Re: Christen Eagle II
By: Digital Man to Angus Mcleod on Sun Feb 06 2005 23:20:00
A rather impressive aircraft, made an appearance at the field today. We've been awaiting the event for some months and fortunately I had my camera on me to take some pre-flight photographs. To give you an idea of scale, the prop is 22" from tip-to-tip:
Wow. If it weren't for the blades of grass and the plastic man, I could've b fooled into thinking it was 100% scale.
Yeah! I think the first one, shot along the fuselage from the rear is
very realistic.
The biggest problem getting decent photos of new aircraft is that the
owners are in a hurry and won't let you take the time. For instance, the full-frame shots are taken from a standing position. You inevitably end
up looking *down* on the aircraft. If you lie on the ground and shoot
from a lower angle, you end up with similar perspective to what you would
see if standing next to the full-sized aircraft. Now, I shot eleven full-frame images, walking around and shooting from all angles. If I'd
got up and layed down each time it would have taken much longer. Also, shooting horizontally from every direction, the background changes, and sometimes the background is a distraction. You don't want Rudy and Tony mixing drinks, or Dotcom licking his balls in the background, after all!
So between each shot you should move the aircraft. More time needed!
Anyway, every now and again you get some nice ones.
How did it happen? Well, perhaps this photograph, taken of the pilot jus before takeoff might contain a clue:
But was the "real" pilot drinking prior to takeoff? At least *he* was able t walk away from the crash. :-)
http://www.barbadosrc.org/gallery/show_image.php?image=pilot-ceagle.j
Yes, he had one "Banks" prior to flying, and that at the insistance of his wife. She said he should drink one to "calm himself" before takeoff.
The only question is -- will it fly again?
That would be a real tragedy if it didn't. Who was the builder/pilot?
I don't know for sure if you met Ian, but I think you may have. Here is
his picture:
http://www.barbadosrc.org/members/IanA/
Unfortunately, he is a bit hot-headed about things that don't go right.
He was ready to sell the wreck and forget it, right after the crash. His father, Norman was present, and he has been modelling for over 50 years,
so we all hope that with Norman's urging and assistance, it will fly
again. It is busted up pretty bad, but not smashed completely. There is
a LOT of work there, but it COULD be repaired and made to fly. In fact,
he could replace both wings for less than $100 each, the fuse for $125,
cowl for $24, cabanes for $8, inter-planes for $23. An entire airframe
with *everything* would only be $350, but if he fixed some and replaced
some he could save money.
And what does the NTSB say the real cause was? Did they find the black box? :-)
Crash Analysis will begin in earnest next time the guys get together in
Ian's absence! :-)
The problem is, Ian is too blase a pilot to be test-flying any model. He
is a fairly competent pilot and entertains us by beating up the field with
his Extra 300S, but unfortunately he thinks he's a much better pilot than
he really is. And the Christen Eagle is a fully aerobatic ship that won't stand any nonsense. Prior to takeoff, he was muttering about the control throws, and commenting how they seemed very 'fierce', except the elevator which looked 'tame'. I'd have been much more cautious, making sure my low
and high rates were properly set, before committing to the sky. Even if
that meant taking it home and bringing it back the following weekend.
I'd also have done some taxi-tests and maybe a straight-line hop or two on
the runway to see how she 'felt'. This is an expensive 1/3rd scale
aircraft we're talking about, not some $100 trainer with a box-fuselage!
But Ian is a "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" sorta guy. I've seen
him test fly other peoples aircraft and throw them into aerobatic
manoevers on the first circuit of their first flight. Well, anyway, I
think he was just a bit too casual about it, and that aircraft wasn't 100%
on takeoff, and doesn't appreciate being taken for granted at best, so he
paid the price.
But who am I to say?
---
þ Synchronet þ Made of wood and glue, but mostly glue!
