jroo

I'm sure the 'landing fee' is just a fun term for 'entry fee'

evdreamer

Mark,

Good to hear your weather is getting warmer. It almost got to 60 a couple of days ago here. I am starting to see the grass again.

Jreue,

When there is a landing fee at my club events the plankers have to pay everytime they land.

Nick

JPEE

Hey Nick,

Did I have a fly day or what. I finished rewiring my kitchen today at noon. So jumped in and splashed some water on my face, a little behind the ears too, and loaded the 500-600s & T-28. I dashed out to the Club Field and found the gate closed, no one there and the clouds were very dark and threating. So I came home.....wow what a fly day.

JPEE from windy, semi cloudy and quite cool California

jroo

$20 per flight? Screw that, I'll watch for free.

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Aw JPEE,
that just plain stinks. Don't members of your club have the combination to the lock or some way to get in if no one else is there?

I really hate when you make the trek to the field, have all your hopes up, and then don't get to fly for one reason or another. [] I've had that happen a time or two, worst is when you forget something (like a Tx or glow starter) and your the only one there. With storms, sometimes you can wait them out and get lucky and they'll clear.

jreue,
sounds like you may be just watching all those who don't mind paying each time they land fly! I have heard that funding the event can be costly at times, but charging for each flight sounds a bit steep.

Yeah nick,
the only grass that I've seen is the dead brown stuff. But have noticed the trees are starting to bud so that's a start.

Mark

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

I am BEAT!

Just spent the better part of the entire weekend demolishing, removing, dumping and otherwise getting rid of the old shed and 21 years of accumulated junk, and setting up the new platform and shed...

For a while there it looked like something from that show "Hoarders"...lol...it took 2 Ford van loads to get everything to the landfill....

IT'S DONE!!!

Wow, I can't believe how tired I am.....now I need to go to work tomorrow and rest up some!!

I'll be a bit more chatty later on in the week, after I recover somewhat....lol....

Talk to you guys soon....

Glenn

evdreamer

JPEE,

Sorry you couldn't fly today.

Glenn,

That is good you finished tearing down your old shed.

Nick

JPEE

Glenn,
After you get to work get al the rest you can! Thank goodness your not working for Toyota or you would be "busting it" LOL. Good news on the shed too. It is a mazing what you collect over the years. When we moved out fo the house after the earthquake for a year while the house was bring rebuilt we found exactly what we could do with out, and that was A LOT, So when we moved back in we had the mother of all YARD SALES Since 1995 we are no longer collectors...........a lesson well learned, but it took an earthquake.

Mark,

Yes we Club members all have keys to the field gate. A (segway here) I believe we all have the little voice inside that say FLY and NOT fly on a day. Once I got there and looked down and saw the gate closed, no one there and it was gray cloudy and a bit windy I thought....everyone is home warm by the fire where I should be. At my home I could see the clouds before I left and we had 50-50 clearing. Up there by the hills the clouds were dark! Anyway, I drove accross the creek where the fiekld is to the basball area that has a good road, no gate to give this flying a try. I got out and was just going to fly over the river bed. I took the 500 and made ready then took her up. Just then a dark clouds with the wind started moving right in front of the Sun. OK I can take hint. I flew the one pack very easy in the 500 and she was hard to see against the gray skies. I came in a minute early and said; OK I got the hint (the spirits telling me "this is a no fly day for me" lol). I came home whole with no damage.

Today the weather is the same and I have work to do here in the house anyway.

JPEE...................and this is how it was.

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Glenn,
glad to hear the worst is over with the shed demolition - definitely go back to work so you can get some rest. I hope you were able to get some help and didn't have to tackle all that by yourself.

JPEE,
I live by that little voice, of course sometimes it screams instead of whispers and I have learned to listen. Nice to hear you have your kitchen done. Have you cooked your first "meal" with the new equipment?

Mark

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Whew, glad that's all behind me now...all done...had to get a few odds and ends finished up tonight...

Mark, yeah, I had help, a great friend who happens to be in the home repair/rebuilding business....sure did come in handy with the platform, which has to be nice and level for those type of vinyl sheds (any structure, really)...I would have been lost without his help!

