Getting a new plane off the ground is an effort. First of course you have to assemble it from the box. And I made a few modifications to it, that adds a little time. Then I had to balance it. That took a little lead to do but it is now done.
Charged it up and took it to the field fully knowing I would not fly it that day. There were sure to be little things wrong and there were. First, I had a bit of trouble switching the transmitter to the correct model. I thought I had it but did not. Later figured that out. Got that straightened out and tried to start the engine again. I had it running under the incorrect model and in trying to get it to idle, I fiddled with the trim - on the wrong airplane setting of course.
Once I got the correct model installed, all was okay in the control surfaces but the engine would not start. Then I noticed two of the engine mount bolts had backed off, one almost all the way out. The engine, a Saito four stroke .65 has quite a power stroke and that causes the bolts to come loose. So I had to fix that. To top that off when tightening up the bolt I pushed the blind nut out of the wooden firewall. The blind nut is inside the fuselage, so I knew I needed to treat with that at home.
When installing the wing I also pushed out a blind nut and that too had to be take care of at home. Once I got home in pressed the wing blind nut back in to its hole and added epoxy cement to hold it in place. Once the bolt is installed it holds it in place, so the cement is just to keep the blind nut in place.
Then I took off the cover plate on top of the fuselage. The fuel tank is under the place. So I had easy access to the blind nuts. Got the loose one back in place and then epoxied all four of the blind nuts so they would not be pushed out. I also added "Loc-Tight" to the bolts and reinstalled them. Vibration will not shake them out now.
So all the little issues are taken care off for the moment. I noted I probably needed to change the main wheels. That had sat so long they were distorted. New bigger wheels will do better on the grass field anyway. So I will check my spares box or go to the local hobby shop and get a couple of wheels.
I used the heat gun to take out a couple of wrinkles. The covering is cheap, not high grade like MonoKote but it will do. It does mean temperature changes will cause it to wrinkle up. Heat gun takes care of that. A nice taut covering adds to the over all strength of the wings and structure.
So the plane is not closer to be ready for its maiden flight. We will see how she does. I really like the Saito engines, they are powerful and really do the job. This engine is a tad big for the model but more power is better. But one can assume because of the Saito a lot of shaking is going on. It is not a new engine but certainly a great engine.
I know the engine runs but threw in a new glow plug to the field box just in case. Will charge up every thing and go after it again. This time it should make it off the ground.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Monday, September 23, 2013
New Orleans, Uneventful But Rewarding . . .
Our annual trek to New Orleans is over with - again. We departed Texas on Sunday and drove to New Roads to remain over night at the camp. We had Mark and Richard over from Baton Rouge to eat dinner. Ate at "Not Your Mama's" in Livonia since nothing was open in New Roads. Well I guess Satterfield's was open but since out experiences with such terrible and unreliable service we shun the place. All the other restaurants were closed for late meals like dinner. Not Your Mama's was quite good, we enjoyed it and the prices were reasonable.
Monday we took off for a tour of LSU, Baton Rouge, etc. before heading south to New Orleans. Check in time we had learned was 3:00 PM so no use getting there early. We ate lunch at Jay's Bar-B-Que, an old Baton Rouge eatery from our days at LSU in the late 50's. It was still at its same location on Government Street though we learned there are now four such establishments for their food scattered about the city. It was as expected though changed a bit from the 1950's just as one would expect.
We drove over to LSU and located the new bookstore, it is directly across the street from the Student Union building where it had resided for years. So it is not far and they included a two story public parking facility in the remodel of the old University Presidents abode. Really kept on the facade of the old building and added the parking facility in the back. They did a nice job, large Starbucks, lots of clothes and gizmo's on the first level. An escalator led up to the second tier where the book store resides. So it is still convenient and has better parking now days.
We went down College Drive back to intersect with the Interstate to New Orleans. We could have driven out Highland Road and done the same but it would have many more traffic lights to negotiate. So we back tracked so to speak and headed south to New Orleans.
We got to town with no fan fair, located the Moneteleone Hotel and pulled into the garage as is out custom. Bell hop came out, load up our luggage and we left the car in the hands of the garage attendants. The hotel put us up on the 15th floor, top floor with a view of the river. Also bright early morning sun but that comes with the territory. We have learned not to stay on the weekends as there are usually a half dozen wedding parties going on. So we avoid the Saints football traffic, the weddings and I guess there was only one convention going in the building.
