July 4th with my Nephews

I don't have time to post now; as I'm at work.. but I wanted to get this slideshow posted ASAP because I had a *blast* this past weekend with my family over at the Klendistine field, and then the following day at Strock with the rest of the club.

Check it out!

Wing nearing completion

A very special, big thanks to Charlie, a builder I ran across on the web, who provided me the link to the Super Sportster 60's Instruction Manual :

http://manuals.hobbico.com/gpm/gpm-supersportster-manual.pdf

Also, there's forum with a lot of advice, and picks of Charlie building his SS60 :

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6586984/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm

Thanks to the manual, and a lot of time on my hands to spend in the basement (Curse you Rain! CURSE YOU!).. I'm almost done with the wing!

Today I cut grooves in the ailerons and mounted the metal rods in them in the center, so I can put 2 servos into the wing for them. Charlie, and a few guys at the field, have told me that having different end point adjustments for the left and right ailerons.

I'm short some Epoxy so I can't finish mounting the wing-mounting screw blocks yet, which I need to do before I finish plating and join the sides.

My Workspace.. modest compared to most, but it gets the job done ;-)

Nearly completed wing halves... wtb 30 minute epoxy.. PST!

Dusting off the Super Sportster 60 Kit!

After my successful day at the field yesterday, and seeing a few new planes (Al's latest, some new trainers), I caught the "build" bug...

So, I dusted off the Super Sportster 60 Kit that my Dad bought... September 7th, 1991... exactly 18 years ago! I unrolled the plans and started organizing the balsa.

Here's a shot of the first 2 pieces assembled:


I decided to start with the wing, because it always was the most fun, and the method seems clearer than the fuselage. Ribs, cross-bars with notches built in.. this should be a snap!

It wasn't until I had all the ribs in that I realized the rest wasn't nearly as straight forward.. so I started looking for pics, video, anything online that would help me.

Turns out, these kits come with photo-illustrated manuals! My Dad must have removed the manual to read it completely before we started construction. Good of him, however now I don't have it... Doh!

I got most of the wing together, with CA of course, before I realized that I had missed a critical set of steps.. adding the landing gear ply wood before sheeting! So.. instead of continuing to build the plane and make mistake after mistake, without a manual, I have decided to put my hunger for building on hold and send away for a copy of the manual from Great Planes.

I found dozens of manuals online, but NOTHING on the Super Sportster 60... people will sell me the kits, but GPMA0210 Kit, please let me know ASAP! I'll be mailing in my order for it shortly.

Here's a shot of how far I got with the help of my beautiful assistants :



More once I get the manual!

Labor Day Picnic Prep

Today I had a great day at the field, with the Laker plane. 8 flights, 2 "good" landings, and I had a LOT of fun in the air. I'm pleased to report that I was able to port the fuel pump cap kit from the old metal fuel can to my new bottle of fuel, and it seems to be working great!

I did leave with a short todo list from Al :

• File a flat spot on my nose gear piano wire
• Turn nose gear around so the spring can do it's job
• Flip my on-off switch marker plate
• Larger Aileron servo wheel (for more aileron throw)

And I was able to do everything, except file the flat spot.. as I don't own a file.. lol!

It's official : I'm a CAF Pilot!

Well RC plane fans, after a work/weather/time caused break from my RC plane advanetures, I packed up the Laker Plane into our new 2006 Saturn Vue, and headed down to the field today.

I flew 1 flight with Al's supervision, and 3 solo flights from take off to landing, despite the heavy wind, and had no problems! So, I have officially been given "the nod" by Mr. Al himself, and I am now clear to fly solo any time I like!

Now I just need to get my Dad up here for a weekend/day trip and the real fun will begin!

A good day

This past Sunday, I headed out to the field to meet up with Al. Was a very nice day, We got about 6 flights in.

I landed the plane 3 times, and took off 4 times! Things are really starting to get interesting :-)

All I have left is another Sunday of practice with Al helping me out; and then I just need to take off and land 3 times without problems and I'll officially be a member in good standing, with a plane that I can fly anytime :-)

Thanks Al!

P.S. First flight.. the front wheel fell off the plane at 6' up... can't have 1 Sunday without a problem..

Un.. believable!

Not 24 hours later....

Hello ,

My stepdad saw your ad and I believe I have found your plane. I know he already emailed you , but I wanted to make sure it went through.

You can call me at XYZ-8259
I'll be available most of today and all of the rest of the week.


Andrew..

Incredibly... someone actually found it!! Even more amazing.. it's brokenhalterfarm@somewhere.com ! So, a farmer found the plane, had internet access, uses Craiglist, and thought to check for an ad!

So, I called, and drove over there the next day. As amazing as it was that they found me.. the condition is even more astounding... PERFECT condition. It's like Al landed the plane himself! Rubber bands, prop, tail.. every thing is exactly as it was when we took off... short 10 minutes of fuel, of course.. not another scratch on it tho!

It looks like I messed up the battery moving the prongs around in the adapter... so I've picked up a new battery, and 2 extensions that I can mess around with when I need to.

So.. a bizarre, yet happy ending that makes this panda.. happy again :-)

See ya at the field on Sunday!