Mush Mush Mush

One of the high points of the weekend at the cabin (besides the great dinner at Matt and Denise's) was a trip to watch dog sled racing. The Sierra Nevada Dog Drivers put on their annual Chester Winter fest at Lake Almanor. Dog sled racing is not, in my opinion, a great spectator sport but we still had a great time watching the starts and finishes of several races. The races were typically a four mile race and after the start there was a lot of standing around waiting for the 20 second finish. The lag time between races seemed a little long, but the dogs seemed to really enjoy it and their owners were very willing to show off their beautiful dogs. The AKC registered dogs were down right gorgeous but it appeared to me that the cross mixed dogs performed a little better. The show dogs seemed to be in a different class than the skinny, rock hard muscled cross breeds. But what do I know about dogs? Enjoy

F-15 Eagle Maiden Flight

As promised, you will find a video below of the maiden flight of my new F15-Eagle Pusher Jet. I built this plane from a set of plans I downloaded off the internet. I started over Christmas vacation and finished it about three weeks ago and have been waiting for good weather for the maiden flight. As you can see by the ribbon on my antenna in the video it was a bit windy and wind isn't your friend when you are flying a plane for the first time. As it turned out the wind did make for an easier launch and landing and I am pleased with the flight characteristics and look forward for another flight soon. I flew it twice that day and both times it ended up with stress fractures in the foam, just in front of the motor compartment. I will strengthen the fuselage and it will be ready for another day at the field. The guy that designed the jet said that 85 mph is possible but I doubt that I got much more than 6o mph. If I ever play the lottery and win I might just get a radar gun, or maybe a real jet. (As long as I am just dreaming) Friday I am shooting Sporting Clays and then we are off to the cabin for the weekend. Enjoy

Time to Fly

After weeks of wind and rain the sun came out and the wind stopped blowing. Terry and I both have new planes waiting for their maiden flights so it was time to get back to the hobby part of my life. On Tuesday the wind was marginal for a maiden, so after a few minutes of humming and hawing, I decided to take the F-15 eagle up for a spin. I didn't finish the video tonight so watch for it tomorrow night. On Wednesday the wind was better so Terry took to the skies and flew five batteries threw his new 55" 300 Extra. The first flight was a little touchy since we set the exponential in the wrong direction and the plane was a little twitchy. Once that was corrected the plane flew beautifully and Terry brought her home without a scratch. Enjoy the video and look for the F-15 tomorrow.

It's cold at the cabin

Just a short note about the snow we are getting at the cabin. My neighbor Matt had to climb on his roof and remove the snow around his heater and stove vents. They have received about two feet in the last 24 hours. Burrrrrr. The lights went out here twice tonight, but for just a short time. I have been busy working on a new project so I haven't had much time for hobbies. I helped Terry build his new 55" Extra 300 and we plan on Tuesday for the maiden. I'll post a video if all goes well. See ya soon.