I met up with pilot-294 to do some flying today. It was snowing lightly and temps were right on the verge of freezing. We both had a decent drive to get to where we were, so may as well fly!
Pilot-294 brought his brand new HZ UM Mosquito and 1 flight old Parkzone F4U corsair. He flew both beautifully! It was awesome to see how excited he was at his success! Way to go, man! He certainly did not look like a beginner flying today!
I had not seen the PZ Corsair in person before and have to say how impressed I was with it! Yes, it can be a decent first airplane in my opinion! Its a great looking airplane and flies like a high-wing. 2 thumbs up from me!
But, as impressive as the Corsair is, I think the Mosquito is even more so. We flew on the leeward side of a hill, meaning the air was coming DOWN the hill. Its a light airplane, so the wind should toss it about easily. But the little thing flew like a dream! It cut through the wind and was crazy stable! He generously allowed me to fly it. By that time, the batteries has cooled down quite a bit. The ESC was cutting out, but I was able to experience enough to know this is one awesome little airplane! Even in snow (building up on the planes, btw) and wind, I was still able to dead stick it with ease. Ugh, my checking account may take a hit... I am pretty sure both of these planes should be in my hanger!
My performance was not quite as good. I flew my 50mm Mig-15 first. She was cruising around nicely until I brought her in for a pass, climbed out letting it stall. I do this all the time, but this time she went into a bona fide spin! I recovered within 3 rotations, but she was too low to recover by then. I did manage to have her level when she hit the ground (coming directly at us about 12 feet away). Damage is pretty minor. The right wing and aileron were cracked. I am sure the snow iced up and added weight/disrupted airflow to the point she couldn't recover from the lowish level stall.
Then I tried to maiden my scratchbuilt "Eyeball 1.5." I wasn't able to get it ready before tossing it in the car, so I added the control rods on the trunk of my car in the snow. I took a guess at where the cg should be (I was wrong). So, upon first toss by P-294, she pinwheeled. Tail heavy. I hastily added more weight (to the tune of another 850 mah battery-my brain was frozen at this point). That weight, combined with the snow that was quickly accumulating on the plane made flight pretty much impossible. Two more attempts before packing it in. No damage, but I need to spend more time prepping it. I have confidence that it WILL fly, now!
Finally, broke out Ol' Reliable, my HZ Super Cub. Fly it with an 8x6e prop for the first time (only flown on 8x4e in the past). I was impressed with the climb rate with the new prop. Flew her around for a while and noticed her performance got "weirder" as time went on. When I landed, the wings and tail were covered with ice! She was still flying though! What an awesome airplane!
Pilot-294 brought his brand new HZ UM Mosquito and 1 flight old Parkzone F4U corsair. He flew both beautifully! It was awesome to see how excited he was at his success! Way to go, man! He certainly did not look like a beginner flying today!
I had not seen the PZ Corsair in person before and have to say how impressed I was with it! Yes, it can be a decent first airplane in my opinion! Its a great looking airplane and flies like a high-wing. 2 thumbs up from me!
But, as impressive as the Corsair is, I think the Mosquito is even more so. We flew on the leeward side of a hill, meaning the air was coming DOWN the hill. Its a light airplane, so the wind should toss it about easily. But the little thing flew like a dream! It cut through the wind and was crazy stable! He generously allowed me to fly it. By that time, the batteries has cooled down quite a bit. The ESC was cutting out, but I was able to experience enough to know this is one awesome little airplane! Even in snow (building up on the planes, btw) and wind, I was still able to dead stick it with ease. Ugh, my checking account may take a hit... I am pretty sure both of these planes should be in my hanger!
My performance was not quite as good. I flew my 50mm Mig-15 first. She was cruising around nicely until I brought her in for a pass, climbed out letting it stall. I do this all the time, but this time she went into a bona fide spin! I recovered within 3 rotations, but she was too low to recover by then. I did manage to have her level when she hit the ground (coming directly at us about 12 feet away). Damage is pretty minor. The right wing and aileron were cracked. I am sure the snow iced up and added weight/disrupted airflow to the point she couldn't recover from the lowish level stall.
Then I tried to maiden my scratchbuilt "Eyeball 1.5." I wasn't able to get it ready before tossing it in the car, so I added the control rods on the trunk of my car in the snow. I took a guess at where the cg should be (I was wrong). So, upon first toss by P-294, she pinwheeled. Tail heavy. I hastily added more weight (to the tune of another 850 mah battery-my brain was frozen at this point). That weight, combined with the snow that was quickly accumulating on the plane made flight pretty much impossible. Two more attempts before packing it in. No damage, but I need to spend more time prepping it. I have confidence that it WILL fly, now!
Finally, broke out Ol' Reliable, my HZ Super Cub. Fly it with an 8x6e prop for the first time (only flown on 8x4e in the past). I was impressed with the climb rate with the new prop. Flew her around for a while and noticed her performance got "weirder" as time went on. When I landed, the wings and tail were covered with ice! She was still flying though! What an awesome airplane!