and finally get to recover this T-34 without fear of, losing my canopy or not being able to reuse it.

[00:34:09] So, yeah.

[00:34:10] Yeah.

[00:34:10] Well, and maybe if you get a new one, I might be interested in your old one. I don’t know.

[00:34:15] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I mean, for sure.

[00:34:17] Unless you want to.

[00:34:18] No, no, they, they, they, and mine is in good shape. It's just that the covering is, kind of, kind of crappy and, there's a few areas on the airframe that need a little love.

[00:34:29] Yeah. I remember it cause I owned it for a few months. That's right.

[00:34:33] But you never flew it.

[00:34:35] No, I didn't. And that's, that's why you have it now.

[00:34:38] Right. But anyway, the,.

[00:34:40] Otherwise it would have been re-kitted.

[00:34:43] Well, maybe not. I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s an airplane with a fairly high wing loading.

[00:34:48] Yeah. At the, at the time that, that I had that, I was not comfortable doing it. I was not comfortable flying it, but I'm to the point now where I would not have any problem flying one of those.

[00:34:57] Oh yeah. Yeah. You could, you could.

[00:34:59] If it was mine.

[00:34:59] For sure. Yep.

[00:35:00] Yeah.

[00:35:01] So, but yeah, if I, if I end up with a second one, yeah, if we can figure out a way to make, make a, some replacement canopies, you'd be more than welcome for, for your time and effort. You could probably have that airframe when we're done with it.

[00:35:16] I mean. Oh boy. That's even better.

[00:35:18] So yeah, you helped me out by making some canopies and your free airplane. How about that?

[00:35:24] All right. We need to, talk about a bunch more airplanes because so far I'm up to two free airplanes in this episode alone. So what else can we talk about?

[00:35:32] Well, I'll tell you what, if you, if you help me finish this Horton project.

[00:35:37] Oh, I don’t know about that one.

[00:35:40] No, actually I haven’t gotten any farther on that since our last update on that. The center section is finally here, but I just have had no time to actually work on anything.

[00:35:53] Yeah.

[00:35:54] So, but it’ll happen.

[00:35:56] This will, this won’t last forever and we’ll get back to normal.

[00:35:58] Right. Yep. Yep.

[00:36:00] So, so, let's kind of get back to, to what keeps us coming back to the airplane. you kind of talked about going out to the field and then meeting up with your friend that you hadn't talked to for quite a while and that you've been, been friends with him for, for a long time. Yes. I think for a lot of people, the, the, the friendships that are made in the hobby is kind of one of the things that keep you coming back. Absolutely.

[00:36:22] Yeah.

[00:36:23] I know, had it not been for RC airplanes and for this whole, for this whole hobby, that you and I would not be friends, cause we wouldn’t have had anything to kind of bring us together like that did.

[00:36:35] No, I agree.

[00:36:37] So there's a, there's a lot to be said, I think for the, for the people aspect of it. but I, I also think there's a lot to be said for the actual hobby itself. so I really, really enjoy building things. Obviously it doesn't necessarily matter. It doesn't necessarily matter what it is. I just enjoy making things.

[00:36:58] I’ve always been that way, and to be able to build something- even the profile foamy thing here that I did- to be able to build something out of your mind from scratch and actually see it fly around in the air, That’s a pretty cool feeling. I mean, it really is.

[00:37:16] Yes.

[00:37:16] To recover an airplane that, that might not have been the colors that you liked and actually make it your own airplane. that's pretty cool too. and just the rush you get for me, especially just out of flying airplanes, it's so fun to do. It's very relaxing while at the same time it can be very stressful. It's just a, there's a lot of highs and lows, no pun intended in, in this hobby. I see what you did there. Yeah. Right.

[00:37:49] And. But I think that’s one of the big things that keeps me coming back to it. I definitely would be one that would still stay in the hobby and do things with it if I didn’t have friends in it. I think just having the friends in it makes it that much better.

[00:38:07] Oh, absolutely, I, I could not agree with that sentiment more I mean I have. I mean, there’s other things that I do in my life. My wife and I we run with a running club and I anyway. But of all the activities that I’ve, that I’ve participated in, or things that I’ve gotten involved in my life, the one thing that I always, no matter how much time I spend away from it, I always come back to the, to the RC airplane hobby.

[00:38:38] I mean, and, I was talking, I was talking to Lori about it, either last night or the night before and trying to put my finger on really what it is about the hobby that keeps bringing me back. And she made a really good point. She said, it seems like no matter what's going on in the hobby, when you leave it, it's always there for you when you decide it's time to come back. Like, like, yeah, things change over time.

[00:39:06] Like, electronics get better and engines get better and, the things get cheaper or things get more expensive before they get cheaper or whatever. But the basic, the basic tenant of, in my case, building something and then flying it, that, that hasn't ever changed for me. That, and I think that just knowing in the back of my head that it, that it's always there. It's, it's not something that if I, if I do this right now, I can, I'll be fine.

[00:39:35] But if I get away from it, well, then I've lost it forever. It's, it's not one of those types of, hobbies where when you get away from it, it's, it's completely different when you come back. I mean, yeah, some stuff changes, but the basic tenant for me anyway, is, is always there and the appeal of flying something that you put together yourself or you put a little bit of yourself in, is, is the reward that I guess that keeps me coming back.

[00:40:02] And you touched on it with, talking about friends that we've made and I've made some really, really great friends in this hobby. And I've had, a lot of these friends over, long periods of time. I mean, yeah, you and I got started, I think we put a, I don't know if we put a date on it, but it's been, 10 years plus.

[00:40:19] But I have, some of these friends that, that I've had, like, the guy with the T-34, he and I have been friends, gosh, I mean, 91, I think is when we met, for the first time. And we've been, we've been good friends really ever since.

[00:40:36] And that says something because so many, so many other people come and go, at least in my life, they, they come and they go and, and not everybody is, I'm going to get philosophical here, not, not everybody is meant to be in your life for your entire life. Right. but it seems like some of the friends that I have managed to hang on to the most, for the most time in my life have been people I have something in common with.

[00:41:03] And this hobby is something I have in common with these, these friends that I've made over, over the years. So I think, I think that might be something that, that, keeps me coming back to having, having those relationships and, and those friends knowing that they're in the same boat as me, they have this weird addiction to these little model airplanes that, buzz about in the sky.

[00:41:26] But I think that’s one, one of many things that, that, that keeps me coming back to the hobby.

[00:41:33] Yeah. I'm always amazed at the people you meet, when, when you're out of the field or when you're doing things RC airplane related. So, I did make it out to the field the same time you did. you called me and, or you texted me and said you were going out after work. And I thought, that's fine. I didn't have time to charge batteries or bring anything worthwhile to fly that I can't fly here. So I just didn't bring anything out there. Yeah.

[00:41:58] But anyway, it was still nice to see airplanes fly, but I was, I was shocked,? So there was a guy out there that you knew, but I had never met him before. I don't even know what his name was. And, so like literally I sat down on the bench next to him while you and you and the other guy were talking and, he looked over and, and asked me if I flew and I, I told him, I said, well, a little bit. Yeah. Not, not too much.

