Phil Geery took some nice photos at the new flying field. You can see them on the Photos page.
Phil and I were out last Friday to fly. I test flew my new 27% Great Planes Ultimate powered by a DL50 gasser. I also test flew the club trainer that was donated by Pheone King. Pheone and her husband Bob lived next door to me. He was very active in R/C in the Tulsa area before moving here. Bob passed away this past summer and this plane was his last project. I got it all together and test flew it and it flies great. Unfortunately I will not be at the meeting Tuesday to present it. Pictures are posted on the Photos page. - Wayne G.
Good News...make that GREAT NEWS. Skyblazers RC Club has found a new field! Larry, Phil and Wayne were down at the new flying site on New years Day working to get it ready. I heard that Larry was already out there flying on New Years Eve. I'll get a map and directions for the new field posted soon.
Club meetings are being held the third Tuesday of each month, 7:30 pm at the Waxahachie Parks and Recreation Building.
Webmaster duties are up for grabs. Please contact Phil Geery or Larry Peck if you're interested in taking over.
Old items follow ---------------
We have a new indoor flying site! Beginning Friday April 13 we'll be flying most Friday nights from 5:00 - 9:00 PM at Fielder Road Baptist Church in Arlington. See the Events page for details.
Jump over to the Photos page and check out a couple of really neat items forwarded by Larry Embry. One is an F-16 bird strike and the other is a slide show of the Russian Air Force Museum.
Pics from the February meeting are posted on the Photos page.
The slide show below is a taste of the photos I took at the Texas Air Museum last Saturday. The remainder of the pics are on the Photos page.
Larry Embry forwarded another great aviation slide show. It's a big file so it will take a while to download even with DSL. Click on the link then select "open". You might get another dialog box. If so click "continue". Check it out here.
It's great to see all the chatter over in our Skyblazers Forums. If you don't already have an account hop over and set one up. We'd love to have you join us!
Many of you have perfected the skill of adding photos to your Forum posts. For those who haven't quite got it worked out yet I've added instructions to the "Test" and "Videos and Photos" Forums. Thanks to Chris Sieg for letting us know about Photobucket.com Using Photobucket really simplifies the process.
CHECK THIS OUT! Larry Embry forwarded what might be the most amazing full scale aerobatic footage I've ever seen. Keep an eye out for the light poles and watch how close they're flying to the crowd. Click here to watch the video. You will need a high speed connection. Be sure and hop over to the Photos page and check out the Human Glider as well.
We will be flying at LMRA his Sunday 02/18 from noon - 6:00pm. TCA will not fly this weekend.
In response to a virus floating around the internet I
have been forced to set up our forum section such that I must authorize all
new accounts before you can post messages.
If you create an account on our Forums page be sure and include a valid
email address and enough other information for me to recognize your account
as legitimate. Otherwise, it's likely I'll delete the account. If your
username is already on the list but you cannot post messages drop me an
email and I'll get your taken care of.
Chris Sieg requested the addition of an "On the Workbench" page so everyone could post pictures and notes about projects they're working on. I think the best way to do this is by creating a new forum topic. An article with instructions for posting pictures is over on the Articles page.
A couple of members sent some interesting pictures of aircraft breaking the sound barrier and a shuttle liftoff as viewed from the ISS. I've added them to the photos page.
I just finished a new Micro 22 EPP from
Slofly. This is the same plane I used to learn to fly indoors. I'll be
taking it with me to TCA on Saturday nights so if you interested in giving
indoor flight a try give me a call. I'll let you take her for a spin.
We'll be flying indoors at TCA this Saturday December 23rd and again the following Saturday December 30th. Sessions are from 6 - 10 PM. Landing fee is $5. AMA required. Heli's get the first 15 minutes of each hour.
There will be indoor flying at LMRA this Sunday December 17th from noon to 6 pm. Landing fee is $7.00. Check the Events page for directions.
This coming weekend, December 9&10, is chock
full of electric flight activities.
