The Saga of Oliver Lawrence and the WCSC weekend.......

[REX1945]

Folks,

   I took Ollie to Canada last weekend and he scored a lot higher than anyone else
there; it's just that ge didn't know it.

    The story starts 3 years ago when I took him to Chehalis to observe combat flying,
since I think stunt is a bit boring for teenage boys; girls may be able to do it.  I picked up
a couple HR bellcranks thinking Ollie could become my sparring partner in order for me to
loose to Jeff Rein/Dom Mckay gracefully (ha !).

   He learned to fly level laps in a hayfield with my Peacemaker and OS .15.  The
Peacemaker lost while Ollie was learning which way the wind blows and what it does to CL planes that do loops UPWIND !
  
     At the Nats, I took a second in beginner and one of the many prizes was a Carl
Goldberg P-40 CL plane that I gifted to Ollie and subsequently helped build. After a
couple of uneventful flights on short grass with my trusty FP .25, Ollie hung the plane
on the wall and started chasing girls (they're probably more fun!). Now all I have to do is
teach her how to fly stunt and she'll probably beat him at it.

    Last summer we didn't fly at all and I hired him to mow my lawn while I went to
the Brodak event and visited relatives back east. At Christmas he rewarded me with a
hand-made sanding block that is the jewel of my model airplane workbench.
 
     In the fall I visited Jack Reynolds (a life-long friend) who was suffering from
cardiac problems and as a result, he gave me his prized  Veco Chief complete with
K&B .40 as well as a Sal Tibi Starduster kit still in the box (really nice RC conversion
possibilities).

     I gave Ollie the Chief and we stumbled through getting the old Veco to run on a
test stand for several hours before I came to the winning combination.

      As you know, I built an AA Sr for the Canada event and for a back-up engine I
double-drilled the plane to accept the new-in-the box OS .25 (rear NVA) that I've
had sitting under my bench for 2 years. When Ollie's ST .51 spraybar checknut gave
out, we switched engines and got him back in the air with my OS .25 and the
venturi insert from his engine to get  the lap time above 3.95.  Needless to say, an
attempted outside loop put and end to that great save. This was Friday at practice.

     No problem, we had dinner and went out to fly the Chief with a brand new APC
12-5 prop and had a once-in-a lifetime experience.  The cotton hinges in the chief
gave up on the Starboard side and Ollie learned to hold on the the plane while he
flew ragged laps with one flap literally flapping in  breeze because it was still
attached to the horn. At first I thought the top block had come loose !  Lucky it didn't flutter
and destroy the control system.

    That evening (Friday) after getting a scenic tour of British Columbia, we arrive at
Chris' house and were welcomed by Dragonlady Cox as Chris had given up on us
five minutes earlier. She's quite a friendly dragon and could probably get a spot in a
Harry Potter movie but that's another story......

     Before settling into bed, I put some of my trusty dacron hinges over the flap of the
Chief with Sigment while Ollie held the flap immobilized as the glue set up. The next
morning I came the the realization the the Port flap had only 2 working hinges that
weren't broken, so we went back into Sigment and hing mode one more time.

     Chris was leaving for the contest when i asked him if anyone ever flew the Clown
hanging on the garage wall with the covering missing on one bay, and, as it turned out
the plane belongs to the Dragonlady and she allowed it to be taken as the third back up
plane if the Chief failed. Chris is such a great host that he would even give you the
shirt off his wife's back (joke) !

    On his way up the stairs, Chris picked up 4 mounting bolts and a trusty bottle of CA
to fix the tail feathers on the P-40 and asked if I need more mounting nuts (which I declined -
fool !). The P-40 tail feathers were articulating properly under the direction of Dr. Cox. After
he left, I doubled the severed limbs with my trusty Sigment and polyester hinge material.
To me there's nothing that beats Oklahoma fiberglass.

     Rushing to the contest site we arrive 3 minutes late for me to fly OTS, but the CD
had forgotten to print OTS score sheets as OTS is a relatively new event in Western Canada.
This gave us time to test fly the Chief repairs, but we had buzzed the prop the day
before and  I had to revert to one of my choice Rev-Up 13-7's for the Legacy. The K&B .40 pulls that prop like a mule with half of the venturi plugged with balsa sticks !

      Ollie managed 1/2 half a lap when a gust of wind lofted him up and he continued on
over and flew and unintentional 1/2 lap upside down and ripped the engine out of the
Chief. No problem, steal the mounting nuts from the Chief and get the P-40 engine mounted
with Chris' screws.  Does anyone in the house have an APC 9-4 ?  (yes-but it is at home).
So, we carried on with a Master AS Scimitar 9-5 to discover that the spraybar checknut
was stripped in the outside loop event.

    Using the NIB OS .25 allowed us to be ready for the next day without needing to use
the third plane. Needless to say, after the banquet was over  Chris told Ollie not to try any
outside loops until he had one official flight nailed down.

     Sunday morning was supposed to be a piece of cake until "Wrong way
Corrigan" took control of the RV and I didn't notice it until the US border was fast approaching.
Oooo...ps.
Beginners start first as well. All I could hope for was that they would score him as a
"bye" and he'd at least get the second flight......eh !

      I never managed to get a picture of Ollie flying the plane; IRONIC !

       Ollie found a 4-leaf clover 4 minutes before he was to fly.

       Don Phelps gave him :

                       Super Clown (scratch built plane)  in good working order.
                       OS LA .40 with venturi missing (good compression - however).
                       Laser cut ribset and plans for an RSM P-40 to go with the LA .40

       THANK YOU ALL

        Kieth Varley provided a Junior trophy and Hube took the picture.


    Joe Yau made a video in Sat Eve :  
        "I have a short clip of you playing the trumpet at Chris's.  wish it was longer.. still very
           nicely done!  https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/7nbeT4imqzs"
 
Cheers, Joe

Rex

PS : There's a whole 'nother story about taking a teenager across the border who's last name is different than yours. He had to pay Washington State $60 because heis driving test is today, otherwise it would be only $15. He still has to pay the $15 if he passes the drivers' test.