#276 & #277 Flying Simms and Boating Chatfield

Dawn Flight

I awoke at 3:50 this morning when the cell phone’s low battery tone woke my bride. After 40 minutes of trying to go back to sleep I slipped into the closet and pulled on the thermals. It reminded me of the first couple of years when I routinely was out of the house before dawn. At 5:00am it was just beginning to get light and there was a fresh breeze from the SW. I took my time looking for the smoothest place to launch and was ready to go at 5:30. The wind was light and I launched after the longest run out ever. It was a little dicey because the climb was very slow and I ended up threading the needle between the trees on the south side of the field. The air was mixing and in some spots down right ratty. I climbed to 6000 and it was no better descending to 200 ft AGL it got very active with the wing yawing and generally making the front wheel describe circles. I set it down just as Marek was pulling into the LZ. I would have done a touch and go but this darn motor is so slow to respond and it felt like sinking air so i satisfied myself by greasing in by the truck

We chatted and I was glad to hear that his Chrysler Dealership was not on the hit list of thirteen to lose their franchise in Colorado. After 20 minutes or so it seemed to be mellowing and I set up for a second shot. Marek saved me the hassle of laying the ramps under the tires and the take off was much better. It was still a long run out but the climb was better. I stayed up 45 minutes and ventured away from the field because the air was much better. This was the first time I have hooked up the foot steering and it is absolutely easier than with the rig I had on the Simonini. I’m going to have to practice maneuvers because I cannot tell it I’m not using enough input or this wing is just plain doggy. I do notice that it seems to be a little more cranky when I’m turning to the left.

I love the way this machine is so problem free but I’m not sure I’m going to be able to adjust to the slow run up to power and general lack of punch.

The last several flights I’ve noticed that the motor is running between 3500 and 3600 but not coming up to 3700. At the house and before take off it had no trouble getting up there so I’m thinking it’s time to put in the high altitude jets to see if I boost the power. It might also help with gas consumption.

After packing up I rushed out to Chatfield where Spencer and I put in the Paradiso. The impeller seems to have frozen. Stay tuned for the damages.

No Fly Day…

It was just one of those days. The ground was more firm and since I’d added air to the tires…the buggy rolled pretty well. It started calm from the south then when I was finished setting up when a medium sized dark cloud with virga rolled in from the west. I waited for it to pass and launched a pilot balloon. I wasn’t until I went to hook up the glider that I realized that I had brought the 28m Eden III instead of the PP Sting 250. I was willing to try.
So…I Switched the Hang point straps for the smaller wing.

When the cloud passed I was ready. The first launch was aborted when the lines seemed to snag on the cage somewhere. The hang point is higher but not to high…? Later I noticed that the Tubing over the line guides was missing so it might have been thats where the problem was.
The second attempt was a bit scary. The wind had shifted from the West and so I had to either climb or turn in front of the wires. The wing came up ok and I could feel it starting to lift but I started drifting down right after lift off. The buggy touched down on the back right wheel and centered nicely but I was moving fast and It didn’t look good for getting back up and having enough room to turn ….so I aborted.

I’ll try the Eden III again down in the springs east airpark where I have plenty of room for climb out but this wasn’t meant to be.

Rolling Resistance & A Assists

It might be a good idea to add some pressure in the back tires to reduce rolling resistance during inflation and roll out. If that does not work …then try some wider tires. The downside of bigger tires is that the buggy will not fit into the bed and will have to travel with the back of the buggy riding on the lowered tailgate. It might not be a problem but I don’t think I’ll be able to handle rough terrine as well if the tailgate can bounce up. Maybe if I use the ramps I can dampen the tailgate.
Today I saw the benefit of the A assists. If I’d had them engaged I wouldn’t have blown a launch I could have grabbed the assists and added some forward pressure. I think I’ll hook em up next time and use them as a guide to the A’s.

#275 Simms

Same beautiful conditions as yesterday.

The recent rains have jump started the prairie grasses making it a much slower surface to launch from. It took 3 attempts this morning. the first two because the buggy bogged down after clearing the ramps. I think if I’d kept the A’s in hand I might have saved the second launch but the wing fell back and I just couldn’t get enough speed to get it back overhead.

