World Champs...Snap Pow

Boy reporter reporting in to the forum.

Day one, Monday, 6/28. Arrived at 1:00 pm. At the flying field by 4:00 pm. Windy....Windy...Flew till I was totally out of it from 3 days of driving and then wrestling with my plane.

Day two. Flew in the morning and lasted until around noon. Back out at 5:00 pm for some more flying. Just starting to get it all together, after rest and clearing my head.

Day three. Flew in the morning again. The first two flights were so good, I commented to my wife (Shal) how I was just burning up the equipment. OOPS...Big mistake. Don't say things like that. Four flights later the plane EXPLODED in the down leg of the hourglass. It was in a hundred pieces before it hit the ground. Not sure exactly what went wrong, but this plane vibrated more than the other two Mustangs, and being one piece construction, was lighter. With a 72 and being 62 ounces, it may have been too light for that power! My guess is that the fuselage failed near the center of the wing and caused the wing to fold as well. All the control system is intact as well as all the control surfaces being attached. No failed lines or leadouts to blame.

Day three continued. After the pieces were picked up, it was back to home (well, the Signature Inn for 3 weeks) and assembled the #1 backup. Then back out to the field...All day....In the heat....No fun...By the time I was "finished" it was flying well, but not as well as the lost plane.

Day four. Back to the field (on the grass so I could be by myself to maximize my flying time) and pound in more flights. Finally got the motor working correctly (I lost EVERYTHING in the #1 crash), the trim close and was starting to concentrate on the pattern. Siesta time. Back after the siesta, and with one other trim change I thought of while resting. Finally, it is now almost indistinguishable from the lost plane. Flew a handful in the evening and am happy.

Ted arrived 20 minutes after the BANG. His equipment is working well. There are amazingly few other people that have arrived early. It is still not a problem to fly as much as you want.

Stay tuned...We'll report in later.

Hi Paul! Do me a favor if you see Gearld Shamp tell him Bob Storick said Hi. Thanks

LAST EDITED ON Jul-01-04 AT 10:53 PM (CDT)
 
can't wait to hear more. grandma told me about this, and some other site which is good because mothers cell phone is really choppy. good luck father!!

edit: uhmm. .i guess you are always loged in on here so it posted under your name. sorry about that! how do i get out of it??

k

Paul,

sounds like you shed a prop blade. that would account for the virtual explosion of the airplane.

Maybe log out and then log back in as yourself. You behave yourself while your folks are gone.

K:

That's what cookies do--keep you logged in if you wish.

Log out, re-log in to change accounts.

Paul:

Condolences on the lost ship.

And huge thanks for taking the time while training for the Worlds to drop us a note at the forum. Miss America fans everywhere are cheering for you.

You are all set now for a great come from behind a bit of adversity win!!!

Go.

Cy.

That is a shame to hear. Please don't tell me you lost your "72". 62 oz. sounds really light for a "banger" like the "Big Block." You can see your past Worlds experience coming through by having a backup ready to go. Paul, you may want to consider going to alternative materials in the future like carbon fiber. Windy's "Miss Ashley" fuselage carbon fiber variant was 3 oz lighter then the balsa version and according to him, was 12X stronger.

Paul, Thanks for the up-date. So SORRY to hear those words "Little Pieces". Now you go get em and make some history!

Scott(not Jimmy Olson)Riese

As I have said many times, Paul is truly a class act.

Here he is having blown up first-tier model, thrashing to get one of two back-up models working, and he takes time to come on here and give us the real story. Not rumors and truemors and did-you-hears which would keep all of us wondering what had really happened.

Incidentally, I have heard Paul mutter a "I'm just wearing out the equipment now" line going back maybe a month and a half so early was now-crashed model completed, thanks in large part to a lot of really good flying weather this year, and a **dedicated** practice regimen.

As I told a good friend yesterday morning when being notified of this setback in Paul's program, I still strongly resist tagging the crash of a model aircraft as a "tragedy," but this certainly gets closer to true meaning of the word.

Paul, go for it! And remember my offer of any and all help which might be needed on the home front, even if I really don't want to mow your grass. (Although I would, of course.)

And a tip for all concerned about Paul's performance in upcoming Big Time contests: Losing the 2004 model will only cause him to bear down even harder. Count on it...

