Western Front Dawn Patrol's Dusk Patrol April 11, 2010.

Dusk Patrol April 11, 2010 at Cobras Field

       Well, we officially started the Western Front flying season last Sunday with the first monthly dusk patrol for the year.

       Weather was partly cloudy but windy (a 90-degree crosswind, to boot!), but a few intrepid R/Cers managed to commit aviation with our models.

       Adam Shelburg brought his Taube, but wisely left it in the vehicle. I've owned a Taube 40, and can testify that they do NOT handle wind very well. Adam chose to fly his S.P.A.D.s (Simple Plastic Airplane Designs, not the famous French fighter plane!) which handled the wind much better than his Taube would have.

       Terry Lamm made flights with his 1/8th-scale Fokker D.VII combat plane. He managed to lose a wheel whilst airborne on two separate airplanes during the course of the day. Maybe he should check those wheel collars? (Two words, Terry - Loc Tite! *grin*) He also did several nice flights with the Dynafite S.E.5a, which is really performing well this year thanks to the gas engine he installed last season.

       Roger Vaad was there as well, with his H9 Camel-on-steroids. (I don't think the originals could do 3D, Roger! *laugh*) He really put it through its paces, and is clearly getting more comfortable with the little beastie. He also demonstrated that the best way to land one of these H9 Camels is deadstick, which is a lesson I need to learn.

       Speaking of my bad landings...ahem. *wince*

       After much procrastination, I had finally sent my old Prism 7X radio in to Hitec to be serviced shortly before flying season arrived. I received it back days before the dusk patrol, only to find that ALL of my trims, mixes, expos, endpoints, etc. had been ERASED when they had looked at it! So I spent one whole evening resetting everything sorta-kinda like I needed things. (You never really know until you fly it, of course.)

To complicate things further, I had purchased the new module and Rx that Hitec has introduced to convert some of their older radios from 72Mhz to 2.4Ghz. (I'll need it to run a gasser with mag in the 1/3 Busa Pup.) That meant going to a 6-volt Rx battery pack, because 2.4Ghz stuff doesn't like 4.8 volts very well. The conversion module works great, but the 6-volt Rx pack REALLY moves those servos! (As I soon found out in the air.)

So add the radio issues to the rudder and fin repairs I did over the winter, and I was basically doing a remaiden. (At least, that's what it felt like to my thumbs!) Takeoff was reasonably uneventful, but the flight was definitely "invigorating" until I got things in proper trim. In fact, I "zigged" once when I should have "zagged" after losing orientation while trying to get my trims set (the only time I ever remember that happening to me - very disconcerting!), and nearly went home with a "Bag-o'-Parts". Luckily I got it back under control, and started relaxing enough to actually enjoy myself. I flew for probably 15 minutes, then set up for a cross-field landing into the wind.

       Or should I say, what I THOUGHT was "into the wind", because I underestimated how much the wind had shifted to the South-East. It got low-and-slow, the crosswind lifted the right wing, and at that point I was just along for the ride. Went in on the left wing, requiring minor repair to the lower left aileron. (Since completed.) The humiliating part was that the flight was being filmed by a member of the Omahawks who was visiting our field. I've been informed that the footage is on YouTube somewhere, just search "Cobras Field" and "Multiple Fatalities" and it should pop right up. *grin*

       On a cheerier note, we also all had the chance to see one of the "Gilmore Red Lion" planes fly. For those of you who don't know, we have 8 or 9 guys around here who have bought models of Wedell-Williams racing planes from the early 1930s, and they have decided that it would be fun to race them. (I have no idea what the rules are yet, and I'd be surprised if they did either!) Only one plane was in attendance for this months meeting (I guess he wins by default?), but it flew like a champ. We're looking forward to the May meeting, when we have been assured that the group will be ready to recreate the days when pilots like Jimmy Wedell and Roscoe Turner ruled the skies over Cleveland. Should be way cool!

       Speaking of cool... It was great seeing Mike McKinney at Cobras Field again. Hopefully the weather will be kind next month so we can maiden that BUSA 1/6th Nieuport 17.

       And I would be remiss if I didn't thank Larry Puls for not only providing hot dogs, brats, and buns but also for cooking them to grilled perfection for the pilots. Thanks, Larry!

       See you all at the field!
       Dean Dingman in Omaha

Video of Dean's H9 Sopwith Camel

Click Here for Video

Ed Paasch shot some video of my H9 Sopwith Camel during its flight at the last dusk patrol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwLNNbfAyfs

This was the first time I flew it after the fin and rudder rebuild. Combined with the fact that it was the first time I'd flown with a 6-volt Rx pack (really moves those servos, let me tell ya!), and that I'd had to completely reset all trims, expos, endpoints, mixes, etc. that Hitec had erased when I sent my Tx in for servicing, and it definitely felt like a re-maiden. Probably should have waited until the wind died down, but hindsight is 20/20. No lasting damage done on the landing, so I'm ready to go again just as soon as I get another day off. (Which may be awhile...)

This was also the first time I had flown using the new 2.4Ghz Spectra module and Rx combo that Hitec has come out with to covert older radios like mine to the newer frequency band.

It worked just fine, and was actually priced fairly reasonably. I should be able to upgrade both of my Prism 7X radios to 2.4Ghz, plus have two Optima 7-channel Rxs for less than $150.

Notice that neat snap-roll near the start of the video. H9 Camels all seem to do that if you have the elevator on high rates and yank back on the stick when flying at full throttle. It can be a bit disconcerting the first time you do it if you aren't expecting it, but after that it's fairly predictable and kinda fun to do. Wouldn't want to do it at the wrong time, though. *grin*

Best regards,

Dean in Omaha