Went off to the cliff today, for the first time this season.

We had months of hot, dry, still weather, then weeks of pouring rain,
followed by days of southerly (or northerly) winds. Finally, this
weekend, a strong breeze out of the east!

I took a first flight with The Runt and as soon as it left my hand I put
in about fifteen 'clicks' of DOWN. The wind was strong and you could have flown a concrete block, if you could have got a receiver in it! Ericson
was up there with his EPP F20 Tigershark in black'n'white. He's a novice pilot, really, just got his solo wings flying powered, and hasn't done any gliding before. He was whoopin' and hollerin' and having a ball. The Tigershark looks good and flies well too. I took a few minutes to get accustomed to my cut-down wing and was soon sporting it all over the
slope.

All of a sudden, I fealt she was not responding well. I turned to make a landing approach, and... *no*control*! She went doen like an arrow,
straight and true, and smacked into a clump of sea-grapes about 100 feet
down the slope. Cut myself to ribbons on the run-away growth down there
and was an exhausted wreck truing to climb back up! Finally made it after
a rest stop about 15 feet dowhn from the top. back on the level and the
Zagi is *dead*. I whacked it a few times and put it on the charger, but
it was reading 6+ volts on the pack, so that didn't look like the problem.

Took out the EasyJet and lofted that as well. *Boy*, does that plane have *rudder*! I can be in level flight, bang the rudder over, and she turns
90 degrees sideways on to her direction of travel and stalls in a most interesting way, dropping the inside wing severely and ending up pointing backwards and rolling onto her back. Quick fingers needed to keep her off
the rocks! But if you do a pass a few feet in front of the gang, pull up
into a near-vertical and whack full rudder, she does an *incredibly*
abrupt reversal of direction, and if you catch her before she rolls over,
you can 'buzz' the crowd going the *other* way, very quickly. :-)

After a fun flight I brought her home again and spent a while with the
guys, telling and listening to lies about women/cars/booze/etc, then
returned to the Zagi. The recharge was complete, and it was no fully functional again. (?) Launched and had a great time flying in the pack.
We had six aircraft up at once, with gliders coming down and others going
up to replace them, thick and fast!

Flying with us was a home-built belonging to a guy who I recently met on
the net who built his own gliders and taught himself to fly. He'd only
flown at the cliff a couple times before (I told him where to find it) and he'd never flown in *company* before, so he was a bit dazed to have
several Zagis, a Viking, a Middle Phase, a Phase Six, an Aermacchi
whizzing about the sky all around his head! He handled it well though,
and never chucked a wobbler, not even when a few aircraft greased past
him.

After the earlier experience, I had started keeping it close, but it
wasn't long before I was chucking it about as usual. And all went well
for 25-30 minutes, when I had a sixth sense that something was not right,
so I rasied the usual shout and turned for the LZ. Came in over the cliff well, passed over the rotor, and turned back into the wind and... dead
again! fortunately at three feet height and right over the long grass of
the LZ! But there's somethign definately wrong with that Zagi. I'll have
to strip it down again.

That little runt of an aeroplane is the first plane I bought and flew, and
I essentially learned to fly that by bungee launching it 50+ times each Sunday. I remember when I finally got to be able to launch, fly in a
straight line and *land* as opposed to *crash*! I was so proud of myself,
and immediately went on to teach myself how to turn corners. I remember
the first time Rudy saw it, I gave him the tranny, and released it on the bungee. It came off the line and did an immediate axial-roll left, axial- roll right, loop, and turned back to the strip, and I'm going "Gaaaa! I didn't know it could do that..." and Rudy snickering! But the day came
when I could turn left and right, and fly it and land it where I wanted,
and that's when I threw it off a cliff! :-)

Basically, I need to retire it, now. (And get a new Zagi, of course!)
But it's hard to bring myself to take the gear out of it.


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Re: Zagi troubles! :-/
By: Angus Mcleod to Digital Man on Sun Dec 05 2004 08:36 pm

Flying with us was a home-built belonging to a guy who I recently met on
the net who built his own gliders and taught himself to fly. He'd only flown at the cliff a couple times before (I told him where to find it) and he'd never flown in *company* before, so he was a bit dazed to have
several Zagis, a Viking, a Middle Phase, a Phase Six, an Aermacchi
whizzing about the sky all around his head! He handled it well though,
and never chucked a wobbler, not even when a few aircraft greased past
him.