JPEE, It took a snow load roof collapse to get my junk finally out of there....there was so much stuff that I had forgotten I even had in there...hasn't been touch in years...

Anyways, the weather is getting better all the time out here....a bit windy, as is usual for March in this area....but it's sure nice to feel the mid to upper 50's for a change!!!

Glenn

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

I finally got a break in the weather, and got a couple of packs in on the B400 at lunch today!

I was afraid I'd be really rusty, and I was at first...but it came back pretty quickly after the first pack.

It was about 55 degrees, cloudy, and 7-9 MPH winds, not bad at all.

Felt good to get out and fly again....the two great things about this time of the year is that there aren't too many people out yet, and the electronics cool off real fast!

Looks like another small window of opportunity tomorrow, so I'm chargin' packs now!

What's everyone been up to?

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

That is cool you got to fly today.

I have been working on the aquarium electronics and getting ready for finals. I am getting close to finishing the programming and getting ready to work on the hardware. Hopefully sometime next quarter I can finish the aquarium electronics up.

Nick

JPEE

Mark,
We still have a long way to go. The Drywaller is behind due to all of the rain here in Cali so he wont start until the 25th or so. Then he is here for three weeks! Then the painter follows for two more weeks. After that its getting the tile guy in for several days and then after that schedule the new cabinets to be installed which are in the garage. Oh...........then the granite guys. I have now become a realist and have come to face with the fact I/we cannot live in the garage as big as it is, cooking and watching TV with no windows and then sleeping in the RV for another 5 weeks just aint gonna get it. So we are going to go stay in our other house about 12 miles from this house. Ok, your asking "their other house"? We inherited what we call a country house on a half acre lot adjoing other horse properties with a 2,000 sq ft house a few years ago. It was where my wife was raised after age 10. So it holds memories and we dont rent it, it stays fully furnished and functional for us to use on the weekends. It has no phone, nor cable nor internet so I have to get cable put in before next week! A guy cant be without his NET link right?LOL

Thanks for the kinds wishes...........


Glenn, glad you got to fly a few packs. It must have felt real good to get out at the helish winter you survived!

Nick, good luck on the aquarium project!

JPEE

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Just got back from a couple of flights after work...pretty windy too...

Not too much to report, I practiced an entire pack idle up, to help with the wind, I usually don't use it for normal flight, it seemed to help deal with the wind quite a bit....and I wanted to see how it affects battery life/flight times as well...

After the flight, I noticed some bearing shields on the tailshaft, looks like I lost at least a tailshaft bearing somehow...

I'll check into that this weekend, and give it a good checking over....but it was flying great!

I postponed my lunchtime flight....problems with finding a place to fly already popping up this year....I was setting up, and a guy pulled in with a car in the lot....I didn't pay much attention...after I got all setup, battery connected, and stood up to go out on the field....there he was, golf club in hand, heading out to the field....[sm=48_48.gif]

It feels good to get a few flights in though, for sure!!

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Well guys,

had my first mishap (one of many I'm sure ) with my new Pro. Wasn't really bad just tried flying in a bit too high wind and upon landing had the mishap. I wanted to land but the wind wanted to take her for a sideways stroll. Not too bad - need new TT gears - rear and front, as well as new blades. Other than that nothing else. Oh well, it happens. One thing though, that nice wiring job I did...it's history. Made for a horrible time trying to remove parts to check for damage so I redid it for ease of repair. Not going to be nice and tidy but will work for me.

Glenn,
good to hear the weather's improving. Sorry about the golfer - if it isn't the darn soccer people it's something else, aye? At least you had a nice flying time.

JPEE,
looks like you still have some work ahead of you but it'll be worth it in the end. At least you have a second place to stay.

Nick,
how's the weather looking for you? Any flying yet or still bogged down with finals and other projects?

Mark

evdreamer

Glenn,

That is good you were able to fly again. Hopefully you can get a new bearing soon.

Mark,

Sorry the wind knocked your heli over.

The weather is getting warm enough to fly, but it has either been cloudy, raining, or snowing. I am hoping to get some flight in on my school break in 2 weeks.

