Been Flying

Absolutely right, although for general flying I tend to use a bit of rudder coupling to stop the tail dropping in the turn.

A bit chilly at 60 C but pretty calm and even the ground has started to dry out so I flew the "Swiss" Venom.
 
It flies very well. I had set the timer for 4 minutes but despite the TX warnings flew on for another minute!
The only problem was a rather untidy landing with the inevitable result.
 
Nothing to serious it will mend as it has happened before a few times.
Just a bit annoying "pilot error" after an otherwise perfect flight.
I put it down to a lack of practise from the bad weather this winter.

Chilly - at 60 C?  I presume you missed out the decimal point!    - - It's 4.5 now!
 

Flying for me yesterday, just the FunCub, very turbulent, 10 minutes to a perfect landing.

As usual - flyng for me.
Got there for 0945, as I had a small errand on the way. Not a soul there, of course.
Let myself in, got the fire going, and the kettle on - but nobody turned up until nearly 1, I got a flight in - in the blustery South wind, which was averaging about 20 mph. Then I got rained off, so put everything away again before it really hammered down.
Ed arrived just as the rain petered out, followed a short time later by Mike.
Ed was flying his Bixler look-alike, and Mike flew his Wot 4.
Ed's Bixler was holding it's own - just - against the wind. It would veer left and right ok, and it would go up and down, but to come forwards he had to put power on AND dive. He was flying it a bit like a stringless kite! Mike was flying his model like a Harrier, balancing elevator and power, and steering with rudder to keep it all in balance at zero ground speed.
Ed packed up early, because he was too cold (it WAS bitter in that wind!) and Mike only had two batteries with him.
So - we were all just about to pack up at 3 when John the trainee turned up in the hope of catching someone there.
As the wind was dying down, I asked if he fancied a go. He did, so got his own model and gear out, and got set up.
With me holding the master transmitter, he flew take-off to landing several times, while I prompted him when to turn, in the different conditions. He soon got the idea, though, and was landing - a bit raggedly - in the field, and on the wheels.
Then - to compound his 'misery' the wind switched round, and came from the West. So for his second and final battery, he had to cope with circuits in the other direction! So he had to learn all different 'markers' for the turn points, and that the downwind end of the field was twice as far away as he was used to! After a few strange circuits, he got the idea to turn RIGHT on the climb-out, not left, etc - and was landing in the field again.

As the wind had switched, and the bumps had eased,  AND there were blue patches of sky showing, I got the Decathlon out again, and used two more batteries in quick succession, as it was beginnng to spit with rain again.
We packed up for real at 4.30, and I finished locking up at 5.

That is total dedication to the hobby Eric. It was too cold on the weekend and didn't really stop raining by me. Arthur said he wasn't going to fly either, it was too cold for him.

You need a medal for dedication

Flying for me 2 days ago, we took the FunCub, Wotswot and BB's glider. The FunCub went up first for 16 minutes while Mary went to find BB who had gone awol!
Nothing else flew! While checking the glider the motor refused to spool up, later confirmed as a faulty ESC. Then the WotsWot wouldn't Bind, grrr. So that was the end of it.
Yesterday on the way to Pretoria to wish my Sister Happy Birthday I figured out the WotsWot problem, I had copied the WotsWot file in the TX to use as a template for the Funfly, this deletes the RX information in both files as a safety feature. Grrr.

