S.L.O.W. Club Thursday Flying Session

Sorry, No pictures. I took the good camera. But we were having such a blast flying that I completely forgot to take pictures.
We had great weather. 75 degrees! Sunshine! Variable direction winds. Wind speed varying from dead calm to gusts strong enough to blow a baseball hat off my head while I was flying. Also some nasty updrafts and downdrafts. And a bunch of miscellaneous shear winds. You could call it a typical spring windy weather pattern at our flying field.
Good turnout. Lots of neat planes.
John brought two combat planes, two 1/2-A sport planes, and a 1/2-A autogiro.
The two combat planes both crashed. The two 1/2-A sport planes both flew well. And the 1/2-A autogiro actually flew! What a cool sight!
Don showed up with his 1/2-A Beechcraft Staggerwing and flew it. It is a beauty. And he also brought a .35 powered sport special based on what looks like an old Midwest kit wing. He flew it successfully including many inside loops. It was his first flight with a .35 sized plane. Go Don!
Kenny showed up with his ARF Nobler powered by a Tower 40. Two good flights.
Ken showed up with his custom super light Ringmaster and his custom super light Flying Clown. Both beautiful planes.
Unfortunately the Ringmaster crashed. Ken was doing a vertical eight (he had just come back to inverted after finishing the high loop part of the vertical eight) when a shear wind caught the plane and blew it about 40 feet to the right and about 12 feet lower without warning. When Ken tried to tuck the plane under to finish the eight, he was too close to the ground, and the Ringmaster augured in.
Glen showed up, but did not bring a plane.
I managed to put in five more flights on the Circulator 2. It is a wonderful plane. It has plenty of power. It goes where you point it. It is fast. It turns tight. It handles the wind well. And it glides well and lands gently. It really is finally the sport plane I have been daydreaming about and trying to build since about 1955. Late success is better than no success.
The Super Tigre G34H on the Circulator 2 is still a little tough to start. It was a little better yesterday. But I still can't say I have worked out the kinks. But once the engine starts, I love the way it runs. It has an APC 10x5 prop on it now, and the thrust that combination puts out is awesome.
Hopefully next time I go out to the flying field I will be able to remember to take a few pictures.

Baby Ringmaster Under Construction 

Reproduced Baby Ringmaster-Modified

Started a new project. It is a reproduced kit from an eBayer named Henry 36912. It is a Baby Ringmaster with a difference. It is modified for a beam mounted engine.
I often daydream about cool 1/2A planes. But I don't fly them much. Maybe it is about time to build one and take it out to the flying field.
I am planning to install a Norvel 061 and a Perfect metal tank. No landing gear.
This thing could be some fun...
Picture to follow.

Sunday SLOW Club Flying Session

Sorry, no pictures this week. The regular camera was needed by the family elsewhere. So I grabbed the old one at the last minute. The battery was low of course. But I had to get to the field-no time for recharging. I figured the battery would last for a few pictures. But the cold weather apparently is not friendly to low batteries. After sitting in the cold pickup all afternoon, the battery was dead.
But the good news is---only two of us showed up. It was only in the mid 40's temperature wise. That is kind of cold for the natives. Chuck and I were the only two foolish enough to arrive at the field. Of course we are both Northerners. And pictures of the planes we brought are available in the archives of this very website.
Chuck brought his Me-110. Two more break-in flights. The sound of two synched OS LA 25's is very cool! And Chuck brought his Agwagon-Twister also.
My Circulator 2 has five more flights on it now. Still tough to start the engine. But when it is running I love the way it runs. Hopefully one of these days it will be sorted out. And I love to fly the plane. It was wicked windy at the field yesterday. Rough downdrafts and shear winds. Plus randomly variable wind direction. And just plain high gusts. Still managed to do overheads and whatever other maneuvers I felt like doing. It feels great to have fun flying on a day like yesterday and leave the field with a plane that is still in one piece.