"Paul, you may want to consider going to alternative materials in the future like carbon fiber. Windy's "Miss Ashley" fuselage carbon fiber variant was 3 oz lighter then the balsa version and according to him, was 12X stronger. "

Now you're talkin'.

LAST EDITED ON Jul-02-04 AT 12:56 PM (CDT)
 
hello!!!

Yes, I heard! But Ma's cell phone is so choppy...I couldn't understand her last time we talked.

Hope everything is okay! I took my first test today...hopefully it will be ok.

Happy 4th of July and a continuing good luck!

Love you!

Alaina

Paul,

Man, tough to hear. But I really liked the #2 model and I'm sure it will be a superior performer...to say nothing of the superior pilot on the handle.

Good luck. We're all cheering for you back home!!

What, Paul wearing out equipment. When I was last down at his house, about the time final construction on the ill-fated model was complete, I noticed 33 gal. of Powermaster 20/20 in the corner. He commented that he thought he had enough to get him through the WC and the Nats. And he wasn't kidding. Lets see, 33 gal at 5 oz. per flight means around 850 flights.
Good luck Paul.

>Paul, you may want to consider going to alternative materials in the future like carbon fiber. Windy's "Miss Ashley" fuselage carbon fiber variant was 3 oz lighter then the balsa version and according to him, was 12X stronger.
>Milton Graham\Proparc

Minor snip...

We may want to consider a means of more clearly identifying comments made in jest.

I am sure that Mr. Graham would have used a smiley face had he been jesting.

Hey Paul, Thanks for the update, we'er all pulling for you, I hate when a "child" dies. Sorry to hear about your plane. That element of destruction may be what keeps us keeping on. Kind of like skydiving, there is always the possiblity the chute won't open, at least your feet are still on the ground. Jim Johnson

>>Paul, you may want to consider going to alternative materials in the future like carbon fiber. Windy's "Miss Ashley" fuselage carbon fiber variant was 3 oz lighter then the balsa version and according to him, was 12X stronger.
>>Milton Graham\Proparc
>
>Minor snip...
>
>We may want to consider a means of more clearly identifying
>comments made in jest.
>
>Dan

No jest
Obviously, just going to "alternative materials" in and of itself will not produce a superior structure, but since the thread was directed to Paul Walker, he already knows that.

>Ted arrived 20 minutes after the BANG. His equipment is
>working well. There are amazingly few other people that have
>arrived early. It is still not a problem to fly as much as
>you want.
>
>Stay tuned...We'll report in later.

I am very PROUD to have PAul, Ted and Billy representing the USA.

Who could ask for more dedication, professionalism, and will to win?

Go get 'em boys!!! Kill!!!

"Zilla.....methinks Robbie Gruber will amaze some.....

I'm looking forward to some Atz Ice Cream.

See Ya

Mr. Peabody:

Atz Ice Cream . . . . do tell.

Rick Campbell

What was the name of the ice cream place in Fort Wayne where all the Rocket people used to congregate after the contests?

>"Zilla.....methinks Robbie Gruber will amaze some.....
>
>I'm looking forward to some Atz Ice Cream.
>
>See Ya
>
>Peabody

Oops, sorry...

Rob Gruber is very amazing.

Cheer up, Paul.

You're not the only guy who's had a bad time on a date with Miss America.

http://www.warbirdaeropress.com/articles/MissAMayday/MissAMayday.htm

Cy.

Thanks CY...great site

Thanks for the article Cy, It just reminds me of what I like about airplanes, especially the warbirds. Air speed, geometery, props, style, engineering, and courage. All wraped up into one neat package of which a fraction of it we get in our hobby...

SoH (Disclaimer: no spell check)

The article underscores what I value most in an airplane--reliability.

Air racing is enough fun without things coming apart while you're trying to find the line.

But the only totally perfectly reliable airplane is the one you keep in the hangar and never fly--and where's the fun in that?

Cy

LAST EDITED ON Jul-06-04 AT 08:24 AM (CDT) by LNeumann (admin)
 
I talked to my father today, his first offical flight is Wednesday!! Yay father, good luck!! He said his number 2 plane is running better than ever. :]

And yes Mr. Rush, I am behaving.

I love you mother and father, good luck!

Kristen

:D good luck!!!

(i got a 3.6 on my essay...)