Scienceguyorg Ramblings: Model Flying in 2017

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Model Flying in 2017

New Years day in Minnesota turned out to be good model flying weather for January; low wind and temperature right around the freezing mark. The day started out sunny but that faded away early afternoon. In the morning I flew my Fantastic Foam Flyer rubber powered plane early from a schoolyard when the temperature was only 23 degrees F. I had just painted it with Design Master Floral paint to give it some color against the snow or a cloud covered sky, I think it helped the visibility and did not add much to the weight.

In the afternoon I went flying at a larger field and had some longer flights with the FFF, the short video clip shows what it looked like in the sky with the red paint. I then put out my hi-start to fly my Sig Riser 100. Pounding the stake in the ground was not easy for the first couple of inches. For the next hour I made launch after launch but just couldn't seem to find thermal lift that my glider would climb in for very long. The hi-start was snagging in the ice so many of the launches were not very high. Landing repeatedly in the icy snow tore a couple of holes in the Monokote covering.

Sig Riser 100

Pounding Hi-start Stake

After putting the Riser away I flew a free flight CLG (catapult launch glider) for a few flights. On one flight it appeared to be in some lift and drifted to one edge of the field and landed in a low bush. How it got around other branches and landed just as it did I do not know. After that I made a couple flights of my small Icon A5 seaplane from the snow.

FF CLG Landed in Bush

On Monday it was windier but I flew the Icon A5 again, I had so much fun skipping it across the snow doing repeated touch and goes. When I finished flying I happened to look at the bottom of the plane and it was full of scratches and gouges in the foam. It was repaired by epoxying some foam in large gouges and then clear tape over the bottom of the hull.

Hull of Icon A5 Showing Damage

I Flew With Gloves on

I also tried out the used Walston tracking system I had recently purchased. The tiny transmitter was left in my car and then I experimented with listening to the beeps at different distances and transmitter angles.