S.M.A.L.L. Fly-In 2018

1/2A Nut wrote:Well done lads, how did that Spitfire fly with the .049?

Is that a Guillows 400 series Spitfire ?

Great report, Kim. Thanks for taking the time to put your camera to work. I'm glad you're still staying hot on the trail of fun flying when and wherever it's happening. Keep up the good work, I've kinda fallen down on the job of entertaining our friends and fellow funsters.
Rusty

RknRusty wrote:Great report, Kim. Thanks for taking the time to put your camera to work. I'm glad you're still staying hot on the trail of fun flying when and wherever it's happening. Keep up the good work, I've kinda fallen down on the job of entertaining our friends and fellow funsters.
Rusty

Chin up buddy, you’re fine.

Cribbs74 wrote:

RknRusty wrote:Great report, Kim. Thanks for taking the time to put your camera to work. I'm glad you're still staying hot on the trail of fun flying when and wherever it's happening. Keep up the good work, I've kinda fallen down on the job of entertaining our friends and fellow funsters.
Rusty

Chin up buddy, you’re fine.

Agreed!!!!! Looking forward to any Rusty Notes whenever they come !!

akjgardner wrote:

1/2A Nut wrote:Well done lads, how did that Spitfire fly with the .049?

                                                                              Is that a Guillows 400 series Spitfire ?

Think it IS a Guillows,but didn't think to ask Fitz. I missed his launch, but it apparently didn't go well, as I saw him bringing it back with it's engine broken off,

More photos from the 2M B.O.T.'s tip cams:

Steve Staples bought some new vinyl strips for the control line circle (replacing the ones stolen from the Farm Field Club).  The C/L circle was across the hay field from the R/C runway, and I'm ashamed to say I didn't make it over there.



Late Saturday morning, with a good crowd in the parking lot.  I heard a club member say that there were 57 pilots registered for this year's S.M.A.L.L. Event.



There were also some serious rubber band models being flown on the east end of the field.













----------------------------------------------------










-------------

Now, y'all don't get the wrong idea, my chin is up. I just miss making the material, for reports of localized flying and scattered fun. But thanks for carrying on!

Kim wrote:

Cribbs74 wrote:

RknRusty wrote:Great report, Kim. Thanks for taking the time to put your camera to work. I'm glad you're still staying hot on the trail of fun flying when and wherever it's happening. Keep up the good work, I've kinda fallen down on the job of entertaining our friends and fellow funsters.
Rusty

Chin up buddy, you’re fine.

Agreed!!!!!  Looking forward to any Rusty Notes whenever they come !!

Kim wrote:

GallopingGhostler wrote:Wished I could join you folks, may be one of these days.

Man, hope you do! This IS a fun event!! The heat has been giving a lot of trouble, but I'm still getting in there among them. Troy and I had the Minnies playing tag yesterday

 
Our little 'choke tube throttles' worked really well, and I'm particularly happy with mine because Little Traveler is still packing it's 4-ounce cross-country tank.  Bernie's 'Red Scorpion' still starts and idles nicely with this set up.

Kim, I didn't know the Little Traveler was your airplane! I remember (must be now years ago) following the story of how for a charity you flew Little Traveler cross country. Because it was a Minnie Mambo caught my eye!

Wow, neat! The type of flying you folks do at Small is the type of models, style of flying and fun I enjoy!

Yeah, it's been parked in a corner for a while. I decided to pull it down for flying with Troy at this S.M.A.L.L., and it turned out great. One thing about running a 4-ounce tank, it's got a LOT of loiter time!


I know it's a long haul, but maybe give a thought to this October and the Fall S.M.A.L.L. !!!

Imagine if it were P.A.W. .030 diesel with a 4 oz. tank

ticomareado wrote:Imagine if it were P.A.W. .030 diesel with a 4 oz. tank

Fly all afternoon !!!

Another of the impromptu things that just happen at S.M.A.L.L.:  These fellows had a Sig Senorita, powered by a diesel engine (and thus dubbed: "Stinkerita"), and were asking pilots to step up and take a few laps.  

