MID-AIR
Midwest Hots II (40 size): Read the "From The Shop" column in the May 1997 RCM for a an interesting perspective on flying in other countries. The letter is from Rick Shook when he was flying in Egypt. Rick and I were flying together at Wright-Patterson AFB and would dogfight on numerous occasions. One day in 1992 we went up for a some ribbon cutting fun and both planes came down in little pieces - we both zigged when one of us should have zagged. We looked at each other in shock and commenced to laugh, along with everyone else at the field. We shook hands and walked out to pick up the pieces.
Midwest Super Hots (60 size): This plane had been flying non-stop for 13 years for me since I bought it, from someone who had also been flying it for a while. I took it to the field every time I flew and had been looking for an excuse to tear it apart, rebuild it and recover it; looks like I have that excuse. The engine died directly overhead at about 50 feet and I had to land long. Long on this field meant landing between two trees and a metal signpost. I missed the signpost and hit the trunk of the center maple tree about 6 feet off the ground, dead on with the spinner. It made a nice little hole in the tree. The plane dropped straight down and the body broke in half. The wing is fine. I could glue it right back together and fiberglass the joint. Instead, I have built a new lightweight body and copy the whole thing so I have a backup-up Hots.
Tiporare : I truly still don't know what happened with this plane. I had been flying it for almost two years when it decided to call it quits. One day I took off, raised the gear, turned downwind, and then ..... nothing. It just kept flying at full throttle as it slowly rolled over and headed straight down. I killed the throttle and even turned the transmitter off and on. Nothing. It hit pointed straight down going at least 120 MPH. It made a respectable hole in the ground. The engine was buried a foot deep in dirt. The wing looks OK, but look again. It was a foam-core wing and was compressed chord-wise. It was unsalvageable. But the horizontal stab lives on in the ~Ultra Sport / Tiporare II. Post crash autopsy showed all connections to be intact and the battery to be well in the green.
P-38/P-61/F-82/OV-10 Wanna-Be : This self-designed plane flew great for two years until I decided to get creative. I moved the engine to the back of the main body and added a nose cone with weights where the engine had been. I thought I had the CG correct. Nope. It was way too far back. The plane got to about 10 feet altitude while doing a great saber dance. It oscillated back and forth several times before deciding to head back to terra - firma. In this instance, terra - firma was blacktop and none too forgiving. The wingtips survived.
Conniption I/Conniption II : I designed and built this aerobatic plane and used the landing gear and engine from the crashed Hots II. The plane was a great success. It flew for over three years until I tried a Lomcevak about 40 feet off the ground. It did the manuever fine, but I fumble - fingured it and smacked it into the desert. I took the pieces of that crash and built the Conniption II. It was the same design with a few minor changes. The wing center section was beefed up and the barn-door ailerons were integrated into the wing structure. This plane could do everything that its daddy could do, plus fly a lot faster. Unfortunately, the second weekend I took it out to fly, I smeared it all over the desert in about the same spot its papa had bought the farm. I was doing a series of snap rolls going upwards when the hatch lock came undone and the receiver battery went ballistic. I found the battery pack 150 feet from the crash site. The plane just kept snapping in a nice arch. My kids thought it made a very nice mess on the desert floor. The same landing gear and engine live on in the Conniption III.
This story and picture won the "How mangled did you go?" contest at RCUniverse, for which I won a Fliton Flubber.
Javelin (sorta): Built from RCM plans to match a small foam-core wing I had. My version has a longer body length -to- wingspan ratio than the plans, and the wingspan is smaller. I finally got this plane in the air with a long run down the runway. It just did not have enough wing area for its weight. After several circuits of the field, during which I discovered that the max speed was about 2 mph faster that the stall speed, I decided to land. As I brought the engine back, it died and the plane dropped like a brick. At 45 degrees nose down, no amount of elevator would slow the descent. It hit soft sod and the damage could probaby have been repaired in less than an hour, but the flight characteristics don't merit a rebuild.
Sorta-Scale Northrop N9M Flying Wing : Built from my own plans, it has the same general planform as the N9M. It was built as a proof of concept (1/2 scale) airframe for my UAV flying wing project. I had been flying it for a while, but something happened during its second flight of this particular day. The plane was rock steady, but as it was moving away it started to pitch down. I added back elevator and it pulled back up, but continued to pitch over. I continued to add back elevator as it continued to pitch nose down. It about 10 seconds I reached full up elevator and I could add no more. It was almost as if the elevator center point was moving in one direction. I had complete control over engine and ailerons : during those 10 seconds I had managed to turn the plane around and was aiming for an empty field (as I added up elevator). I thought I had it made. Not quite. It hit the top of the last tree before the field and shredded itself. There was a cloud of leaves and balsa as it acted as a tree trimmer. It finally came to rest about 30 feet off the ground. The battery power was on for the 1.5 hours it took me to go home and get some long poles. After getting it down and arranging the pieces, the receiver and servos worked fine. Even the main gear retracts still function fine too. The elevon servos are centered where they should be. I don't mind crashes when I learn something, but this is annoying because I have no idea what happened.
