Rainy Days

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Sometimes it’s best to wait to charge your batteries until you’re not standing in a puddle.

Sometimes it’s best to wait to charge your batteries until you’re not standing in a puddle.


The dust has settled on our bathroom remodel, a two-week project that accordioned into a month. And it’s been payback time for all those balmy days we enjoyed in the fall.

Between the challenges of Dog-Contractor Space Management and Very Unsuitable Weather, I’ve barely been flying or taking photos, which means that it’s been a challenge to update the blog.

Well, “challenge” is a sugar-coated word. Fact is, I’ve updated zip. February is a Lost Month.

Dodging rainstorms, I made it out to Baylands twice this week, though, and enjoyed combat both days. I’ve also been flying my Mini IFO. Today I flew it once on the Great Meadow (Lake Pickleweed, Dave North called it this morning), trying to avoid an unplanned landing which would cause me to slosh across the grass to recover the downed craft.

Then I spent some time flying it from the picnic area, deliberately threading it among the trees on the upper stretch of grass.

“My depth perception sucks,” I said out loud, trying to circle a tree and discovering that I was about to hit it.

“Reduce your throttle,” Dave advised while watching me. I slowed it down a bit and found that I had better control and more time to figure out where the plane was. Then the trick was to goose the throttle when it threatened to stall.

Later, Mike Nadler posed for a Rain Safety Poster, setting up his battery charger while putting his thigh-high rubber boots to good use in a puddle of water.

Three Maidens & a Dwarf

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

Harold’s handsome plane makes a low pass.

Harold’s handsome plane makes a low pass.


This poor blog has suffered from the dislocation and dust of our ongoing Bathroom Remodel, not to mention a run of bad weather which has kept me from flying.

Monday was glorious, though.

Our contractor and his crew, who are Vietnamese, observed Chinese New Year (Year of the Ox) Monday and Tuesday, so the house was quiet and I didn’t need to solve the Goat, Wolf, Cabbage, Boat problem.

The temperature was chilly (low 37°, high 60°) but the bright sun felt at least five degrees warmer. Winds were light.

Time to fly!

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Magic in the Air

Sunday, January 4th, 2009

The little helicopter is surprisingly easy to fly.

The little helicopter is surprisingly easy to fly.


When I was a child in New York City, I remember my fascination with sidewalk vendors who sold magical devices, crystals that would bloom underwater into fabulous alien shapes, wind-up tin toys that careened crazily across the concrete.

Sometimes my parents would indulge us, buying a tiny spring-powered dog or a tumbling acrobat or a monkey that climbed a string.

But when we got home, they lost their charm. They slowed down, they jammed, they didn’t work: they became normal, fallible and ordinary.

Twice last year I succumbed to the same sort of immediate enchantment, both times in AeroMicro, my favorite local radio-control goodies store.

The first spell was cast by the Vapor, a half-ounce wisp of an airplane designed for indoor flight.

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Mike’s Cessna 140

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

The Cessna flies in a sunny, blue sky: perfect winter weather.

The Cessna flies in a sunny, blue sky: perfect winter weather.


A few weeks ago, Mike Nadler bought himself an early Christmas present, an almost-ready-to-fly Ultrafly Cessna 140, which he ordered from a Taiwan dealer.

After a long idyllic warm fall, December temperatures have plummeted into the the 40s and 50s, slowing down our building days and nipping into our flying time, especially when rain reinforces the wintry weather.

So it took Mike awhile to finish the plane—he builds in an unheated storage space with an open garage-style door—but today he brought the Cessna to Baylands for its maiden flight.

The day was overcast, just starting to clear, when Mike took off.

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Taming Servo Leads

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Nasty little wires terminated in nasty little pins

Nasty little wires terminated in nasty little pins

Servo wires are small — 24 gauge is typical — and the pins that crimp to their ends are fragile.

So when I’m confronted with a servo lead that’s too long — this happens often — I usually ignore the problem and wad the extra wire at one end or the other.

If the lead is too short, I use a servo extension: convenient, but it adds weight and it’s never exactly the right length.

I’ve tried shortening the wires and crimping on new connectors, and I’ve botched the job badly.

How many ways can you waste a servo pin?

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