Spring must be just around the corner

[Alan Resinger]

Got an email from Deer Park, Washington on Sunday afternoon.  Deer Park is just a bit North and West of Spokane and is otherwise referred to as the "Walker Stunt Ranch" by stunt flyers in the Pacific Northwest and Western British Columbia.  Now mind you this was Feb. 8th and all thoughts must be turning aeronautic.  The attached picture shows an intrepid young man, well maybe not so young, flying what appears to be either a triangle or the end of the hourglass, nattily attired in a t-shirt.  The model in question is last years Predator, which had some unresolved issues and underwent some modifications over the winter.  Paul and I talked on the way to Golden State last October and after I mentioned I was going to go with a lower aspect ratio tail, he stated that he had done some experiments along those lines that showed some promise. Paul also built a new Predator for 2015 that is identical to the older modified model.  He can chime in on the mods if he likes.
Mike Haverly emailed me yesterday with new that his new "Fifth Element" took to the air yesterday with good results.  Full patterns on the last 2 flights of the day.  More testing to take place on Friday.
Chris Cox and I are just finishing buffing our new ships.  The new models are the Mk. III Crossfire XL models.  These are the fourth copies of Bob Hunt's design that we've built.
The new models have a few changes (with Bob's blessings).  The wing has been enlarged by 30 sq. in. and the flap hinge line has been made straight instead of swept forward.  The tail has had a reduction in aspect ratio and the tail moment lengthened.  Weight on both ships will e in the low 60 oz. range with battery.  We plan on using the same motor as last year, the Cobra 3520.  We've switched to the Jeti 66 ESC with Igor Burger's active timer.  Batteries this year will be either the 5S TP 2700 of the 6S TP 2700.  This was one of the reasons for the increase in wing area.  Props will be one of our 3B CF products.  Both models should be in the air with a week or two.
Alan Resinger  
Forgot to mention one thing.  I love the paw prints on the wing and tail of the new Predator.

[Paul Walker]

Yes, we would like to thank the east coast for absorbing all the winter weather and leaving us with spring like weather here. This is the first time I have been able to fly in February! We are usually covered in snow at this time.

Now, time to go outside and do some yard work.

[Tom Niebuhr]

Paul,
Great paint job on the new airplane. It really pops!

[Dennis Adamisin]

Yup, spring is just around the corner, the deer are starting to move around...

[Paul Walker]

Dennis, your picture of the deer is just too funny. Had a nice laugh!

Is that a current picture?

[Randy Powell]

Hey, even I'm working on something. We'll see if it's worthwhile.

[Howard Rush]

I love the paw prints on the wing and tail of the new Predator.

He shouldn't have put it on the floor when the paint was wet.  Looks like Wally's work. 

Those are typical Walker decoys.  The secret weapon is the Flite Streak at the right of the picture.

[Randy Powell]

It's just Paul's idea of inventive.   

[Alan Resinger]

Actually, I have it on good authority that the tracks are indeed Paul and Shal's pet beaver.  Due to Paul's warning, I plan on staying away from him or her when Paul brings the pet to the next contest to meet some real Canadians.  That or I plan on wearing steel toed boots.
Alan 

[Dennis Adamisin]

Dennis, your picture of the deer is just too funny. Had a nice laugh!

Is that a current picture?

Found it on line awhile back, .  Saw the reference to "Deer Park" and that triggered the repost.  We have got a lot more snow here than in Muncie about 75 miles south but we'll survive.  Looking forward to flying soon, hey I even have Canadian props to try out eh?

[Paul Walker]

Alan, be careful.....Ed Fritt and Garth Harple taught me how to handle my pet beaver around surly Canuks. You might need more than steel toes sneakers!!

[Alan Resinger]

I should have known Ed and Garth were involved.  For a six pack of Canadian or Moose Head they'll train just about anything to do heaven knows what.  You should have seen the polar bear with the grass shirt dancing the hula.  The youtube video got pulled by the Canadian government.  That trick may have take more than one six pack though.  Come to think of it, that may have been the reason Canada deported them.
Alan

[Don Chandler]

It feels like it here in northern Calif. Went out about 3pm this afternoon. 76 degrees and NO wind. Took a few flights on a Cardinal-nice. Not bad for February.

[Allan Perret]

The new models have a few changes (with Bob's blessings).  The wing has been enlarged by 30 sq. in. and the flap hinge line has been made straight instead of swept forward.  

Bob has said he felt that the sweept forward hinge line of the Crossfire design was a significant part of its good handling.  How enthusiastic was he about that change ?  Do you do that mostly for easier construction ?  Will be interesting to see if you can tell any difference in flight characteristics .  I have an Extreme XL on the building  board.

[Alan Resinger]

Allan,
The Crossfires with the swept forward hinge line all had a tendency to yaw annoyingly at certain points in the pattern.  Chris' models seemed to do it more than mine. I didn't say the model didn't handle well.  Paul said he saw the same thing in watching Bob's Crossfire fly. We've been making small changes in the Crossfire since we started with them in 2012.  The first we built was the Extreme.  Next came the "lost foam" built up version with asymmetry of 3/4".  After that was the reduced flap area and larger outboard flap area and ended with further reduction in elevator travel to get in final trim.  The new one, (Mk. III) has longer tail moment, lower aspect ratio tail and 660 sq. in. wing.
Guess we'll see how it works in a week or so.
Alan

[Allan Perret]

Allan,
The Crossfires with the swept forward hinge line all had a tendency to yaw annoyingly at certain points in the pattern.  Chris' models seemed to do it more than mine. I didn't say the model didn't handle well.  Paul said he saw the same thing in watching Bob's Crossfire fly. We've been making small changes in the Crossfire since we started with them in 2012.  The first we built was the Extreme.  Next came the "lost foam" built up version with asymmetry of 3/4".  After that was the reduced flap area and larger outboard flap area and ended with further reduction in elevator travel to get in final trim.  The new one, (Mk. III) has longer tail moment, lower aspect ratio tail and 660 sq. in. wing.
Guess we'll see how it works in a week or so.
Alan

Will watch for your flight report. If you are happy with latest mods, I can probably still incorporate most (if not all) of them into my build.