As an alternative of sitting on the sofa watching tv and ready for spring to reach, why not construct or purchase a set of snow skis, bolt them to your airplane, and get on the market and do some chilly climate flying! Winter flying is nice enjoyable, and it restores the RC soul throughout these lengthy, dreary winter months. You’ll be able to fly with skis, and even use floats, from virtually any open discipline. Simply remember to get the permission of the property proprietor. You may also fly from a frozen lake (however be certain the ice is secure and that you’ve sufficient room to function your airplane correctly). Keep in mind, when flying from a lake you’ll be sharing the house with snowmobilers, ice fishers, and different wintertime sports activities followers. Merely be respectful of others, and you’ll more than likely achieve a contented viewers.
The Sky Wizard is available in for a snowy touchdown. Be aware that the guidelines of the skis are set at a constructive angle.
GETTING IN THE MOOD
Dressing warmly is most essential for having fun with a day’s flying within the winter. It’s even higher for those who can park your automobile close to your flying spot or discover a flying space close to a shelter to heat up once in a while between flights. A thermos stuffed with sizzling espresso or soup is a must have for between-flights enjoyment! If you happen to’re fortunate, you’ll discover that some winter days may be merely excellent. With little or no wind, vibrant sunshine, and milder temps, you received’t even have to put on gloves whereas making ready your plane. For flying, I exploit a tight-fitting pair of cotton gloves, which permits me to really feel my radio’s management sticks. Mechanics’ gloves additionally work effectively.
Although I’ve by no means used them, there are industrial transmitter gloves you should buy. Just like Hippo Palms utilized by motorcyclists, these chilly climate radio gloves have a transparent panel so you possibly can see your transmitter whereas your arms are protected against the weather. From my very own expertise, through the winter months there are various high quality days simply good for flying. The benefit of flying off a lake or a large open discipline is you could all the time take off straight into the wind, it doesn’t matter what the path is. My pals and I’ve a favourite spot to get pleasure from chilly climate RC flying. Positioned within the village of Gores Touchdown, Ontario, Rice Lake is famend for its fishing in each summer time and winter. There’s loads of room and the scenic panorama is inspiring.
Within the winter, I fly my Aeromaster biplane (with floats), and my scratch-designed and constructed Sky Wizard. The plane seen within the photos is my Sky Wizard, which is an easy-to-fly intermediate to superior sport airplane powered by a Zenoah G-38 gasoline engine.
The Ace Excessive RC Transmitter Glove is made for very chilly flying days. Verify them out at acewingcarrier.com.
Right here is my scratch-built plywood skis and the limiter cable setup.
The tailwheel ski additionally makes use of limiter cables.
EQUIPMENT SETUP
Yow will discover commercially out there RC skis on-line and in pastime outlets. Du-Bro has them in just a few sizes. I scratch constructed and designed the skis for my plane. I exploit a tried-and-true methodology of organising skis on plane that’s not in contrast to that of full-scale plane. Verify wires and bungees (elastics bands for fashions) are used to restrict the quantity of journey the skis have up and down. The elastics are used to maintain the guidelines of the skis within the “up” place, whereas the test wire on the again limits the quantity of distance the ski ideas can journey up. The test wires on the entrance ideas of the skis additionally restrict the quantity of journey the skis can go down. That is important to forestall the ski from touring down thus far that it may break via ruts and divots your plane would possibly encounter throughout its takeoff run or touchdown rollout. It’s a quite simple and efficient option to arrange your skis with a minimal quantity of funds.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
• Small eyehook screws
• Elastic bands
• Robust wire (I used pull–pull cable bought at my native pastime retailer)
• Brief lengths of 1/8-inch diameter copper tubes for crimping the wire ends.
• 1/2-inch, 1/8-inch, and 1/16-inch plywood for upright mounts and ski bottoms. I’m going a step additional and use fishing swivel leads for ease of elimination. The skis are constructed utilizing
• 1/2-inch plane ply for the upright mounts and 1/8-inch plywood for the ski bottoms. It is very important have runners on the underside of the skis to assist the plane’s monitoring. For the tail ski, I exploit 1/8-inch plywood for the upright and 1/16-inch plane ply for the ski bottoms. One other system used to restrict the up-down journey of the skis is the torsion rod system or spring system. That is discovered on Du-Bro and different manufacturers of skis. I choose my setup described above for its reliability. It has all the time labored for me.
BOTTOM LINE
I believe what I like most about ski flying is the added efficiency of the plane as a result of denser chilly air. I additionally get pleasure from watching the best way the skis work throughout takeoffs and landings. With all the gorgeous winter surroundings, and the additional time spent with my like-minded pals, there’s actually nothing higher!
10 Simple Steps for Chilly Climate Engine Begins
To commit RC aviation, you must get your engine working. Because the climate turns colder, it’s an excellent time to revisit cold-engine beginning strategies. Listed here are 10 simple steps for flying when the temperature drops.
1. Flip in your transmitter and receiver.
2. Totally open the throttle.
3. Look ahead to gas within the line and canopy the throttle opening together with your finger. Firmly grip the propeller, and rotate it till the gas is simply as much as the carb. Don’t flip it! Now flip the prop over—twice, if it’s hotter than 40 levels F; 3 times if it’s colder—to prime the engine.
4. With the glow plug disconnected, flip the engine over six to eight occasions.
5. Shut the throttle and transfer the trim to totally up. This could open the throttle barrel a bit extra. The throttle must be about one quarter open.
6. Seize the prop firmly, and rotate the engine till it passes via the compression a part of the stroke. You need to really feel the engine kick. If it does, it is going to now begin on the primary or second flip. At all times use a hen stick or electrical starter for beginning. If the engine doesn’t begin, flip the prop just a few occasions with the glow plug disconnected, and check out once more. If it doesn’t kick now, choke it yet another time with the throttle totally open, flip the prop just a few extra occasions, reposition the throttle, gentle the glow plug, and check out once more.
7. If, when your engine begins, it simply revs up and quits, flip the high-speed needle valve a half flip counterclockwise to open it, and check out once more. Repeat this if essential.
8. If the engine begins, slows down and quits, and if plenty of smoke comes out of the exhaust, flip the high-speed needle valve clockwise to make the combination leaner, 1 / 4 flip at a time. Restart the engine.
9. When the engine has began, maintain the throttle partially open, and let the engine heat up for a minimum of a minute or two earlier than making the ultimate changes.
10. Most engines are more durable to begin once they’re sizzling. To start out a sizzling engine, draw the gas as much as the carb, however don’t choke or prime it. Open the throttle to 1 quarter. Flip the prop exhausting. Use an electrical starter, if in case you have one out there.
Getting your engine began in winter isn’t troublesome so long as you’ve got contemporary batteries in your glow driver and you retain your airplane and engine heat within the automobile between flights.
Textual content & images by Invoice McIvor
