Flying weather is almost here

I'm almost ready for spring flying.  This is going to be a fun year.  I made several planes this winter and gave several as Christmas presents to my sons and son in-law with the expectation that we would all meet for a day of u-control flying.  I've ended up wtih 2 baby Ringmasters, 3 Ringmaster Jr. and 2 Ringmaster S1.  Two of the 7 planes are electric.

Come back in the next few days to see videos of the day.  I predict there most will require some extensive rework after we are finished.

It started with a Sterling Ringmaster JR.

In 2009 my son and daughter in-law gave me a gift certificate to start building and flying model airplanes again.  It had been a very long time since I had done anything like that and I was thrilled. 

My first interaction with u-control model airplanes was watching my brothers fly them.  It was the late sixties I was young and fascinated by the whole process.  Somehow I got a hold of a Sterling Ringmaster JR kit and I went to work.  Monokote was the new thing and I used it to cover the wing.  It was a semi transparent orange wing with a black fuselage; it was very fitting for Halloween.  After getting the plane assembled, engine attached and everything ready to go, my brothers weren’t around to help me fly it.  I couldn’t wait, so I got my parents to take me over to the University Stadium parking lot to give it a try.  I didn’t have a clue on what I was doing, I could only try and mimic what I had seen my brothers do many times before.  Somehow the “Chicken Stick” and I were successful in starting the Fox 0.15 engine and before I knew it I was on.

It was late in the fall, the days were getting a little shorter and the sun was going down.  As I ran out to the middle of the circle, I was nervous and excited.  After the plane took off I realized I had three potential problems.  With every circle the plane flew directly through the setting sun, it was hard to see afterwards, so there were a few seconds of confusion with each pass as my eyes tried to adjust.  Then I started to get dizzy, I wasn’t prepared to spin around in circles.  Then I realized I didn’t know how to land this thing, so I just held on and waited.  Luckily the gas ran out before I fell over from being dizzy and I was able to guide that little plane down to the asphalt parking lot.  The landing was a little harder than I would have liked and the propeller was positioned in a way that made it a landing casualty.

I stood there in shock, shaking with excitement.  I was hooked for life.  I didn’t have another prop so our little adventure for the day ended with relatively little damage to my Sterling Ringmaster JR. 

Many planes were sacrificed, but the thrill never got old.  I loved the building, the flying and the smell of burnt model airplane fuel.  Life got in the way, but I’m determined to recapture some of that fun with my children and grandchildren in the future. 

If you have a love for u-control airplanes, or think you would, I invite you to participate in this discussion.  Perhaps we can all learn something and enjoy the journey with those we love.