2018 S.M.A.L.L. Fly-In Relocated to the Arkansas Sky Tigers Field!

Looks like we got a spot!

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2788002-SMALL-2017-June-1-4-2017-Wrightsville-Arkansas#post37672674

https://www.facebook.com/ArkansasSkyTigers/

And...to that end:

Everybody gets some work done.  Little Traveler (Sterling 'Minnie Mambo') gets some servos and wing adjustments, 'Winder' got some steaming to help remove a warp, and my 'Wen Mac Ringmaster' waits for me to dig out an appropriate Perfect tank.











Gonna hide out on the hill on this cold Saturday.

You must have posted about the Little Travelers non-stop flight here Kim, got a link to it?  I missed it or am memory challenged and would like to know how you kept it in sight.  Car chase?

And, I'm fascinated by the concept of a Wen powered Ringmaster of that size.  

Bob

Edit add: Maybe it was in your friends aircraft as the chase plane/helo....

rsv1cox wrote:You must have posted about the Little Travelers non-stop flight here Kim, got a link to it?  I missed it or am memory challenged and would like to know how you kept it in sight.  Car chase?

And, I'm fascinated by the concept of a Wen powered Ringmaster of that size.  

Bob

Edit add:  Maybe it was in your friends aircraft as the chase plane/helo....

Hey Bob,
That was 'Little Traveler II' that we chased with a helicopter---Good Lord, the Toy Nazi's would jump on that nowadays! Unfortunately, it suffered a wing failure about 4 four miles into it's flight, plummeting into the Mississippi River, and becoming the only model airplane I've totally lost. It DID raise $1400+ for St. Jude Children's Hospital though.

The first Little Traveler is still with us, and got it's Cox International 'Red Scorpion' Engine test run this morning.

On the Ringmaster deal, I built two Beginners Ringmasters for the Fly-a-Thon---not finishing either in time. The first one IS pretty much done and running a shiny Babe Bee. With all the Wen Macs I've collected, figured to dedicate the second one to those little engines.
Really looking forward to flying it.

Here are the notes i posted about Little Traveler it a while back:

https://www.coxengineforum.com/t596-little-traveler-i-october-10-2009?highlight=Little+Traveler

Ah so.... I remember the Little Traveler II and the aerial shot of it being plunked into Big Muddy but missed the pickup truck guided flight of the original.  Perhaps because that occurred in 2009 and I didn't get here until 2014.

I'm not sure how you pulled that off sitting in the back of a pickup truck guiding that little plane.  Other drivers must have thought that great fun.  

Bob

rsv1cox wrote:Ah so.... I remember the Little Traveler II and the aerial shot of it being plunked into Big Muddy but missed the pickup truck guided flight of the original.  Perhaps because that occurred in 2009 and I didn't get here until 2014.

I'm not sure how you pulled that off sitting in the back of a pickup truck guiding that little plane.  Other drivers must have thought that great fun.  

Bob

Funny thing is that the flight it's self was the easiest part of the whole deal.  There were a few dozen things that COULD have gone wrong, especially considering that Little Travel's first flight came only a couple hours before it's cross-country attempt.

Between the weather and working at the airport, I just couldn't get a good day to myself to put some flights on the plane.  We were fantastically lucky to be granted a beautiful evening when Mike and Rory were available to crew the flight.

Once we launched, flying it was mostly a matter of nudging the rudder to keep it beside Mike's truck, with the elevator acting as a trim tab for pitch.  Rory was riding in back with me, running the video camera and calling for Mike to speed up or slow down in order to keep pace with the throttle-less Minnie Mambo (perhaps, we were fortunate that Mike didn't stop and kick us out of his truck for all the nagging).

I don't know if passing cars figured out what we were doing, and I couldn't turn away to look at them...but Rory commented a couple of times that, 'They sure were looking at us!"

I kept Little Traveler up fairly high to give us some extra glide time to stop the truck and pick a spot if the engine quit.  We had a 'Do-or-Die' stretch of a bit more than a mile when going through the small town of Karnak, where an engine failure would have had me trying to thread the plane through a web of power lines and find a landing spot among the buildings lining the main drag.  But it kept running, and I never found out if anyone heard it passing by way up there.

Once past Karnak and a few 'tree tunnels' where I'd monetarily lose sight of it, I'd planned to bring it down low beside the truck for a photo-op in the wide open home-stretch to Wayne's house.  But, I felt that I'd already had a truck-load of luck dumped on me, and so chickened out, keeping the droning model up high.

We arrived at Uncle Wayne's house with a few minutes to spare before the engine quit, and I was a proud peacock to coast it to a safe stop in the middle of the back yard.

So, it turned out to be one of my greatest times flying any model airplane, and have Mike, Rory, and Wayne to thank for it.  AND, we raised $1600+ for St. Jude Hospital, so it was doubly great.

Great story Kim, and long term memories for the three of you involved. I noticed Karnak on your map and thought of Johnny Carson.

You mentioned that you never recovered LT II. But I can't help but wonder it's final fate. Even with radio and engine it must have floated a bit. Speculating that someone found it and a new R/C modeler was born. I wonder about the few that I have seen fly away.

I'm a long time supporter of St. Jude's. My Mother was a contributor and after her passing I continued supporting their good work in her behalf.

Bob

rsv1cox wrote:Great story Kim, and long term memories for the three of you involved.   I noticed Karnak on your map and thought of Johnny Carson.

 You mentioned that you never recovered LT II.  But I can't help but wonder it's final fate.  Even with radio and engine it must have floated a bit.  Speculating that someone found it and a new R/C modeler was born.  I wonder about the few that I have seen fly away.

I'm a long time supporter of St. Jude's.  My Mother was a contributor and after her passing I continued supporting their good work in her behalf.  

Bob  

Thanks Bob, it was one of the most fun and proud moments for me in this hobby.  I've also been supporting St. Jude Hospital for several decades now, and still do.  

The loss of L.T.II was a real disappointment as it happened just as I was settling in for the trip, and thinking we might actually make it.

I had my name and number on it's fuselage and wing, and did entertain the thought that I might get a call from someone who'd found part of it's carcass, but that never happened.  The river was in flood stage, cutting across the bottom lands on the Missouri side, and I just imagine that it ended up up in the tress somewhere over there.

Kim, that Winder would bring a tear to Terry Prather's eyes. Cool paint scheme and certainly fitting for the period. I really like the old woodies. I think that's what I enjoy the most about going to the vintage combat in New Jersey. We really don't fly too much combat, we just show off and talk about it. My son and I like to throw in a match with the vintage stuff. It's a lot of work as it doesn't fly like the modern stuff . One has to be pretty careful as the moldy oldies will stall and flutter about if pushed too hard. Nice looking plane. Ken

Thank Ken.  The Winder was one of my 'Bucket List' models as I never built the kit back in the day, but was always somewhat imprinted by the build article and photo used by Sterling to promote the kit: Terry Prather posing with his Winder behind a bunch of trophies.



Still like looking at it, and with a mild engine, have a lot of fun flying it.

Looking forward to a great event at Sky Tigers!

A little less than 5 months to go.

xplaneguy wrote:Looking forward to a great event at Sky Tigers!

A little less than 5 months to go.

I also !!! Now is the time for PROJECT FOCUS !!! 'FOCUS...Kim...FOCUS !!!!!!'