Short Circuit

I finally got to a hobby shop yesterday and bought Deans Connectors and Dave Brown 2 3/4 Treaded light wheels.
Came home and installed everything then went out flying after supper.
I still couldn't take off on my grass so I got the push lawnmower out, set it to the lowest cut and cut a runway in my back yard so I can takeoff into the wind.
I tried to land on this runway but because I have a treeline at the edge of my property I have to make a tight 90* corner to land and that just doesn't work. I barrel rolled the plane and broke a prop.
So I cut a landing strip across the other runway at about a 30* angle and I can land on that although it is landing in a crosswind.
The plane looks cool coming for a landing as the wind kind of pushes it sideways.
With the bigger foam wheels and the short cut grass the takeoffs are not a problem and I still need some practice on my landings although some of them were not noseovers !!!
NO more hand launches for me !!!!!
Also with the Deans Connectors the plane didn't cut out on me at all last night.
I told my wife that runway marking lights are next on the agenda and she just shook her head and laughed at me

Mark

Sky Sharkster

Hello Mark, nice layout for your takeoffs! Sounds like you're thinking these things out and solving problems the right way...a big part of this hobby.
Congratulations on doing so well, by the way, did you mention the control tower to your wife? She'll love that!
Good Luck!
Ron

gfdengine204

Don't forget the rotating light, windsock, glide path lighting......

Heck, to save on gas, pave your runways.....just be sure to mark the ends so commercial aircraft dont land there.

Short Circuit

Thanks, here's my control tower



I've mentioned the lights and pavement but I don't think that is gonna happen
You can kinda see how big the field is behind my house that I can fly in.
That is only about 2/3 of the field in that picture.

Mark

Short Circuit

Here is a pic of the Cub on the runway.
For some reason if I go to my pic hosting site, get a pic into the reply, go back for another pic everything I did before on the reply is wiped out. I was trying to put 2 pics in one reply but I couldn't do it Hmmmmm........

Mark

gfdengine204

Mark,

With that control tower, I can envision a nice windsock above it. 1/2" pipe in the ground, secured to the "control tower", up about 30 feet or so.

I bet the kids would love it over the fort!

Short Circuit

I might be able to get away with a windsock on the playhouse.Have to ask the Boss first
I was just out again and here is a pic my boy took of the takeoff.
It was way too windy so I brought it back down as best I could(which turned out not to be very good)and buggered up the cowl a bit.
Nothing my 25 watt soldering iron can't fix though

Mark

Sir Raleigh

Yep... I see the red ribbon is at about 85 degrees.

Leo L

The other day while I was flying one of my planes, a complete newby showed up and started to get his SuperCub ready for its (and his) maiden flight. As I was talking to the guy, giving him some basic tips like taking off and landing into the wind, etc., he said that we must be on the same channel, so he would wait until I finished flying. I asked him what made him think that we were on the same channel, and he told me that it was clear since we both had red ribbons tied to the end of our antennas!

rea59

When I was a kid going to the RC feild with my dad there was a big board full of different colored flags. You would put a clip on flag that was the same color as your frequency ribbon letting others know and you know who was using what frequency. Every antenna out there had colored ribbons indicating what frequency they were using. All thats changed now though. Perhaps he had memories from the past like I did when I got back into this after a 25 year hiatus.

Great layout Mark! I wish I still had that kind of room near me.

Short Circuit

Yep, that flag was WAY TOO HORIZONTAL !!!!!!!
I never knew that about the different colour ribbons.
Thanks, it's nice not having to drive somewhere to fly, just walk out in the back yard.
I'm so far out in the middle of nowhere that I cant even get high speed internet!!!

Mark

Frank Voikel

That's a great place to fly!
Once you get further into the hobby, you've got yourself a place to fly EDFs at 90 mph! Wheheee! Then scale turbine jets!
At that point, though, you'd need a runway...
"Honey, it's just a walking path!"
Keep on having a great time!

Short Circuit

And a second job to pay for it all !!!!
Walking path hmmmmm.........

Mark

gfdengine204

I can hear it now.......

<Harp music plays like a timewarp theme>

"Honey, why does our walking path have a dashed line down the middle, and X's at each end? And what are those cute little red lights at each end for?"

rea59

"Now honey, I was thinking of you and put those there to help keep you from stepping off the path"

:o

Frank Voikel

Get some christmas strand lighting and a few of those walking path footlights.
Also, get a motorized fan. Remove the fan blades and use a few gearboxes to lower the fan speed. Put a flashlight with red Saran wrap over the end at the top of the fan.
Get a switchbox to control the whole thing
Get your wife to sew you a sock-shaped thing made out of lightweight fabric... "Honey, it's a nightcap!" and pop that on the end of a dowel
To finish the whole deal off, get some concrete at your local store and make a walking path around your backyard that just happens to have a 50' long, 5' wide straight stretch...

Simple and easy! Muahahaha!

Short Circuit

My wife read this thread and said were all a little loose upstairs
I'm gonna go ask her where the christmas lights are

Mark

gfdengine204

Aw heck, she's just jealous! She needs a hobby. Give her a heli to learn on. That'll keep her occupied while you put in that runway.

Short Circuit

I asked her if she wanted to fly and no was her answer. She will watch me fly but doesn't want to take the controls.
Maybe someday I can convince her to at least try it.

Besides we picked up her new hobby(according to her) the other night...... a 6 month old Shephard/Border Collie cross from the local SPCA.

Mark

Leo L

Get your wife to try an AeroAce.

Sir Raleigh

Don't I wish... I have a nice docile little powered glider I made out of an Aero Ace Bipe that I have a ball with that I fly in a small field near by when I don't go to the flying field with my bigger one, but I can't even get her to go out with me when I fly.

She really doesn't begrudge me my hobbies, she just can't get interested in them. I'm usually at the computer most of the day and I can't get her to touch it. Give her an old fashion typewriter and she's perfectly happy.

She does her thing and I do mine, and I guess all things considered it's worked out pretty good for us for over 30 years of marriage.

gfdengine204

My wife tried the Air Hog Heli I bought recently (without me around, of course) and she said she liked it. So that was a step.....

As for our "other" hobby (Cassie the Doberman), I took her to the vet today; she has been favoring her back left leg. Well, $345 tells us she has a torn or ruptured Cranial Cruciate Ligament in her knee, and for the tidy sum of $3,600 we can get it repaired. Yeesh. $4000 would buy me some nice aircraft......we are headed to our old vet for a second opinion....

Grasshopper

Be careful of those second opinions. I was at the Dr. the other day and he told me I needed to loose weight. I told him I wanted a second opinion. He said "OK, you're ugly too".

rea59

Office vets are always extremely high priced. When I had the farm I used a "Farm" vet. This is a vet that usually doesn't have an office (just a truck) and they would also work the stock yards. Yes they are "large" animal vets but they took the same classes for "domestic" animals too. A farm visit was just $25 plus the cost of supplies most of which I had on hand. (I would buy in bulk syringes/wormer/etc from the local feed store).
Remember Vets have to pay that overhead cost of the store front, you can shop around to find one with less overhead cost. Stop at a farm supply store and ask the local farmers who they use.

Just my $0.02

gfdengine204

Tom,

I coulda done the same and saved you the money. LOL