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The Quick Orange Fox

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Dennis pivoted the wings on carbon fiber rods, rotated by servos.

Dennis pivoted the wings on carbon fiber rods, rotated by servos.


Many of us fly cheap airplanes, but few fly anything as cheap as the Multiplex Fox.

Looking a bit like a scaled-down Multiplex Easy Star, it’s sold as a $15 glider: no motor, no control surfaces. Throw it hard and high and wait for it to come down.

But it looks so much like a small version of the planes we fly that inevitably people began tinkering with it.

Matt Abrams had the first one I saw. His was blue, a work in progress on the day I saw it at the PCC airfield.
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New Birds

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Frank checks out the landing gear, his favorite feature.

Frank checks out the landing gear, his favorite feature.


The other day, Frank D arrived at Baylands carrying a new work in progress, a flying fire engine.

It’s a handsome scratch-built twin-engine OV-10 Bronco, all dressed up as a fire-fighting plane used by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Frank admired the plane at a recent airshow, so he bought a small non-flying model and scaled it up into something that will someday fly.

His favorite feature is the retractable landing gear, three rubber wheels which bounce on spring-damped shock absorbers.
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Survivor!

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Recovered Plane. Ike Dahlen holds his algae-camouflaged T-28 Trojan.

Ike Dahlen holds his algae-camouflaged T-28 Trojan.


The ParkZone T-28 Trojan is notable for its brightly bold color scheme: red and white, with some strokes of black.

So it was a surprise to see Ike Dahlen’s Trojan Wednesday when he brought it out to a picnic table.

It was positively scruffy: the bold colors were muted by an overlay of brown and green, an unlikely camouflage scheme.

Was this a paint job, or severe weathering? It looked like brown and green algae.

It is brown and green algae.
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Pylon Races

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

A wing circles the pylon as pilots on the flying line vie for position.

A wing circles the pylon as pilots on the flying line vie for position.


Kasra was excited.

He and a group of wing flyers staged an impromptu pylon race last weekend.

“You have to come Saturday,” he insisted. “We’ll do it again, with more people.”

I don’t normally visit Baylands on weekends. It’s crowded and I generally enjoy a two-day break from flying, as fun as it is. It’s a chance to do some repairs, maybe build something new, or just read a book.

But Kasra was insistent, as was Mike Bowns, whose tall Battle Wing banners served as course markers for the pylon race.

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Snow Melts Back East

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Norman’s helicopters pose on a checkered tablecloth.

Norman’s helicopters pose on a checkered tablecloth.


It’s raining today so I’m cowering indoors, but Norman McKinstry, our East Coast Correspondent, checked in recently to remind me that we’re sissies when we complain about California weather.

Regular readers will remember Norman, an inveterate flyer who who recently celebrated his 85th birthday in Amherst, New Hampshire.

Here’s his breezy email:

Hello friend. Today is first time this year: NO SNOW ON GROUND around here. Been a rough, long, cold, snowy one! I bought 3 indoor helicopters as outdoor flying was impossible.

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