So there's a new member of the PM ratpack: Alberice, L45 Bruiser. The magic of collection quests had him from 1-44 in about 2 hours (takes a while to buy up and double-click all those collection items!), then some rampaging with Grace in Nek had him 45… more »

So I started on the assembly of the Omega. I started with the soldering tasks, as there are quite a few. I didn't have much time so I figured I'd take care of the included battery pack, plus the ESC/BEC first. Armed with a new soldering iron tip, and… more »

Got a HUGE box in today from Northeast Sailplane Products. My Omega 2.5 has arrived. Here's some photos from the unboxing: Fuselage. Gel-coated fiberglass. The assembled V-tail. SUPER light! The wing panels. Again, amazingly… more »

Ok, so, go figure, I changed my mind on a plane! Amazing eh? But at least this time I did it BEFORE I bought it! I decided against the Taylorcraft for various reasons and instead ordered (from the LHS, so I will have it tomorrow) a Great Planes Fokker… more »

Yeah, going back to work after a week off SUCKS. Suck suck suckity suck. Anyway. I'll be getting a new Mini Ultra Stick in the air this week -- this time with the full quad flap setup for all kinds of fun tricks. Should be fun. It'd be in the air… more »

Haven't had a chance to write in several days; was a busy 3-day weekend for us. Started by taking Friday off to attend Hoosier Hills Fiber Arts Festival. It was a fun road trip, and a lot of fun wandering around and seeing all the ... stuff ... for… more »

That little bit of comedy gold above is courtesy of Chad. :D Anyway, it's true. The Helios is pure win. It's beautiful, big, and flies like an arrow with a rocket bolted to it: super straight and FAST! It's over-propped currently, due to our misint… more »

Weather's been wonky lately, so not a huge amount of flying going on. Typical Midwest Spring weather. It'll threaten rain all day, rain off and on for 5 minutes at a time... makes flying a pain. But I have gotten several flying trips in. Flown mostl… more »

So, I hadn't flown at all this week, due to stupid random off-and-on rain/thunderstorms typical of Spring in Indiana. There were 15-20 mph constant winds. And, it was training night at the field. But flying had to happen! So I drug out my war-battere… more »

Yesterday was an amazing day for flying. Clear, warm, and max 1 mph winds! And paradoxically, very few people were out flying! I got in 6 flights in a row. 1 on my MUS, 2 on the 40" Edge, and 3 on the SHP. I'm getting really comfortable with that SH… more »

Did a little more on my Simitar build last night. Well, progress-wise it was a little, but time-wise it was 3 hours! Every time I work on the build, I get it hammered further into my head "building planes takes a long damn time!!!!!". It's bizarre to… more »

The training wheels are off my SHP, or at least that's how it feels. I was a little nervous about how it would handle with the full 3D arms and throws, especially after what happened during the maiden flight with that setup. But, wow, yeah, I was nervo… more »

The Wabash river is at around 20', and the North flying field floods out at about 14', so, yeah, it's long gone. :D South field is available of course, but it has its own set of issues. It can be totally calm or near-calm in town, and you go out to tha… more »

... in judging the Slick as "not a plane for me". The landing gear was repaired, and the thing was sitting there, able to be flown. So it was flown. On high rates. A tad tail heavy. And wow. It was nice. :D I even did some new maneuvers on it --… more »

Well, I maidened the Slick. It didn't go so well, and I'm not sure I liked its flying characteristics. I'm a "transitional" pilot -- able to fly normal aerobatics and very comfortable doing so, but I'm just baaaaarely moving towards learning 3D. I'm v… more »

Got the 3DHS Slick in, took it over to The Shop(tm) and, well, it's nearly ready to maiden. The weather needs to cooperate. Thunderstorms and 20mph winds supposedly today, so that's Right Out. Tomorrow, maybe. Friday I've got something else scheduled… more »

Got in a couple more flights last night on my SHP. Getting very comfortable with the plane, and landings are definitely getting better. Not flipping it on landing anymore. The SHP lands quite a bit differently from other planes I'm used to, so it's ta… more »

So, there I was, wondering if the hundreds of rabid fans were just dead wrong about the SHP being an awesome airplane. I saw a little of it, with the big 3700mah pack in there; it balanced with that. But that pack is 330g, vs. 184g of the ~2220mah pack… more »

Well, I got 2 flights on the SHP on Saturday. The first, out at the club's North field, got cut a little sort by impending floodwaters. Sigh. It went fairly well, much better than the maiden. It was still flying very tail heavy but not quite so b… more »

Well, the SHP finally had it's maiden flight on Wednesday. It survived the flight, but it was certainly a challenge to get it back down safely. I thought I had it all setup perfectly, according to the infamous Extra SHP Sport Setup, with greatly reduce… more »

Well, after an annoying soldering job, the SHP is very nearly ready for a maiden flight. The speed control I'm using (a Castle Creations TB-54) had apparently been used, even though I bought it as new. Someone had apparently pulled the red wire out of… more »

Well, I didn't get to fly, due to insanely chaotic winds, but I did take a road trip to the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) headquarters and museum in Muncie. It's about a 120 mile trip and was well worth it! The museum has a huge collection of mo… more »

So my 3DHS Extra SHP came yesterday and I went over to my friend Chad's house to work on it. The only word is ... "wow"! It comes triple boxed, very secure. Pulling the parts out of the box, I saw that the photos of it don't do it justice! The coveri… more »

With the weather finally looking like it's going to be steadily good, it's becoming flying season! Hopefully I can get in a lot of flying this season, and advance my skills to the point where I can fly some of the more advanced maneuvers, and move into… more »

Yup, it's a pile of wood. And some electronics. Actually, it's a Stevens Aero Edge 540 kit. That pile of laser-cut wood will eventually become an R/C airplane, and a pretty nice one at that. The electronics include an E10-12 motor and Z-45 speed… more »