The flying season of 2012 is about to commence!

Excellent, magazine quality note, Rusty! I was/am a big fan of the late Don McGovern's writings in his "All Wet!' columns in the old Flying Models Magazines. Usually about seaplanes and flying boats, his articles mixed flying with technical tips/ideas, along with humorous observations about nearly everything else.

For me, it's a challenge as a member of this forum just keeping up with all the great stuff.

Yes...the magic time is getting near...gotta throw some silkspan at the Baby Wulf today !!!!!

Like many things in life the ANTICIPATION is sometimes better than the actuality.

SuperDave wrote:Like many things in life the ANTICIPATION is sometimes better than the actuality.

Don't forget the "AFTER-GLOW" !!!!!

Kim:

Yes, like that "spent" feeling.

Kim wrote:

SuperDave wrote:Like many things in life the ANTICIPATION is sometimes better than the actuality.

Don't forget the "AFTER-GLOW" !!!!!

Yeah, even when I leave the field mad, later on I start to recall the good things that happened and I go to sleep smiling. And I always fly well in my dreams.

I liken the experience to fishing. How many times have you been "skunked" in your dreams?

"The sleep of the innocent" I'd say.

Hey, if you got good company, even the smack-downs eventually become enjoyable!

"Man, I know it wasn't funny at the time, but when you hit that barn...I mean...I 'bout croaked from laughing !"

or

"Hey remember when you launched that two-channel glider with the radio still turned off...HOOT !!!! Wonder where it is today...?"

Kim wrote:Hey, if you got good company, even the smack-downs eventually become enjoyable!

"Man, I know it wasn't funny at the time, but when you hit that barn...I mean...I 'bout croaked from laughing !"

or

"Hey remember when you launched that two-channel glider with the radio still turned off...HOOT !!!! Wonder where it is today...?"

I wish I had someone to share my flying extravaganzas with, but it's just me and my stooge. And my camera, but at least I get to entertain you folks. I enjoy that

Well, opening day; are you wondering how it went? Okay, well I managed to get two planes out there, unfortunately not the Bean as I spent the morning working on income tax returns and didn't get a fuel supply put together, nor did I make a new bladder for the Stuntman... a mistake.

But the Stuntman flew and so did the Li'l Satan. Both were somewhat troublesome, but ain't that the way it goes. It was windy at first, so I fueled up the Stuntman and let her rip. The TD was running pretty well, the plane was a bit squirrelly, mostly because of the currents that roll off the roofs of those buildings. There are a couple of places it likes to slap the planes into the ground, but I made it through the devil's triangle safely on every lap. Not a big problem, I'm used to it.

Once I confirmed it was handling well enough, it was time for some inverted laps. So I pulled up to flip it over, but at the top of the loop I think my bladder started to rip. The engine stumbled and the C/G shifts badly with a sudden loss of fuel. I managed to lose it in possibly the ugliest way I have ever lost control of a plane. Watch it in the video closely, it flutters like a wounded bird, stalls at a high altitude and just flops. I hope y'all find it funny. It never gained any forward momentum and just belly flopped. It didn't hurt the plane, and I had a spare bladder, but it would have still wasted a half hour, but the wind had calmed so I decided to rig up the Satan.

In my original post, above, I mentioned ho I had reassembled this engine several times to get it right. Then it started and ran with a consistent needle for a couple of days, and I declared it ready. Well, all that went out the window, and it wouldn't behave worth a crap. The first two flights took off under full power and then it sounded like it sucked sludge and barely ran hard enough to stay airborne. I finally got it running right on the third try and boy did it fly. It screamed like I have never had a Black Widow haul a plane around. I'm not exaggerating. The first two tries were with a 6x3 prop, the easiest to do loops, 8s, etc. But I dropped down to a 5.5x3 and it liked that. It pulled the lines guitar-string tight and went everywhere I pointed it. It did the fastest cleanest loops that plane has ever done. When I got home, I found the camera had stopped recording right after the flight started. So I recorded all the crummy flights and only a little bit of the screamer. That engine either has an air leak or a clogged NV because I could run the needle all the way out without over-riching the mixture. After that I spent about a half hour trying to get it to run again, but it wouldn't needle at all. I wonder if my Loctite is polluting it. I'll find out later.

