JPEE

Glenn,

The chocolate came out better than the vanilla, it's just to dag-gone cold to take more than a sample
bit lol.

Yes the wind is still shaking the house and it is very cold. We will
spend this cold and what looks like a possible rainy New Years where it safe and warm.....ar home!

JPEE

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi guys,

Zero maiden this morning...not too bad and my firewall repairs held up too!

http://www.vimeo.com/18324102

Mark

JPEE

Good morning Mark,

What a great morning bracer of a flight. When you first took off and swooped I thought you were a gonner, but you pulled it out and off! She looks very light and appears to handle very well in fact. I have to further commend you on have eyes good enough to see the plane at that time of the morning against the dark skies.

I am charging now because two of my buddies said the wind is to let up by this afternoon, we will see........

Here at home it is still blowing hard. But! we live in a funnel area below the canyon so we have wind here when other's don't.

I wish you and everyone here the Happiest and Safest New Years possible!

John

rotarydoc

Hey guys,


Mark,

The Zero maiden looks like it went really well! Nice repair, and nice flight...looks cool in the morning sunrise...

I'm still jealous of your huge flying area there, looks like no one there to get in the way or bother you at all... how awesome!

JPEE,

Sorry you still have the wind and cold hanging around...I finally got a break here, it was in the mid 40's today, and tomorrow looks like mid 50's by afternoon!

I think I might charge a couple of 450 packs...

I think that is the first time the temperature has broken out of the 30's in about 3 weeks...we deserve it!

Glenn

JPEE

Hi Glenn,

I hope you do get to fly in the morning. It will be nice for you to get out of the house.

I did charge up some of my packs today as my buddy said the wind would die down. Well here is blowing up a storm but he called at 10:00 and said the field just had a breeze, so I joined him. While I took the 600-500-, T-28 with me I only flew one pack on the 500. I just wasnt in the mood. Perhaps I need a time out, I don't know. There were some stiff breezes up high but very managable. But it was cold with the wind coming down out of the canyons where there is snow up high. If you stoood in the sun you were ok, but stand in the shade or later in the day as the sun set OH BABY. I stayed and helped and watched other guys, I was cool with that. There were three plane crashes with very minor repairs, they both had extra parts with them, props and gorilla tape LOL.

We just finished out New yeas dinner of three lobster tails and a baked tater and garlic toast....... OH OH BABY that was tasty. My daughters will call at midnight for good wishes, then I can get to bed YEA.

BTW: I ordered a NUE motor for my 600 that is matched to a 6S. If this won't give it a bit more power that I would like, then I will go to a 12S pack and up the motor and ESC to 50vt. We'll see.

JPEE

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Happy New Years to all!

JPEE,

Let's not go too far now...I didn't say anything about flying in the MORNING...lol... We'll see how things are looking at about 3PM...

Sorry you weren't in "the mood" to fly, I have been there, especially towards the end of last season...

Hope your new motor meets your expectations...

Glad you had a nice New Year's dinner...New Years has come and gone here already...lol...

Glenn

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Good 2011 morning guys...and Happy New Year!

It's 1:30 in the am now and I just woke up, yeah we hit the sack around 10 last night...yeah, party poopers...guess a 2 year old will do that to you!

JPEE,

I do believe you had the best New Years...Yumm, LOBSTER

Mark

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Sorry about the double post but it seems when I use different fonts/colors/etc. everything below it uses the same font.

Glenn,

I do hope you get a chance to go out and fly tomorrow and Sunday...you guys up there really deserve a break in the cold.

I kinda had to laugh when JPEE mentioned you flying in the morning...yeah, didn't you try that just once and never again?!? Any idea of where you'll be going - local or main flying field? Are you just planning on the 450 or does the 500 get a chance too?

I am very fortunate to have a nice flying area that is close by and when I get out there in the late afternoon hopefully I can get a chance to meet with some of the airplane guys...and hey, now I have a plane that is flyable. Just remember though, your field doesn't have light poles and random trees scattered about. I don't know if you saw in the video but there were a few times when I forgot about where a tree or light pole was and had to 'wave off' suddenly.

Speaking of this mornings flight, it was a bit odd flying a plane again. She is a bit tail heavy, even with all the nose repairs so I'll have to add a bit of weight up front. Also, that green and grey paint scheme does pose a bit of an issue but keeping things above the horizon makes seeing her better. And I got so used to landing a heli that when the time came I had to look around for a decent grassy strip to put her down.

JPEE, congrats on the Neu motor...I hear they have tons of power and are built to last, even the bearings. I hope it brings some peppiness to your 600...can you configure the batteries you have in stock to do an 8S setup? I remember hearing on HF that is an ideal running sit for the 600...however I don't know if you'll have to change out your ESC to do it though.

