Big step for Roddie

RknRusty wrote:Good for you, Dude!
What's your number?

Thanks Rusty. It's the same # that's been listed on my profile since joining here; 469284. I had been an AMA member from 1993 thru 1995. Those three years were when I was actively flying.

Allright!

Hope this is means you are going to start flying! Good job man!

Cribbs74 wrote:Allright!

Hope this is means you are going to start flying! Good job man!

Thanks Ron. My inactivity with the hobby has literally been "eating" at me. There isn't a day that goes by; where I don't think about aero-modeling in some way/shape or form. I'm going to concentrate on turning my thoughts into actions. I'm feeling more positive about it this Spring.. than I've felt for a long time.

COOL MAN !!I see some good times coming up in your life , i was just recently thinking the same thing if things here get settled a little more . I can fly CL in my back yard but , i want to getback into RC since i have sooooooo much of it and our friend Mark ( batjac) just sent me a couple of transmitters one being a computer radio i am stoked about having it ! I am happy for you (brother) and hope to see you in the air soon .

roddie wrote:

Cribbs74 wrote:Allright!

Hope this is means you are going to start flying! Good job man!

Thanks Ron. My inactivity with the hobby has literally been "eating" at me. There isn't a day that goes by; where I don't think about aero-modeling in some way/shape or form. I'm going to concentrate on turning my thoughts into actions. I'm feeling more positive about it this Spring.. than I've felt for a long time.  

Baby Steps at first, but I guarantee that once you start flying there will be no stopping you!

"Small step for mankind but a giant leap for a man".

Good for you Roddie! I can definitely relate to what you said: "My inactivity with the hobby has literally been "eating" at me. There isn't a day that goes by; where I don't think about aero-modeling in some way/shape or form. I'm going to concentrate on turning my thoughts into actions. I'm feeling more positive about it this Spring.. than I've felt for a long time"

I am also constantly thinking/dreaming about my airplane projects, so much so that it is becoming a real distraction to other things in life, still very rarely I can get anything done about modeling. And that bugs me severely. But when I do get something done, for next few days I can concentrate also on other things better

And I too am feeling more positive about the Spring Last Fall was definitely Dark Times for me, I didn't realize it at the time but I do now. So, towards the Summer, My Friends!

KariFS wrote:"Small step for mankind but a giant leap for a man".

Good for you Roddie! I can definitely relate to what you said: "My inactivity with the hobby has literally been "eating" at me. There isn't a day that goes by; where I don't think about aero-modeling in some way/shape or form. I'm going to concentrate on turning my thoughts into actions. I'm feeling more positive about it this Spring.. than I've felt for a long time"

I am also constantly thinking/dreaming about my airplane projects, so much so that it is becoming a real distraction to other things in life, still very rarely I can get anything done about modeling. And that bugs me severely. But when I do get something done, for next few days I can concentrate also on other things better

And I too am feeling more positive about the Spring Last Fall was definitely Dark Times for me, I didn't realize it at the time but I do now. So, towards the Summer, My Friends!


 

Kari, It's a comfort to me, knowing that I'm not alone in my thoughts. I truly hope that we "both" will get over this hump! I looked at re-joining the AMA (after decades of letting my membership lapse..) as something that would give me a "push".. into flying my models. I'm a very frugal person.. and spending the $75 for the 1-year membership, I saw as a segue to reprogram my priorities. I've had plenty of opportunities over the last few years; to join some C/L flyers in nearby Wrentham, Massachusetts. Now I'll be able to do that.. rather than just going to watch. Most if not all model-flying-clubs require their members to have a current AMA membership.

I'm already focused on getting some models flightworthy.. instead of worrying about organizing my disaster of a workshop. There's no denying my love for designing/building.. but I haven't been doing that either.

So.. how about you? There must be something that would give you a "push".   ................... You had started on a "290 Special" last year and did the work modifying a postie-backplate.. Did you make the brackets for the mount yet?

Here's a close-up showing the measurements.. in case you need them.



Maybe this might help.. ??



    Those are some nice little engines! I assume that you still have them all... GOT FUEL? Maybe running a few would get your heart pounding!

I bought some Cox parts from Bernie and Matt this afternoon.. Mainly .049 reed-valve "back-end" parts. I like the horseshoe-style backplates.. so I got some of those, along with screws, short brass needles, some Mylar reeds and the cap-style reed-retainers.

