Saturday morning dawned earlier, after a bite to eat we were at the DA factory for just after 9am. We were meet by Mr. DA, Dave Johnson.
We soon had our crate opened up and began to unload the various parts. Checking them as we went we were glad to see that everything was intact and undamaged.
Dave kindly provided us with a new DA170cc engine. This bolted straight onto the same mounting pattern as the 150, only a minor trim on the cowling ducking and the installation of round port headers which is a feature of the 170 engine to improve air flow between the engine and exhaust. After a few hours we were ready to run up the engine out the back of the DA factory. After a few flicks on the chock she fired, choke off a few flicks and away she went! Throttling was good, top end was good for a new engine and a mineral oil for run in, we were ready to go fly.
About 4pm when the sun had cooled a little, still in the 30’s though, we drove out to the TRCC site. This site is about 10 mins from the DA factory and is a purpose built facility for RC flying. We arrived to an almost empty field, after meeting the few very friendly members we got the plane built up and fired the 170 up to do a range check, that was successful. There was a strong wind and wait for this rain on the horizon, we lifted the plane under the canopy at the flying site and waited for the heavy shower to pass. So let’s recap, we travelled about 8000miles to the desert and it rained just as I was about to fly!! Typical and the story or my flying year and indeed career! Luckily it cleared and brought with it a beautiful evening with a light breeze. I went for a 5min flight, the plane felt odd in the thin air, almost like it was hanging in the air by the engine, it didn’t feel like it wanted to fly?? Strange, but after a few minutes you just get on with it! The engine was pulling well, as well as my 150 at home. That is good as it’s still very rich and there’s a few hundred rpm still in it!
Another local Tucson shootout pilot was flying his Comparf 3m 260 very nicely. We were joined by Tony Russo from Dalton Aviation & DA, he watched my second flight when I performed an Unlimited known, it was a bit rough as I was still gettin used to the model and the Environment. As Mark Lesebergs caller, Tony knows his stuff, he gave me some tips that I’ll work on. Tony flew his heli a few times also.
So that’s it’s for today, a busy but very successful 1st day.
Thanks,
Matt
Tags: imac, matthew poots, shootout, tucson