Weedwackers Aero Squadron Field Visit

The other weekend I visited the Weedwackers Areo Squadron field in Lakeside CA.  This field is about a 30 minute drive from my house, which is a little further than the Sea World field.

The flight line is a lot shorter than at Sea World, but at least there's a paved runway!  However, ground below the flight area has a road and rings of fences.  If you crash out there it will be a pain to get the model back.  Also, there really isn't a dedicated heli pad and flight area.  You would need to fly from the main runway.

However, this club isn't as busy as Sea World in the morning, so 1 pilot can fly at a time comfortably.  The pit area is also shaded, which Sea World could really use.

I'm not sure if I should join this club for next year though.  I really like the paved runway and shaded pit area, but I'm skeptical about the flight area and all the fences and road.  These make it difficult to retrieve your model if you crash.

Flight line

Runway

I found the above pics on Facebook from a public post about the field, since while I was there I forgot to take some pics.  Doh!

I have another field to check out before next year, Chollas RC Flyers, near Lemon Grove.  This field also has a paved runway and shaded pit area, but also has a helipad and dedicated flight area!

New AS3X Telemetry Receiver!

Next month Spektrum is releasing a new AS3X gyro telemetry receiver with SAFE!  SAFE is Spektrum's version of self-leveling, which turns the aircraft right side up and levels it when switched on.  It also provides bank angle limiting, which makes it easier for beginners to learn how to fly.

To my knowledge, this is the first Spektrum receiver to be sold with SAFE!  The only way to previously get this feature was to buy a BNF aircraft with a SAFE enabled gyro receiver.  I plan to replace the AS3X gyro receiver currently in my P51 mustang with this one to enable SAFE and telemetry!

Since this receiver has a built in XBUS telemetry port, I can add a current sensor!  This sensor can measure the remaining capacity of the battery and provide a warning when it's time to land!  No more timers!  This is a more accurate way to know when to land, since depending on how I fly, I can stay up between 5-7 minutes based on how much full throttle I use during the flight.  With a current sensor I can always land with a set capacity remaining in the battery.

Went plane flying at the field again!

After doing some laundry in the morning while charging my batteries, I headed out to the field for some afternoon flying around 2:30 pm, arriving right at 3 pm.  There were some other people there this time, but they weren't flying.  They were all looking at some other member's plane?

I brought out the P51 and Habu micro jet.  I wanted to try using the flaps to take off and land on the P51 and just fly the Habu around some.  Well I had way too much elevator mixed in with the flaps and as soon as the tail lifted off, the plane nosed over and the prop hit the ground!  I lowered the elevator mix and tried again a few more times, but still found it way easier to land without using flaps?  For the rest of the session I didn't use the flaps, as with the wind it was really difficult to hold a steady descent.  Maybe I'll try it again next time, but after the wind dies down?

I also need to add some down elevator trim on both the P51 and Habu.  Flying into the wind I need to hold down elevator on both to just maintain a level flight path.  Also, the controls are way to sensitive on the Habu out of beginner mode.  I need to adjust the expo and use low rates to make it easier to fly.

Oh ya! I finally did a barrel roll in real life with the P51!  I’ve been doing them in the sim forever, but was always chicken to try it for real since its usually windy when I fly in the afternoon.  I got some extra altitude and rolled all the way around! 😎I think I did it like 4 times?  One time I lost orientation after exiting the roll and heading back into the wind.  Then the plane did something I wasn’t expecting and dove towards the ground!  I think I might have rolled too far and went inverted when I was thinking it should be upright!  Luckily I kept rolling and pulling up until the plane went back up into the air then I got it back under control  Whew!

New Planes to Purchase!

After flying my P51 Sunday I've gotten the bug to get new planes! LOL!  I wanted another prop driven plane with tricycle landing gear for awhile and was considering the Trojan, but it didn't have a self-leveling gyro.  But, the P39 Airacobra was released recently and has these features!  It also uses the same batteries as my P51.

I'd also like a jet (EDF) plane!  I have the UMX Habu, but I'd like a standard size one also!  The Viper has flaps, retracts, and runs on a 3300 mah 6S battery with an EC5 connector.  With spring wire landing gear I should be able to land it on the rough dirt runway at my field.  It also has a top speed near 100 mph!

I'll probably end up getting the Viper next, since I already have a prop driven plane.

Flying at SEFSD! (to use my membership here)

I finally headed to the field this past Sunday to get some flights in on my neglected P51 Mustang!  I've been wanting to go out for the last month, but something always seemed to get in the way.

The winds were blowing about 6 mph with gusts up to 10 mph, which is typical at the Sea World field in the afternoon.  I arrived to an empty field and a locked gate about 4 pm.  I used my key to let myself in and locked the gate behind me to prevent any non-members from entering the field.  I was able to get 3 flights in on the P51 and 1 on my Convergence (which I bought last year during all the Black Friday deals).

I was able to fly the P51 for about 5 min then land with about 45% capacity left.  I guess I can increase my flight time to 6 min and still land with more than 15-20% capacity left, since I was able to land in 1-2 attempts.  I was also able to land without tipping over and breaking my prop! :)

The Convergence was fun to fly also!  I was really able to get her moving fast since there is so much more space at the field!  When it was time to land I switched over to heli mode and she ballooned skyward!  I think it was up around 50-60 ft when I was in a stable hover.  I had to be careful when lowering the throttle to get down, since if I lowered it too far the plane would drop like a rock to the ground.  I flew a few circuits while slowly descending and came in for a soft landing.  Whew!

My P51 and new IX12 touchscreen radio!

My VTOL Convergence plane.