And what exactly is "chucking a wobbler"? :-)

That little runt of an aeroplane is the first plane I bought and flew, and
I essentially learned to fly that by bungee launching it 50+ times each Sunday. I remember when I finally got to be able to launch, fly in a straight line and *land* as opposed to *crash*! I was so proud of myself, and immediately went on to teach myself how to turn corners. I remember
the first time Rudy saw it, I gave him the tranny, and released it on the bungee. It came off the line and did an immediate axial-roll left, axial- roll right, loop, and turned back to the strip, and I'm going "Gaaaa! I didn't know it could do that..." and Rudy snickering! But the day came
when I could turn left and right, and fly it and land it where I wanted,
and that's when I threw it off a cliff! :-)

Basically, I need to retire it, now. (And get a new Zagi, of course!)
But it's hard to bring myself to take the gear out of it.

Ah. :-( Well, you certianly got your monies worth out of her!

I was thinking of buying my brother a powered EPP ARP (like the Sky Scooter). Any suggestions? I saw a Corsair (by WattAGE) at the hobby store that looked pretty cool.

digital man

Snapple "Real Fact" #41:
Shrimp can only swim backward.

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Re: Zagi troubles! :-/
By: Digital Man to Angus Mcleod on Mon Dec 06 2004 14:16:00

...he was a bit dazed to have several Zagis, a Viking, a Middle
Phase, a Phase Six, an Aermacchi whizzing about the sky all around
his head! He handled it well though, and never chucked a wobbler,
not even when a few aircraft greased past him.

And what exactly is "chucking a wobbler"? :-)

Something like "screaming a heebie-jeebie", In think! :)

Basically, I need to retire it, now. (And get a new Zagi, of course!) But it's hard to bring myself to take the gear out of it.

Ah. :-( Well, you certianly got your monies worth out of her!

That's for sure. That aeroplane doesn't owe me a cent! It will be a sad
day when I finally have to retire her, though. ANd I hope that day has
not come yet.....

I was thinking of buying my brother a powered EPP ARP (like the Sky Scooter) Any suggestions? I saw a Corsair (by WattAGE) at the hobby store that looked pretty cool.

The WattAGE Corsair is nice, but I wouldn't recommend it. It is EP
(electric powered) not EPP (expanded poly-propelyne) and it will break.
More to the point, it is rudder/elevator only, and I would strongly
suggest a ship with ailerons (or elevons). Those rudder-only ships take a
bit of getting used to, since there's no way to control roll/bank
directly. You yaw the tail round and wait for wing dihedral to cause a
roll in the direction of turn.

I've not been in the market for an EP aircraft recently, but I just
received a catalog from Hobby Lobby (http://www.hobby-lobby.com/) and they have a largeish selection of electrics. Unfortunately, all the *good*
stuff is expensive by the time you buy the basic aircraft and add the
extras like battery chargers, speed controllers, and so forth.

They have something called a "Boink-Zoom" (!!) that isn't pretty, but is supposed to be indestructable, and is fully aerobatic. They have a "Pigi
3D" which is a nice aeroplane too, with brushless motor and Li-Po battery pack. David just bought a "Cobra" and modified it to operate brushless
with Li-Po, and that flies very well. The "Eagle" also looks like it
would be durable and capable. None of these are as cheap as the WattAGE Corsair, though, which may sway you back towards that model.

There are also a number of beautiful models in balsa, fibreglass and less durable foams, but I would strongly recommend EPP for the beginner (and a
tube of Crafters Goop for repairs).

There is, of course, a *Space* Scooter available now... I hear it is a slightly better flyer than the Sky Scooter.




---
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Re: Zagi troubles! :-/
By: Angus Mcleod to Digital Man on Mon Dec 06 2004 07:13 pm

I was thinking of buying my brother a powered EPP ARP (like the Sky Scoot Any suggestions? I saw a Corsair (by WattAGE) at the hobby store that loo pretty cool.

