So the flying session today was interesting. I put up the first flights on my new/used plane. After a longer than expected thrash to get a tank installed, I got to the field 1.5 hours later than I hoped. Already flustered, I had trouble getting the engine started and the tank was giving me fits. First flight was just to evaluate flight characteristics and look for stuff to tweak. Level laps, inverted laps, some loops, a few square 8's, ect. Success.
I watched Gordan Delaney put up a good flight on his Pathfinder. Roger Kramer flew a couple of Gordan's combat ships, the Ralph Day Omega with a hot Johnson 35 and the '73 Challenger with a ST35. Roger also flew his electric, full body Pathfinder. Really nice plane.
I pulled the tank apart, found nothing strange. So I fueled it up and it started on the second flip. Hmm..?...ok... Cool. As I walked out to the handle, I decided it's first flight was good enough and the trim is close enough for today...so...a celebratory, new plane, full pattern is in order. (I kept the bottoms high though, as it's my unfamiliar new plane.) All is going well and as I am making the climb up for the outside squares, several ducks fly into the circle. Oh oh... POW! I nailed a duck with the wing. The plane shuddered a bit during the impact but seemed to be ok. No red gore or feathers. I flew another lap to evaluate and then continued on with the rest of the pattern. All is well. No damage to the plane. The duck continued on as well. Lucky duck. War horse plane.
As an aside, it sure is nice to have a good flying plane with flaps. The way this plane grooves and locks is great. It turns a pretty mean corner and makes really nice looking squares. This plane should help me continue to improve, as I'm hoping to make it to one of the west coast contests this year. Making it to the Golden state contest is the current goal. My hard point handle worked great and the LA46 seemed to really like the 11.5x4 prop. Good flying session.
Topic: Bird Strike! Lucky Duck! (Read 1223 times)