Flying for me today - 
There was a big yellow thing in the blue sky! - - Mind you, the wind was about 20 mph from the West. That would have been fine, but it was coming through in lumps!
I got there for 9, and got everything open - on - up - etc.
Not a soul until about 11, when Alan and Graham arrived.
Between 1130 and 1, Ed, John G the trainee, Stew, Mike, John R, Neil, and Barry turned up.
We sat in the cabin, watching the wind-sock pole bending, and discussed this, that, and t'other.
Stew decided he was going to "commit aviation" - and proceeded to bounce his AcroWot about.
Mike flew his Wot 4, and decided once was enough.
John R got his big Zlin out, then discovered that he'd misplaced a wing retaining nut, so that was his day over.
Trainee John G decided to have a go, with me on the master box. He frightened himself with that first take-off, as the model went ballistic as soon as he let go, but he battled it into a rather wobbly circuit for a few passes, then came in for a controlled arrival while he stopped shaking!
After a warm and a brew, he had another go, still using the same part-used battery - for another three minutes of battering around, and a landing - in the field and on the wheels.
I'd previously warned Graham to watch, and I stood there with my right arm stuck out sideways, showing that John was flying, not me.
After a break, a cuppa, and a warm, he had another go with his second battery, and now he knew what to expect, was rather more in control. Unfortunately, his concentration was starting to flag from the workload, and his reasonable landing was a bit too far over - so the model landed in the 'rough' and left the wheels behind.
It's an easy fix, but not at the field.
A quick consultation with Graham, and we gave John his "safe solo" certificate. Anyone who can fly in that wind can fly! So now he can go and crash all on his own!
Later, I flew the Decathlon, and found that the trim was a bit off, but nothing drastic, so I assumed it was the wind. After a few loops, rolls etc, I came in for a landing, a little wide in case a random gust pushed it into the crash barriers, and as it arrived (can't call it a landing) there was a CRACK noise.
No, it wasn't the wing-spar! The motor mount has decided to go in a separate direction to the rest of the model.
Again, an easy fix, but not at the field. I'll need to take the prop off, and half a dozen little screws out, to get at it. That will take longer than the actual repair!
Some time during the afternoon, the sun went back to bed, and black clouds were developing, so at 4.30 or so, we all packed up.

 

The innards of my poorly Decathlon - 
The whole motor mounting box has pulled away, splitting the Chinese weetabix ply former through the layers, and cracking the floor plate (by the two black arrows) so the whole structure is drooping!
I've cut some real ply braces, but now have to figure out how to clamp them in while the slow epoxy cooks!
Yes, I could have used the four minute stuff, but that gives me hardly any 'fiddle - time' for getting the bits lined up again - and I don't think cyano will be strong enough due to the limited bonding area.

 

Flying for us today, well me anyway. After lunch BB decided it must be flyable, the wind's dropped. I dislike flying in the afternoons, the sun's in the wrong place. I threw the FunCub up, about 4 minutes to test the air, very turbulent!
BB flew his own design motor glider, straight to the scene of the crash, lawn dart style, video will follow, at the moment we're trying to reschedule his return, and failing miserably!
I blame myself, I should have checked the plane out before committing and didn't, I just accepted BB's settings, BB says after launch he had no control, except throttle, the model went straight up and then wing over when he shut the throttle.

Lawn dart style

What am I always saying to my pupils - check, check, check again, then I check! The number of times I've caught reversed controls, no control, hinges not stuck in, c of g way off, etc!
I never believe them when they say it has been checked!

No video, somehow Mary managed to switch the record off!

My take on this unscheduled disassembly is there was some up thrust on the motor which caused the very steep climb from launch coupled with the low control rates 
There was very little movement on the low rates compared to the half rates
Any way the new fuselage is on the tail boom, I’ve made a push fit with a bolt through it to hold in place 

Yes, any up thrust with a nose mounted motor in a glider is a no no!
If you think about it in a glide the "thrust" that gravity is giving a glider when gently gliding is likely to be no more than 1/10 of it weight. Now if the prop thrust is say 50% of its all up weight its stability characteristics will make it climb fast, it will over compensate, stall and then come down equally rapidly!
Unlike a 'draggy' power plane for a maiden with a powered glider you have to "hold your nerve" and launch at much reduced throttle. 
As a glider even if you have applied too little throttle it will only sink down gradually (as long as it has been glide tested!) giving adequate time to apply some more power and gently climb away. Well that's the theory.

With my powered glider types I do not launch using full power unless I am "showing off" with a near vertical hand launch!