Covering Angela's Lightning Streak!!!

[Randy Ryan]

Well, we spent the afternoon together. Went to the hobby shop and got her Monokote (what garbage) and headed to the dungeon for a torture session. I've used Monokote since '67 but I've never used anything as bad as this stuff. White glue?? Man you can't get consistence color no matter what you do, its got the shrink rate of worn out underwear and it creeps badly when you use a heat gun. Never again, I'm going to teach her to use polyspan.

Anyway, we got through it and she's happy which is really all that matters at this point. I'm so pleased, Angela has been withdrawn and we have tried for the last year to help her. I got a but smile and a hug tonight, worth more that anything, she's happy and her mother an I are ecstatic!

Oh yes, for the last picture I persuaded her to remove her hat and you can see hold pretty she really is!!!!

[Paul Taylor]

Outstanding!!!!!

I like the green.

Getting closer to a flight report. 

[Bill Little]

Hey, Brother Randy!

I just want you to know how good it is, I think, for you to be taking the time and spending the effort to help Angela out!  I know you are doing things right.  Let's all hope she stays involved and enjoys the hobby!  We need so many more young people, male or female!  And it will help her self esteem to have accomplished these things she is doing!

God Bless!
Bill

[billbyles]

Way to go Angela!

Randy, she has really stuck with this project - you are doing so much more than just building models.  Both of you made a commitment and are seeing it through.  I think her hat is pretty cute but she is very pretty without it.

Bill

[mike londke]

Hooray for her! Keep up the progress reports.   

[Russell Shaffer]

Great job, Angela.  It's looking really good. 

[Bill Adair]

Hi Randy, and Angela,

Congratulations to both of you! The airplane looks great, and the green on the wings looks very good.

A few years ago when coming back to the c/l hobby I flew a baby Flite Streak built and covered by a club friend. He did a beautiful job with gold, and green Oracover that was applied carefully. I mounted a TD .049 on it, and went out to fly it for the first time one beautiful fall day. Well, I nearly lost it first flight, because I never noticed how well the gold and green colors blended into the mix of gold and green tree leaves in the background!

Anyway, the takeoff from a very short table caused the nose to drop immediately which I corrected for with up elevator in a panic (too much up) so then it climbed high enough to blend into the tree leaves, and in horror I watched it completely disappear from sight! All I knew was that I could hear it looping very fast by the sound of the engine, and everyone in the pits was yelling frantic instructions not knowing that I was flying blind! Luckily, after a few wild loops I picked up the position of the FS when it passed in front of the dark tree trunk below the leaves at the bottoms of loops, so I timed the loops and applied down elevator as it would have been climbing into the next loop. It suddenly broke into the open, and visibility was recovered as soon as it left the foilage background and had open sky behind the airplane. It was climbing steeply but recovered nicely when I fed in a little down elevator, and I flew level for a few laps to let my heart stop pounding, and then slowly backed away from those trees, as far as I could get.

The guys in the pits thought I was doing all that looping just to show off, and were cheering me on at first, and then trying to warn me that I was running out of sky later!

Anyway, lesson learned - no gold and leaf green covering will ever be used on a c/l airplane of mine!  

If the fuselage was white (like your airplane Angela), I'm pretty sure it would have shown up against the leafy background, and averted a bunch of panic on my part.

I agree with Bill, you are very pretty with or without the hat, Angela!  

Bill

[Serge_Krauss]

Great job and beautiful young student! I hope she realizes that throughout life, the guys and gals who really count will appreciate and admire what she's doing and learning. One of them's right here.

SK

[Randy Ryan]

Great job and beautiful young student! I hope she realizes that throughout life, the guys and gals who really count will appreciate and admire what she's doing and learning. One of them's right here.

SK

Thanks guys. She was a little disappointed with the covering job but I convinced her it even gave me trouble (which it did). She going to do the fuselage and tail feathers black (Rustoleum) the I'll turn her loose with a box of Trimkote and a fresh #11.

