Sunday, September 11, 2016

Astron Skydart II

And finished!

Easy build - go slow and make sure everything fits correctly. 

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Skydart.

Almost ready for paint. Balsa is sealed (wow, that's a lot of balsa). Need a good sanding with 320 grit and another run of sanding sealer. More sanding and then off to the paint shop. 

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Day off...

Took the day off from building today. And also from work. 

Got quite a bit done outside, which is remarkable since it was sooooo hot out today. 

1) new stone steps for the front porch
2) repaired 3 cracks in the concrete porch and driveway. 
3) painted the shed door
4) took all the bottles back for recycling. Made enough money in returns to buy a sub for lunch. 
5) cleaned the main sewer line
6) cleaned the hobby shed. 

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Another...

Apparently I'm in a building mood this month. This is the Astron Skydart II. 
Lots of balsa in this kit. Not the best quality (uneven, pretty rough surface), but not something a bit of sanding won't hurt. 

Monday, September 5, 2016

Some rockets...

Cosmic Interceptor. Now in white primer. 

Mouse38 and Hyper-Bat


Hyper Bat's decals were not so good...
Date was stamped right on the word 'Bat'


Side project...

Side project- boy has been practicing his slap shot. Unfortunately his aim needs work as well. He put about a dozen holes in the shed siding befor I put an extension on his hockey net. Today, I replaced the siding. A friend with a large truck picked up a box of siding from Home Depot for me a few weeks ago. 

Took about 7 hours to redo the front. Enough siding is left over to side my hobby shed once I'm ready to start that project. 

I have been working on rockets as well...

Sunday, July 24, 2016

MARS Club launch - July 24, 2016

Great day in Geneseo with the MARS club.  No pictures or video (DOH!).
14 flights, 1 damaged.

First rack:
Estes Skywriter (Child #3) on A8-3 - perfect flight
Estes Blue Ninja (Child #2) on C11-3 - perfect flight
Estes Super Neon XL on E12-4 - excellent boost but angled too far toward the soybean field - recovered with no damage.

Second rack:
Estes Code Red (Child #3) on B6-4 - perfect flight but retainer is wearing out
Estes Baby Bertha (Child #2) on A8-3 - perfect flight
Estes Asteroid Hunter on C6-3 - nice flight, one parachute a bit singed.

Third rack:
Estes Der Red Max on A8-3 - not a high enough boost.  parachute came out right before impact, no damage
Estes Leviathan on Aerotech DMS G125-8.  Flew to approximately 1700 ft at 335 MPH (Altimeter 3).  Chute release worked, but seemed a little low.  Landed deep into the soybeans, recovered with no damage.

The rest (meaning I forgot when these flew)
Estes X-Wing on C6-3.  Shock cord burn through at apogee - nose cone came down on parachute (long drift into the soybeans...) Rest of rocket impacted near LCO - cracked wing and destroyed engine mount.  Will fix wing, but no more flights.
Fliskits Corona 2 on C6-0 - A8-5.  Beautiful 2 stage flight.
Estes Blue Ninja on D12-5 - Perfect.
Pool Noodle on C11-3 - Also Perfect!
Estes Ricochet on B6-4 -perfect
Estes Venus Probe on expired C5-3 - nice flight, but dowel hinge pin fell out, leaving one leg dangling.  Booster landed right in front of LCO, lander actually hit the pad and never touched the ground!



Saturday, March 26, 2016

First post of 2016...

Life and work have taken over for awhile... 

Child #1 has been playing field hockey. 
Child #2 just made a hockey peewee tier 3 travel team. 
Child #3 has been learning hockey and playing on a mite team. 

Things completed since the last update? A grand total of 0.  Yes, zero. 

Things in progress... A few. 

New fuselage for the foam Pirhana. 
Primer on the Wizards that have been sitting here for a few years. 

Super Neon XL - almost ready for paint

Top Flite Mini Contender ARF - starting assembly.