[00:42:24] Cause I don't guess, I guess I don't fly a lot, but when I can, I do. And so he knew nothing about me other than that short little conversation. That's like all that we had talked.

[00:42:36] Right.

[00:42:37] It was funny because he got up, put a battery in his plane and he had a big, it's a, I don't remember what it was. It was a foamy, Oh, what was it? I'm better than I do. Was that a Cessna? Is that what he had?

[00:42:48] The big foam Cessna, I believe that was a 152.

[00:42:51] I’m not sure who makes it.

[00:42:52] FMS maybe. I don’t know.

[00:42:54] Yeah. So he put the battery in and then he handed me the controller and said, here, fly it.

[00:42:58] Yeah. Oh yeah.

[00:42:59] I mean, people in this hobby are so trusting, like, and I, I, I don’t want to sound bad, but I would never do that.

[00:43:07] Right.

[00:43:07] If, if I don't know the guy and he even called me the wrong name, he called me Bob and I had to correct him on what my name was. but some of the nicest people you'll meet, some of the most giving people, some of the most caring people you'll meet in this hobby. he just handed me the controller and I said, here, fly it. And I respectfully declined, because that's what you do because that's what I do.

[00:43:28] I don't want to buy one of those for myself. So I don't want to buy one of those for you if I mess it up. but those are the kinds of people that you come across in the hobby that some of the nicest down to earth guys you'll ever deal with. not all of them, some of them you want to stay away from. And I think you can kind of pick out those people pretty quick when you're around them.

[00:43:48] But for the most part, it's a very welcoming community and, there's, I don't want to say like a brotherhood, but there's almost like a camaraderie that comes with it. just, just by knowing that that guy likes the same thing you do and you can talk about it, you can fly together, you can just, sit down and have a conversation and just enjoy your time together. And that's, that I really like, I enjoy that part of this a lot.

[00:44:13] And, I mean, you, you never know when you're going to make a great memory, right? Like I have all of these, these great memories of, of things that I've, I've done while participating in the hobby, which at the time I was like, it was just, I was just doing it. I didn't, I had no idea that that was going to turn into a great memory.

[00:44:36] So, yeah, I think that might be, might be something else that, I kind of know in the back of my mind that, Hey, this is going to be really fun. Who knows what this is going to lead to. Maybe this will be a great memory. maybe, maybe these dualists that we're going to build, maybe that'll be something 10 years from now, we'll be like, Hey, you remember when we did, when we built those dualists and, Oh yeah.

[00:44:58] And here it is still on my, still in my hanger, Hey, let's go out and fly.

[00:45:02] Yeah. Yeah. I crashed mine, but you still have yours. That's pretty cool.

[00:45:05] But I mean, you just, you just never know when, when you’re going to make a great memory.

[00:45:11] And yeah, well, I remember, yeah, I remember when, I don't know if you do or not, it's been a long time ago. Cause my, my oldest kid was, Oh, he couldn't have been more than eight, maybe nine. we bought him one of those firebird Stratus airplanes. Oh yeah.

[00:45:28] I remember those. Yep.

[00:45:29] And I, I still have pictures actually looking around here. I have pictures hanging on the wall of him with that airplane, of him flying it, of me hand launching it. And the day that we took those pictures, I remember you flew that one a lot. and my wife, myself, and he were out on the field. Nobody else was around. So, don't yell at me for this, but we were out on the field and you were flying around and we were trying to catch it out of the air.

[00:45:54] And that was just, I had so much fun with that. You, I, it was, it's just one of those things that you would not get anywhere else. it was just the three of us. This was before we had our, our second kid, it was just the three of us out there having fun as a family. Yeah. And it was, it was a, it was a really good time. I, I enjoyed that. So yeah, there's a lot of great memories from, from flying. So what about you?

[00:46:17] What do you, what do you have?

[00:46:19] Oh gosh, I mean geez. Well, I mean, obviously it may not be a fond memory, but I remember the day that I crashed the dualist. I remember like it was yesterday.

[00:46:33] I remember the day that I went to my first fly-in with one of the one of my good friends in the hobby took me to another place here in Illinois and it was a warbird fly-in and we took some. Well, at that time it was my foam air force cause I didn’t have a proper warbird, but that’s a. That’s a really great memory.

[00:46:54] I have the memory of my first solo flight, if you will, with my first trainer, with my, my next door neighbor, standing next to me without touching the transmitter. That’s a really great memory. I mean I have, I have lots of these memories and, like I said, it’s just knowing that more good memories are in the future, I think, is one thing that keeps me coming back.

[00:47:22] Now it’s. It’s not all sunshine and roses, right, I mean we have things we don’t like about the hobby too, but for the most part, I mean it’s it’s all positives.

[00:47:35] One of the things that, always stands out to me and it probably shouldn't, but, you and I both, I'm sure know the same person that I'm talking about. it was, it was always fun to watch him crash. I mean, you knew it was coming, you told him not to do it and he still would do it. So it just got, it just got to the point where it was like, I know it's coming. let's get the camera out and let's record this and, and let's see what we get.

[00:48:07] Oh, he’s going to be so mad at that one, but.

[00:48:10] But to be fair, he has, this individual has told us on multiple occasions, times that he's crashed where nobody was watching and he voluntarily gave up that information. So I don't think he's going to get too upset about us, reliving his, his crashes that we witnessed and may or may not have recorded.

[00:48:34] That is true. But I mean, like some of them though.

[00:48:37] I can’t wait to have him on the show though.

[00:48:40] Oh, I know. I can't either. I think that'll be so much fun. And a lot of them, he learned from them. So that's, that's a good thing. Absolutely. I don't think he crashes or makes the same mistake anymore.

[00:48:53] He still makes, if he's listening, hopefully he'll learn from this. He still makes, he still makes some of the same old mistakes. And, and what I mean is, flying in conditions that maybe you shouldn't fly in, or maybe more specifically flying in locations where the conditions may or may not be ideal for flying model airplanes, but overall, I got to say he's become a pretty, a pretty decent pilot. So having said that.

[00:49:25] Yeah, over, I, there's, there's been multiple times I can remember phone calls, one sticks out in general where, he would, he would call and say, Hey, it's like 25 mile an hour wind gust. Do you think I should fly? And I'd be like, no, no, I, no, I, I'd be like, no, I don't think you should, it's too windy. You don't want to risk it. And so fine. I get a call back an hour later. Well, I crashed. What happened? It was too windy.

[00:49:53] Yeah. How about that?

[00:49:55] God, it's too bad somebody didn't tell you not to do that. Right. Yep. Yeah. So, so that keeps us coming back too. Yeah. Those are good memories. Probably not for him, but for us, definitely.

[00:50:10] Yeah. But like I said, in all fairness, he has become, a pretty decent pilot. So, just, just maybe the judgment could still use some work. That's all.

