Winter Build Started

 

I moved the Corsair to the motor home yesterday and got things cleaned up to I could start on the Old School Model Works Comet for the Winter Build Challenge.  I got the center section of the wing built last night.  I laid out the plans on the building board and this is how it looked when I started today.

It is pretty pleasant working in front of the pellet stove.  It keeps the shop at 72 all day.

I made good progress and this is how it looked when I quit for the night.  It is a nice kit, all the laser cut parts fit great and the balsa wood is all nice and straight.

 

Well I finally finished the Corsair this afternoon after we got home from Vera's dental appointment.  Guess what, we managed to stop by Dairy Queen on the way home and have lunch, I bet that surprises everyone.

I got all the controls programmed into the radio and then took it out to check the current draw of the motor.  With a four cell battery pack I only had about 600 watts, not enough for an eight pound airplane.  I changed to a six cell battery and then I had 1500 watts but the current to the motor was 67 Amps and it was only rated for 60.  I changed props and then I had 1300 watts and 61 Amps which should work fine as the prop will unload in the air.  Now I have four planes ready to test fly on the next nice day.  Tomorrow I will start on number five for the Winter Build Challenge.

A big surprise

 

We made a run to Fred Meyer this morning it was kind of dark and dreary but the forecast for snow did not happen. 

After we got our order I went around so we could get this picture of how it works.  All we have to do is open the hatch then they talk to us through there and we never have any contact when they are finished loading they even close the hatch for us.  All the people have been super polite.

This was our big excitement on the way home they were trimming under the power lines along Pleasant Hill Rd and it was one lane with a flagger.  We have made this trip so many time that any little change is interesting.

I stopped and got the mail as we went through Castle Rock.  I had gotten a Jury Duty Summons a couple of weeks ago and with the pandemic going on I wasn't real excited about being around a group of people I didn't know.  I contacted my doctor and asked him if serving on a jury with afib was a good idea.  I got a letter from the Kaiser team to send in with my jury duty questioner  saying I should be excused until I have had at least two Covid-19 shots.  I was sure surprised when I got this notice today that I am permanently excused.

This afternoon and evening I got the elevators hinged, the linkages all hooked up and then painted the backing plates for the elevator horns to match the covering.  I haven't done the one on the rudder yet, the ones on the elevator hardly show now.  Vera made cookies tonight and tried two different times for baking them.  I have been testing them to see which I like best.  Right now it is a tie.

Heat Pump, Corsair and a little Mystery

 

When I got up yesterday morning I could hear this squealing noise, I investigated and found it was coming from the heat pump indoor fan.  I decided it would have to be changed today after Vera finished the laundry.  I was messing on the computer and kept hearing this humming sound.  Vera said it was coming from the indoor unit so I went searching for the motor I had bought two years ago.  When we got back from our first trip to Arizona there was no heat.  That indoor fan motor was froze up.  I pulled it apart that night and repaired it but also ordered a new one but never put it in because the old one was working fine after being lubed.  The job went great as it is made to be serviced, disconnect three wires and take out two screws and the whole fan housing comes out.  It seems a little quieter now with the new motor in it.  Today I worked on the Corsair, I got the tail wheel fitted and the horizontal stabilizer installed.  At this rate I will have another plane to test fly in a couple of days.  Since snow is in the forecast for the next couple of days I will probably have lots of time to finish it.

Vera noticed that there were four rigs across the road, when we took a closer look we discovered they were taking siding off the building.  By the time they were done all the siding and the roof panels were off.  It will be interesting tomorrow to see if they take down the rest of the building.

Seals

 

We went down to get the mail today, on the way I noticed the gas gauge said we had fifty miles left.  I asked Vera if it was alright to run down to Fred Meyer to fill up and she said sure.  As we went by Rocky Point on the way down we noticed lots of Seagulls and I remembered seeing a comment on Facebook about Smelt being in the Cowlitz.  After we filled up with gas we decided since Dairy Queen was right across the street we might as well have a Blizzard.  On the way home I pulled off by the Carnival Market to watch the Seagulls.  Vera noticed some big splashes across the river and then we noticed the seals or sealions diving for smelt.  We saw six or eight where we were parked and Vera noticed some more up by Rocky Point on the way home.

