Youngster's first flight on Flying Clown

Here is my 11 year old son Chris with the Flying Clown he built from Tom Dixon plans and a kit of parts I cut for him. (Solid LE, no spars) He built the whole structure, but had some help with the final finishing, as he doesn't tolerate dope fumes very well. He uses a steel fin Fox 15 he bought at a swap meet in Palm Bay. He made his first flight with it Sunday, and loved it! Its his first time flying anything bigger than 1/2As.

My wife flew our Ringmaster, too, for the first time in 15 years!

Excellent job, Chris. And congratulations on your first flights. Here's looking forward to many more.

Ted Fancher

p.s. don't let Larry Fernandez anywhere near your Fox .15 (inside joke!)

LAST EDITED ON May-09-06 AT 02:27 PM (CST)
 
Good for you!!! And here's to many more!! If you're anything like me or allot of the other old guys around here, you've started out on a lifelong love affair. Great job on the plane too!

One little comment though. In the pictures it looks like the wing is warped. Especially the outboard wing which looks washed out,(trailing edge twisted up). Check it out and straighten it with heat while you would the warp in the opposite direction.

LAST EDITED ON May-09-06 AT 10:19 PM (CST)
 
That's not a warp. Looks like distortion due to camera angle.

Now: Note the wing structure. THAT'S how a Flying Clown is supposed to look.

Nice job, Chris ... stick with it. (And yes, don't let Larry F. anywhere near that Fox .15!)

Well Mike, it shows up in both pix

What do you say, John? Was the outboard wing low during flight?

It's Chris here.

The wing looks quite straight to my Dad and I, though it certainly looks warped a lot in the picture, due to the cheap camera. I know about wash in and wash out because of free flight stuff. My Dad was inside the circle with me when we flew it, so we haven't seen if the tip is a little low yet, and it could be low from extra tip weight anyway. My Dad tells me he'll have to fly it upside down to compare with right side up, to be sure that no warp crept in there. We'll have to wait until the 52 foot lines arrive, because Dad says that the 60 footers we used were a bit too long for aerobatics with this plane.

This stuff is fun!

Chris:)

Hi Chris,

Well I'm certainly glad to hear that, I won't talk about your wing anymore!

So you fly some FF too? Great, you'll find allot of your FF skills and knowledge will help you in Stunt.

John,

Congrats to you and your son Chris. I still remember only a few years ago my similar aged boy leaping in the air after his first wingover.

Way to go Chris. Hope to see you flying it at our field on Sunday.

John, I need to talk to you about mini sticks and parlor planes. Hope to see you Sunday if Mother Nature allows us to fly and the fires will let me get away from work for a while.

Very cool-congrats to all!