[00:50:24] Well, and that, that's the other thing. He, we both started actually right around the same time. It couldn't have been more than a couple months difference. That's true.

[00:50:31] Yep.

[00:50:32] And I, we, we had the same airplane. We both started off with the, the super cub and I remember, I, I remember, I've got a couple of pictures of him out at the field, where we both would go out and that was the only plane that I had at the time, or maybe it wasn't, it doesn't matter. That was the plane I was flying.

[00:50:50] And so I have pictures of him with his plane in pieces on the, on the table, where he's getting ready to glue it up or tape it up and, and get it together so we can fly it again with mine just sitting so perfectly, all the original stickers, all the original, the original foam all over the same wing, same fuselage, same landing gear, everything was original, just sitting in the background. And we probably had the same amount of time on those.

[00:51:17] So that, that's probably one of my favorite pictures. And, yeah, I, it, yeah, I don't want to go too much more into it. Right.

[00:51:26] See, I mean, look at all the, look at all the laughs and the good times we're getting. I mean, this is something that, that, I mean, seriously, this is, this is what we get out of the hobby. I mean, it's not, it really, for me, it's not 100% about the airplanes and, and the radios and the balsa and the, and the engines and the, it's about these memories and these good times that I've had. And, and that's, that's really what it's all about.

[00:51:52] And that’s what keeps me coming back. I mean, to be honest.

[00:51:56] Yeah, I agree. I agree. It's, it's one of those things where this just makes it like all the memories. And, and all the camaraderie and stuff makes it that much better. Like I said, I think I would still stay in it. Actually, I know I would still stay in it if it was just me. if it wasn't for anybody else. but I, I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I do have enough room to fly here at home.

[00:52:17] Yeah.

[00:52:17] I don't know. Yeah. I don't know if I would still be a member of the club or anything like that if, if it wasn't for everybody else. But definitely, flying around the house is something I will never give up. Right. As long as I'm still able to do it.

[00:52:31] . So, so, okay. You, I mean, you, you, you kind of hit a nerve there and, and I don't know if, I don't know how deep I really think we should get into it. But I mean, we talked to, I mentioned, there's things in the hobby that, that aren't ideal or that we don't like.

[00:52:46] And without, without going into too much detail, this, this whole business with the, with the FAA and the and the UASs, I mean I don’t like the direction that’s going.

[00:52:57] I don't either. Let me ask you another question though. Okay. So, and I'm not going to, I don't want to get too much into it cause I don't want to promote the video. Right. But have you seen the video? I just saw it actually a couple hours ago today of the, go to the, go to the guy flying his quadra or a quadcopter, by the blue angels in Detroit.

[00:53:21] No, I’ve not seen that one.

[00:53:25] So this is the problem I have. And I, like I said, I don't, I don't want to get political. I don't want to get anything too in depth with all this crap, but I am a responsible, what I would consider hobbyist. Yes. I do have quadcopters. I don't fly them in a manner that's reckless. They all have my little FAA number on them. for if anything happens, I cut them out of vinyl and they're right on the side. the same with the airplane.

[00:53:57] I won’t say all the airplanes, but most of the airplanes I have also has that, that being said. So this guy decided to take his quadcopter up, fly around while the blue angels were flying in Detroit doing their little flyover, salute to the first responders and all that stuff.

[00:54:15] Yes. I remember the flyover.

[00:54:17] So he posted a video that he shot of it, which I’m glad he posted it because he was dumb enough to put his name behind it, and I really do hope the FAA comes down on him because the video he shot it looks as though from the video he couldn’t have been more than I don’t know 40 feet, 50 feet away from the planes when they came by on one of the passes.

[00:54:42] Oh my gosh. Ooh, that's close.

[00:54:44] He's absolutely pointless and absolutely irresponsible. And that's the kind of stuff that gives the hobby a bad name. And I do not like that at all. Those are the kind of people that need to be punished for what they're doing, need to be held responsible, held accountable for the dangers that they're putting everybody in. Right.

[00:55:07] Had he been a little higher, had he hit the cockpit, had he hit something like that, he could have caused a plane crash, could have caused the plane to crash into houses. And I, I don't know what they're flying over and really could have harmed a lot of people. And, and that would have been disastrous. Oh, sure. Yet it didn't happen this time, which is great. He thought the video he got of it was good enough to post on YouTube. I don't understand that at all.

[00:55:33] I'm very much against all of the, the remote transmitter rules and whatever they're talking about. I did get the, the email from the FAA. What was the last week? Whenever they sent them all out.

[00:55:45] Right. Did you, did you email a comment in?

[00:55:47] When the comment section was open? Yes. The comment section is not open anymore. I think that closed in March, was it?

[00:55:52] Yeah, I, I did too. I mean, and without going into, into the specifics of, of what I said or what I wrote rather, but, but generally speaking, it is my opinion that these, these drone, I'm just going to say drone pilots and we'll call them, the quadcopters, whatever they are. they're not, they're not hobbyists in my opinion. They're not, they're not what the, what the heart and soul of the hobby really is about.

[00:56:24] So in my opinion, and this is more or less what I said in my reply or my comment, let's, let's separate. Okay. quadcopters, multirotors, whatever you want to call these things. as you could tell probably by my tone, I, I dislike them. I, I dislike them a lot actually. let's, let's figure out a way to separate these, these two very different forms of remotely piloted vehicles. I mean, essentially that's what they all are.

[00:57:02] Even our airplanes that we've, they're piloted remotely or unmanned aerial, systems or whatever. Let's figure out a way to, to, to make a distinction between the two hobbyists and these drone guys. And levy all these, all these stupid laws. And I'm not going to say stupid laws, but levy all the regulations and the, and this, oh, the name of it, the, the transponder thing that they're supposed to put on board.

[00:57:31] Yeah. I know you’re talking about the remote ID or whatever it is.

[00:57:35] Right. Put, put, put that on, on the drone, guys or girls, pilots, whatever you want to call them and leave us guys who are flying our BALSA airplanes at remote locations away from populated areas, leave us the heck alone. I mean, I, I don't know specifically what is in the, the legislation that is, that is in the house right now. it's, it's apparently quite, quite lengthy and I don't have time to, to read it.

[00:58:03] But I might not even understand it with the way some of that stuff is worded.

[00:58:06] Well, right, that too, but it's, it's my understanding by some of the forums I've been reading who, from, people who are lawyers and things like that, who understand it are posting. It, it sounds to me like they're not making a distinction between, us and them, the, us hobbyists and these drone pilots.

[00:58:25] And that's unfortunate because, the, the, the laws or regulations or, or, whatever you want to call these things that, that are going to be, that are being proposed to be put in place for the, for the hobby, it's, it's not going to work. And it, and it spells disaster for the future of RC, I think.

