Cold Weather Flying/Snow Flying

[kacknor]

Kacknor- How'd the maiden go? That plane looks like it would be ready for some snow use. Is it just for indoors, or do you plan to use it outside as well?

I set my new cold weather record on Sunday flying when it was -18F. I had my shooting gloves on and it worked out fine, though I still got a little thumb freeze. I haven't ordered a Tx mitt yet, but I keep promising myself it will happen soon. I can say that on some of these sunny freezing days, the Tx screen is working very sluggishly, and I know that getting the Tx into a mitt and out of the cold air is going to be a little better on it. All the same, overall the electronics are working fine and I've been having a great time.

The skis I ordered showed up today. I got some DuBro skis, and they are really cool. At first the price seemed a little steep to me, but considering how well designed and well built these are, the only reason I'd ever need to buy another pair is if I need them for more than one plane at a time

Zarich12: I haven't jumped into building skis yet, but just today I was thinking about how fun it would be to have them on my mini Scout. As I was thinking about this, I remembered that back when I was flying small control line planes with my dad, we made a pretty good pair of small skis out of the handles of plastic milk cartons. The 1 gallon plastic cartons have a pretty nice angle in the bend of the handle, and if you take your time cutting it off nicely, it can pretty easily be modified into a small ski. I was thinking about trying these out for my Scout. I don't have a full plan together yet, but I'm picturing a couple of milk carton handles with holes drilled through them, maybe a couple of rubber bands to hold the tips up, and either wheel collars or a little hot glue to keep everything on the axles. I'll post an update if I get a test rig pieced together.

Maiden was great. Flies just like the Polaris SE I have. I did have one orientation loss that resulted in a taped up nose for rest of the night and a new one now installed. I'll fly it outside in a heartbeat. Very stable and I think it will handle wind very well. Will fly it off water or snow too.




I have flown the Bonsai wing visible under the Micro-Nutball at 17 Deg. 8 minutes of flight time becomes six and that feels way too long...

JD

 

[Zarich12]

I've done skis out of foam board and pop bottle plastic before.
They sort of work but never found hot glue effective between the two surfaces.

Experiment and see what works in your environment.

I started experimenting and used a piece of 1/16" x 1.5" aluminum. They were a little over 6 inches long. I don't know if they work on snow because my plane is down for repairs, but they are really smooth on the bottom. Perhaps you could try this.

 

[Hayduke27]

Oh man, so I installed the DuBro skis on my Storch last night and got it out for a fair bit of flying today. Skis are FUN. With wheels I had been having to scrape a runway to takeoff on, and then when I landed I was just used to the wheels sinking and the plane flipping. Today with the skis I was able to do touch and go's! The way the spring loading works on these skis it's almost like suspension, and they'll ride right over relatively deep breaks in the snow like footprints or tire tracks. I really had a good time. These skis are a game changer for me. I'd love to get my Scout all set up with a little pair of skis. I'm going to work on that.

 

[Hayduke27]

Here's another question for you winter flying folks. Andre, if you're still reading you might know the answer to this. I was considering flying my Timber on snow with the floats. I also have a beaver that I might try the same thing with. If I do so, do I need to remove the rudders from the floats? Will they snag on crusty snow and break or cause other issues?

 

[Andre]

Here's another question for you winter flying folks. Andre, if you're still reading you might know the answer to this. I was considering flying my Timber on snow with the floats. I also have a beaver that I might try the same thing with. If I do so, do I need to remove the rudders from the floats? Will they snag on crusty snow and break or cause other issues?

- Oops clicked on the wrong post...

I'd remove them. Just use the rudder but know you might not have complete authority.

 

[Hayduke27]

Wow, so Colorado continues to get just hammered with snow. Flying the Storch around on the skis has been a total blast. It's amazing how much my landings have improved when I have so much space to practice them. I'm doing touch and go's left and right, getting lots of practice landing with and without flaps, and am really getting the hang of it. I am loving the snow flying so much. I finally have good enough command over the Storch that I have the confidence to take out my new Timber. After this current blizzard finishes up and we get calm, clear skies again, I'm going to maiden her. I think the floats on top of our 5 foot-deep, fresh light-powder snow should be a nice combination.

 

[Zarich12]

I have made some skis that work fairly well. All I used was a few pieces of 1/16" x 1.5" aluminum. I can give you more details if you are interested. Keep n mind that these may be a little heavier (but a heck of a lot cheaper) than a store bought ski so make sure your plane can lift a little extra weight.