Well guys...going back to bed now...just wanted to jump on and wish you all a Happy New Year for 2011.

Mark

evdreamer

Happy New Years everyone.

Mark your flight looked relaxing with your plane. I am usually more relaxed flying a plane than a heli.

JPEE,

That is cool you got a flight in with your 500. Have fun with the new 600 motor.

Nick

JPEE

Hey Guys


It is 45 degrees here at the Rose Bowl, with skies full of sun too! This is why more people leave from back east and move to California records show, from watching the Rose Parade on TV and seeing our weather. What they don't see are our "EARTHQUAKES".........LMAO

The B-2 flew over the Rose Bowl, and for those of you that didn't know, she flies at a crusing speed of 604 mph.

Happy New guys!

JPEE

jroo

Got some cash for my birthday, which was on Christmas, so I just spent it on a new Align 780 gyro for my 250. Got a good deal of $81 off ebay.
Also picked up a nice canomod canopy from helidirect. They we 1/2 price down to $20.

Been flying the 450 here and there along the street here in front of my house. I love that thing.

Had my first rash with the Blade 120 SR the other morning. It was fairly still outside so I took it out back. Little did i know, the wind was being blocked by my house. I increased altitude and when I exceeded the height of the roof, it slowly started to drift away. Into my neighbors yard, over their house, in their front yard. There was nothing I could do to get it back, besides let it drop, blind.

I went around to their front yard and it landed in the worst place, on their driveway. Broke the flybar, battery tray, and canopy rod. The little 120 SR is a pretty cool machine. I handles really well outside and can take a bit of a breeze, but this was a little much. Oh well, it was only about $9 to fix.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Hi guys,

Just wanted to share another 500 video from yesterday morning...my last flight of 2010.

[link=http://www.vimeo.com/18354479]Vimeo[/link]


Mark

JPEE

Hello Mark,

Today is 1/1/11 you'll never see that again will ya?

Your inverted is coming along nicely! Your nose overs are pretty smooth too. Watching you fly is like an E ticket ride the way to end a stunt or pass and come in so low to the ground. I am sitting here with white knuckles LOL while watching your video.

Tonight was Prime Rib baby......we are styling here in California. My wife just loves cooking in her new kitchen. Heck, if I had known this would be the result, I would have done the remodel years ago LMAO

I loaded up and went to the field again today. I had gone yesterday too but I only got one flight in that was enough...........like I have been saying sometimes I just don't feel it. So this morning though cold 40 when I got up "I was feeling it". So I called my bud and told him noon we'll meet there. HOLY CRAP AND PEANUT BUTTER there were three cars pulling in the gate ahead of me. Then when I got in there were 9 guys ahead of me at the benches plus my buddy. So we said fooy to this and just BS'ed with the other guys and did not fly. We are expecting rain now for the next three days. Such is life............. no worries mate, I'll fly later.


Jreue,
Good new on the new gyro, enjoy. Sorry to hear the SR came down. You lucky the neighbors don't have a dog to eat that little devil when it came down. LOL Happy New yes to you.

Smiles JPEE

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

Good morning all,

JPEE,

Not in our lifetime!

You know...with all your talk of surf and turf I'm going to have to get some lobster tails and steak! Sounds like all the hardwork renovating is starting to pay off...glad you and your wife are enjoying the new kitchen.

Busy day at the field...at least you got the chance to socialize...besides, your retired and so have lots of time to get some flying in when your ready again.

My favorite spot to fly at has a large drainage ditch in the middle...which is dry..and so what looks to be low and close to the ground actually has quite a bit of leeway, I'm not that comfortable to be flying down on the deck that some flyiers around here do!

Thanks for the compliments...I'm getting more comfortable but really need to clean it up and work on keeping the heli in one place. My Phoenix has been helping a bunch.

To answer your question from earlier, the cowling is from the GWS Zero kit. It got a little damage from the crash that took out the firewall but some tape, a good washing, and good as new!

Jreue,

Great to hear your enjoying your 450 Sport...which Canomod canopy did you get (pictures please )? Congrats on the new 780 gyro.

Isn't it nice to have a $9 repair job...that darn wind just takes those little heli's for a ride doesn't it? I'm sure you'll have her flying again in no time...is it very visible for night flying? I remember the old CX2's were really visible with the red LED lighting up the whole canopy that you could take it out in the driveway at night.

Nick,

You are right about the planes being very relaxing to fly...I actually could look away while flying to check the timer...something I learned very early on never to do with my heli's. And doing aerobatics is much easier with a plane, I think I even did a bit of inverted flight...something I have yet to attempt with my heli...even on the sim.

