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.