[00:58:44] Yeah, I agree too. And I'm, I'm, I'm very concerned about that. Like, honestly, if, if I go out and fly, this 400 gram foam airplane in my backyard, you don't need to know about it at the airport that's 30 miles away. I should not have to have some sort of electronics on there that add more weight. to remotely be able to identify that my airplane is flying a hundred feet in the air by my house.

[00:59:13] Right.

[00:59:14] Yeah, that it’s just. It’s so difficult because the problem like the differences between what we’re talking about being hobbyists and what we’re talking about by, like you say you dislike the drones and all that stuff- I, I, I like them, but for a completely different reason, like the one I have. I like it because of the technology that’s built into it.

[00:59:41] I think it's really neat that I can go to my computer, plug in waypoints, plug in heights, tell it where to fly, tell it where to point and get really cool videos over my own property. I'm not flying anywhere else and then have it come back and land within like a foot and half of where it took off from. That I enjoy not from a hobbyist side of things because that's not flying. That's not flying. I mean, that's not flying an airplane. That's not flying anything by hand.

[01:00:10] That’s all computer controlled.

[01:00:12] At that point, it's not, it's not, I mean, yes, it's a, it's an unmanned aerial system or it's a remotely piloted vehicle, whatever you want to call it, but it's, I mean, it's a tool is what it is. Right. Yep. It's not, it's not a, a, a hobby,? Yeah. You may do that for leisure or recreation or whatever, but it's not, it's not the same. It's not a, I don't know. It, there, somewhere there's words to describe what I'm, what I'm feeling.

[01:00:45] I've never been good at putting my feelings into words. Just ask Lori, but, there's, there's a difference in what you're talking about doing while it's neat and beneficial to, to you and, and anyone else who enjoys them for that reason, they're tools. They're not model aircraft.

[01:01:05] Right. And that's, that's going to be the hard part to separate. So like what, okay. So we're supposed to not fly above 400 feet. That's the, that's the rule now.

[01:01:17] Right.

[01:01:18] That's pretty high. So the quad cop, yeah. So the quad copter I have now, I did take it up to 400 foot at one time, because I wanted to see what our house looked like, with the camera on it from that height. So I programmed it in to go to 400 feet and it went up to 400 feet. I could not see it. I could not hear it when it was at that height. I mean, it was, it was up there and I was trying to find it. I knew where it was.

[01:01:48] There's no reason to go higher than that. There's no reason to fly an airplane that high. I mean, if you're trying to fly an airplane that high, especially if it's not a huge one, you're going to have a hard time seeing orientation. You're going to have a hard time seeing which way it's going. is it coming at you? Is it going away from you? Is it upside down? Is it right side up? Yes.

[01:02:05] You, for an actual hobbyist, everything that's in place now, the 400 foot rule, the line of sight, the putting your name and stuff and numbers on the airplane. Yes. That's all fine and dandy. I have no problem doing that because honestly, right? Because honestly, if something happens, my airplane loses control and flies away from me. First off, I'm responsible for it. So that's why we have the AMA coverage.

[01:02:33] That's why we have, the insurance that comes with that. Yep. And I'm going to take care of whatever happens because of it. Yes. Now that's what a responsible hobbyist does. And the problem becomes these other guys that are not responsible, that are not flying where they're supposed to fly, are ruining it for the rest of us. And I don't know how that's not going to happen. I mean, I think it's unfortunately coming.

[01:02:58] And I think there's just going to be a lot of people that are not going to abide by the law and do it the way you're supposed to. And by the way, the people that are doing it now, flying where they're not supposed to be flying are not the ones that are going to buy the extra equipment to put in to tell people where they're flying. They're just not going to do it.

[01:03:15] I mean, yes, I, I have opinions on, on, on lots of different legislation and I don’t want to get into specifics, but there’s a certain other hobby that’s out there- If you want to call it a hobby or recreational activity or whatever- that the government is highly involved in with laws and things like that. What I’m talking about.

[01:03:38] So, yeah, I don’t want to get into that one, but I know what you’re saying.

[01:03:41] And, the laws are, are fine and dandy, just like you said, but the people who are, or there are people that are just not going to follow them just because they don't want to,? And unfortunately those people are the people that they should be targeting and there's no easy way to do it. And punting, punishing us folks who fly model aircraft, is not in my opinion, the way to go about it.

[01:04:11] Obviously I'm jaded because, I want to keep flying my model airplanes. I don't want somebody telling me I can't, or I have to do it, but now it's going to cost me four times as much and I can only do it, at this location during these hours and, whatever. yeah, so I don't, and unfortunately that's not the direction the hobby is going. That's the direction that the hobby is being forced. And I don't like that.

[01:04:36] Yeah. Yeah. We want it to be able to, continue on for generations still, I want to be able to keep coming back to this. I don't want it to be something to where I finally just give up and say, well, what? It's gotten regulated so much. It's not even worth doing. because that would be a very, I think detrimental thing to happen to people.

[01:04:57] I mean, it's, it would be sad because I mean, if you, if you really dig in and, and kind of look at the history of, of, of, model airplanes and model aircraft, it goes back a long time. It's a piece of Americana, man.

[01:05:12] I mean. I mean so it’s, it’s almost, I don’t know. It’s just a shame, or it would be a shame to see the government get involved and make that go away, which is essentially, if they have their way. That’s exactly. I believe in my heart that’s what will happen if things are allowed to continue at the- I don’t want to say pace, but if the feds have their way- and I shouldn’t say that because I’m a federal employee, right.

[01:05:51] Yeah.

[01:05:51] So, but, there's, choose your battles, I guess, and choose a different battle. That's what I'm getting at.

[01:06:00] Well, choose the right battle. Right. I think, a blanket statement, an umbrella situation is not one that needs to be applied at this, at this level. I don't think. Yeah. Cause you're right. I mean, it's, it's going to affect the people that are already doing things the correct way that are already flying where they're supposed to be flying. They're already following the rules. Like us.

[01:06:22] It's not going to, yeah, it's not going to affect the person that goes and spends a thousand dollars on a quadcopter and wants to go fly a mile away from them and see what they can see. I mean, that's unfortunately not going to solve that problem. And that's reality.

[01:06:37] That’s, people are doing exactly that.

[01:06:40] Yeah. And I, I don't know the correct answer to it. I don't know if you can like get any kind of jamming equipment or anything like that, or, or shoot nets at them to, to bring them down. But that, that would be my solution is something along those lines, something that will deal with the ones that are not following the rules, but not affect the ones that are.

[01:07:00] Yeah.

[01:07:02] So I, yeah, I don't know the right answer and I don't know what's going to happen, but hopefully it's not the dire warning or the dire consequences. For sure. Yeah.

[01:07:13] So anyway, I didn't, I didn't want to, derail the conversation, but I did, something about the hobby I didn't like. And that was, that was all I wanted to say about that.

[01:07:27] Yeah. I don't like it either, but I'm, I'm hoping cooler heads prevail and things don't go as badly as, as they could. Cause I don't think this is the first time they've proposed restrictions and all that kind of stuff. And I think it hasn't passed before. If I remember right, I could be wrong. and I'm hoping the same thing kind of happens now.

