Controls

Gosh, I've done this a hundred differnt ways, it seems. Yea, you can put a hatch in the bottom. I did that on the yellow plane Dave is flying. It had a sort of slider block that you could get to with a 4-40 wrench from the bottom. Worked fine, but it was a pain to play with. I've tried a removeable canopy with the controls below. Caused a problem with fuse stiffness, though. Could be done better, I guess. The best solution is to have the wing removable. They you can play with whatever you want. That's the way I'm going on the next plane.

Hey Scott!

I'm just about to start finishing my current project. I'm really starting to wish I'd put in some sort of adjustment at the flap horn. I'm just not happy with the ratios, but there is adjustment at the elevator. Should be enough.

I'm just starting a rendition of Pat's Epiphany here shortly. It has a removeable wing so getting to any adjustment won't be a problem.

Still don't know what I'm going to power it with.

I always tell people, "If you are still breaking props, then stick with wooden ones. But if you are beyond that stage, then the carbon fiber props will give you that little extra edge. Same with the control hardware we have been discussing. We have some real good stuff that is of excellent quality and will last through several planes even if you put a thousand flights on them before you retire them into the ground. Dan's stuff, on the other hand, costs two to three times as much. But the quality and the weight savings (maybe only a quarter of an ounce) will be worth it to some people. That's where you need to make your decisions as to what's best for you.

(Four planes in a year? And you still have time to fly? I can understand burning 44 gallons of fuel, but building four quality planes in a year? It sounds like something Casale would do in his hayday.)

Scott must listen pretty well. He's understating/underestimating his own capabilities. I would estimate that he would be a favorite to win Advanced at the NATS any year, and on the cusp of qualifying in Open. He also is an excellent developer and analyzer, with an open minded approach that's typical of those of use inspired by Walker and Fancher. I daresay we should be listening to him in some areas.

Scott is well known in the Northwest as one of those guys that fit into the "not well known nationally because Portland is 2500 miles from Muncie" category. There are a goodly number of up-and-comers out this way that aren't well known/respected nationally for the simple reason that the NATS are now permanently stationed in Indiana. While this may be close to the population center of the US, it's still a heck of a trip from the West Coast.

On the subject of Paul, Ted, yourself, I think it is one of the great things about this hobby that people who are successful are willing to share their "secrets". There really are no secrets because you do share. If I ask you how you make your tank, you will tell me. And it is one of the best tank designs I have seen. It is logical. It works. And it solved a problem in Matt's '99 plane where a stock tank just didn't work. (Still don't know why, but yours did.) Windy noticed that Matt had too much overhang on his handle. Windy loaned Matt one of his, and, sure enough, it made a difference. It was one of those things we never thought about. Ted had a home made handle that is light and responsive. He not only shared the design with us, he even drew up a pattern so we could copy it. Paul shared his flow chart on trimming with the world. Al Rabe did massive amounts of testing on various elements of the airplane and he is always willing to share what he has learned with others. Art Adamisin is a walking encyclopedia on technique and body movements in flying the pattern. And he is always willing to share.

Still, we all have our individual preferences and choices that we have made that have molded each person's individual style. So, in some areas, what is right for one isn't right for another. And that is where we have got to learn to pick and choose. I don't think a beginner needs to be building a pipe ship. Nor does he need to be building to a level of trying to win the concourse. And how do you change the pitch on a prop? Do you heat and twist the hub or just the tip? Or should you try to do the whole blade? Is hot water best, or should one use a heat gun? Should one have more or less pitch at the tips? Interestingly, I have heard "top ten" flyers give all answers to these questions. So sometimes it is best to listen, and then try to determine what is going to work best for you. We have a whole bunch of props that we did testing on before we finally found out what works best for us. And I can tell you, some of them just plainly didn't work. Some people don't have that luxury, however, and that's why I mentioned knitting.

I don't know anything, so I keep my mouth shut so NOOOOBODY will find out. Good policy huh?
Bigiron

I love answering questions for Scott, but he usually knows more than I do.

3 planes! I'm trying ot finish one.