I got one final done today, but I have 3 more next week.

I finished the aquarium programming today. He can program when he wants to add fresh and salt water, when the lights come on and off, the time of day, and to turn the heater off at a certain temp. I added the feature he wants that mimics the rising and setting of the sun. He can program when the lights first turn on and turn off. Then I have a program that calculates when each light needs to turn on and off to mimic the sun. It can also auto calibrate the sensors. Then I display what the value of each sensor is and what is on and off.

I also continued to work on my battery management system again today. The programming is pretty much finished except I need to redo the auto ID feature. It works great with one controller, but it doesn't work with multiple controllers. However, everything else works. The CPU gathers all the info from the controllers. Then it processes the data and displays it on a LCD. Then each controller gets the temp and Voltage of the battery. It also balances each battery in series. I might add an ammeter, a fan, and a heater later.

Nick

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Busy weekend here, had to work on Saturday, and just had a bunch of loose ends to take care of....certainly no flying, been raining all weekend, and more tomorrow...

Mark,

Wow, bummer on the tip over...sure doesn't take much, does it? Hope you can get everything back in order soon...

I can relate to the wiring issue...I had to do just take the motor out of mine, and it was a PITA to get to the motor connectors, and then I had a connection issue, and getting to the RX inside the frames was no picnic...

I still am in the evaluation stages for this upcoming year, not sure what I'm going to do just yet...for one, I'm going to recheck the ESC in the stock B400 and make sure my diagnosis from last year of a bad ESC is correct...it just lost alot of power, need to be sure it's not something else...

And I need to search for some tailshaft bearings, and start making a list....and I need to fly the 450 Pro a bit and toss around the idea of a Tarot 450 or something similar and just moving away from the B400's alltogether....then there is the Raptor....hmmmm...have no idea yet!

Nick,

Wow, you've been busy! Hope your next 3 finals aren't too rough...I'm sure you'll do fine...

Sounds like the aquarium project turned out really well!! Congrats on that, it sounds like a total sucess for sure....

What would the heater be for on the battery management system, out of curiosity? Sounds like that project is also going well, if a bit challenging...

Hope your weather breaks soon....I'm looking at some really nice days coming up here this week....lower to mid 60's!!

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi all,

Glenn,
sounds like a busy weekend for you...do you get a day off sometime this week to compensate for Saturday?

Something that may interest you is a site I found that offers Tarot parts that are compatible with Align parts for the Pro and don't quite have that cost 'sting' that Align prices have - check [link=http://www.ac-rc.com/index.php?cPath=56_27_77&osCsid=tobej55h6vt98304gh a6uvo210]Here.[/link]

For example, I just got replacement TT gears ($12.99 & $9.99) and a new landing gear ($6.99) from Helidirect. Not too bad but these can add up in a bad crash - I saw AC-RC had the Tarot equivilent for $5.79, $4.95, and $2.40. I think that also included the shipping so I have been thinking of just stocking up on the common parts that go in a crash.

Sorry to hear about the motor and or ESC issue your having. My thoughts are its the older can motor that is going and not the ESC. May be time to upgrade your motor. I haven't finished the wiring yet but just looking it over I may run the gyro and tail servo wire on the outside of the frame so I don't get the issues I had with removing the tail boom mount that I had. Don't know yet, still looking and trying to figure something out. I know what you mean with the front end and the bundle of wires jammed in there - not fun if you have to get to the motor.

Nick,
nice to hear the aquarium project is done. Did you get any pictures of the finished project? From what you described it sounded like two separate units: one attached to the lights and the other using probes of some type to control salinity and temperature. Very nice work. [sm=thumbup.gif]

Good luck with your finals this week! Maybe afterwards the weather will be nice so you can celebrate by flying.

Mark

evdreamer

Glenn,

I am a little worried about my Lab final in my networking class. It is pass or fail.

On advanced battery management systems they have thermal management systems to keep the batteries at an efficient operation temp. If it is in a cold environment the heaters would kick in and some have water cooled or fan cooled systems for warmer weather. I finally got the controllers talking to each other again. I already had some working code for all the calculations, so it is almost done programming wise. I am going to start working on the hardware for that project.