But anyway, I'm sorry my opening day exhibition wasn't as glorious as I had anticipated, and of course I didn't get video of the best part, but I'll post it on YouTube tonight. It'll take me a few hours to get it trimmed up and uploaded so I'll post the link when it's ready.

Anyway, I left the field disappointed, but in retrospect, nothing is busted, I got one absolutely awesome flight, though I can't prove it. And I will once again dream of speed laps and loops and amazing my friends and neighbors. Stay tuned for the video.
Rusty

Wow, glad you had a good day! The way you describe the flights almost dont need vids. Do you use the stooge you showed my to launch the Satan?
Like to see the stooge in action.

Ditto ! Read all of it twice !!! Another great of installment of Rusty's High Performance Adventures! I'll check out the video tomorrow at the airport !

Congrats on kicking off the 2012 Flying Season! Contagious stuff!!!! As soon as my days of 20 knot winds give me a break, it's gonna be out with the Rivets, Mini Stunt, and BIG Big Otto !!!!!

Glad to see that tubing got put to good use! I have the PeeWee spinning that prop.

Groan... cringe
I don't wanna be embarrassed since I've built such anticipation with my colorful prose. Well, it's all true. But the dang camera only recorded one measly lap of my scalding hot Satan run. So I had to chop it and replay the same lap 3 times for your viewing pleasure.

On the video you'll see: A few squirrely Stuntman laps and a hilarious fluttering fail when the bladder rips, two sputtering Satan runs that sound like Five o'clock Charlie, and three copies of one lap of the hottest run ever by a BW on the Satan. That was a fun run and I did start getting really dizzy.

Here's the link: https://youtu.be/R0uajoD2W7o
It's in full screen 720p HD.

Here's the link to my channel if you want to watch any of last year's videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/rastus10?feature=guide

crankbndr wrote:Wow, glad you had a good day! The way you describe the flights almost dont need vids. Do you use the stooge you showed my to launch the Satan?
Like to see the stooge in action.

Yes I do use that same stooge. The Satan jumps out of it and flies away with no hesitation. The heavy Stuntman dips almost to the sidewalk but gains airspeed before the wheels touch, and then keeps on climbing. The stooge usually isn't in the camera field, but next time I'll be sure to get a view of it. Notice I always take a big step back after I pull the planes free, so the stooge isn't in the circle. My bath mat is starting to fuel rot. I think I'll hit the dollar store next week and get a new one. If you make one, remember to stake it with a guy wire on the far side so you don't tip it over when you pull the plane free.

And yes, Matt, I used that aluminum tube you gave me for the pickup tube. I appreciate that. I have more ordered at Lexington Hobbies. I have some brass the same size.

I just went out to the shop and pulled that Black Widow apart. No visible debris, the pickup tube and venturi gasket are in good form. The needle is sharp and straight. But the reed did NOT pass the suck blow test. It was leaking badly. I could find no reason why. The reed has no burrs or stamping(manufacturing) artifacts on the edges.

I think I have a new black integrated gasket type retainer, and I'll replace that tomorrow. I've been known to run a tiny bead of black Permatex around the crankcase mating surfaces. I hate doing that, so I'll give this next assembly one more chance. When Daylight savings comes, I'll be able to fly on weekdays after they let the kids out of kindergarten at 6:00. That'll give me more test and tune time.

I've done a complete tear-down of this troublesome Black Widow. It runs like a screaming demon when it runs, but is absolutely incorrigible other times, both of which can be seen in the above video.

I inspected the crankshaft and found some scratches on the rear bearing. I was able to polish them glassy smooth with 1000 grit wet sandpaper. I cleaned the journals and the bearings with acetone, then buffed and dry fitted it. It spins so free now, you could almost use it as a prop balancer.