Then…on the 3rd attempt I didn’t clear the brake lines properly and the right hand line was looped up and over the b risers. It cleared itself quickly but there was a moment when I was considering an abort.


The RPMs have come down 150 to 3550-3600 and it’s decreasing the climb. I’ll back off the pitch a little bit and see if I cannot get it back up to 3750.

The Garmin 176-C is shutting down when shaken so I’ve removed the mount and will do everything with the Foretrex 102 from now on.

This morning the air was very calm until 6200 MSL where I ran into mixing air and some early thermal activity. It seemed to get worse the higher I went so I came back down to 500 AGL and enjoyed making turns over the patch as well as the High School and Prison.

I look forward to trying another wing…this powerplay likes to dance and I’m not so fond of the way the buggy is dancing under it.

Next flight I’m going to move the hangpoint loops 3/8 inch forward to increase the thrust vector and hopefully improve the climb.

All in All after the hassle of launching….It was a good flight. Only 25 more to 300!

274 Simms

This was the first morning flight of the season
I left the buggy on the truck last night and so it was easy to hop out of bed and get out to the field. Conditions were great, a light breeze out of the SSW and 45 degrees. Takeoff was noticeably easier with the higher density air. To help the buggy get started I laid the ramps under the back wheels and it worked just fine. I climbed 1500 AGL and did a little exploring.

The only glitch was that the throttle cable tip got caught behind the idle stop and I had to force the lever back to get it to idle. This was fixed by putting a cord stop on the end of the throttle cable…no problem!

273 Simms

There was cloud activity all day
65 to 70 degrees
Simms & Hampden

Big puffy cumulus over the plains and wind blown cumulus in the foothills. I got to the field right at 7:00pm and sunset was at 8:00. It was blowing 12 mph from the south west swinging all the way over to north west and back. Marek and I kited for a bit and Tracy even took a hand at kiting the sting. At 7:20 the sun set behind the foothills and we knew there was going to be a short window of good air. As I was getting the helium tank out some cool air flowed in without a breath of wind…I popped a black balloon and sure enough it was smooth and dead calm up at least 300 feet.

Marek got up first and with a little manual assist from Tracy to get the buggy rolling on the super soft soil I followed. The wind had started to pick up from the west a so I was forced to take off toward the wires and turn as soon as possible. The run out was a bit long and I noticed some bad friction on the right side but it didn’t prevent a clean right hand turn over Hwy 285. I followed around till I was heading toward the high school and took a minute to get some altitude and take the twist out of the right brake pulley. The air was nice and smooth at first but as I got to 6000 feet there were the beginnings of not bumpy but mixing air.

The Thumper was spinning at 3650 and I noticed that there is a little lurch when I goose it from idle. Probably getting a little belt slap as well. It sure sounded sweet when I backed off the throttle and…at idle I could not hear anything at all. For some reason I chose not to use the Emoitic plugs and IPOD and enjoyed the comfort of standard foam plugs. I’ve been missing allot by filling my head with music. It pays to be able to hear the motor and it would be great to flip back the ear cups when I’m descending or maybe even at level flight!

Over the High School I did some slow turns and worked on slight changes in the throttle. It would be nice if I could find a simple way to increase the throttle travel but I’m finally getting used to it. It helps to use the two little fingers on the throttle and the bigger two on the brake.

After climbing to 6200 I did slow descending spirals over Soccer field and and made an approach toward the truck. The air had “turned” down low…there were areas of sink and lift making it difficult to make a long low approach so I did a fly by at 40 feet and went around again. Turning clockwise at full power I was really disappointed with the climb but it was as much sinking air as lack of power. Hopefully a new set of blades that are two inches longer will be enough improvement to make me happy. Maybe I’ll even be able to get a little bank on a full power turn.
The second approach was smoother and I set down right by the truck. Tracy hung around while we packed up and promised to e-mail some photos if he got anything good. Short but sweet….Just what I needed to kill the funk after spending the last 4 hour stretch alone at the store.

