January to April
January 12
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January 19
Another busy Friday evening at the gym this week, with RC models of all types enjoying the warm and dry indoor airspace. It was great to see JP joining us this week, and look forward to seeing him next time! Apparently, he got some stick time on one of George’s quads.
Chris brought a box full of freeflight Peanut Scale models, and with the help of Tom, Vanessa, and Greg Masters, we made a video!
Click on this link to view on YouTube >>> Indoor free flight – Peanut scale!
(photos by Peter Smith)
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January 26
This week, we had no less than FOUR of the new E-Flite Vapor Lite HPs flying together – along with a pair of night Vapors and an Ember II. It was quite a sight!
Reviews are “mixed” on this latest Vapor iteration. It’s very agile, with plenty of power for hovering, loops, etc.. However, the airframe is rather flimsy, and tends to distort at “higher” speeds (it’s all relative, folks… ) with unpredictable results. Prop shaft is fragile, landing gear is very fragile!
Two videos this week:
Freeflight – Peanut scale Fleet Canuck
February 9
A busy evening again this week, after a break in the action last Friday (Feb 2).
Earl brought his new (Peanut) freeflight scale model of the rare “J-2” Piper Cub, but still has some trimming “issues”. Sadly, we didn’t get a photo.
This week’s video features Chris’ Peanut scale Stinson 108-1 and his new Piper Vagabond being expertly launched by Earl & Gilbert. Thanks guys!
February 16
February 23
A small group this week, but we were too busy flying to take any pictures.
Two new rubber powered freeflight models made their appearance this week: Greg Farish’s “Gym Dandy” and Earl Turner’s peanut scale Piper J-2. Click these links for the videos!:
Indoor free flight – Gym Dandy fly-off
Indoor free flight – Peanut scale Piper J-2
March 2 – Something new, something old…
This season, we’ve been yearning for something “new and different” – and it seems we’ve now found both – at opposite ends of the technology scale!
Airbug (hovercraft) racing was once a regular activity at our indoor sessions, but Airbugs are a little too speedy and difficult to control for the smaller gym at Grandview. Enter the Tiny Whoover! This micro sized hovercraft uses salvaged parts from an “Inductrix” or “Tiny Whoop” together with a wide variety of alternate designs & materials for the “hull” – including kits, scratch built & 3D printed. The above photo includes Chris’ “foamie” kit from DroneJunkie (centre) flanked by a pair of 3D printed versions by George. These little speedsters are a hoot to drive, very manoeuvrable (including reverse), and well suited for the small gym. More kits are on the way, and little doubt there will be Tiny Whoover racing (soccer?) in our future!
The Tiny Whoover uses the latest in high tech micro electronics – four channels, gyroscopic stability, and high efficiency coreless motors. When aeromodelling got its start over a century ago, things were a bit simpler – a few sticks of wood, tissue paper, and a rubber band – and you were flying!
Simple rubber powered freeflight models of this type have flown at our indoor flying sessions from time to time, but this season, the added challenge (and fun!) of building and flying freeflight models seems to be catching on!
Aside from growing interest among more “seasoned” modellers, it was a pleasure again this week to see such enthusiasm by our youngest flyers – as captured in Peter’s photos (below).
Click on the images below to enlarge and read the captions.
(photos below by Peter Smith)
March 9
Click here for this weeks video: free flight – Prototype “Fledgling” test flight
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March 23
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April 6 – Spot landing contest with a twist…
(photo by C. Moes)
This week we had our first ever indoor spot landing contest – with a twist! A five dollar bill was placed on the “spot” at the centre of the gym and the plane that stops closest to the cash would be the winner!
So here’s where the “twist” comes in… Seven pilots participated (George, Tom, Vanessa, Peter, Jack, Graham, and Greg F.) by launching rubber powered freeflight planes! Thus, the proximity to the spot at the end of the flight is purely a matter of luck! Four of the planes were flown by their builders, the others were “proxy flown”. It was quite a sight to see 7 planes in the air at once – even if only for a short while. And the winner? Graham Kirk with his “Fledgling”.
Click on the images below to enlarge and read the captions.
(photos by Peter Smith)
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April 13 – Back to basics
It’s been an absolute pleasure this season to have several young aeromodellers join us for our weekly indoor flying sessions. All became adept indoor R/C pilots – both quadcopters and fixed wing – flying modern marvels of foam, carbon fibre, and high tech electronic wizardry.
But nothing quite compares with the pleasure of flying something you’ve made with your own hands – and no better way to learn the basics of model aerodynamics. This season, three of our youngest flyers all built and flew their own models – and oh… what fun we had!
As this season draws to a close, we look forward to flying with these youngsters again in the fall, with dreams of bigger and better models in the future!
Click on the images below to enlarge and read the captions.
(photos by Peter Smith)
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April 27
Our final indoor flying adventure of the season. Thanks for the donuts, Tom!
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