Back in the Shop--It's All in the Prep

getback wrote:I bet it will fly Great when the wind calms . from what the sock thingy says you had a nice breeze going on . Glad you got her down in one piece .

Thanks Eric!!

I kept it over the pasture the whole time, and was very pleased with it's glide once the engine quit. It's got just enough throw in it's elevator to pitch itself up, and literally mushed into the tall pasture grass on landing.

Looking forward to more flying!

Had some fun out in the pasture before the thunderstorms rolled through.  

The Q-Tee is flying well, and having no trouble packing along it's little cameras.












https://youtu.be/quC_bRTre1o

1/2A Nut wrote:Kim the muffler side cam made for quite a unique view!
WTG thank you for sharing!!!!

Thanks Brad!!!!!!!

rsv1cox wrote:You have the magic touch with those little engines Kim, they torment me.  

Beautiful flight, looks so smooth and stable in the air.  Beautiful little thing Kim, you must be proud of it.  

Yes...lots of fun...especially since it made it home OK !!!!

balogh wrote:Very enjoyable vid Kim, thanks for posting
I fix a small keychain camera with Velcro on the wing of my small Cox planes and for overall weight,balancing and castor splash concerns the camera location is restricted to the mid of the right or left wing. Hence the vision during the flight is less interesting in my vids.
I noted you must have synth oil only in the fuel because the engine left the fuselage without streaks of spent castor in the exhaust gas?

Thanks Andras!

Nope, still running Sig 25%. The side of the fuse LOOKS clean because the goop coming out of the the Spitfire's left-hand exhaust is being hurled upward by the swirl of the prop, and pools on the top hatch. I could have mounted the engine on it's side or inverted, but wanted to showcase the Spitfire in the video. I got plenty of good footage of it though, and the next engine will be slinging it's castor in a different direction!

rsv1cox wrote:

getback wrote:Very Vivid !! Did you clean the camera lens ? LOL Just poking some fun at ya , Very nice enjoyed the video /pics It does do a nice long glide even with the extra weight !

I agree Eric,  those are some of the cleanest, highest resolution pictures that I have seen Kim post.  Clear as a bell.  You can almost see the mosquitos trying to keep up. Almost.  

Thanks Guys!

I've got no clue as to why it came out so much clearer than others.  Usually, I've got to let the engine croak to kill the vibration, and give me some clear images, but not this time.

And...sad to say, the Q-Tee is BACK in maintenance!!!  While working on the little plane, it never occurred to me to give the landing gear a good yank, and when parking it back on the bench...it collapsed onto it's belly!

After a few decades, the epoxy in the gear's ply sandwich had turned to putty, and the gear fell out.  SO, new ply is being sawed, and new epoxy is being mixed!!!!

Not sure what the next powerplant will be...will figure that out when the Q-Tee gets it's legs back !!!!






Also took a moment to escort this little intruder back to the great outdoors...



https://youtu.be/jZjcWpbMUJI

From my Facebook page:

Disclaimer...Yet MORE "Model Airplane Babble"

Proving the truth of the old model airplane builders' saying that it's easier to outright build a new plane than to restore an old one, the Q-Tee AGAIN goes on the operating table.

After congratulating myself on a restoration job well done, the little parasol collapsed on it's landing gear...oops.

The original 1980's vintage epoxy, bonding the ply gear sandwich together, had turned to moosh, letting the Q-Tee's landing gear literally fall from the model.

So, it's back under the knife, cutting/grinding away the old ply and gooey epoxy, and replacing some oil-soaked bulkhead sections while they were handy to get at.








Got the Q-Tee wrapped up and ready after an afternoon of off and on work, so it's airworthy again...unless something else pops up.

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Pretty happy after getting the Q-Tee fixed, so Zipper got some attention.  I had a REALLY good run of covering it with the exam table paper Andrew sent me.

Everything tightened up nice with no wrinkles, and it's all getting clear-doped, with gentle sanding in between.









So, we're now coming down to REAL FUN time, when the paint guns gets loaded up with some color!

rsv1cox wrote:Ruby throated hummingbird Kim.  Their average heart rate is 1200 beats per minute.  Humans average around 72.

I get them in the garage all the time.  I have to open all four doors and vacate the area as they just hover around the ceiling and won't
come down.    Sometimes they leave but I have found dead ones on the floor.  Pity, they are beautiful little things.

Nice to see the Q-Tee up again, and with dual power plants.  

Zipper coming along.  SIG still hasn't shipped my balsa order.  Wonder if they are in Covid shutdown.  

Hey Bob,

I bet that being grabbed by a big ole goober had that hummingbird's heart rate up in the Tee Dee RPM range. I almost always get wrens in the shop...just about the snoopiest members of the avion community. The usual procedure is to cover the window and turn out the lights in the shop, so it's door is the only light source.

I couldn't take the time with this little sucker though, as he was about to break his neck smacking the window. So he got grabbed when he slid down to the lower corner of the pane and you saw the rest.

I'd taken a couple days away from the shop to continue the cleaning assault on my house. Funny how you can go along, thinking everything is just fine, then walk in the door and go, "Holy Crap! This place is a wreck (even by 'guy' standards) !!!"

Anyway, yep the Zipper got some covering (gonna have to start packing a bottle of dope and patches of covering paper like in the old days), got it's bellcrank test-mounted, and just generally doped and sanded about.

ian1954 wrote:Those were excellent videos - especially the view towards the engine.

What final finishing are you using? I find that anything over 10% nitro fuel tends to ruin any of my finishes even after "fuel proofing" - more like "fuel resistant".

I have had a few problems with wooden props in the smaller sizes. I really prefer the look of them and their lightness but I have had a few break on me, Luckily, only on bench running. The smaller sizes are difficult to find now though.

Thank You! I'm using Brodak dope on everything. It's seems to stand up better after it's cured a while, but the 25% stuff can still put marks on it.

Yeah, Brodak has some...at least they're listed. Gonna get a few, and also have some coming from a couple of buds here! Also, my bud, Breezy Hill Billy is an old prop carver, and has some tips for me, so I may be whittling on some maple sticks before too long!!

In a painting mood, but got rain today, so getting the assorted paint projects all staged up for a good day when it arrives.

The Warrior, Zipper and it's parts, and the Thunderbird's cowling are ready for their base white coats.

Zipper gets it's Box Art scheme, and the Thunderbird's cowling gets a continuance of it's fuselage colors.

I'm a fan of Al Williams, and the Warrior (like my Winder combat wing) will be painted in the colors of his series of Gulf Oil Company/Gulfhawk military airshow planes (like my Winder combat wing---which could also stand some touching up).

All the paint colors are staged-up, so I can rock it when the mood and Mother Nature line up!

Here's a link for my fellow airplane nerds who might like to learn about Major Williams and his planes:

http://miramarrcflyers.com/MRCF_Docs/Articles/Al%20Williams%20and%20his%20Gulfhawks.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0dRBXr7UT2Yy2_7CAp1P3Swkj6sKgn5-ci-HZ7rbWcjAC3e83tTRgfYbU