SHOWING OFF
Vundango - This plane went through two forms before I found the version that flew well. The second picture shows the version that flew very well. It had a Speed 400, 2.5:1 gearbox, 12 amp ESC, R-4P rx, and the controls were mixed ailerons and elerudders via electric elevon mixing and mechinal mixing. It was large version of the Tiny. I was showing off and flying low around some trees in my front yard. It got behind one set of trees and I lost sight of it. Next thing I know it was on the driveway, with all the internal structure of the wings smashed to bits. The only thing holding it together was the Monokote. The motor, gearbox, and ESC live on in a two meter electric flying wing camera ship for my Aiptek Pencam SD.
Fun-Fly : I took the wingtip plug-ins (2 feet each) from the crashed plane above and joined them to make this fun-fly plane, complete with carbon fiber tail boom. OS 40, 4 channels [ailerons(2), elevator(1), rudder(1), throttle(1)]
Goldberg Electra : I have built at least four of these over the years, crashed one and sold the others in flyable condition. One I built in 1989 is still hanging up in a hobby shop in Colorado Springs. I can not compliment this plane enough. I have used it to teach several people (including myself) how to fly. It has simple construction, is available everywhere, will use any electric motor, and is easy to fix and fly. 3 channels [elevator(1), rudder(1), throttle(1)]
Trainer/Night Flyer : My own design wing on an unknown body. The wing also contained 12 LED's for night flying. Four channels [ailerons(1), elevator(1), rudder(1), throttle(1)]
~Ultra Sport : My own design with the horizontal stab of a Tiporare and the wing of an Ultra Sport. The body was built to fit the available components. HP 61 Gold Cup with tuned pipe, mechanical retracts, five channels [ailerons(1), elevator(1), rudder(1), throttle(1), retracts(1)]
SOLD
Dynaflite P-51 Mustang : Kit built. Mechanical retracts, five channels [ ailerons(1), elevator(1), rudder(1), throttle(1), retracts(1)]
SOLD
F-82 Twin Mustang : I copied the Dynaflite Mustang body twice as I built it, joined the two bodies and extended the wing. Counter-rotating engines, four channels [ ailerons(2), elevator(2), rudders(2), throttles(2)]
SOLD
F/A-18 : Built from Mike Pastro's F/A-18 pusher plans in RCM, heavily modified and ducting added. It has been painted in Blue Angels markings. OS 65 VR-DF & pipe & Turbax III fan unit, mechanical retracts, five channels [ ailerons(2), elevators(2), throttle(1), nose steering(1), retracts(3) ]
SOLD
Gee Bee Sportster - Fox 50, four channels [ ailerons(1), elevator(1), rudder(1), throttle(1) ]
SOLD
Fliton Flubber - I won this plane in the "How mangled did you go?" contest at RC Universe, for the crash picture and story of my Conniption II above. I flew the plane for about a year and then moved on to smaller electric 3-D planes. Speed 400 geared drive, 12 amp ESC, R-4P rx, four channels [ ailerons(2), rudder(1), elevator(1), throttle - esc]
TRADED
Hirobo Shuttle ZXX - I traded this chopper with engine, servos, and Telebee heading hold gyro to someone for two OS 91 VR-DF engines, three tuned pipes, two complete Dynamax fan units, and most of the pieces to a third fan unit. These were all installed in my SR-71. OS .32, five channels
SOLD
Bridi Aerocommander Shrike : Kit built with exception of new built-up wing created from scratch to replace the original foam-core wing lost in a crash. (2) Magnum 40 FSR (counter-rotating), four channels [ ailerons(2), elevator(1), rudder(1), throttle(1) ]
SOLD
Gentle Lady : Kit built, modified wing and empanage. I added dual flaps / speed-brakes to each wing and replaced the stock tail with a removeable full-flying horizontal stabilizer. Everything comes apart to fit into a box as checked luggage on commercial flights. Aerial photography platform. Speed 400, 3:1 planetary gearbox, 11x6 folding prop, 15 amp ESC, five channels [ rudder(1), elevator(1), flaps(2), camera shutter, throttle (ESC)]
SOLD
Klingberg Wing #1 : Built from plans. two meter glider, two channels [ elevons(2) ]
Klingberg Wing #2 : Built from plans. two meter glider, two channels [ elevons(2) ] Aerial photography platform
SOLD
Astro Challenger : Kit built wing and empanage, body from scratch. Aerial photography platform. Speed 400, 3:1 planetary gearbox, 11x6 folding prop, 15 amp ESC, four channels [ rudder(1), elevator(1), camera shutter, throttle (ESC)]
SOLD
Great Planes PT-40: Kit built. OS 40 FP, four channels [ailerons(1), elevator(1), rudder(1), throttle(1)]
RETIRED
ICARUS Shockflyer - Park and indoor 3-D airplane. This plane was so beat up it was time to retire it. The Himax HC2812-1080, 17 amp brushless ESC, GWS R-4P receiver (w/ channel 6 added) were removed to go on another plane, five channels [ailerons(1), VPP(1), elevator (1), rudder (1), throttle (ESC)]