 

[Hayduke27]

The snow flying has continued to go well. I have been doing non-stop touch and go's with the Storch, and my landings have improved greatly overall, with all my planes. More recently I got my Timber and my Guinea Pig into the air. I'm flying the Timber off of floats on the snow, and it's a blast. It doesn't glide quite as nicely as the skis on the Storch, but on the up side the floats will skip right across footprints and other holes in the surface of the snow that would have tripped up the skis. It's been great fun.

I put the wheels on the Guinea Pig, and though I have a plowed road to take off of, so far have still been landing it in the snowy field so as not to contend with the big icy snowbanks on the side of the road. I don't want any early mishaps The plane is awesome, very easy to fly, and it's awesome to have the twin engine power pulling me around.

I have once again set my record for coldest flights. Saturday was around -15*F, but with the wind chill it was closer to -35*F. My servos were significantly more sluggish, and the screen on my Tx was almost frozen solid. I have my Tx mitt now, and though that had saved my hands so many times I can't even begin to count, it does not save the Tx from being out in such cold for a couple hours. I have had no damage to any electronics yet, and no equipment failures to speak of. I have been keeping the batteries in the car between flights and yesterday gave my Tx several breaks to warm up in the car. I think the warm ups are key.

So far, of all my planes, the Storch has proven the hardest to fly. I am glad I learned on it however, as next to it, the Timber is child's play. Even though I am totally in love with the Timber right now, it's hard to beat flying the Storch off of the snow with skis. Such a delight. Plus, it just looks cool!

Hope everyone is getting out flying and keeping those hands warm!

 

[Hayduke27]

Pictures

Here are some pictures of recent flying adventures

 

[Andre]

Why can't winter be this nice...

All the time...

 

[crashairlines]

I have done some winter flying and the plane I have flies fine but as soon as i land and launch it again it turns to the right. Could it be that the snow messes up the receiver?

 

[Hai-Lee]

I have done some winter flying and the plane I have flies fine but as soon as i land and launch it again it turns to the right. Could it be that the snow messes up the receiver?

There could be a myriad of reasons for the plane veering to the right including rudder trim not quite centred, a little too much right thrust angle, asymmetrical wing loading, (very slight), and slightly different wing profiles among others.

As there are so many possible causes the only recommendation is to try to eliminate the possible causes one at a time, A.K.A. trial and error.

Good hunting!!

 

[Andre]

Weeeee

 

[JimCR120]

Man Andre, that wasn't all flown in one day was it? I think I saw at least 4 different birds there.

 

[Andre]

Man Andre, that wasn't all flown in one day was it? I think I saw at least 4 different birds there.

2 days of flying.

And there was no video recorded for the Skipper or SkyMule.

The first day has been the first time in a month so I flew my heart out

Beautiful day. I actually had too many layers on.

 

[JimCR120]

The only thing I see missing, Andre, is the same thing I'm almost always without, someone to fly with.

At least the forum is here. Thanks for obtaining and sharing your flights.

And that goes for everyone who takes the time to prepare, record, edit, upload, and post. Thank you all. Our is a good community.

 

[Andre]

The only thing I see missing, Andre, is the same thing I'm almost always without, someone to fly with.

At least the forum is here. Thanks for obtaining and sharing your flights.

And that goes for everyone who takes the time to prepare, record, edit, upload, and post. Thank you all. Our is a good community.

Yeah most of the guys had left or had not showed up at that time.
That said yeah I have some good friends here in Ottawa but we dont fly like I do with my buddies in Ohio.

 

[DAWNSIGHT4]

Back to Winter Flying... We have one season (5 Times) left to flying the Columbus Four Seasons Golf Dome. There was a legal issue that stopped the Horizon Electric Indoor event this year, but it's been cleared up enough to allow use to fly starting tomorrow night. The Dome will close permanently in March.

To that end, I built a new aircraft this week. Not an FT design, but nice. 16" wingspan at the rear. Electronics are AS3X brushless radio and servos from a Yak54-180, motor is a HK C10 2900kv. First flight tomorrow night!

View attachment 78731 View attachment 78732 View attachment 78733

No idea if this will work or not...

JD

No you would be fine with a plane like that. That looks like a polaris knockoff design jet. If you have never heard about the polaris seaplane, look it up. That jet is a beast to fly with the right set up.

 

[Foam Folder]

Haha, Andre your pics and videos serve as both inspiration and a warning! It looks like you have been flying in the conditions that I am anticipating for quite a while! Thank you for all of the posts!!

I definitely considered some water planes for taking off of the snow as well, it seems to make some sense.

I have been looking at skis to buy, but also considered maybe making some. Has anybody successfully made functioning skis?

Can be very simple, a bit of wood and glue and stapler