The DEAF Toys for Tots Fly In will be held Saturday up at the 114th Aero
Squadron Field in Grapevine. For details click
here. For a map to the 114th
Aero Squadron Field in Grapevine click
here.
There's also a thread over on
rcgroups.com with all the details and a list of sponsors. Head on
up to Grapevine and support this great charity event.
Saturday night you have your choice of two different indoor venues.
Brodie and the guys will be flying over at Elzie Odom Rec Center in
Arlington from 7-11 PM. Others will be flying up at TCA in Weatherford
from 6 - 10 PM. Directions to both of these facilities can be found
on the Events page.
Having spent the last two days cleaning out
the workshop, and finding my workbench again, I'm motivated to get building.
In addition to a few indoor foamie projects I've decided to tackle my first
float plane, the STS. Here's a excerpt from Waterdog's post on
RCGroups.com describing the project.
"STS" Seaplane/Airplane, full fuselage, with removable floats and landing
gear. 44 in wing span, GWS350 D gear w/10in prop, 1320 ma 3cell. Beautiful
flyer.
This plane is for intermediate builders who have already built a “STC”
type foamie before and wish to try their hand at a full fuselage or seaplane
next. No deciding which to build first as you can have both with this
design. Simple, cheap, and fun to build are the main criteria for this
plane. Not to mention that it’s a blast to fly!
You can find the plans, build thread, photos, and videos by clicking
here.
I posted a few pictures of this neat little Bluecor airplane/seaplane a few
months back. I've added a few more to the slide show below.
Photo credits to all the guys over at
RCGroups.com.
My ride in Aluminum Overcast was amazing.
I chose not to wear the issued ear plugs so I could experience the engine
noise and all the other creaks and rattles first hand. I have a
newfound respect for the crew members that rode these bucking beasts for 8
hours or more in the the cold thin air above the English Channel and Nazi
Germany.
The experience was incredible! I kept looking out the windows
expecting to see a full bomber group joining us in formation. Video is
posted to the Photos page. Turn up the sound and enjoy!
My dad,
completely out of the blue, called me up Thursday night and asked if I was
busy this Saturday. He beat around the bush as to why he was asking (I
thought he might need me to mow or something) but finally gave in and told
me that he'd arranged for me to take a ride on the EAA's fully restored
B-17G, the "Aluminum Overcast".
We get a tour of the aircraft, meet the crew,
and then go up for a half hour flight during which we're free to roam the
aircraft including the gunners positions, cockpit, and bombardiers bubble.
I'm really excited and can't wait to hear, and feel, those four big radials
come to life. It should be quite an experience. I'll have photos
and videos posted as soon as possible. BTW dad, if you read this,
thanks!
I had to rebuild the forums page from scratch...sorry. You'll need to re-register and setup your account. Be sure and include a legitimate email address and location info when you set up your account. I'll be manually validating all accounts to avoid the problem we had before. Let me know if there are any additional topics you'd like to see added.
Thanks to Chris Sieg for leading this month's club meeting. I was away on a combination vacation/business trip and failed to realize the meeting was so early in the month. I sent Chris an email and dropped him a call. He stepped right in and did a great job. We're fortunate to have such a great group of leaders in the club. I appreciate them all and know you do too.
This guy has skills! Brandon Still sent me a link to a pretty amazing video clip. You can check it out at here.
Club member Tom Elston was featured in the Monday, June 12 issue of the Waxahachie Daily Light. You can see the photo and read the article by clicking here. Thanks for the plug Tom!
Wayne Galligan forwarded links to some interesting Lipo safety tips and overcharge videos. You'll find them on the Articles Page under Electric RC.
The search is underway for an indoor flying site in the Midlothian/Waxahachie area. If your church or school has a gym or recreation facility with a fairly high ceiling please let me know about it. I'm preparing a presentation with facts about our hobby and a little video from indoor flight sessions. This is a great opportunity for an organization to generate a little extra revenue. Our TCA sessions are generating @ $400 per month towards the school programs at TCA.