Category: PowerPlay Sting.

#457 & # 458.5 Titan… A repeat of last night

No Breeze …
60 plus degrees
Clear skies
I launched at 4:30 and flew till 5:45 low on fuel…  getting chilled….  and could barely see to land.  I even did a touch and go to squeeze a few more minutes of airtime.  In other words…. another perfect evening.
PPS 250
This is the second day that I have flown the Power Play Sting 250.  What a great wing for the 4 stroke.  This wing has had several hundred flights.  First with Monte Flemming a flying his big powerful Monster and then a year with the Briggs & Stratton Trike Buggy.  Yeah…Its had a couple hundred flights and been repaired once…But…. for pure comfort… I can’t beat it.  It  inflates slow but it always seems to lumber up and center over my head as it hardens for takeoff.  The brakes hang at a comfortable place so I don’t have to mess with a second toggle and the climb rate was a respectable 275ft/min and decent was 400ft/min
This wing flies…. like a  big boat sails. 
Big smooth banking turns that say…
“I’m in no hurry”. 

Not a puff on the water

# 280 Simms

Beautiful Morning…
65 degrees at 5:30 with light westerly breeze.

I didn’t plan on it but I woke early and it looked good so I went for it.
The launch was better because I found a nice smooth area on the North East end of the field. It makes all the difference when I can get a little momentum built up. The wing had a hard time getting fully inflated perhaps I was a little cross to the wind or it was different 20 feet above the buggy but eventually the right wingtip snapped out and all was good.
I’m going to talk to Terry today and discuss the hard left turns and general sluggishness of the PP Sting. I think there may be some torque issues and I’ll ask what kind of tests I can do to figure out whats going on.
The new leash isn’t secure enough to hold the throttle by the cruise knob so I’ll swap it for a beaner or clip of some kind.

Flight 272 Simms

70 degrees and sunny
winds 10-12 at 6:00
decreasing to 4-5 at 6}45
Smooth air / some puffs

Marek pulled up just as I finished driving the truck out of a mud bog.
In trying to avoid a muddy and rutted gully I drove right into it’s feeder and packed up the tires big time.
My first thought was to use the ramps to give the back wheels some traction but without a shovel to get them placed under the tire it was easier to work the transmission and power my way to the dry ground. The wind was northeast and strong enough to create a rotor from the water tank North of the high school.
Marek and I kited for 15 minutes while the strong winds that had been blowing all afternoon finally died down. We chatted with an ex skydiver during set up and Marek was the first off at 6:45…I followed by a couple of minutes climbing to 1000 AGL. Marek stayed low and did some touch and goes.
While he was playing in the dirt I finally took the time to let out the trimmers on Monte’s PowerPlay 250. There is more travel in the trim tabs and while I was fussing with them I discovered that it’s possible to get a twist to run through the buckle. Not a good thing…I could see the possibility of it jamming if I wasn’t careful. Without the GPS I can’t say how much faster the sting flew but the brakes felt better…less spongy but still not as firm as the Eden III.
I was able to modulate the throttle better than last time but I didn’t feel like messing with the cruise control . It was enough to do gentle maneuvers and get to know the wing. Inconsistent is the best word I can come up with to describe the turns. Sometimes there is a noticeable delay before the wing starts to turn. It sure doesn’t want to bank I wish that I had 62 inch blades because I could use some more power from the B&S 4stroke .

One thing to work on is the throttle. The way the risers are set my hands are even with the bullet bars and the kill switch is getting bumped. Tomorrow I’ll fit a piece of plastic hose to act as a guard.
Marek gave me a great helmet….Thanks buddy!