Astron Skydart II

And finished!

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

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. 

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. 

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. 

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...

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!

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. 

Mystique...

It's done!!!!!

I'll retest the motor in the Spring and hopefully get this in the air where it belongs...

Mystique update - again

The wing is done!  Servos installed and centered, ailerons hinged and linked.  On to covering the rest of the fuselage and tail....

Since I made myself stop any other hobby projects (other than repairs) until the Mystique is finished, I have nothing else going on in the workshed, other than 2 Estes Wizards waiting for paint that were built 3 years ago with the Cub Scouts.

Upcoming projects will be:

Estes Mega Der Red Max (built stock)
Estes (sorta) Scion - using a Leviathan kit with extra body tube and 4 flipped fins.
Great Planes Big Stik .40
Sig Hummer (converted to electric)

Mystique update

No pictures, but the ailerons have been installed. I ended up using Great Planes CA hinges. Then I realized since I didn't use the single servo/torque rod setup, that i needed to acquire control rods and horns...  Off to Field's!

And I need to stop dinging the covering while I work... Too many patches on a new wing...

Mystique update

Wing is covered!!!  Not the neatest job, but not bad for the first time in a long while. I may add some yellow trim as well. 

Mystique

Not bad for the first time covering in over 20 years...  Bottom half of the wing is basically done. Next time, better wingtip construction. I had to add balsa blocks to the top half of the wingtip. 

Aileron servos and wires are also installed. Hoping to complete the wing on Monday. 

Mystique

The mystique has been sitting unfinished for about 2 years now. I pulled it out today and actually started covering it

The goal is to have it ready to fly in the spring. 

Launch 9/5

Low power only for me at the September MARS launch. Flew the Super Big Bertha twice - once on 2 C6-3, once on an Aerotech E15-4w. 

Orbital Transport had its first flight on a B6-4 (glider needs nose weight).  

Augie II flew on a B6-0/A8-5 combo. 

The pool noodle flew on a C11-3. Parachute didn't fully deploy and the thing bounced about 10 feet up. The internal body tube didn't survive...  Replacement has been ordered. 

R2-D2 flew on a C6-3. Skywriter flew on an A8-3. 

It was very hot and humid, but it was a good time. 

Launch 8/22/15

I certified High Power Level 1 at the MARS August 22 launch. The rocket was a LOC Caliber ISP on an Aerotech H115DM-8. And there was video from onboard the rocket. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=chiAuNgnHCA

Also flown were the Super Big Bertha on 2-C6-3 motors, Stormcaster on C11-3, Blue Ninja on C11-3, Code Red on B6-4, Astron Spaceman on A8-3, Star dart on 1/2A6-2, Up Cup on B6-2, and a crazy looping flight from the Astron Invader on a B4-2. 

808 Camera video

Finally got some video from my 808 keychain camera.  Strapped to the wing of the Blue Baby 33" at Gratwick Park, North Tonawanda NY.

Niagara Falls Airshow

I took a break from building a bunch of easy kits to go the Niagara Falls Airshow with the family. Great show by the Thunderbirds as usual. 

Next projects...

I'm going to take a break from big and/or complex kits for a while. I'll build a few easy kits and try to get that airplane covered. 

Winter projects are done!!!!

Winter 2014-2015 builds are complete. Saturn V, LOC Caliber ISP, Asteroid Hunter, Ventris.  I also built a quest Novia and a dozen Estes Up Aerospace kits for siblings at scout launches.