Glenn,

How did yesterday go for you...any flying?

Mark

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Mark,

Looks like you had quite a good time with the 500 there! Looking good on the inverted practice, nice and high up...with some more practice you'll have it down no problem...but it is almost like learning to hover all over again...

JPEE,

Yeah, all that work to the kitchen I guess got the wife in a cooking mood! Glad to hear that it paid off so well!

Prime rib and Lobster....you sure aren't holding back...

Sorry you didn't get a chance to fly, I find myself BS'ing almost as much or more than flying half the time I go to MHA...which is enjoyable for sure...

jreue,

Congrats on the GP 780, it should do well for you...

Sorry about the SR flight going down, but that happens from time to time, especially with the smaller helis in the wind. But at least it was cheap to repair...


Well, I did get one flight in yesterday...it was pretty nice, about 55 degrees, overcast, and a tad breezy, but good for this time of year for sure!

I found a few things out....

Number one is that I guess the deer and rabbits get out on the field a lot more in the winter than they do in the summer/spring....I had to tread VERY CAREFULLY though the field, there were a ton of poop land mines, I mean they were everywhere...[X(]

My batteries are as bad or worse than I thought, I barely made it through the flight before the battery pooped out....

It didn't take long to get back into the groove, which is nice to know...I was a bit rusty to be sure...but by the end of the pack, I felt like I was almost back to where I left off a couple of months ago...

I went into it cold as ice...I was going to practice on Phoenix first, but it needed a huge update (to 3.0) and my DX6i sim batteries were flat dead...so I went out with no warm up whatsoever...

I actually did a couple of backwards circles and flips, a short inverted hover...it's good to know that it comes back pretty quickly...

I didn't go out today, rainy, breezy, and chilly...it was a rare day indeed yesterday, and at least I got out and got my feet wet again...

Hope everyone is doing well, and is ready for the New Year!

JPEE

Hey Guys,

It is raining cats and dogs and.......... snow has been sited 5 miles from the house up the road!

I wished I could say this was my idea but it was not. My noob found this gem at Home Depot. It is a tool bag but more better it is a great battery tote and more. I have in this bag, 3 ea 5000s, 2 ea 3000s, 14 ea 2250s, and 1 ea. 3300. That's 20 batteries in an easy to carry bag. We decided once a pack has been flown, you put the battery bag in it pocket upside down to signify it had been used. So simple......... and this little gem only costs $21. and change out the door.

Glenn, godda watch those land mines forsure!

JPEE

jroo

Mark,

Here is the 250 canopy i'm getting

[link=http://www.helidirect.com/canomod-therock-airbrush-fiberglass-canopy-trex-250-p-16579.hdx]The Rock[/link]

I dig it; and for $20 you can't beat it. Should be here tomorrow.

The 120 SR has a red LED, but it's in the back of the heli on the 5-in-1, so it does not light up the canopy. I've been using it quite a bit indoors to practice nose-in hovering/flight. Hopefully I can transition it to my 250/450. I too have been spending some time in Phoenix, really trying to concentrate on my circuits, and have a smooth flight, rather than stick bang away doing silly moves that no way in hell i'd do in real life (yet).

You guys order RC Heli magazine? I just subscribed for another year. I read it front to back. This months issue is massive it seems! Although the new Sniper heli, by LA Heli or something, got really good reviews, its a God awful looking heli, hhh.

evdreamer

James,

Happy belated birthday.

Sorry about your Blade SR.

Glenn and I get RC heli magazines. It looks like E-Flite is going to have competition with the Blade SR and Align's T-Rex 100.

Mark,

Your flying looked good with the 500.

Glenn,

That is good you had one good day so far to fly this winter.

JPEE,

That bag looks like it works really good for hauling batteries to the field.

Nick

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

I was browsing the Struggling with Single Rotors thread when I saw this posted on Christmas Eve...hope Jeff gets through this.

Mark

Aframomum

My Feedback: (10)

JPEE,

Do you really have 20 batteries or is that between the two of you?! That is one nifty bag for carrying almost all of your supplies...looks like you could almost fit a mini cooler in there too.

Sorry to hear about the rain...I'm going to try to go flying this morning but the clouds look a bit threatening out there right now. And WTHeck, snow for you?? [:'(]

Nick,

Has school started for you yet? Getting anxious I bet!

James,

Missed your birthday hint...glad you got some heli cash. Good to hear your getting some sim time on Phoenix...if we can set a time you, me, and Glenn should try doing a flying session together.

HD website must be down b/c I can't access it right now (of course its 6:30am EST so they may be doing maintenance )...I'll try again later.