I was the 23rd pilot to fly Stinkerita!

Was it built in Juarez?

Kim thats cool that there were 57 pilots this year, big improvement from last time when the rain was a factor . You have said it is hot what are we talking here ? It's nice to see some rubber being flown dont think i have seen you mention this before at a meet, i am sure there was a lot of fun with the Stinkerita 54 fling for over an hour / got one of those with a royal 25 mounted to it hope to get some air time this year with it .

Kim wrote:

getback wrote:You have said it is hot what are we talking here ?

That is hot? This is hot!


Clovis NM approaching the 100's (38 C):

SMALL 2018 is in the books! The whole experience seems like a big blur. I spent many months building/prepping some new airplanes for this one. When it came down to the wire, my old F250 began acting up at the last minute. I scrambled under the hood last weekend, attempting to repair a diesel leak so I could head out for Arkansas on time, a 550 mile trip. I was able to repair it well enough to launch out with only a little cursing drama and some minor scrapes.

My son, Nick, and I spent all day Thurs, Fri, and Sat at the Arkansas Sky Tigers field in Mayflower. They were gracious hosts and I thanked them all for the effort they spent making sure we all had fun. The heat was almost unbearable at times! Many people left early in the day. Others spent the afternoons in the shade instead of flying. I tried my best to keep the pattern noisy and sling castor oil around the Mayflower skies as much as I could, at the expense of overheating a time or two. The early morning flying conditions were fantastic. The calm skies at the end of the day were also great but by then, we were usually too exhausted to fly any more. I always enjoy this event and this year was no exception. It was great to see the old crew and meet some new guys as well! The social aspect of SMALL is as important as any of the flying we do. There was lots of joking, ribbing, and loud laughter. Lots of memories shared of folks who used to attend but are no longer with us. Thick skin is a must as the insults get hurled with love.

There was a great variety of aircraft flown, as usual. One of the few disappointments at the new location was that the CL circle was located across the field, far away from the crowd and RC flightline. That was a problem for the guys who only fly CL. Not much activity in the circle this year and it was too far for others to gather around and enjoy the usual lunacy that results. The RC flying was mostly good. On Thurs, the south winds came through the treeline which is behind the pits of the east/west runway. That caused some crazy turbulence on the flightline which resulted in some busted models. On Fri and Sat, the winds were lighter and not blowing thru the trees, making for great flying conditions except for the brutal heat index.

Nick and I brought a handful of UMX micro planes, some foam electrics, and an assortment of my Cox-powered builds. This year, I focused heavier on the smaller end of things by bringing 3 TD .010s and 2 TD.020s along with the .049 and .09 planes.

As Kim already mentioned, we were able to get our Minnie Mambos in the air together and make a comedic attempt at something that sometimes resembled loose formation flying around the pattern. Standing next to him and visiting while we flew these classics around the pattern was a great highlight to the weekend! Many people enjoyed seeing them cruising down the flightline together, singing that reedie Surestart song. I think the sound of these flights alone caused several of the local Arkansas Sky Tiger members to buy some of the new $10 Surestart engines that Steve "Skaliwag" Adams had for sale. On our 2nd joint flight, Friday afternoon, my Minnie begin to gradually pitch up and down inconsistently. At first I thought it was turbulence but Kims plane was flying fine. I should have cut the power and landed immediately. I continued around the pattern troubleshooting the problem, and as we cruised overhead down the runway, my rudder began acting out on it's own. She departed into a diving turn and hit fairly hard on the turf runway. The damage was pretty minor and will be repaired, mostly because the MM is designed and built like a heavy tank. Post-crash, all my radio bits and surfaces were working properly. Go figure. I think I will ditch the old 2.4 Futaba FASST setup and replace the battery, RX, and switch before attempting to fly her again. I hope Kim and I can fly these together again someday. Some of the most fun I've ever had flying model airplanes! I only regret that Kim and I never got together for a pic with our Minnie Mambos. I wanted that one for my garage wall. Next time...

