Airplanes3

And so, I began to finish a plane that I had begun building many years before.   It was a Mini-Fledgling kit that I purchased sometime in the 1980's and built to near completion before abandoning the project.  I acquired a Tower 4-channel radio because the plane was designed for aileron control.    Jared discovered a web site with some technical specs regarding wing loads, motor power, prop sizes, etc and we calculated that the plane would fly with an engine identical to the one we lost in the previous disaster and so I ordered a replacement motor for the Air Strike from Megatech and installed it in the Mini-Fledgling.  

While I was finishing construction of the Mini-Fledgling, Jared built a kit that I had purchased back in the 1960's, a Carl Goldberg Viking free-flight model.   He bought an electric motor for it, using the specs derived from the web site mentioned above, and adapted the plane for RC control.   We made our first attempt one early spring day at a site west of here, where there were few trees and lots of open space.   But once again, we failed to achieve flight with either aircraft, due to small mistakes.   In my case, I discovered that the batteries I had chosen for the Mini-Fledgling were not big enough for the motor and the Electronic speed control promptly cut it off almost immediately after it began to turn over.   In Jared's case, the gear box and prop combination he had selected were not powerful enough to lift the Viking into the air from a hand launch.   We tried several times and the plane simply would not achieve sufficient air speed to fly before hitting the ground.

Back to the drawing board.....I replaced the battery in the Mini-Fledgling, Jared struggled with a different prop in the Viking, added a landing gear set of wheels, and we made another attempt at the model airport in town.    This time, although the Viking failed again to rise into the air, the Mini-Fledgling took off beautifully and flew around the south end of the runway toward us.   But for some unexplained reason, the plane dipped its right wing and Jared was unable to compensate with his aileron control and so he cut the motor and the plane nosedived into the ground.   The plane now sits on my hobby table needing repairs.    Page 4

Jared and the Mini-Fledgling	The Viking