I really want to thank you all for the encouragement for both her and myself, we had a terrible time getting together but I've put it way up on the priority list to work with her. When she came in this afternoon my Legacy was on the bench, its starting to take shape now and for the first time she showed real interest in it. She looked it all over and ran her fingers over the contours with a fascinated look on her face, I think she's getting hooked (well, I hope). Flying the beginner pattern is her next goal and I told her this would be a great plane to learn with then on to a flapper Tutor, a short kit for which I have waiting.

Paint real soon I hope, nearly there.

[Gregory Hammond]

Both are very pretty little models 

Az

[john e. holliday]

That is great that she is taking such and interest in the planes.  Tell her the old DOC Holliday(slowest draw in the west) says she is much prettier with a smile, with or with out the hat.  A young lady/girl wore a hat to school every day summer or winter.  Her Dad said it was her favorite and it looked just like Angela's.

Now for the doldrums of winter and not getting out.  Maybe you can get permission from local school to fly some small ready to fly giders in the gym.  Can get the whole family in on that one.   We also did it with the rubber power planes also.   Best flights were using the rubber from golf balls..

[Randy Ryan]

That is great that she is taking such and interest in the planes.  Tell her the old DOC Holliday(slowest draw in the west) says she is much prettier with a smile, with or with out the hat.  A young lady/girl wore a hat to school every day summer or winter.  Her Dad said it was her favorite and it looked just like Angela's.

Now for the doldrums of winter and not getting out.  Maybe you can get permission from local school to fly some small ready to fly giders in the gym.  Can get the whole family in on that one.   We also did it with the rubber power planes also.   Best flights were using the rubber from golf balls..

Well today was pretty special tho not at all modeling. Angela's Mom's heater blower quit working so since Angela says she likes fixing things I asked her if she like to help. She jumped at the chance. Well it turned out to be a little more involved then I thought and we had to remove a bracket and some plumbing that were in the way. when we got all the bolts out, the plastic shroud over the motor disintegrated. Now this piece had bosses on it about 1/8" thick and since we couldn't replace it today we had to come up with a quick way of spacing the bolts. So we ran downstairs, (it was cold outside) and I had a piece of 1/2" nylon rod that I chucked in the lathe. I set up 1/4" drill bit and showed her what to do. She got it drilled and I set up a cutoff tool and showed her how to slice off the spacers. We took our handywork back outside and got Mom's car warm. We'd dropped an ratchet in the process so I told her to get in an hold the brake and put it in reverse (R) and ease off the break. The face was priceless!!!! I had her stop and put it in park and went around and picked up the ratchet then had her move it back up. SHE WAS THRILLED!!!! What a joy it is to see her experience things she's wanted and never had anyone take the time to show her and help her. The rewards are so worth every minute I invest. Today she fixed a car, she had to use a lathe to make parts for it, then she got to operate it even for just a tiny bit but you'd think she had the world by the tail. I'm going to help her in every way I can, she's creative and wants to do things mechanical and build things so that's just what we're gonna do!!!!

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I let her read today and it was nice for her to see the support. She's a special young lady that needed help as much as I needed to help her, a match made in heaven!

[Randy Ryan]

Great job and beautiful young student! I hope she realizes that throughout life, the guys and gals who really count will appreciate and admire what she's doing and learning. One of them's right here.

SK

Thanks Serge, as always, kind and encouraging in your own unique and wonderful way.

[john e. holliday]

Don't let that little darling get away from  you.   My number one granddaughter was a pest at one  time.   She helped me replace the fence beside the house with the gate.  She has also helped me with other things.  The neighbor came by and watched for a few minutes while we worked on the fence.  Stated it was great I had help and I said yeah it is  but I could have had it done hours ago with out help.   Sure miss her help now. 

[John Park]

Believe me, she'll bless you all the days of her life.  My dad used to get me doing things like that, and not a day goes by but I find myself using some little bit of skill or knowledge I got from him and would probably never have got any other way.

[Randy Ryan]

Don't let that little darling get away from  you.   My number one granddaughter was a pest at one  time.   She helped me replace the fence beside the house with the gate.  She has also helped me with other things.  The neighbor came by and watched for a few minutes while we worked on the fence.  Stated it was great I had help and I said yeah it is  but I could have had it done hours ago with out help.   Sure miss her help now. 

No way John, I'm keepin her!!!!!