Bernie has some of the old Goldberg "spring-style" wheel-retainers that fit 1/16" music-wire.. (I love these.. and Sig no longer stocks them)



The horseshoe backplates will be used with either wedge or balloon-type fuel tanks. Most of my airplanes' engine-mounts are set-up for this arrangement. My old backplates used either the circlip reed-retainer or the "flanged" plastic-cap style. These new ones use a plastic-cap.. but not the flanged-type.

roddie wrote:
So.. how about you? There must be something that would give you a "push".   ................... You had started on a "290 Special" last year and did the work modifying a postie-backplate.. Did you make the brackets for the mount yet?

Well, the 290 Special has not moved forward since the engine work, no brackets, no plane, nothing. Actually, I got another engine from a Corsair that has the correct #1 cylinder and a LH starter spring, so I may just use that one with my modified backplate. I did finally get my parts order done a few weeks ago and now I have the piston reset tool and a bunch of props and service parts to get my engines running. I did run a couple of Bees last May Day, that was a hoot! Been quiet since though...

I have started a bunch of other projects (I am good at planning and starting projects, not so good at completing them), one is a stunt plane for a Tee Dee, it is based on a Finnish-made foam wing core that is made for gliders primarily but it can be adapted to many applications. I got two of them and glued them together, creating a symmetrical profile.

Another project is building three "identical" slab wing trainers. I got some 2.5mm (little over 3/32in) balsa for making wing ribs for something but found out the sheets were way too heavy, hard and difficult to cut. They are way more stiff than any 1/8" sheet that I've seen. The design of these planes is an adaptation of two or three beginner plane designs with a couple of my own ideas mixed in.

I'll start a thread about both of these some day... But here's a teaser




I do have the "Scorpion", but I think I built it too heavy (7.5oz) so I think I'll save it for later. The "American Boy" on the other hand has a very small wing area, it looks a little too fast and has a minimal stabilizer area so I think I'll use it as an engine stand for now. The three planes under construction are meant to be "expendable", and I have hand-picked my most beat-up Babe Bees to power them so I should not be afraid to fly them.

Here's the Scorpion:



And the "Boy":

[quote="roddieSo.. how about you? There must be something that would give you a "push".   ................... You had started on a "290 Special" last year and did the work modifying a postie-backplate.. Did you make the brackets for the mount yet?

Here's a close-up showing the measurements.. in case you need them.

[/quote]

Kari, Roddie,

you may want to jump on this 290 engine backplate bracket by Goldberg, sold on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COX-290-ENGINE-MOUNT-049-Reed-Valve-Balsa-Model-Airplane-CG-Carl-Goldberg-EB-1-/231940600020?hash=item3600bcb0d4:g:o2sAAOSwl-FXMnLt

balogh wrote:

Kari, Roddie,

you may want to jump on this 290 engine backplate bracket by Goldberg, sold on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COX-290-ENGINE-MOUNT-049-Reed-Valve-Balsa-Model-Airplane-CG-Carl-Goldberg-EB-1-/231940600020?hash=item3600bcb0d4:g:o2sAAOSwl-FXMnLt

Thanks for the tip Andras, but the price... yikes

Might be a bit of a business idea for someone with a high quality 3D printer

KariFS wrote:

balogh wrote:

Kari, Roddie,

you may want to jump on this 290 engine backplate bracket by Goldberg, sold on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COX-290-ENGINE-MOUNT-049-Reed-Valve-Balsa-Model-Airplane-CG-Carl-Goldberg-EB-1-/231940600020?hash=item3600bcb0d4:g:o2sAAOSwl-FXMnLt

Thanks for the tip Andras, but the price... yikes

Might be a bit of a business idea for someone with a high quality 3D printer

That's just too expensive.. unless a person had absolutely no fabrication skills. Really? How difficult is it; to measure and cut some thin-gage steel-sheet strips with snips.. and drill two set of holes 17/32" (13.5mm) on-center? It's not Rocket-Science..

Sorry.. I shouldn't assume.. but I took Dale Kirn's two-bracket design for the 290 Special.. one step further and made two opposing 90-degree bends to fit flat against a radial-style firewall.