The last couple of days I have been installing a new monitor on this computer.  The old one developed some streaks in high contrast areas and it really bothered me when editing pictures for the blog.  I ordered this twenty eight inch 4K Samsung and boy does it make a difference.  Of course it caused a rearrangement of the desk so I neatened up the wiring while I was doing it.  Our laser printer has been refusing to print Vera's stuff and then it quit doing mine.  I uninstalled all the software, downloaded the latest and installed it.  Then I went through the setup, now we can both use it.  I took the old monitor to the shop to use on the computer out there.  That turned into another major rearrangement so I redid most of the wiring for it also.  Then the computer did not have an analog video output so there was no place to plug the monitor in.  I finally found an adapter in the drawer that let me plug it into the digital video output and naturally now there are no streaks so it must have been something in the analog signal.  Wednesday morning we watched the inauguration until Vera had to leave for bible study then I made a mail, recycling and pellet run.  This week has sure flown by but I was never bored. 

The Edge 540 is done

 

Football and working on planes is what I did all weekend.  I would work on the planes during the day then go in for the evening and watch the recorded games.  The games are a lot shorter when you can skip the commercials.  I got the Edge 540 done twice.  I had everything done and started setting up the controls when I discovered the servos were not centering very well.  I got a different brand out, checked them out very carefully and swapped them on Sunday.

Today I finished putting the cowl on the Corsair.  Getting the motor centered in the opening sure took some time.  I lost count of how many times the cowl was put on and then taken off.  I finally got it centered about eight tonight.  Now it is on to the rudder and elevator.

A day of rest

 

I wonder if this is what I ran off the boat house in, I don't know who Ray is but I have seen his name on several old pictures.  I was tired today from everything I did the last two days so I took it pretty easy.  We made a mail run, picked up lunch at BK and ate it at Lions Pride Park.  Then we drove around town trying to find a truck that went by while we were eating.  No luck but it was a nice ride.  I worked on the Edge 540 today and have the landing gear all installed now I just have to mount the receiver and speed control with Velcro and it is ready to fly.

Wind Storm and cleaning the roof

Monday the 4th we were in town and I totally forgot to get my blood test so I got a call from Kaiser yesterday that it was due.  We got up early, made our usual stop at BK for breakfast and took Pleasant Hill Rd to Longview.  The first thing we noticed was the sunrise so I took pictures at a couple of spots.  This one from just South of Lexington across from Rocky Point was my favorite.  Even with the stops we got to Kaiser right at eight.  I had my blood test and was back out to the car in about ten minutes.  I got the results this afternoon and they were right in the middle of the range they want.

It was windy again Tuesday night and our power was out for four hours during the night.  The wind had knocked down lots of debris on the driveway.  I got the mower out and used it to blow it off.  Since I had the trailer on I threw some of the bigger branches in it.  When I headed to the brush pile I noticed that two or three big limbs had came down in the yard.  I got the pole saw out so I didn't have to bend down to cut them up, then loaded them onto the trailer and the bagger frame.  You can see the ends right behind the seat.

Yesterday was a really nice day.  While Vera was at bible study I started cleaning the gutters on the East side.  Water had been flowing out of them right by the back door.  After doing some cleaning I could see there was a low spot there.  So I remounted the North section of gutter so there is a slope both ways.  After cleaning the gutter I decided the roof needed to be blown off.  By this time I had both step ladders and the scaffolding out and it was really easy to go up the big step ladder I bought for getting on the motor home and step onto the roof.  After I finished both sides of the roof I had a heck of a mess on the decks so I washed and cleaned the East one.  This picture is today looking North from the West side of the roof when I unplugged the down spout.

This picture is looking South on the West side of the roof.  The motor home ladder worked great on this side also but I didn't need to get on the roof.  I think the West gutter could use a slight adjustment also but I was too tired by the time I cleaned up the West deck so it will have to wait until another day.  It has been a busy two days but I can sure see a difference.  Chances are I will sleep really good tonight.

It is sure dark!

 My arm where I got the shingles shot woke me up early this morning.  I tried to snuggle in and go back to sleep but it didn't work so I decided to get up.  I opened my eyes and it seemed a lot darker than normal, when I tried to look at the clock I found out that the power was off.  I tried snuggling some more but no luck, Vera started stirring so I got up and we were talking about the wind last night when the power came back on.  When I reset my wall clock in the shop I found out it had been off for two and a half hours.

After Lets Make a Deal, the Price is Right and Lunch I finally made it to the shop.  I made good headway on the Corsair getting the last of the reinforcements installed and the motor mounted.  This motor is rated at one thousand watts so I should have plenty of power.

I slid the dummy engine and cowl on to see how they fit and looked.  Once the dummy engine is painted I think it will look pretty good.