Everyone who came by our pit area was interested in the .010 and .020 planes on the table. They especially wanted to see the little .010 racers fly. I finally worked up the gumption to put them in the air on Saturday morning. As expected, the little red Micro Shark was a total handful to control but looked just awesome going around the pattern. The Micro CAM Racer flew straight and predictable, handling tight pylon-style turns with ease. I let a couple of other folks fly my little 15" span .010 Tee Stik and they really enjoyed it. I had fun just sitting back and watching it fly with someone else on the sticks. It gives you a new perspective on your models when someone else flies them.

Another highlight for me was getting together with Steve "Skaliwag" Adams again after many years of missing him at the event. He drove all the way from Santa Cruz, CA to attend. Knowing he was coming increased the pressure and motivation to finally get the .020-powered Sliver prototype finished after procrastinating with it for 6 years! It all worked out. The plane was finished and dialed in nicely for it's SMALL debut with Steve watching. He designed it with me in mind back in 2011 and has been patiently waiting for me to get it built. We both giggled like school kids at recess as it cruised down the flightline with the throttle pulled way back on the TD .020. I would power it back up, climb out, do a roll on downwind, pull the power back, and cruise by again. So much fun!

It was also fun to participate in the Stinkerita flight. After getting the model in the air with it's diesel engine barely revving, they decided to see how many folks could fly it before it ran out of fuel. Randy(Digger) went up and down the flightline, recruiting pilots to get in line. When he told me about it, I was about to fly one of my planes. I had time to prep/start a Cox engine and fly twice before getting in line to take my turn! It landed over an hour later under power with 3 of it's 12oz left in the tank after running out of pilots to fly it! I think 54 people total took command of the transmitter during that time.

By the end of the event, I had damaged 4 of our planes to some extent. It was a more expensive trip than usual.

These are just a few of the SMALL stories I came home with. Our trip home was also an adventure as my F250 decided to start spewing oil while we were still at the fly-in. Not wanting to get gouged and delayed by having a shop repair the truck, I stocked up on oil before leaving on Sunday. I stopped about every 50 miles to check the oil and added as needed. By the time I got home, the truck was an oily mess dripping everywhere when I parked it. I had added about 3 gallons of oil total but we made it home where I can deal with it on my terms!

The pics:

Thanks and you're not kidding. That ole' 2002 diesel would break the bank if it locked up, for sure. I kept a diligent eye on the oil pressure guage all day. One thing about those old 7.3L diesels is that they have a high pressure oil pump which operates the mechanical fuel injectors. That's where my leak occured. A low oil pressure condition usually results in the engine dying from fuel starvation before bottom end damage occurs. But still...glad to make it home!

Besides damaging the Minnie Mambo, I broke the firewall on the old fuel-soaked .049 Skydrill when it died on a hand launch, and stripped both aileron servo gearsets in the Shark XV during a smooth landing on the hard, bumpy, turf runway. I also broke my son's UMX A-10 during the maiden handlaunch. I forgot to take foam glue with me. DOH! George Smith started his Pee Wee-powered Little Stick and handed me the transmitter. He threw it and I promptly crashed it. Turned out, he had bound it to the wrong model description and the control throws were not correct. All told, I crashed 5 planes while there.

You asked earlier about Fitz's Guillows Spitfire. He crashed it on the first handlaunch of the weekend and broke the whole front off behind the firewall. It was pretty fuel-soaked and he said it was at least 20yrs old and had tons of successful flight on it.

Great account of a Great Time Troy!  

Here are some more sporadic photos, I apologize in advance for any redundancy.


























---------------------------------------------



---------------------------------------






------------------------------------------

Thanks Kim and Troy for your super picture tour of the fun !!!!
You guys are better men than me dealing with the heat and humidity in Arkansas in June.
We lived in Memphis for 5 years when I was much younger and I could not do it then.
BTW, was that Steve Adams / Select Hobbies in the white tee with the red bear on it ?
Thanks again, Steve

66 Malibu wrote:BTW, was that Steve Adams / Select Hobbies in the white tee with the red bear on it ?

I believe so !