Most of you have seen these mounts that I made..



Gaging the bend-points correctly can result in a mount that equals the horseshoe backplate's thickness/case-distance from the firewall.



Notice this comparison with a tanked bee..



I want to take this time to point-out something important. There is NO NEED to modify (cut) the Postie backplate. The metal brackets can be cut to fit inside the molded plastic flange(s). This orients the mount to fit "vertically" on a firewall sized for a tanked Bee engine and places the NVA horizontally.. which IMO is favorable. The case/cylinder can obviously be rotated to your preference-position.

If Bernie or Matt looked into having these mount-plates fabricated.. I believe that the initial set-up/tooling cost would pay for itself in the first few sets sold. A sheet-metal fabrication-house could make these easily.. and cheaply. I think that it would at the least; be worth getting some quotes.

We already know that there were literally thousands of postage-stamp engines/backplates produced and many still surviving out there. I believe that there's a market.

I received my order from Matt (ExModel engines) yesterday. Not bad for ordering on 4/11 (3-days to my mailbox from CT.) Bernie's shipment from Canada will take a lot longer, which is understandable. Theresa from Cox International explained that the U.S. Customs-office is often backlogged.. and it could take 3+ weeks to receive my order. That's ok.. I'm patient and the Springs here in New England tend to be too breezy to fly 1/2A.  

Here's what I got from Matt..



Those are Tee Dee .049/.051 mounts.. because I have one of each of those engines now and a few 1/2A C/L airplanes with radial-firewalls that I'd like to try running the rotary-valve engines on.

The six needle-valves and Mylar reeds are for the six horseshoe backplates coming from Cox International. Most of my fleet use that backplate with an external fuel-tank. The needles are the coarse (80 threads-per-inch) short-brass type. I think that they're less prone to the "tuning-fork" effect that can cause the longer needle to "wander" from its setting.. due to vibration. Being shorter in length also makes them less susceptible to damage from a crash.

I have at least six C/L airplanes waiting for engines.

Twin Mustangs.. (self-designed and yet to be flown.. built 15 years ago..)




My Triplane.. (self-designed almost 30 years ago and flown.. but recently modified to reduce excessive tail-weight)




The "Rare-Bear".. (yet to fly.. most recently self-designed for the 1st CEF Reed-Speed contest in 2014)



My "Custom-Stunter" (self-designed "flat-frame" wing and stab. last-flown 30 years ago)




The "Barbie" flapped-stunter (self-designed 30 years ago and flown extensively)




And also a couple of other self-designed airplanes, yet to be flown.

The "Lil' Magician".. (another flat-frame design; wing and stab... has an engine-cowling made from the bottom of an old 1qt. plastic soda-bottle)




Another flapped/flat-frame self-design (never-flown) built about twenty-five years ago..  




and this little self-designed job that's also never flown..   I call it the "Rod-Bat".. It's by far the lightest-weight in my fleet.




These models are all configured for Cox .049 reedies.. running horseshoe backplates and external fuel-tanks.

I have a parts-box with several Cox .049 pistons that have their ball-socket joints reset.. waiting to be mated with cylinders/crankcases. By the time that the backplates arrive from Canada, I'll have those engines spec'd-out/configured/packaged with notes regarding cylinder#/porting. They're all stock parts.. but it will be helpful to know how they're configured when I bench-run/fly them.

I have a myriad of propellers. Most are 5 and 6 inch diameter with pitches between 2 and 4 inches. I recently bought some NOS Cox 2-blade L/H 6 x 2's (Cat.#864 2-pack) which will be my test-run/test-flight props. This was the stock propeller on the Cox PT-19 Flight-Trainer.  



I think that this prop would be a good starter-prop for me; where I haven't flown in a VERY long time. Given that some of my models have "never flown"; the L/H prop will "torque-steer" those models tighter on the lines, along with lighter-loading on the reed-valve engines.

I'm trying to pre-plan for a successful first-outing. I could have and should have.. when Ron Cribbs was here in RI last November. Ron will be with me in the pit.. and center-circle in spirit.. when the day comes. You can all be assured of that! As well as being a terrific moderator for this forum; Ron has been a constant positive-force and personal confidante to me. I love ya' man.. and  

I'll leave you with this.. and wish you all a very happy Easter!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVBCE3gaNxc

You certainly have the gear to get into the air and sure there will bee some good / some bad flights but, that's the fun in it and surely not a reason to get down . Look forward to some video of a BIG smile as that plane flys and lands

Yeah, I ride you pretty hard.

