Small Setback

I know I was planning to work on landing accuracy today, but I succumbed to peer pressure from Bill and changed the controls on my radio to make more sense so in reality I had to learn it all over again. I had my radio all torn apart and all the wires disconnected. I was kind of worried I wouldn't get it put back together right or break something. I picked up the new controls a lot quicker though and I was really rough on the copter. I'm still not as good as I was with the old controls, but I am close. A couple of more flights and I think I will be ready to start landing accuracy training again. I might be running into some problems with one of my servos though so I will have to keep my eye on that.

Bus ride and a hair cut

I got a haircut today and because of the bus ride, it took almost 4 hours to eat lunch and get my haircut. I flew my copter tonight even though the wind was a little on the strong side. I was hovering at head height and only crashed a couple of times (which I will blame on the wind). I found a board and tomorrow I will work on my accuracy by trying to land on it. After I get good at that, I will elevate the board to make things more interesting.

Best Flight Yet!

Today's flight was great. Last night I went out with a flashlight to find the piece I lost. It was a bearing the size of a pea and the whole area is scattered with rocks about the size of a pea. After saying a prayer and diligently looking I found it about 40 feet from the crash site. I went out with a full charge and hovered for over a minute at a time and didn't crash once. I was able to run out the whole battery without a significant negative event. Just as I was getting brave and was ready to hover a little higher, the battery power was getting low and I didn't have the power left to get any significant altitude. I'm able to keep it consistantly in a 10 ft square now and will start working on accurate landings soon.

New and Used

by Jonathan Vance

When I peeled away the plastic,
The cover was smooth and clean.
The pages were crisp, like an apple,
And the gilded edges gleamed.
The binding crackled as
I opened the pages;
The first breath of a babe,
Waking up from the ages.
The magnificent tome was unblemished.
And wouldn’t be useful till tarnished.
Years later,
The cover was battered,
And within it,
The pages were tattered.
Any one leaf
Would meet your gaze
With a flood of colors
Like the map to a maze.
Each little nugget
I’d found in my quest,
Had been marked and noted,
Then put to the test.
This book had a price, years ago.
Its value now? You cannot know.


A. Jonathan Vance, “New and Used,” New Era, Aug. 1996, 24

BOOM!

The helicopter is still in one piece but it went out of control today. I was doing great and all of a sudden the little guy went down hard. The tail rotor came flying off and I lost a little bearing that is required to stabilize the shaft that the tailrotor spins on. I couldn't find it anywhere, but I will look again tomorrow and then will try to fabricate something if I can't find it. I will probably order some spares. Hopefully I'll get it flying again soon.

Kerry's 1st Purple Heart

I found this article and entire site pretty interesting. I'm not really for or against the guy at this point. I am trying to keep an open mind and wait to see the debates before I make any final decision. The site has to do with the Officer's that served with him in Vietnam and for the most part, they just don't like him because of the things he said about the war and the activities of the unit (which they claim are not true and the picture here shows attitudes contrary to the pictures Kerry described.) and they also claim that he didn't follow orders very well. I am trying not to fault the guy for leaving Vietnam the way he did because if I had a chance to come home to my family (especially a chance given because I was wounded 3 times already) I would probably take it, but I am not planning on getting into politics either. I don't know that I would want a Commander in Chief that gets out when the going gets tough and not see a job through.

Wind is the Enemy

Flight five didn't go well. I learned another lesson today.

The helicopter is very sensitive to wind

I was doing great for about 3 minutes and had the helicopter up to 10 feet on accident. Then I had a big crash, caused by the wind, and the tailrotor came flying off and I had to find several very small pieces. I was able to find them all with Bill's help and fixed it on the spot. I actually tried once more before finally deciding it was to windy and would have to wait on account of weather.

Near Disaster

Flight number three almost ended in disaster. Halfway through the battery life, one of the major input control pieces came loose which caused the helicopter to do its own thing. I didn't realize it happened though and I kept trying anyways. Finally after several rough landings I looked a little closer and noticed the loose piece. After a repair involving a small ziptie and having to adjust control rods to level out the rotor head, the problem was solved and flight four started. Flight four went great, but was ended early because of lack of light. I was hovering for over 30 seconds at a time and had the helicopter as high as my head a few times. I am somewhat concerned that the piece that came loose today was slightly damaged or at least made weak. I hope I can keep it flying quite a bit longer before needing major repairs.