Category → R/C
Flying!
In college I flew a Kyosho Concept 30 helictopter for a number of years, until I sold it to to buy a plane. What I discovered is that you need a lot of room, and the area I used in Harriman was too small for my limited flying skills.
Anyway, I haven’t flown in years, and in the mean time, miniaturization of electronics, motor technology, and battery technology have come a long way. So much so that a capable R/C helicopter with all that’s needed to fly can be had for about $150.
After a bit of research, I settled on the E-Sky Belt CP. It’s the least expensive collective pitch helicopter with a belt driven tail and a brushless motor.
Here’s a video of me flying last night:
Unfortunately, shortly after the video was taken, a gust of wind took the helicopter quite a bit higher than I wanted to be, and I panicked dropped throttle more than a should have, and hit the ground pretty hard. Hopefully the replacement parts I ordered will arrive early next week.
More flying
Mom and Dad are visiting, so the five of us went up to Harriman to go flying for the fourth time (links to the first 3 times: 1/25/04, 1/11/04, 1/04/04):
Like last time (video), I circled a few times and got stuck in a tree about 30 feet off the ground. Dad and I managed to shake the tree until the plane fell down a bit farther, then we pulled it out:
I really need to join a club with a bigger field. Or I need to learn how to fly. Or both.
Flying and Sledding
We tried flying today, but at 20 degrees, the plane engine wouldn’t start:
I found some tips on how to fly in cold weather, so hopefully we’ll do better next time.
On our way out of Silvermine, I took Mechel sledding down the abandoned ski run while doing my best Howard Dean impersonation. You can either watch the video, or download it and then watch it.
Come fly the friendly skies
We took the plane out today, despite the 20 degree weather. The first flight was in pretty high wind and ended badly – I had to replace the propeller and spinner. On the last flight, we discovered that the plane will actually take off from the ground, and does not have to be thrown – probably due to the wheel I added to the back of the plane.
Anyway, the last flight went pretty well until I got a little too close to the trees. A 1000 x 1000 foot field isn’t all that big when you’re going 30 miles an hour! If you like, you can watch the video, or download it and watch it later.
As you’ll hear in the video, the engine noise made Mechel upset. He also cried when the plane crashed. Its OK Mechel!
I realized I was in trouble when I saw the left wing go behind a tree branch (below). I tightened up the turn, but I was too far into the trees and hit another tree 25 frames (0.8 seconds) later.
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Living up to it’s name, the DuraPlane survived the 40 foot fall unscathed.
Mechel helped me clean up the plane and posed with me for a victory shot:
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I’m looking forward to next Sunday!
Flying in Harriman State Park
Today, we took my Duraplane 20 Trainer up to Harriman State Park. I joined the Interstate Model Flying Club and the AMA, which allows me to fly my plane at the abandoned parking lot at Silvermine lake (formerly overflow parking for the Silvermine Ski Area, which was closed in the 1980s.) As you can see from the width of the road, the lot is roughly 1000 feet by 1000 feet:
It was raining quite a bit, but I really wanted to fly, so we gave it a shot anyway. Mechel helped me prep the model before we started. We brought along the controller for his radio controlled car so he could pretend to control the plane:
I throttled up to 100%, and Trish gave the plane a toss. I throttled down too soon, though, lost airspeed, and crash-landed (The plane was never more than 20 feet off the ground). The elevator came off, and I broke the propeller, but otherwise the plane is fine:
Even though I only got to fly for 10 seconds or so, it was fun. It will take a while to get back to where I was in 2000, able to do loops and such.
On the way back to the van, we spotted some berries dripping with water:
Can’t wait for next Sunday!