[01:07:46] The problem is, though, is: is technology progresses, these airplane on that airplanes, these quadcopters and stuff, that they get so much farther, they advance so much farther that you can do so much more with them that you couldn’t five years ago.

[01:08:03] Flight times with some of these batteries, you're getting 40 minute flights out of them and you can fly, six miles away from you and come back on a, on a flight without ever seeing it, without ever touching the, the sticks on it. And that is the kind of stuff that, that I think needs to be taken care of. Yeah. That's just me.

[01:08:23] No, I, I agree. unfortunately, a, a select few are, are ruining it for the rest of us. I'll say. Yeah.

[01:08:33] No, they are. And it's, like I said, that guy on YouTube, that's the, that's a prime example of what not to do and how to ruin it for everybody else. Because you think it's cool that you can go up and be that close to a jet flying by you when in actuality you could really make the jet crash and kill a bunch of people.

[01:08:52] I mean, that’s, that’s really, that’s really kind of dumb. If you think about it, that’s, that’s, that’s really just kind of dumb.

[01:08:59] That’s putting it mildly. That’s.

[01:09:03] How do you, how do you, do something like that and not understand that you are potentially- I mean potentially- putting lives at risk? I mean, what’s the difference between that and pointing a gun at them?

[01:09:18] Well, and not only that, but to the point of being so proud that you did it, that you post it on YouTube with a music track. And, when they're that close, you, you pause the frame so you can see how close you were to the actual airplane. I mean, I, I don't know.

[01:09:36] Yeah.

[01:09:37] That should be dealt with. I don’t I don’t like dealing with that kind of issue on this podcast, because I don’t want to get a bunch of people emailing in or calling in or anything like that. They’re going to yell at us, but

[01:09:49] Hey, these are our opinions. You're entitled to your own opinion. And if you don't like our opinions, I guess we'll have to put disclaimers.

[01:10:02] That's true. I mean, our opinions are our own, blah, blah, blah. But, if, if it's your opinion that that's a good idea to be able to do and fly and, and put people in danger and do things the wrong way, then your opinion is wrong. Sorry. I mean.

[01:10:17] And that's, that's saying something because you do love a good argument, not, not argument. what, what's the word I'm looking for? discussion. You're, you're, you're more into the, you like, you like discussions like that.

[01:10:32] Whereas I, I prefer to stay away from them. So.

[01:10:35] Yeah, I can handle those emails.

[01:10:39] So that's, that's right. Tom at rcplanelab.com.

[01:10:44] Right.

[01:10:46] Oh boy. Anyway, I, I, I don't know. Is there anything else you want to cover? Do you think we've kind of.

[01:10:52] Well, I don't, I don't want to end it on a bad. Bad note. So.

[01:10:55] Well, good. Cause you got me all depressed.

[01:10:57] Okay. So, I did want to say, one, one thing I wanted to mention about, the

[01:11:05] Good times. Are you going to, are you going to give me an extra or another airplane?

[01:11:10] Well, I mean, I've got plenty. I mean, I could probably. We can end that way. Giving you another airplane. Okay. Well.

[01:11:17] You're the, you're the Oprah of airplanes. You get an airplane and you get an airplane. I mean, but it's just me, I just get them. Nobody else says it's just me. Right.

[01:11:25] So one of the other things I enjoy in the hobby is the, is the hunt for vintage parts and accessories. Right. So, bought a couple of, or bought engines on, on various, forums and, and, places of purchase online and things like that recently.

[01:11:50] Oh, and I, hold on. I, I'm sorry. I don't mean to interrupt, but speaking of that, I remember one of the last times we were talking about this, you said that you were probably just going to build, what was that? A commander or, I don't remember what airplane you said. You had an ARF sitting down there you were going to build to put these, the motors in for a test stand. Have you changed your mind or are you going to do that still?

[01:12:09] Well, no. I mean, I've, I've, I've rethought it. It's an Escapade MX. It's an ARF.

[01:12:14] Escapade. That's right. Yeah.

[01:12:15] It's a, it's a midwing, ARF and they fly really, really great actually. I mean, I'm, I like airplanes that are ARFs also. I'm not anti-ARF and this is a good one. It's made by great planes. And anyway, so yeah, the plan was to, to throw this ARF together and, and use it kind of as a test bed for these, these engines that I'm planning on using on the dualist, but I think I've, I've sort of shifted.

[01:12:39] I mean, I’m still planning on putting that airplane together, just maybe not specifically just to test engines on. So I think I’m going to build this off a test stand so that I can- I can for repeatability. That’s a good idea to change an engine on an airframe- it’s on this particular airframe. It’s not a lot of work but it’s time consuming.

[01:12:59] And by the time, I get a new engine or a different engine bolted on it, it's a different day probably. And the, test conditions are going to be different, atmospheric condition, that runs different in different temperatures, all that sort of stuff.

[01:13:11] Well, and then you have to go out to the field to test them too, as opposed to just going outside.

[01:13:15] Well, you can run it up on the ground. I mean you can, you can do a fair amount of running on the ground with you.

[01:13:21] Know, testing RPM and stuff like that and getting them tuned, but it's just easier. Yeah, but then what's the, what's the point if you don't fly it?

[01:13:29] Well, I mean, it’ll eventually get flown.

[01:13:31] Well, yeah, but it wouldn't get flown with those engines then. I mean, I assumed you meant you were going to actually use that as a test stand for all the engines you were going to test and like spend the day out of the field and just fly it and then change it and fly it and change it and fly it and change it. Oh, no, no, no. And fly it and change it.

[01:13:46] The, the intent was to, to be able to do that here at home without going out to the field, just, either strap it down or whatever and do my running on the ground. That was the plan.

[01:13:57] Oh, that didn't make any sense. Well, I mean. Sorry. That's my opinion.

[01:14:04] In the absence of, in the absence of an engine test stand, which I don't currently own. We can make you one. Well, that's where I was going. Oh, sorry. I'm going to, I'm going to build myself a handy dandy test stand and then mount it up in my, craftsman workmate out in the garage and, and then it'll be super simple to swap out engines and, and test them on the test stand and get them tuned in.

[01:14:32] That’s a good idea. I forgot now that you have your, your handy dandy tools now that you bought.

[01:14:37] Right. Exactly. I can build.

[01:14:39] I forgot about that.

[01:14:40] Yeah. I can build all kinds of stuff now. anyway. Getting back to what I was originally talking about, sorry, the hunting for vintage, components. So for me, it's, it's kind of like the challenge of, of, of, flying, a really high performance airplane or whatever.

[01:15:01] I get a certain amount of, enjoyment, if you will, of, searching online or various, resources online, in this particular case for these old Irvine engine parts. Like one of them was in need of a, of a piston and sleeve because it looked fairly low compression. And even, even after running it and getting it up to temperature still has fairly low, compression and didn't seem to run very well.