We changed our clothes, I donned a jacket to eat at Galatoire's. We walked out of the hotel, around the block to Bourbon Street and the restaurant only to find it was closed on Mondays. Drat. So we walked another block and went to Arnaud's to dine. We were a tad early so sat in the French 75 Cigar bar and had a drink. They called us in 10 or so minutes and into the main dining room we went. We could have gone into the Jazz dining room but chose the lesser noise of the main dining facility.
Judie had the Drum fish and I had the Pompano fish. I thoroughly enjoyed my fish. We had oysters Rockerfellow for an appetizer. They were superb. So it was great choice and only a block further down the street so to speak.
We ate at Galatoire's Tuesday night. Used our same waiter, Amber. It was a nice experience there too. We had snails for appetizer and Judie had the stuffed eggplant (stuffed with shrimp) and I had the bouillabaisse with shrimp, oysters and fish. It is a fun place to eat, the waiters and servers kitbiz with you and take care of your every whim. Plus the food is outstanding to boot.
We of course had beignets at Café du Mode in the mornings and the Tuesday we walked down to French Market. We have a stall we eat at for lunch. We have blackened catfish po-boy. Judie does not like catfish but in this case loves it. We bought a bottle of his dressing that he uses and got his recipe.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped in Aunt Salley's and Judie got things for different folks. She got pralines for Chris, and Mufalatta olive mix for Judith and so on.
We had fun and still have to go Antoine's to dine. I guess we just have to stay a day longer next time and plan to arrive Tuesday vice Monday. I think we also do a little snooping around on Magazine Street (sort of parallel to St Charles Avenue. Commanders Palace is out there and another grouping of great places to eat. Of course, New Orleans being what it is, there is a great place to eat on every corner. Just that there are some that are truly world class to eat at.
May we live long enough to hit all the great restaurants!
Monday we took off for a tour of LSU, Baton Rouge, etc. before heading south to New Orleans. Check in time we had learned was 3:00 PM so no use getting there early. We ate lunch at Jay's Bar-B-Que, an old Baton Rouge eatery from our days at LSU in the late 50's. It was still at its same location on Government Street though we learned there are now four such establishments for their food scattered about the city. It was as expected though changed a bit from the 1950's just as one would expect.
We drove over to LSU and located the new bookstore, it is directly across the street from the Student Union building where it had resided for years. So it is not far and they included a two story public parking facility in the remodel of the old University Presidents abode. Really kept on the facade of the old building and added the parking facility in the back. They did a nice job, large Starbucks, lots of clothes and gizmo's on the first level. An escalator led up to the second tier where the book store resides. So it is still convenient and has better parking now days.
We went down College Drive back to intersect with the Interstate to New Orleans. We could have driven out Highland Road and done the same but it would have many more traffic lights to negotiate. So we back tracked so to speak and headed south to New Orleans.
We got to town with no fan fair, located the Moneteleone Hotel and pulled into the garage as is out custom. Bell hop came out, load up our luggage and we left the car in the hands of the garage attendants. The hotel put us up on the 15th floor, top floor with a view of the river. Also bright early morning sun but that comes with the territory. We have learned not to stay on the weekends as there are usually a half dozen wedding parties going on. So we avoid the Saints football traffic, the weddings and I guess there was only one convention going in the building.
We changed our clothes, I donned a jacket to eat at Galatoire's. We walked out of the hotel, around the block to Bourbon Street and the restaurant only to find it was closed on Mondays. Drat. So we walked another block and went to Arnaud's to dine. We were a tad early so sat in the French 75 Cigar bar and had a drink. They called us in 10 or so minutes and into the main dining room we went. We could have gone into the Jazz dining room but chose the lesser noise of the main dining facility.
Judie had the Drum fish and I had the Pompano fish. I thoroughly enjoyed my fish. We had oysters Rockerfellow for an appetizer. They were superb. So it was great choice and only a block further down the street so to speak.
We ate at Galatoire's Tuesday night. Used our same waiter, Amber. It was a nice experience there too. We had snails for appetizer and Judie had the stuffed eggplant (stuffed with shrimp) and I had the bouillabaisse with shrimp, oysters and fish. It is a fun place to eat, the waiters and servers kitbiz with you and take care of your every whim. Plus the food is outstanding to boot.
