And thank you too, Wylie.  We had a great crew out there and on the job.  It was good to see how fast we could get the work done when there were many hands to do it.

Paul

Spring break started for the kids today and I had a day off too.  Drew and I spent the first half of the day driving his Polaris to a maidenable state.  Like mine, he had the easiest maiden ever.  He launched off of the grass in a vacant field, took two clicks of aileron trim, and then flew it like he had a dozen flights on her.

Once he felt comfortable and we had a few photos out of the way, I had to launch mine too.  Nothing like two unmarked identical sky blue planes in an overcast sky at the same time.

Here are a couple of photos of the boy in action.

Paul and Drew

Thanks again for setting this up, Tony.  I got my 3 from Phil yesterday and they look great!

I'm guessing that quite a few will go tomorrow night at the meeting.

Koh

That was alot of fun.  And thanks to everyone who came out early and pitched in to get the field looking great.  We got the pits cleared of weeds, the run way blown off, and quite a bit of runway smoothed out.

And speaking of the runway, was that a sign of supreme proportions yesterday?  When we got there at 0900 the wind was nasty.  While we were vacillating over whether or not to postpone the race, the wind picked up a huge piece of the runway and flipped it over!  Happy to say that we perservered and that it turned out to be a nice day afterall.

Looking forward to next month!  And happy to say that Nemo still looks like this after my first foray into pylon racing:

Koh

Heya John

It would be a lot easier to make mine look like yours!

I can put a coat of paint on for you.  Got red in the cupboard.

Koh

Thanks for getting this off the ground, Red.  I'm looking forward to clinics on Racing (thanks goes out to Cole who helped me out today) and Aerobatics.  I've got to learn how to do those rolling circles . . . .

On the tech side, I need to learn how to do fiberglass and would be willing to teach thermoforming, resin casting, etc.

Koh

Hi John

Drew and I saw that one.  Definitely a contender for th Xmas party.  Somebody has to have a photo of the wreckage--I recall a camera on scene.

Koh

Looking forward to next weekend!  I've been saying that I'll race this year.  Here's testimony to my commitment.

Not sure how long she'll look like this, though.

Koh

Bummer, Tony

Can you clip the wing in that class?

Koh

My son Drew and I designed this model a couple of years ago.  The first one is his and it flew so well I decided that I needed my own.  But just to get his goat, I added bigger motors, more detailing, and servoless retracts.

The maiden went well but toward the end I had a severe aileron glitch.  I tore the model apart but had a heck of a time getting rid of that.  After many tests I thought I had it fixed.

The photo below was taken two days before last year's WCF Scale Event.  I was in a rush to get the Mitchell in ship shape for the show and she was flying well that day.  I hit the field again the next day to practice for the show but on the downwind leg she suddenly rolled 45 degrees to the outside.  The Glitch was back.  Too high to land, I came around again.  Another series of glitches in the same spot resulted in her inverted and hitting a vineyard equipment trailer adjacent to the runway.  I took pride in the fact that the debris trail was very scale.

Morale of the story:  haste lays waste. 

This one happened last year so it won't be a contender for the Best Crash prize, but hopefully it will get the ball rolling.

Crashes suck.

This is as certain as Death and Taxes, but let's put a lighter side on it this year.  Wylie and I were talking at the field last weekend and we came up with the idea to start and Aircraft Obituary thread here.  The idea is for members to post an entry after each disaster that includes a before and after photo plus a little background on the recently departed aircraft. 

Within minutes of hatching this brainchild, Steve Koll's AT-6 went down in the grapes, which we took as a sign that we are on to something, but fortunately his damages were not severe.

We discussed this at the Board Meeting the other night and Jeff Penner sweetened the scheme by suggesting that we award a prize at the 2013 Christmas Party for the Best Crash posted to this thread.  That's a great idea.  So here is the thread to get it going.  All members are encouraged to add to it by posting a reply with details of a new air disaster.  Folks are also welcome to comment on the quality of rekitting, offer solace, add a story, or whatever seems appropriate.

I'm afraid to tempt fate, but my 2013 has been good so far.  I've flown quite a few aircraft including two maidens but had no crack ups.  But just to get something going I'll go ahead and post my last crash--after all it was spectacular!

Koh

Hi Tony,

Perfect timing.  My main lid is starting to look pretty greezy.  Put me down for a L-XL in black.

Thanks!

Koh

Heya, Paul.  No worries--plenty of time between now and the end of Float Fly season

I'm hoping to fly mine a bit more but by the time I get out of work its time for the nightflyer.  Maybe this weekend.  I need to aggravate Red a little more by flying her with her top off

Btw--Drew went on a mission last weekend and cut out all of the parts but the fuse sides for his Twin.  I think that he will be keeping his end of the deal.

Paul

Heya, John

Its actually pretty much a wash on the money side.  We issued cards before (as you know) but we exchanged the year tags for the lamination. 

I just punched a hole in mine so that I can hang it on my field box.  Walk the talk, you know

Koh

Here are some build photos to get things caught up. 

I'm giving plenty of detail on the controls, since I made some changes here.  I moved everything up to the top to keep the electronics and the control horns out of the water.  The electronics have been CorrosionX'd and the horns and motor mount were sealed with water-based polyurethane.

Also worth noting, I'm using silicone caulk to seal the entry points for the wiring and joints in the fuselage.

You guys building yet?

Paul