[01:15:29] It was a little difficult to start, didn't respond really well to needle changes. So I, you could tell by flipping it over when it was cold that it was low on compression. So, ABC type motor needs a piston sleeve combination. You can't just, usually you can't just replace a piston and expect the compression to come back. You got to replace them as a, as a match set.

[01:15:49] So scouring the internet and, and trying to find these components for me is a, is, is kind of rewarding, especially when you find exactly what it is that you're looking for, which I did. And, and then putting those components in the engine and, and now having an engine that for all intents and purposes is brand new. but it's 30 plus years old. Right. So to me, that's, that's very rewarding. Now, granted, I haven't actually built anything or fabricated anything.

[01:16:24] All I did was swap out parts, but the challenge of finding those parts and then, incorporating them into an old engine and bringing it back, essentially from the dead, to me is really, really, rewarding and exciting. And that's one of the things that I think, that keeps me coming back to the hobby too. There's always a challenge to be had.

[01:16:47] Yeah. I enjoy it. Like the, the engine thing to me, that doesn't do much for me, but you're the, you're the engine guy. I mean, that's, that's your thing.

[01:16:56] Oh, I love it. And different strokes for different folks.

[01:17:00] Oh, absolutely. But like the, the, the telemaster that you gave me that you found or found in the trash can. That's the kind of stuff that I, that's the kind of stuff that I really like because that's, that's still a good airplane. Well, it looked, it looked terrible. it needed a lot of work, which we've, we've done a lot of work on it. but I love, oh, absolutely. And I, I love that that was brought back pretty much from the dead.

[01:17:28] It was a couple hours away from going to a, a, a, a junkyard or to a dump. Yeah. And so that plane is going to fly again. And, and I do find that cool. I think that's a lot of fun.

[01:17:42] Yeah, hopefully for many years too. Hopefully.

[01:17:44] Oh, it should. Yeah. I don't expect it to have any problems.

[01:17:47] I mean, yeah, great flying airplane and it’s very well built. I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t last for years to come.

[01:17:54] Yeah, I. I really wish all this was over, cause I would love to get that one. I need to get that engine pulled off and then find something else to put on there.

[01:18:03] Or I’ve got, I’ve got the engine.

[01:18:05] Yeah, I know, but it doesn’t help me out right now.

[01:18:08] I know.

[01:18:09] So, but yeah, I mean, I, I'm looking forward to doing that. That'll, that'll be fun to, to get that one finished. and actually speaking of telemasters, so, we had, one of the guy texts us that, that listens and, and he sent in some pictures of his telemaster that he has, that he has done. Okay. So you, how much I pretty much despise the, the translucent, or tran, yeah, the transparent, translucent, whatever covering that you like.

[01:18:38] I love it. Yes.

[01:18:40] I know you do. So I hate to admit it, but I think I'm kind of coming around on, on that. So the picture he sent was a telemaster.

[01:18:49] Yeah. It has to be done right. Right.

[01:18:51] It does.

[01:18:52] But yeah, you can't just throw it on a whole airplane and expect it to, look right. If it's done right, it, it's, it can be really, really a beautiful thing. I think.

[01:19:00] Yeah. Well, it can, but like on his, he has his setup for a night flyer. And so he's got LEDs on every single wing panel or on every single wing rib on, on it. Awesome. Oh, it really, like, I really wish he would have texted me.

[01:19:17] Yeah. Why haven't I seen these pictures?

[01:19:20] Cause I have to figure out how to get those over to you. Sorry. Oh, okay.

[01:19:24] No worries.

[01:19:25] That, that's the texts come through to me, the texts and voicemails and stuff come through to me, not you. Oh, okay. and I, I need to get a, find a way to get them over to you and I will. but I, I wish we would have done all this and he would have texted us that before I covered that airplane because I probably would have done it something a little bit differently. it, it's absolutely gorgeous. I, I love the look on his airplane.

[01:19:50] So, if you’re listening, buddy, you did a great job on that and you have completely changed my mind.

[01:19:56] And I would love to, and I would love to compliment you also, but I haven’t seen the pictures yet.

[01:20:02] Sorry. Sorry. You can scold me later. I will get that taken care of.

[01:20:06] I bet it’s beautiful.

[01:20:07] It absolutely is. So yeah. good job. You, you've got me thinking now about what I can do on my other airplanes. Like I have that.

[01:20:17] Yes.

[01:20:18] With transparent Monaco. that, that little one I have that, oh, is it an edge? I don't remember what it is right now.

[01:20:23] Oh yeah. The little electric job.

[01:20:25] Yeah. The one that I hate that's got transparency on it. Yeah. You like it now? Well, not yet. Cause it didn't have LEDs on it, but I'm really thinking if I can find a way to not completely destroy it and still put LEDs on it, I might be doing it on that one. So he's, he's giving me a lot to think about. So I, I appreciate the text on that one. Your plane's gorgeous and keep up the good work. I'm hoping to have something with LEDs in it before too, too long.

[01:20:52] Oh boy.

[01:20:53] So, okay. Yeah. And I will get you those pictures tonight or tomorrow.

[01:20:58] Sorry about that.

[01:21:00] Oh, I love airplane porn. You, you could show me model airplane pictures all day, every day, and I would love it. So the more pictures you guys send us, the better.

[01:21:10] Yeah. But you like the vintage, airplane stuff.

[01:21:14] But I mean, I like new stuff too. I mean, cause I mean, so in the, in the case of the dualist project.

[01:21:20] Like, yeah, like if it’s orange and seventies colors, you’re all over it.

[01:21:25] Right. But like, I'm going to need ideas for it. I mean, I kind of have a general idea of how I want to cover the, the, the dualist.

[01:21:35] Which by the way. Red, silver, and black.

[01:21:37] Well, those are your colors. And they do, they do look nice together.

[01:21:41] That’s what I’ll do.

[01:21:43] Okay. All right. Yeah.

[01:21:44] And it could be, that could be a beautiful airplane in those colors.

[01:21:47] It’ll be a beautiful airplane in any color. I mean, let’s be honest, it’s a really sexy airplane.

[01:21:51] But, but now, now are you going to buy the covering for me too? Or do I have to buy that?

[01:21:55] Well, we don't have to buy any. You've got that whole big box of, of it there that, that I brought over when I recovered my stick and, and the telemaster.

[01:22:03] I know, but I don't think you have enough red and black. Oh, well, I'll see what I got here at the house. Maybe I got some more.

[01:22:09] Maybe we'll have to, maybe we'll have to use ultra code. Cause I didn't bring any ultra code over. Remember?

[01:22:14] Oh, that wasn't all your stuff. That, those are boxes full.

[01:22:18] I know. It's an addiction. I can't help it. But no, that was just monocoat.

[01:22:23] I have ultra code here at the house.

[01:22:25] So I'll go through that. And I think I've got quite a bit of red ultra code.

[01:22:29] Oh, awesome. And I'm sorry. I think I cut you off saying something else, but I have no idea what you were saying.

[01:22:36] Me either.