A little rearranging

1-10-2021 

Yesterday I worked on the Corsair adding some carbon fiber rods to the fuselage.  Drilling from the firewall to aft of the wing was a fussy job so I only got the left side done today.

Today we were up early to pick up an order at Fred Meyer.  Of course we stopped at BK for our favorite sausage, egg and cheese Croissan'Wich breakfast.  We got started early enough that I decided to stop by Kaiser and see if I could get the new Shingles vaccine before we picked up our order.  I got right in and was done with time to stop by Safeway for a couple of things.  By the time we had things put away my left arm where I got the shot was really sore.  Vera had come up with a plan to swap the organ and bookcase around so she could start playing again.  Let me tell you that organ is heavy!  Luckily I have those furniture moving dollies that were used on Steve and Dianne's hot tub and they worked great for it.  I had bought a new hand truck that was on sale at Harbor Freight so we were able to move the book case without too much trouble.

Vera played the organ for a while tonight and it sounded really nice to hear it again.  It was a busy day that went by very quickly, I will probably sleep good tonight but not on my left side.

Wind Chimes, Corsair and Blog Book

 

For Christmas Mik and Michelle gave us a gift card to Four Corners Farm Store, yesterday we went over and got the biggest set of wind chimes they had.  I hung them on the peak of the storage building and they sound great.  Of course there has not been any wind since I hung them.  One of these days it will be blowing and I will step out and wonder what that noise is until it dawns on me.  I also got my Osprey helicopter programmed into the transmitter correctly and flew it today.

 I have been working on the right wing of the Corsair for the last couple of days.  It went a lot faster since I had a pattern of the reinforcements I had done on the left wing.  The picture was taken this morning, the right wing is the one on the left and when I quit tonight the retracts and aileron servo were all in and working.  Since I was on a roll with the transmitter programming I did the Mini Convergence and flew it in the dark with the shop motion light on it.  I watched the Seahawks lose then started on this blog.  All this blog activity was inspired by getting an email from Blog2Print that the 40% off on 2020 ended on January 7th so there was a big rush to finish up December.  I did get my 2020 blog book ordered with a couple of hours to spare.

Better Late than never!

 

I forgot to send Mik and Michelle's Christmas presents for Jordon and Jacob up with Jackie on Christmas day.  I had lots of good intentions several times of taking them up but it never seemed to happen.  I finally made it happen today and ran up just before their swimming lessons.  Jordon looked like he was enjoying his camper van.

All the boys are checking out Jacob's jungle house.  I got to see the work Josh and Debbie have done on the living room.  It seems larger and much brighter, they have sure done a good job on it.  I have been plugging away on the Corsair, the Edge 540 and watching the deer in the yard.  They seem to come by every couple of days.

River and South Silverlake Rd

I saw on the Hydrologic website that the Cowlitz at Castle Rock had come up six feet so we went to Lions Pride Park after getting the mail to check it out.  I tried to frame this picture about the same as the one I took New Years Eve.

After taking the pictures of the river we decided to go home via Headquarters Rd.  When we got onto South Silverlake Rd I remembered that I have been wanting a picture of this building for a long time.  The traffic was light so I pulled over and took this picture of it.

I had to go down the road a little further and turn around to get a picture of the barn next to the old building.  Vera likes it because it is the classic barn style.

When we got down to where South Silverlake Rd connects to the Spirit Lake Hwy I took a picture of this cabin.  It is one of a group of them there at what used to be called Gardeners Corner.

We lived there when I was eleven months old.  I  understand the folks moved there after I ran the stroller off the boathouse we lived in on Silverlake where George Taylor Rd is.  I am with my aunt Jean and uncle Denny in the  picture.

Here I am at seven months, you can see the ramp down to the boathouse in the background.  Dad worked in the woods and Mom rented boats out for the people who owned the boat house.

New Years Day Flying

 

I took this picture just before my first flight of the new year at 8:15 AM.  I got in two flights before anyone else showed up.

Gene was the next one to arrive and fly, followed closely by John and Guy.

Ken was the third one to fly and I lost count after him.  I believe we had nine flyers by the time we quit.

Dan took off then Vicky put in some stick time.

Brian had his C-130 out today and put in a couple of flights with it, he is coming in to land in this picture.

Ken's propane heater was a popular spot to congregate.  Guy cooked hotdogs on his Traeger about noon and I brought out a plate of warm cookies.  Not long after that everyone started packing up and heading home.  We were only about a mile down the road when we ran into rain so our timing was great.