Merry Christmas!

I love my giant scale planes, I love my helicopters, but when a friend of mine offered me a small 2m sailplane kit to put togehter, I couldn't resist. This is an old Wanderer kit.

I built this over the course of about two weeks, and am surprised to find myself loving the way this thing soars through the air. At first I was thinking "how good could it be with only two servos?" - boy was I wrong. Catching that first thermal was breath taking, watching it climb higher and higher without any power. I flew it around for a little over half an hour without any motor inputs. Did I mention how graceful it is? It just slices through the air, calm, precise.

I never would have pegged myself as a sailplane person, but this thing has me hooked. The video below was shot with my cell phone one night when conditions were just perfect.

I know there are more than a few guys here on FG that also fly helis So I thought I would throw a quick update up for FG's sister site: Crackroll.com

We have a ton of photos from IRCHA 2011, plus some great videos, which can be found here:

IRCHA 2011 Photos and Videos

We also have a couple of build threads going on, one for the new Thunder Tiger Raptor G4 E720, and one for the Titan X50.

Raptor G4 E720 build thread

Titan X50 build thread

Come check it out, and let us know what you're flying!

-CSpaced.

So we spot Pete and the gang hanging out with some very expensive looking R/C boats at the float plane pond, and decide to check it out.

As we are watching them have some fun, I hear a small kid walk straight up to Pete, introduce himself, and ask if he can see the rudder and propeller on the boat. "Sure" says Pete, and lifts the "Blackjack" up so that the kid can see how it all works.

After watching them run the boats for a few minutes, I then hear the kid ask Pete if he can drive the boat. Without even thinking twice, Pete brings the kid over and lets him steer the boat while Pete controls the throttle, and proceeds to let the kid speed around the lake!

I don't know how long the kid had been at Joe Nall, but I'm sure he was told many times to "not touch", so I can pretty much guarantee that Pete made his day by letting him drive the boat!

Welcome back to Earth Discovery, you've earned your retirement!

I just finished up a bunch of R/C projects that have been on the bench all winter. After finishing up I realized that there is no better feeling than having everything flight ready for when the winter breaks! Well, that is at least until the next project comes along (which never usually takes long!) ......

I haven't blogged for a while, so here I am. Bloging. Come to think of it, where did the word blog even come from?

Oh...never mind, I wiki'd it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

Come to think of it, where did the word wiki come from?

Time for my meds...

Yes I admit it, I am a scifi junkie. Have been for as long as I can remember and I don't care who knows it!

So, Battlestar Galactica is back on in full force. Not the original, but Scifi's reimagined version. It has been (and is) a fantastic show from the start, and going into its final season it looks like we are in for a great ride. Its funny how in these past two episodes my interest has shifted gear from what is going on with Galactica to what is going on with the cylons. I mean, that was just bad ass when they centurions let rip on their own kind - awesome!

Hey its Friday! More BSG tonight

I bit the bullett and bought a new laptop to replace my ailing Inspiron 2200. I went with Dell again and picked up a loaded 1525.

This is the first computer I've had with Vista as the operating system. At first it was all "oooo's" and "ahhh's" with the cool aero interface, animated program toggling back and forth, etc... but this soon gave way to frustration. Is it just me is Vista like much slower than XP? Just simple tasks like browsing folders with thumbnails seems to take longer, or even opening up windows explorer!

This is going to take some getting used to....

Well I've been waiting for an excuse to try out 2.4 on my airplanes and with the introduction of a second flight line at Joe Nall this year I now have my excuse .

I picked up the Spektrum module and AR9000 receiver for my 9303, and an additional remote receiver. I tucked one remote receiver way back in the tail of my 33% Edge, and the other remote receiver up on a mast that reaches straight up into the cockpit area.

The first thing I noticed, and the only complaint I have, is that I have to be real careful about laying the transmitter down with the Spektrum module in the back, as it sits on the antenna connector instead of the transmitter handle. My friends 10x doesn't seem to have this problem with the same setup as the handle sticks out further. I bound the receivers and set up my failsafe, and I made sure that my optical kill switch still performed the way it should. In fact it didn't perform at all when I first set it up. After much head scratching I realized that I had to do a "smart bind" to make it work.

Out at the field I range tested it, with and without the engine running. I literally ran to the opposite end of the field with the little button pressed down to see if there was any sign of a glitch. There were no problems. So with buttocks clenched I took to the skies, hoping I would see my baby on the ground again in one piece. It flew great, and after a succesful flight I brought her back down to the ground safely. Since then I've put a gallon of gas through this setup and its locked in solid.

I know several people who fly Spektrum, all without problems. I'm not sure what I was so worried about, I knew it would work, but there was just something about switching from something known and proven to something new and exciting that got the nerves going...

So my Wife is on her way to work at 5:30am this morning during a winter weather advisory. There was freezing rain and ice everywhere. With this in mind she is driving a little slower (40 in a 50, two lanes). Anyhow, behind her a truck and a car pull right up to her and stay there for short while. The car passes her and speeds off and then the truck passes her. But the truck then gets in front of her and slams on his breaks, then speeds up and keeps tapping his breaks right in front of her before taking off at a ridiculous speed (way over the limit).

I just dont get this behaviour, and quite frankly I'm pi$$ed off by it. Its dumb sh@! like this that gets people hurt.

Anyone seen this yet? A few friends went to see it and said it was really good, I'm planning on going to see it tonight. Judging from the trailers it should be a good flick!

http://www.cloverfieldmovie.com/

My friends have been telling me about Comet 17p/Holmes that unexpectedly had an outburst and became visible to the naked eye. So I grabbed my camera tonight and shot off a few pics as best I could (I modified the contrast in PS to make it show up better). Its the little fuzz ball beneath the brightest streak. If you get a chance grab some binoculars and go check it out, its pretty cool!

Stewie killed Lois! I mean he really did it this time....and they made it a two-parter! How are they gonna back pedal out of this one?....

After having my U-Can-Do sitting a round for a while I decided to sell it. I pulled out the receiver and was about to take it to the LHS when my wife talked me out of it and I put it back in my trailer where it sat for a while.

Saturday I took it out and decided to give it a run just to keep the Saito .91 happy. I ended up flying it several times because I had forgotten how much fun it was! Its like flying a giant foamy. Its a fun break from all the serious IMAC flying.

I'm glad I kept my UCD.

After not being able to fly for about a month I was finally able to get my edge back in the air. It was a good day, I had forgotten how much fun it was I can't wait to get out there again!

Just got back from vacation, man is this week dragging...

I did get to check out the RDRC fly for tots on Sunday, it was way cool They raised over $17k!!

...Don't make me wait for it!

http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/Strawberry+Pancakes/


I can't get this song outta my head....

I was tiling the shelf in my trailer last night and ran out of tile with about a 4' x 6" strip left to cover. Of course the hardware store no longer has the tiles I was using (b&w checks)......figures....

That's me...I just can't seem to get my butt in gear first thing in the morning. I can work away until the wee hours of the night but I can't seem to even focus my eyes when I get up in the morning and it takes me an hour just to wake up!

Now where's that cup of java?...