[01:22:38] Well, I guess it wasn't important. My, my bad. Sorry about that. That's okay.

[01:22:42] That’s right.

[01:22:43] You were talking about the dualist.

[01:22:45] Oh yeah. So, modern airplanes have some really, really cool, color, schemes on them and designs. And I'm always looking for, for ideas, to incorporate on my own airplane. So if I see a color combination that I like, or, or maybe a pattern or a design that I like, I'll, I'll incorporate it. So, it's not always about, the vintage pictures. I like, I like modern pictures of, of modern airplanes too.

[01:23:13] Yeah. I agree. So anything is better than nothing.

[01:23:18] Yeah. Yeah. So if you guys are listening and you want to send us pictures of your airplanes, go ahead. I'll, I'll look at them. I guarantee it.

[01:23:27] And I promise I will forward those on to him from now on. Actually, I'll just, I'll give you. Yeah. I'll give you access to the account. That's the easiest way to do it.

[01:23:36] Okay.

[01:23:37] So.

[01:23:38] All right, everybody. You heard it here first.

[01:23:40] You want me to tell you the, the, the name and password now or wait till we’re off air?

[01:23:44] Oh, we can wait till we're off air. We don't want everybody on there.

[01:23:48] Oh, okay. Whatever. But yeah. So I'll get that to you here.

[01:23:53] All right. So yeah, that's, that's, that's kind of all I, I have. I think, I think I've sufficiently, told everybody why, why I, sufficiently detailed, why I keep coming back to the hobby.

[01:24:08] When are you going to be building your, your test stand, by the way?

[01:24:13] That's a good question. my next day off is maybe Sunday. and then, because I'm only getting one day off a week, I'm, I'm not sure what I'll actually get accomplished on Sunday. Cause I also have to do my other hobby, running. I run in case anybody's wondering. so yeah, I don't run.

[01:24:34] So I have that much time that I don’t have to worry about.

[01:24:38] So there, so there'd be that plus all the stuff I didn't, I wasn't able to get done during the week, when I was working. So, I, I would like to say that I would, I would try to start, kind of laying out the design tomorrow night since I don't have anything planned after work. and maybe get out into the garage and, start putting some stuff together.

[01:25:00] But as much as I say I’d like to do that, I could equally say that it was a good chance that won’t get done either.

[01:25:06] So, but when I do something, if it’s something simple, you can draw up something and send it to me, and I can possibly even just design it up and cut it on a CNC machine.

[01:25:17] Okay.

[01:25:18] Maybe, I mean, I, I don’t know how much time you have.

[01:25:21] I mean, I was just going to make something really simple out of some stuff that I had laying around here, just cobble it together. But yeah, if I can, if I can come up with something nice, I’ll send. I’ll send you the design.

[01:25:36] Yeah. Hell, I'm making stuff for everybody else. Might as well add you to the list.

[01:25:42] That, that having said that, you’re getting, you’re getting more RC stuff done than I am right now.

[01:25:47] That's true. Even though it's not much, but, it's funny because that, that machine has been running, I would say for the last week, probably on average four to six hours a day. That's awesome. I'm getting my use out of it. Yep.

[01:26:01] Yeah. Because it's at, it's at idle for quite a while there.

[01:26:05] Yeah. Several months. I had to, when I went out to get back on it, the computer had crashed and I had to, find another computer I had. And that was a pain getting everything set back up, but it's, it's working now. So that's what's important.

[01:26:18] Yeah. That rib was, was, was beautiful. I mean, look, like I said, it was very high quality, so I can't wait.

[01:26:25] Once, once we get your building stuff going and I cut the ribs, we’ll, we’ll go ahead and put that a video of it cutting them on the website too.

[01:26:33] So everybody, it's mesmerizing to watch that thing work. It really is.

[01:26:39] See, that's the, that's the YouTube or the, the YouTube rabbit hole I always go down is when you, you see one CNC machine cutting something and then it pops up another video and you just keep watching and watching and watching. Yeah, I, I can, I can obviously watch that all day. There's just something about it. I don't know what it is. Yeah. Very peaceful.

[01:26:57] Yes. No, I agree. I may, I mean, I may not be as fascinated as you, but I can, I can watch that stuff for, for a considerable amount of time too. Just in awe of technology.

[01:27:09] Fascinated enough that I had to build my own. Yeah.

[01:27:11] Yeah. Yeah. Which is awesome.

[01:27:14] And then I, I didn’t want a small one, so I had to build a big one.

[01:27:20] But that's okay. That's what, that's what tools are for, right?

[01:27:24] That’s right.

[01:27:25] That’s my most expensive and most useful and most fun tool all in one.

[01:27:30] It’s definitely useful. I mean, it has done some pretty amazing things, but.

[01:27:34] Yeah. So if anybody's thinking about, I was going to say, if anybody's thinking about building a, building a CNC machine, go for it. don't look back, just do it and keep making it better. And you'll, you'll be amazed how many things you can cut with it.

[01:27:47] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You've made some, you've made some pretty, kitchen cabinets. I mean, the list, I mean, it's a long list of stuff that you've made with that thing. Yep. So I think we've, I think we've wasted enough of our listeners time. That's really kind of all I had.

[01:28:04] Yeah. Me too. So. Okay. Good deal. I guess until next time, I'm Ron. And I'm Tom. Good night. Good night. And we're just joking. We're not actually finished yet, even though we just said goodbye. Anyway, after we finished recording, yeah, no kidding. After we finished recording that, I went ahead and got the picture sent over to Tom and he wanted to get back on and talk about it really quick. So what do you think of those?

[01:28:29] Yeah. And that, that jogged my memory, you took, he, listener sent us pictures of his, telemaster, which is awesome, by the way. I love the LEDs. That is, that is the, the, the coolest use of transparent, monocoat or ultra coat and LEDs that I've seen yet. So, and I bet, I bet that thing is no problem to fly at night at all.

[01:28:52] Yeah.

[01:28:54] And, and also the, the, he mentioned the Robin hood and, it, it, it jogged my memory when I saw the, your tri-motor conversion and that is really cool too. I mean, a man after my own heart, kit bashing, an existing kit and, which is funny because I'm actually watching a Robin hood kit on, I don't know, eBay, RC groups, one of those, one of those, sites, I've always been a fan of the Robin hood.

[01:29:19] I thought they all flew really neat. And the tri-motor conversion is really interesting. So, yeah, I'm kind of toying with the idea of doing a, a, a twin maybe conversion of something like that in the, some time down the road, especially if I get this kit that I'm watching. So yeah, really cool. I love that, telemaster that is, that is really, really slick.

[01:29:41] Yeah, that's pretty cool. Which brings me in the last thing I want to bring up when you said you want to do a dual motor something or another. so also after we stopped recording, you told me and you, you didn't say you wanted to say it on, on the podcast because you're embarrassed by it, but I'm going to call you out on it.

[01:29:56] Don’t say it.