That is good you are getting some good weather soon.

Mark,

The aquarium project is still on a prototyping board and I am still working on the hardware. There isn't much too it, so it shouldn't take too long. It will probably take awhile for my teacher to get all the parts I need. That project is supposed to last me through next quarter, so I am not in that big of a hurry to finish it.

Nick

JPEE

Nick,
Best of luck on your finals, I kmnow you will do well

Glenn,
Glade you got to fly and few days ago but sorry you had bust buns over the weekend. We watch your weather and looks like you have some rain[]

Mark,
Sorry about the crash. I ope the knock off parts will work for you and save you some money in future.


Thw WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE thread had CLOSED here. They took a vote and moved to RCGroups Forum. The pages are better on the eye, there no dropping out of the post your typing which was a great lpart of it. And they are more flexable about language, off topic and it just seems to be a better place. If you looking for anyonefrom that thread they are now located at.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1209917

JPEE

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

JPEE,

Looking up here, got some really nice weather coming later this week...that with the longer daylight, being slow at work, and I might get a bit more testing in this week.

Nick,

Good luck on your networking final...

Cool on the thermal management systems, sounds very sophisticated!

I guess after your finals, you get a break from school for a while?

How's work been going?

Mark,

Thanks a ton for the link on the Tarot parts...I didn't have time to look real close, is that a USA or China based operation?

I WISH I got an extra day during the week to offset the time I spent here on Saturdays! Actually, I did that a couple of times last year, they are pretty flexible about it if you let them know ahead of time...I take no real vacation during the year, so I think they don't mind a day or two here and there.

Right now though, I'm trying to play catch up on the bills and what not...between the new shed, and Uncle Sam, I don't have alot of heli money lately...[&o]

So, working the Saturday and the rest of the week will hopefully help some.

Hope you get your 450 back together soon, if the weather is anything like it's supposed to be up here, it should be some great flying weather (wind permitting)

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

I passed my networking final and just have one left.

Yeah, after this week I get a week and a half off. I really want to fly during my break, but if it stays cloudy I won't be able to.

Work is alright. I have been working a lot, so I am getting worn out with that and school.

Nick

rotarydoc

Nick,

Congrats on passing your exam!

Sorry to hear you are getting worn out, maybe your week and a half off will help alot...I am ready for a weekend myself, after last weekend, working on cars in the pouring rain sucks!

I took the spare B400 out tonight for a spin. I think the ESC is still bad, it seems low on power, and the tail wags some, servos seem slow, maybe the BEC is low on voltage too...and, it's got the notorious vibes in the tailboom supports again....

I am not going to drive myself crazy trying to track it down this time....it may just become a spare parts heli..[X(]

I think I am going to concentrate alot more on the 450 Pro this year, since it is a much nicer heli to begin with, and the "new and shiny" have worn off now, it's time to start flying it!!

I still have not joined AMA yet, or decided on which club I'm going to join (maybe both??)...so we'll see...

Hope you can get some nice weather on your break from school so you can fly and have some fun!

Glenn

evdreamer

Glenn,

Enjoy your trouble free 450 pro.

Nick

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Glenn,
tax time got you this year huh? I still have a small bit left over from last year to pay then I'm care-free. Yay! I sure made certain my deductions didn't get me in trouble this year.

Why are you working on cars in the rain btw, I thought you worked inside in a large bay?

Sorry to hear the B400 is acting up again. Maybe its ready for the spare parts bin. Yep, the website I showed was a Hong Kong based one, so if you don't mind the wait certainly try it.

Working on the Pro right now and have some work to do on the CPP2 also - so for now I have no birds flight ready. [] However, I did see that there is nice weather predicted for this weekend so I am striving for completion. I have been looking for a new canopy for the Pro, something a bit more 'jazzy'. I saw Helidirect had some Fusuno canopies that looked really nice and jazzy.

Nick,
great job on your 2 finals - 1 left and your homefree! I know how tiring it can be working and going to school but soon you'll be done and have all this spare time on your hands.

JPEE,
have you moved into your 'other' house already? Sounds like you need to get some internet hooked up there my friend.

Mark