Circulator 2-Muffler Tweak

This morning I drilled a 1/4 inch hole in the end of the tongue muffler that fits my S.T G34H engine. This way, I will be able to squirt some fuel directly into the exhaust port (in the old days we called this giving it a "shot in the head") without removing the muffler. This modification should solve the difficult starting problem I have been having with this motor. Of course the engine will be a little louder with the 1/4 inch hole in the end of the muffler. But it won't be as loud as it would be without any muffler at all. And the muffler will produce a little less back pressure, which is a good thing.

Circulator 2 Performance Report

Six more flights on the Circulator 2 today.
The engine is kind of odd. It is the first ringed engine I have ever had on a plane. It took me a while to learn how to get quick reliable starts. Because it is ringed, it can be difficult to get enough compression to start it when it is cold. I finally discovered that if I remove the muffler, and squirt raw fuel into the exhaust stack, it will fire right up. Evidently the oil in the fuel improves the ring seal enough to increase the compression enough to start the engine.
Once the engine starts, the engine run is terrific. Except for the fact that it is a little loud without a muffler. Oh well I guess you can't have everything.
The Circulator 2 performs inside and outside loops, wingovers and reverse wingovers, inverted flight, overhead eights, vertical eights, and lazy eights fantastically. It flies better than I can. It flies as well as or better than my ARF Flite Streak. And that is saying a lot. But the Circulator 2 is my own creation-I built it myself. And it is a lot stronger and tougher than an ARF Flite Streak.

John's Zero 

My Circulator 2 

Chuck's Twister 

John's Voodoo 

John's Tripe and Zero 

Chuck's Me-110 

John's Honshu Defender 

Tim Was There 

SLOW Club Sunday Flying Session

Great weather. Overcast. Warm. Very little Wind. Perfect conditions.
John, Chuck, Tim, Glen, Joe, and myself were there.
Six more flights on the Circulator 2-I love it.
John brought an old Voodoo with a Fox 36X on it. It was a lot of fun watching him trying to keep up with the Voodoo. Not hard to see why they are still popular.
Tim brought a great looking semi-scale P-51. Somehow I failed to get a picture of it. Nuts.
Chuck actually got his Me-110 to fly.
Pictures to follow.

Circulator 2 Almost Ready For Takeoff 

S.T.G34H Broken In ? 

Circulator 2 After the Last Flight of the Day 

Circulator 2 Stooging Around 

S.L.O.W. Club Thursday Flying Session

Today we had 65 degree weather in MD. So John, Kenny and I made it out to the field.
I took the Circulator 2. Good news! It turns out to be a wonderful plane.
I ran the S.T. G34H engine on the ground for about a minute just to make sure it runs. Then I started flying it.
Completed seven flights. The first 5 flights just consisted of climbing and diving. (A good way to break in a new engine.) By the sixth flight, the engine was running pretty well, I was feeling pretty confident, so I tried a few maneuvers. Sweeeet! It turns tight. And it grooves steadily where you point it. And it lands really smooth after a long gentle glide.
Managed to complete inside and outside loops, inverted flight, many lazy eights, and a few wingovers. Saving the overhead and vertical eights for another day.
But I can tell that this is a good one.
The Circulator 2 is really the plane I have been dreaming about and trying to build for more years than I care to mention.
Pictures to follow.
Sorry, Kenny and John left early-before the camera went into action.

Circulator 2 WFS (5) 

Circulator 2 WFS (4) 

Circulator 2 WFS (3) 

Circulator 2 WFS (2) 

Circulator 2 Waiting for Spring (1) 

Circulator 2 Revisited

I changed the fuel tank setup a little bit this morning. It seems about right like this. Once the first few test flights are logged, we will have a much better idea.
A few pictures of the Circulator 2 out in the backyard to follow.
Now all we need is some good flying weather. The forecast looks good for this coming Thursday and Sunday.

RTF (5) 

RTF (4) Power Train 

RTF (3) 

RTF (2) 

RTF (1) 

Circulator 2- Finished-RTF

The Circulator 2 is finished! Now all we need is some flying weather.
The power train for now is a Super Tigre G34H reworked for stunt by Tom Dixon. The tank is a GRW 4 oz. uniflow. The prop is an APC 9x5.
Pictures to follow.

Circulator 2 Rustoleumed (2) 

Circulator 2 Rustoleumed (1)