[01:29:58] How many engines did you say you have bought in the last month? Okay, so no, no, just give me a number 17, 17, one, seven. That's, that's more engines than I own on all of my airplanes combined.

[01:30:17] I explained, I explained why and, and how that came to be, 17, but yeah, yeah, yeah.

[01:30:29] Do you want to explain how that came to be? So everybody else knows just quickly.

[01:30:34] Okay. So, one of them was a package deal. It was a really, really good deal. And in the package were a, a matched pair of OS FXs and one of them being, reverse rotation. So perfect setup for a twin. although I'm not going to use them, I'm going to use my Irvine's. but eventually, eventually I, I really like multi-engine airplanes. so I will have another one eventually. And, and those will be either on that or on your dualist. One of the two. Okay.

[01:31:05] Anyway, that's why I bought that package deal. Sorry. I bumped the mic. That's why I bought that package deal. because it contained those engines and other engines that I was personally interested in. And, and it was a really, really good deal. so, another, another deal was with a package of three engines and some, some other parts that came with them, that were Irvine's.

[01:31:28] So fit my, my, requirement, if you will, for putting Irvine's on my dualist, Irvine engines, they haven't been produced for a while. So getting spares is, is not a bad idea. And in this lot of three engines was some other parts that I could use for engines that I already own. So that was the reason for that purchase. And it's usually better to buy package deals because you get a, I mean, you just get a better deal. Right.

[01:31:56] Yeah.

[01:31:57] So, and then it was a couple of, there was a onesie twosie. I bought a, an OS and a Thunder Tiger. I think it was, they're in a box. I still need to open it up and go through them.

[01:32:07] But yes, it’s embarrassing.

[01:32:09] That’s not something I know it’s not something I do well ever. I mean that’s: this is the first time I’ve ever acquired that many engines in that short a period of time ever, and I don’t plan on doing it anytime soon again.

[01:32:28] Does your wife know?

[01:32:30] Yes, she absolutely knows.

[01:32:32] She's okay. If not, she, she will know now.

[01:32:35] Well, I mean, she's seen the boxes, right? So I'm, it's not like, yeah, that's true. And, she's, joint account. So she sees everything I spend. So it's, it's, it's not going to be a surprise, but, so, having said that, yes, 17 engines, but, I am set and the 40 size, the 40 to 46 size is my, it's like my jam, right? That's, that's the size that I prefer.

[01:33:02] Like, a majority of my nitro powered airplanes are powered by, something in that range. so I'm fixed up for quite a while. And now I have engines for, all of my future projects that are, that are on my shelf over here, kits, RFs, whatever. so I won't have to pull an engine off of another, because to me, that is super annoying. I hate taking an airplane apart.

[01:33:31] To build another airplane.

[01:33:32] Another one.

[01:33:33] Yeah. I would just, and I get it.

[01:33:35] Yes. It's expensive. Not in this case. These were all used engines and I got really good deals. And for all of these engines, I, and I'm not going to exaggerate.

[01:33:46] You don't have to justify yourself. It's your money. You can spend whatever you want, by the way. I know.

[01:33:51] I know. But, but 17 engines, I have less than probably $225 in all of them. So.

[01:33:58] Oh, that’s a lot better than I would have thought.

[01:34:00] Right. and I, I'm not, I don't have like a lot of money, I'm not like wealthy or anything like that. But if I find a good deal and I happen to be in a position to take advantage, and I was in this case, I do. And it's something that, that fits my, my style. like I said, I, these are the size of airplanes that I prefer. So, I'm set for a while and now I have enough engines for at least two dualists.

[01:34:28] Oh, that's, that's the important part at this point. That may be a tri-motor Ford later.

[01:34:32] And yes, maybe a tri-motor.

[01:34:36] So last question, and you might not know the answer to this.

[01:34:40] Okay.

[01:34:40] How many engines do you have not on airplanes right now?

[01:34:45] So I would be estimating, because I, I mean, I, I try to keep all my engines in one location, which I'm looking at them right now. so if I apply the, the scale rule, let's see, there's, so I, gosh, it's a lot. It's a lot. that's, that's, that's all I want to say because I'm embarrassed.

[01:35:12] Well, don't be embarrassed, but it's over, it's over 30. Wow.

[01:35:17] Like I said, I'm, I'm estimating because there's some, I think in boxes here behind me on the shelf that I, no, I have some engines that are not rebuildable. Like for instance, I have a, a Magnum XLS 52, I think it is, that is, that, that will simply will not run because the piston and sleeve is just shot. There's no compression. Like you can turn it over with a plug in it, with a finger and it, just over and over anyway.

[01:35:46] So until I find, a piston and sleeve for that engine, that is sent, that engine is essentially, a paperweight.

[01:35:56] If you will.

[01:35:56] Yeah. So, I mean, I'm counting those in my, my large number. So over 30 that are not sitting, currently sitting on an airplane or in an airplane.

[01:36:09] That’s a, that’s a big number. I think I have like two or three in my box.

[01:36:18] It's, yeah, it's an addiction. I get it, but it is what it is. I don't, I don't, hang out at the bars. I don't, I'm not a bass fisherman, so I don't spend, lots of money on, on the boat and all the other associated stuff that goes with it. I don't, I don't smoke. I don't really drink. So, whatever.

[01:36:40] No, it’s, it’s okay. I’m not asking for justification. I was just curious.

[01:36:44] Well, I feel like I have to, because it is such, like when I, when I say it, it’s like, oh my gosh, that is.

[01:36:52] When I hear it out loud.

[01:36:54] Yeah. Maybe one of these days I'll, I'll, I keep them fairly clean. Right. So maybe one of these days I'll build cool little stands and, and put them out on a, display cabinet or something, because I do like just looking at them because I think they're neat looking.

[01:37:08] Maybe you should build like a spruce goose or something and put several of them to use.

[01:37:12] Oh, that'd be cool. Yeah. I think there's plans out there. I think Don Smith made some plans for the spruce goose.

[01:37:18] What is that? What is that? Six or eight engines? I don't remember.

[01:37:21] I think the spruce goose had eight.

[01:37:22] So there you go. That takes up eight. That's still not a third of what you have.

[01:37:28] Well, they all have to match. And now, now I have to, now you're buying more.

[01:37:33] All right. all right. I'm done. So, it's been fun.

[01:37:38] By the way, thanks. Thanks for sending those pictures to me. that telemaster looks fantastic. I can't wait to see your telemaster retrofitted with LEDs and clear Monaco. Yeah.

[01:37:49] I don't think I want to do that yet because I don't want to tear all that off. That was a lot of work recovering that. It was a lot of Monaco.

[01:37:55] Yeah.

[01:37:56] Yes, it was. I’ll find another airplane.

[01:37:59] Okay.

[01:37:59] So, cool. Sounds good. And then for realsies this time, everybody, goodbye. Yeah. Good night, everybody. See ya.

[01:38:07] We hope you enjoyed this episode of the RC Plane Lab podcast. For topic suggestions, to ask questions, or to give anything back, 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.