Explanation of two stroke power by Mike Noland

Marek and I cancelled due to bad weather
This was posted on the “Big List” …Worth saving

Note to nubes about thrust ‘tests:
Two stroke engines are about managing very rapidly oscillating pressure pulses. The pulses are managed by intake tract configuration, intake valving(usually by flexible reeds), shape, size, angle, and timing (position and angles of edges) of ports, ignition timing, and timing of exhaust pressure pulses reflected back by expansion chambers.

When intake and exhaust pulses are timed to push the most fuel/air mix into the cylinder as the ports close, you get the most power. The speed of the pulses is affected by rpm; it’s not possible to make the engine charge at maximum efficiency over its whole rpm range.

Tuners are left with some choices. Motors can be tuned to produce a high power number across a narrow rpm range, or lower number across a much wider range. Engine makers who tune for peak power, like a motocross bike, like to compare their peak numbers to FBs, because FBs are tuned to produce a lower number across a wide range, like a street motorcycle or a conventional airplane engine.

The engines tuned for peak power work best for flying styles that resemble motocross racing; if you do a lot of acro such that your throttle is always either wide open or idling, you’ll be happiest with something tuned for a peak power number. The engines tuned for useful power across a wide range of rpm are better for level cruising. They easily hold constant rpm over a wide range, which means you don’t have to pay close attention in order to cruise along in level flight with your engine running smoothly and happily.

Engines tuned for peak power very much want to run in their narrow zone of efficiency, which is often at a power level too high for level flight. If you run them where they are happy, they climb. If you insist they cruise level, they are harder to hold constant, and because they are out of their zone of harmonized intake pulsation, port timing, and exhaust pulsation, they run raggedly and blow a lot of unburned fuel right through.

A while ago, a friend who had only flown motors tuned for peak power asked to fly my FB Solo 210. He ran it up on the ground, and was concerned that it might not make enough power. When he launched it, he ran 20-25% farther than he did on his peak-tuned motor. His climb rate was not as good as it was on his peak-tuned machine. Not good so far.

His attitude dramatically changed once he leveled off and went for a cruise. His radio chatter was all about how incredibly smooth, smooth, smooth the 750-hour-old FB was. He went on and on about how easy and relaxing it was to fly. It appeared to him to be more powerful flying level than his peak motor, and at those low rpm levels, it probably was. He landed smiling, and ordered a FB Simo the following Monday.

No matter what your salesman tells you, your two-stroke can’t have both killer power and Cadillac cruise. If you want a motor that runs like a car over a wide range, cruising comfortably and economically over long distances, the peak power guys will out-climb you. If you want the thrust king, it won’t be as pleasant to fly on long cross-country trips. Those are two-stroke facts of life.

Fly high,
Mike Nowland

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!

Flight 271 Simms

First flight in a long time
The wind was coming from the South and East at 5:00 pm.
It was a warm 65 degrees
For 45 minutes it shifted back and forth at 8 knots and for a brief time it swung around to the West. Marek stopped by on his motorcycle and while we chatted the winds came down…He left and I set up. First attempt in light breeze the wing over flew me and I had to re-set. Second was better when I damped the surge a little quicker. I must have got off a bit early because the buggy drifted down a bit. I was a little disappointed by the climb rate it hung at 140 ft/min for awhile but there were areas of lift where I was climbing at 260 and better.
The new FB Throttle is better but I still don’t have a good hold yet. I think it might help if I lowered the brakes a little bit. I was not comfortable in the mixing air and had to force myself to go “hands free”. I’m still working on fine motor control, the short throw in the throttle and quiet motor make it a real challenge to find the sweet spot.
I’m also a little disappointed by the Power Play Sting 250. It feels mushy compared to the Eden III. Maybe it will firm up with the trimmers out. The wing wanted to turn to the left and after fooling with the trimmers a bit I got it figured out. But I just felt like the wing was doing it’s own thing. There was a bit of weed high on the left side and perhaps the drag from it was what I was feeling.
Landing was good…. power on…
Next time try a moving the foot steering so that the arms can go farther back. Use the cruse control and go trimmers out.