We of course had beignets at Café du Mode in the mornings and the Tuesday we walked down to French Market. We have a stall we eat at for lunch. We have blackened catfish po-boy. Judie does not like catfish but in this case loves it. We bought a bottle of his dressing that he uses and got his recipe.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped in Aunt Salley's and Judie got things for different folks. She got pralines for Chris, and Mufalatta olive mix for Judith and so on.
We had fun and still have to go Antoine's to dine. I guess we just have to stay a day longer next time and plan to arrive Tuesday vice Monday. I think we also do a little snooping around on Magazine Street (sort of parallel to St Charles Avenue. Commanders Palace is out there and another grouping of great places to eat. Of course, New Orleans being what it is, there is a great place to eat on every corner. Just that there are some that are truly world class to eat at.
May we live long enough to hit all the great restaurants!
Monday, September 9, 2013
The Wreck . . .
Last week Judie was up in Flower-Mound tending to grandson Jamie. She was over on state route 407, a fairly busy road, going east and turning left across traffic. She misjudged the speed of the on coming auto and it slammed into the right front of her car. Her car, a Lincoln MKX is a pretty tough automobile, but the Volvo that hit her broke off the right front wheel, did in the grill, headlight assembly, etc. No one is really sure about the axle except that it is broken off the transmission. Nor do we know the state of the transmission itself. To top matters off the over exuberant Fire Department cut the cables to the battery, that meant the wiring harness for the car was severed. So the Fire Department did even more damage to the automobile.
The car was a 2012 and was new when we got it. It had about 9,000 miles on it, certainly less than 10,000 miles on it. USAA independent adjusters evaluated the car several times and in the end totaled it out. There is no telling what Lincoln would have done on warranty items, the car had a four year warranty on it. So I am sure they would have ducked out on all the warranty items because of the wreck. There is also legal term called "diminished value" in that even though repaired back to original condition the auto would be worth less because of the wreck history. So all those elements went into the USAA decision and the car now belongs to USAA.
Judie now has a 2013 version of the same version car, it is Ruby Red, bright red color. It has basically all the same things as the 2012 with a few small changes like a towing hitch. It has paddle shifters on the steering wheel, something we will never ever use. The dealer, a neighbor, said that Ford installed those because GM and other makes and brands had them. We have found the software has been tweaked, it is more user friendly, more voice activation gizmo's. And typical of Microsoft who does the Ford system, had already a new update. The update is on a memory stick, just put it into the USB port and it updates the car. It has a lot of memory so a lot of music was uploaded too. We were told it has 9 speakers in it ~ a Bose sound system. Blue tooth synced in her cell phone and the garage door opener is also keyed in now.
So Judie is happy again. She was very angry about the accident but she will get over it. She likes the red color so far. She had a Chevy Impala rental and it was a real piece of crap. Terrible gas mileage, black, slow air conditioning system to come on and slow to cool it. We were happy to get the new car and get rid of that junky auto.
The car was a 2012 and was new when we got it. It had about 9,000 miles on it, certainly less than 10,000 miles on it. USAA independent adjusters evaluated the car several times and in the end totaled it out. There is no telling what Lincoln would have done on warranty items, the car had a four year warranty on it. So I am sure they would have ducked out on all the warranty items because of the wreck. There is also legal term called "diminished value" in that even though repaired back to original condition the auto would be worth less because of the wreck history. So all those elements went into the USAA decision and the car now belongs to USAA.
Judie now has a 2013 version of the same version car, it is Ruby Red, bright red color. It has basically all the same things as the 2012 with a few small changes like a towing hitch. It has paddle shifters on the steering wheel, something we will never ever use. The dealer, a neighbor, said that Ford installed those because GM and other makes and brands had them. We have found the software has been tweaked, it is more user friendly, more voice activation gizmo's. And typical of Microsoft who does the Ford system, had already a new update. The update is on a memory stick, just put it into the USB port and it updates the car. It has a lot of memory so a lot of music was uploaded too. We were told it has 9 speakers in it ~ a Bose sound system. Blue tooth synced in her cell phone and the garage door opener is also keyed in now.
So Judie is happy again. She was very angry about the accident but she will get over it. She likes the red color so far. She had a Chevy Impala rental and it was a real piece of crap. Terrible gas mileage, black, slow air conditioning system to come on and slow to cool it. We were happy to get the new car and get rid of that junky auto.
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