Glenn,

What can I say...animals got to unload somewhere...sorry its in your flying/standing zone. Glad MotherNature gave you the chance to fly.

Were all of your batteries barely making it through a flight or just one in particular? I don't remember when you last made an order for batts...were they just extremely old?

Good that you were able to get back to where you left off so quickly...just like riding a bike, aye?

Anyone got any plans this year to get any new heli's?

I'm going to stay where I'm at and enjoy my 500...and try to rebuild my heli budget.

Mark

JPEE

Nick,
So good to see you post, you've been pretty quite lately. I expect school and work has you buried these days. Stay warm over there........

Mark,
Yes I have 20+ packs, there were a few more packs on the bench, it was too cold outside to doddle long out there in the shop. One of the contributing reasons for having so many batteries is, when I started out I did not want to have to carry a charger to the field. So with that many batteries I could fly all day. Next, I have always tried to be battery/model conscience meaning, when I buy a plane or heli I try to bear in mind, can I fly that on my existing batteries? My T-28, Apprentice, 3-400s, 1-450, my 500 all fly the 3S 2250. Now before I recently bought the new 6S 3000 mAh brick packs for the 500 I would series two 3S packs. So that would eat 6 packs with three flights real fast, then to fly the plane a few time I was out of packs. The 5000 bricks I don't count in the equation because they are solely for the 600.

If your talking about his life crises is doing better, this was time ago. I know a guy here who stays in contact with him. God knows we miss him. My understading is getting on now and kind of put the RC hobby way back on the burner. Again I/we miss him, he is one great guy!

To give you an idea so when your watching the news I live about 18 miles south of what called the "Grapevine" which is where Interstate 5 go's over the mountains. The world famous Magic Mountain Amusement Park is just below the grapevine and is now covered with snow.

As far planes for a new heli, not this year. I am still waiting for my new "NEU" motor for the 600. If this won't bring it to life then I will make it a 12S heli and make the upgrades with a 50 volt ESC and motor. I also waiting for good weather so I can make more than my one good flight video with my HD cam under the 600. On that note my noob is been doing his homework and about march will be getting an entry level FPV set up, they run about a grand. Once I can see that in my hot little hands I have no doubt I'll go there too.

Smiles and a good week to you, John

evdreamer

Mark,

I start school on the 10th. The only class I am looking forward to is my computer programming class. I checked out a couple of my classrooms and they are huge. At my old college the biggest class had 20 people in it.

I probably won't get any new helis this year. I would rather spend my extra cash on my electronic projects.

JPEE,

I have been working a lot and I don't feel like writing after work. I still stay up to date on everyone's posts when I have spare time. I will probably be more quite once I start school.

Nick

JPEE

Hey Nick,
I can understand your excitement and antispation about taking your new classes. Most of us all have the helis and airplanes we want or need LOL. Sink your $$$ into your projects and futures.

As far as writing, for most of too there is not alot to write about at this time of the year EXCEPT lobster and prime rib LMAO.

We dont want to lose site though Mark's videos however, they are a MUST for this blog forsure!!!!!

Take care

rotarydoc

Hey guys,

Mark,

Yeah, those packs (4 of them) were ones I got from Hobby City back when I got the original 450 Pro...so that was about summer of 2009...so they have been around for a year and a half, and I am not sure how well I treated them when they sat over last winter (not sure if I even knew to take them down to storage voltage or not).

I would guess they have maybe 50-60 flights, not that many, I think it was more of a time thing that did them in, rather than a lot of cycles...

I think they cost $25 each or something...so they did good by me!

I have absolutely no plans for any new helis this year at all. I just need to work with all the ones I have, I am very happy with all of my helis! Just some new batteries, and maybe some improvements on the SDX, possibly a regulated fuel system, and probably a governor.

Nick,

I can understand you not having time to write a lot, and especially when you get in school, you will probably be very busy then. Hope you can keep in touch and join in now and then...as JPEE said, there is really not a whole lot going on (especially for you and I, with our weather) right now anyways...

Sorry you are only looking forward to one class. Some of the others sound kinda brutal, especially calculus...[X(]

JPEE,

So the snow is not far away...just saw some of that on the news...saw some guy walking in the snow wearing shorts..lol..

I also miss Jeff being around...too bad he didn't drop by here and say hi....I wish him the best, and to be sure to come and visit our thread when he's ready to make a comeback...

So much for my heat wave of 55 degrees...by the weekend, it won't be over 32 degrees for a high...no snow in the forecast though anytime soon...

Glenn

rotarydoc

Mark,

Here is a pic I dug up from a couple of years ago....I count 29 packs if you include the single cell MCX packs...

I think this was prior to my 500....

Glenn