Coming back to RI is not out of the realm of possibility. Early on in my association with this forum I was collecting and not really doing anything with these engines. That was fun, but you can only flip the prop so many times before it loses it's luster. Once I bolted one up and flew it, I realized my thinking was all wrong! I won't go into that as I have said it all before. Let's just say I am a big advocate of flying.

We are all rooting for you Roddie!

Ron

Thanks guys! The weather's finally turning consistently nicer here in RI. It's supposed to reach 80+ degrees today. It's already a calm 77, sunny and clear as I write this. Perfect flying weather..

The band is light on bookings this year as compared to years past. I'm ok with that.. as it will free-up more weekends to do a lot of other things. Having a gig on a Saturday night (the usual..) tends to stop me from getting involved with weekend projects. I'm often pretty beat the following day after loading in, performing and then loading back out. That process involves 6-7 hours in itself.. not including the travel-time. Figure 8 hrs. total-time to play just a local-gig. I seldom get home before 2am following a night-gig. The extra income helps.. but at the cost of my time and ability to do other productive things.

We should make more $ for what we do. Pay per-man averages 15-20 dollars/hr. with all things considered. It's not all tax-free $ either. We're all in our mid to late 50's.. and it's getting harder to be doing this as a hobby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UC4SLsPQic

I just re-upped my AMA today. I wasn't going to, I've been burnt out with all the building I've done but I couldn't imagine not flying in at least the 1/2a scale contest this year.

Jim

JPvelo wrote:I just re-upped my AMA today. I wasn't going to, I've been burnt out with all the building I've done but I couldn't imagine not flying in at least the 1/2a scale contest this year.

Jim

Awesome Jim! I'd love to see what you've been working on..

Gosh jim sounds like a little burn out , i considered you one of the best builders on this forum and have always looked forward to the end product !! Are you fling RC or still CL only ? and sure you will do great in the CL scale , look to see what ur into lately .

roddie wrote:

JPvelo wrote:I just re-upped my AMA today. I wasn't going to, I've been burnt out with all the building I've done but I couldn't imagine not flying in at least the 1/2a scale contest this year.

Jim

Awesome Jim! I'd love to see what you've been working on..

I've been working on this, I had to have a custom fork built. It's at the paint shop right now.


I've also been working on this early 90's Gary Fisher, getting it revamped with a modern drivetrain.


But mostly I've been working on the nursery as my wife and I are expecting a baby boy April 24th.

Don't know how much building I'll be doing in the immediate future but I will try to stay semi active flying.

I do have an idea for the traveling .010 and the 2018 1/2a scale contest though....

Awesome news! I hope everyone comes home happy and healthy! Congratulations!!

APRIL 24TH !!!  Very happy for you Jim!! A new flyer , Hobbyist aboard !!

WOW! Congrats to you and your wife Jim! I guess you have been busy..  Love the tandem! Very cool indeed!

I received the six new sure-start horseshoe backplates ordered from Cox International well-before expected.. I may even try one of the choke-tubes on a model.. Possibly one of the Mustangs. That would require making two 3/8" sq.-stock blocks for the existing firewall to straddle the snorkel. A slight-functional extension to the Mustang's nose might help to balance the design.



These two airplanes were the last C/L models that I built before joining CEF.. (about 15 years before actually..) Neither one has flown. They'll both be fitted with Cox .049 reed-valve engines.. running small external stunt/wedge-tanks of between 8-10cc capacity.. and trial-flown on 35' "Dyneema" braided lines. The plan is; to initially run 6d x 2p L/H Cox props (stock prop for the Cox PT-19 Flight-Trainer) to aid in some positive line-tension. There is zero thrust-offset.. and very little rudder-offset built-into this design. Both airplanes have adjustable lead-out guides.. although primitive..



I've chosen to fly my first-flights over the parking-lot where I work. There are no overhead-wires and the pavement is nice and smooth. Once the models are flight-ready.. I'll put them in the car with my field-box.. and wait for a nice calm afternoon after work to fly them. I'll try to capture some video because it will be an epic event..