Some New Guts for the Lazy Bee

Just another airplane story...

While attempting a take-off at my Uncle's last Sunday, my faithful ole Lazy Bee managed to launch it's self ten feet into the air, before spinning back into the ground. "Crap! There went my radio!", was my first thought.

Luckily, the old bird wasn't damaged, and the problem was sort of radio-related...my homemade servo rail had broken, along with the mounting ears on the elevator servo. Had this happened at altitude, I might have been forced to build another one of Andy Clancy's chubby little icons, because The Skunk Works simply CAN'T be without a Lazy Bee !



So, some new rails were cut, and a new servo dug from my radio stuff . I mostly fly Airtronics and its relations... so naturally I discovered that the only new servo in my inventory had a Futaba connector installed...not sure of the history on THAT deal....

The offending device was unceremoniously hacked from it's wire, and a new connector spliced in.



All of it's radio gear is suspended on rails up, and off the floor to keep the electrons dry when flying off water, and it takes some careful effort to get down in there to work on anything.



Since it's first flight in 1996, the Bee has been through 3 radios, 4 engines, and a couple sets of Trexler Tires (getting ready to buy it's third set to replace these gaudy temporary ones). It has been flown in snowstorms, between power-lines, off water, snow, mud, and ice...hauled hand-launched gliders to altitude, and scattered formations of geese with it's air-horn. By all measures, it ought to be scattered to the winds by now.

And so now, my ole bud has dodged Fate once again!!