This is the engine that I shortened the piston for slightly more SPI, and it has already proven to boost the power. I acetone cleaned and dry-refitted the piston and there is no position tighter in the bore. It hangs at the top with a slight pinch and will drop out with the slightest tap. Perfect according to the mouse racer articles.

I shaved the deck on the crankcase where the cylinder bottoms out when fully screwed in. I made it so the cylinder tightens in a position so the bypass ports are exactly positioned to the port and starboard sides, so that the F/A mixture travels the same distance to each of them. In other words, the exhaust ports face exactly fore and aft. I took out approximately 1/4 of a thread, I think not enough to significantly affect the timing.

I used valve compound and lapped the metal backplate to the fuel tank and installed a solid pickup tube that can not flex out of position even in a crash. The new venturi gasket is a wafer cut from surgical tubing that Texas Timers sells for pressure bladders. The ID and OD are exactly right for the job.

The trouble last Sunday turned out to be the reed jamming, so I took a new Mylar reed and smoothed the edges to eliminate any burrs or other manufacturing artifacts, and replaced the integrated plastic retainer/crankcase gasket.

As I prep each part I inspect it under a magnifying lamp to check for lint. I'm using only lint-free rags, but under the glass it's amazing that I still pick up some lint. Each part then goes into its own Ziploc bag until reassembly.

The crankcase screws are new and clean and cut to the same correct length. No Loctite this time. I suspect it was contaminating the fuel tank.

Before I reassemble it, the worktable gets a complete alcohol wipe-down and a clean tray to work on.

I expect to have it back together Thursday afternoon. I'll report on how it runs. Hopefully I can get it in the air again this Sunday, on video of course. I hope I have a super Widow when it's done. It showed a flash of excellence last Sunday, and I'm hoping for consistency and a bit more power this time. Wish me luck.

Much Luck to You !!!!

As you read this, Skunk Works Secret Agents are furiously copying this information and compiling it in a new Secret File tagged: "Rusty's Engine Mods" !!!

God Speed Engine Ninja !!!!!!

Wow. You really get work done!

If i ever need surgery, on an engine or me, it sounds like you are the man. Good luck on this one. I hope the time and effort that went into aligning the exhaust slots proves to be worth it.

Good luck,

Bob

fit90 wrote:If i ever need surgery, on an engine or me, it sounds like you are the man. Good luck on this one. I hope the time and effort that went into aligning the exhaust slots proves to be worth it.

Good luck,

Bob

Haha, I've had a lot of surgery, and the nurses always ask me if I'm a doctor, so if you need an appendectomy or something, I'll be glad to clear off the table in the shop. Just give me a heads up when you get on I-95, so I can sterilize my razor saw and needle nose pliers. As for engines, I had assumed you were more of an expert than I am. But my stuff usually runs good, so that'll do.

I may work on it tonight. If not, I think I can have it running in time for a report tomorrow night.

SuperDave wrote:I liken the experience to fishing. How many times have you been "skunked" in your dreams?

"The sleep of the innocent" I'd say.

I meant to reply to this the other day. Surf fishing, standing on the beach, casting into the breakers is one of my favorite pastimes. And I have awoken from dreams many times jerking to set the hook on a hard bite. It's one of the few things I can successfully lucid dream about.

[color=black][b]I will not bust my ass... I will not bust my ass... I will not bust my ass...



My 30 something year old Ugly Stik


Gee whiz, I've hijacked my own thread. Oh wait... I can do that!

Although Rusty fishes a different ocean that I the "attractions" are the same.

"Tight lines!" all!

SuperDave wrote:Although Rusty fishes a different ocean that I the "attractions" are the same.

"Tight lines!" all!

Hey, so true! Two of my main hobbies involve hanging onto tight lines, three if you follow Dave's innuendo.

Rusty,

How long do you think that surgical tubing O-ring will last? That type of tubing seems to break down rather fast once it comes in contact with glow fuel.Maybe it will hold up better as a gasket but I like Bernies venturi gaskets or silicon tubing gaskets cut from fuel tubing.Let us know how it works.

Mike1484