Author Archives: Mark

Best $2 I ever spent

This little guy is a LiPo battery voltage meter I purchased from HobbyKing. Although not extremely accurate – it might be off by a hundredth of a volt or two – I’ve found it indispensable in the field for checking … Continue reading

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Stupidest crash ever

Yesterday, I experienced my most ignominious crash so far. I was doing some work on my Tiger Moth 400. It was sitting on the concrete floor of my basement workroom, battery plugged in, ready for me to test the controls. … Continue reading

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It flies! Maiden of the new 22″ David wing.

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Rebuilding the 22″ David Wing

My original 22″ David wing was an ugly thing, made even uglier by all the times I flew it into he ground like a lawn dart. I’ve finally decided it’s time to rebuild it. meanbaby from RCGroups built the airframe … Continue reading

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Night Stryker at twilight

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Nico Hobbies profile F-22

In looking for a home for a leftover 17 gram, 2400kV motor, I happened upon Nico Hobbie’s little profile F-22 and decided to give it a try. The battery ended up very close to the CG of the plane, which I … Continue reading

Posted in Building, My Fleet, My Planes, R/C Planes | 1 Comment

Blade Out!

I purchased a Venom V40 motor with an eye toward running it in my Stryker. To get an idea about amp draw, etc., I plugged it into my stock setup, clamped on my stock propeller, advanced the throttle to about … Continue reading

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FauxCote™

FauxCote™ is my name for the packing tape I use as a covering for my R/C planes. It’s a bit of a pun on Econocote and Monocote. (It’s not actually trademarked.) Note: this thin packing tape weighs about 0.7 grams … Continue reading

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Radian Remaiden

A smarter pilot would have waited for a day with less lightning to try the first flight of a newly re-built plane. But that guy wasn’t around, so I flew it into the storm. It went fine. Thanks for your … Continue reading

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(Yet Another) crash of the F8F Bearcat “Monkee Shines”

I have a love/hate relationship with this plane. The kit itself is crap. The foam is too soft and the only way to get to the battery is by unbolting the wing. (Just yesterday, I spent close to an hour … Continue reading

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Gertrude 2 – The Rebuildening

Gertrude, my beloved Radian glider, suffered a terrible mishap during a night flight and lost her entire nose. I searched and search, but wasn’t able to find them in the flying field. So it was off to the local hobby … Continue reading

Posted in Build Threads, Custom & Modified, My Planes, R/C Planes | 1 Comment

Katie Bug – junkyard Nutball

I’ve begun fooling around with a Nutball, made from Elmer’s Foam board and the leftover parts from a HobbyZone Mini Super Cub (motor, gearbox and 3-in-1 Rx/ESC/servo board). Had two very shaky flights before parts started falling off. But it … Continue reading

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