The WattAGE Corsair is nice, but I wouldn't recommend it. It is EP (electric powered) not EPP (expanded poly-propelyne) and it will break.

Ah, I misread the sign then.

More to the point, it is rudder/elevator only, and I would strongly
suggest a ship with ailerons (or elevons). Those rudder-only ships take a bit of getting used to, since there's no way to control roll/bank
directly. You yaw the tail round and wait for wing dihedral to cause a
roll in the direction of turn.

Yeah, Mike has flown even less than me, so the easier (and stronger) the better.

I've not been in the market for an EP aircraft recently, but I just
received a catalog from Hobby Lobby (http://www.hobby-lobby.com/) and they have a largeish selection of electrics. Unfortunately, all the *good*
stuff is expensive by the time you buy the basic aircraft and add the
extras like battery chargers, speed controllers, and so forth.

What about the Zagi-FiXX?

They have something called a "Boink-Zoom" (!!) that isn't pretty, but is supposed to be indestructable, and is fully aerobatic. They have a "Pigi 3D" which is a nice aeroplane too, with brushless motor and Li-Po battery pack. David just bought a "Cobra" and modified it to operate brushless
with Li-Po, and that flies very well. The "Eagle" also looks like it
would be durable and capable. None of these are as cheap as the WattAGE Corsair, though, which may sway you back towards that model.

There are also a number of beautiful models in balsa, fibreglass and less durable foams, but I would strongly recommend EPP for the beginner (and a tube of Crafters Goop for repairs).

There is, of course, a *Space* Scooter available now... I hear it is a slightly better flyer than the Sky Scooter.

I'll take a look. I need to go back for some more HO track (for the annual Christmas train set) anyway.

digital man

Snapple "Real Fact" #41:
Shrimp can only swim backward.

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Re: Zagi troubles! :-/
By: Digital Man to Angus Mcleod on Mon Dec 06 2004 17:49:00

Yeah, Mike has flown even less than me, so the easier (and stronger) the better.

Then I'd really suggest you get something EPP. Try for aileron control
too. Aileron/elevator or elevon.

I've not been in the market for an EP aircraft recently, but I just received a catalog from Hobby Lobby (http://www.hobby-lobby.com/) and the have a largeish selection of electrics. Unfortunately, all the *good* stuff is expensive by the time you buy the basic aircraft and add the extras like battery chargers, speed controllers, and so forth.

What about the Zagi-FiXX?

Wellll.. Their own website describes it:

"The Zagi FiXX is not a beginner kit. Although it is stable yet
aerobatic, it is a typical 10oz *FRAGILE* Park Flyer."

(enphasis mine). It also uses a GWS IPS drive and that IPS stands for
Indoor Power System, so it really is not designed for outdoor/high-wind condition. My Tiggie is powered by a GWS IPS system and even after
modding it with a heatsink and an extra cell in the battery pack, anything more than a dead calm and I don't bother flying it.

I wouldn't think it suitable for a beginner.

There are a number of *great* models out, but by the time you add the
radio, motor, battery pack, speed control, charger, you're approaching
or exceeding $500!

But look at the "Joker", a 3D aerobatic EPP plane from Canterbury
Sailplanes in NZ. California Sailplanes sell their stuff in the USA, but
I don't know if they stock this plane or only gliders...

There is, of course, a *Space* Scooter available now... I hear it is a slightly better flyer than the Sky Scooter.

I'll take a look. I need to go back for some more HO track (for the annual Christmas train set) anyway.

Let me know what you decide!


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Re: Zagi troubles! :-/
By: Angus Mcleod to Digital Man on Mon Dec 06 2004 11:32 pm

There is, of course, a *Space* Scooter available now... I hear it is slightly better flyer than the Sky Scooter.

I'll take a look. I need to go back for some more HO track (for the annua Christmas train set) anyway.

Let me know what you decide!

I decided on a train set. :-)

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/catalog/?function=detail&id=56

digital man

Snapple "Real Fact" #150:
The first sport to be filmed was boxing in 1894.

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