Ah, my favorite holiday of the year is here. No, of course I'm not talking about Christmas. Why would I be talking about that overrated, overly commercialized holiday. Contrary to popular belief, history does not support the supposition that Jesus Christ (my and your Savior) was born on Christmas Day. Yes, I very much believe in his birth and resurrection, but don't believe I am commanded to even celebrate His wonderful birthday. Certainly not at the wrong time of year.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but facts are facts. Christmas is based less on truth and more on tradition and ritual.
The wonderful, often overlooked, holiday I am talking about is Thanksgiving. And my hope is that you will put aside your RC Christmas list and focus on the meaning of Thanksgiving
Dig out a resource that will explain the real meaning of this landmark holiday… If you can find one. Gather your family close and give thanks to our creator for this amazing land and people that are still mostly free. We are still very blessed and should take the time to remember why.
It was a beautiful day here in Arkansas. Great day to crash an airplane. Yep, I totaled my beloved FliteTest Versa Wing. It's a Dollartree foam scratch build that really taught me how to fly, and I still have a special spot for it in my heart.
It has been rebuilt and reglued more times than I can count. But this time I don't think it will be coming back.
The fault is really my own, I was teaching my nine-year-old son how to fly… But he didn't crash it. I had resoldered the two little antennas on the micro receiver not too long ago. Those little receivers shouldn't be flown much past 300 to 500 feet anyway, so I have really gotten my moneys worth out of it as I have pushed the distance boundaries many times.
I started to blame the power lines between me and the aircraft. But upon closer inspection of the crash, I noticed one of the little antennas had broken off the receiver. I didn't find it in the wreckage so I suspect it broke off before the crash, essentially causing me to lose contact.
It was a classic straight in half-throttle crash, so the front of the main wing was badly crinkled. It has been straightened a few times, but I think this was the final straw.
Google apparently doesn't put much stock in their Blogger app. I had tried the app a few years ago and was as unimpressed as tonight, when I decided to give it a whirl again.
It is very basic and a bit clunky. It also appears to have not seen any updates since 2013...yikes.
Ah well, life is too short to spend dissing on them. There are a couple of advantages. I can speak text into my iPhone with fair voice recognition, so dictation SHOULD be faster than pecking on a puny keyboard.
Also, if I want to add pics when I'm out and about, it is handy to shoot with the phone and quickly make a draft...now if it would only let me add video.
I suppose I can consider the app a blogging aviator's friend...barely.
OK, so lets get something straight right off the bat. I'm not one of those guys who enters any type of sweepstakes except once in a blue moon. I don't even waste my time on the lottery, as it really is a tax on the poor and stupid. No, I will not apologize for that statement as I believe it to be true.
Anyway, I will make an exception and cut out my ten entries (yes I said 10) from my Fall 2015 issue of Park Pilot. I was considering putting entries in, but my son picked up the magazine and practically forced me to do it.
It gets even better, I went to amafoundation.modelaircraft.org/sweepstakes and was able to get 10 more entries with no purchase or donation necessary. Of course I am not encouraging you to forgo donating when you enter.
So what are the prizes, already?
The first of two is the only one that really piques my interest. It is an all-expenses paid trip to AMA Expo in California on Jan. 8-10, 2016
Here are the details:
Roundtrip airfare for two
Doubletree Hilton provides a 3 day 2 night stay
Rental car
$250 to burn on fuel or food
And the best I saved for last...a ride in Lady Alice, a full-scale P-51 Mustang. Pretty cool if you ask me and my 9 year old son.
Second prize I only mention as an afterthought...not quite as cool in my opinion.
FAA 333 exemption support provided by ROTOR F/X
And the details:
Help gathering your company's info
Application support and guidance
UAS aircraft registration assistance
Learning how to get your pilot's license
Anyway, thought I would plug the AMA for a cool sweepstakes and twenty chances to win for many of you flyers out there.
Advances in radio controlled aircraft technology and
especially in the drone market has been exciting to watch.It
seems like everybody and his brother these days is getting into this exciting
aspect of the hobby.In fact 2015 has
been dubbed the year of the drone. High quality camera drones are getting far more easy for the beginner to be safe and successful with his aerial photo or videography.
I
might add that the "drone" label is a bit of a misnomer in my very
humble opinion.AV quadcopter or the
like is more appropriate, as the word drone elicits an uncontrolled,unmanned aircraft image in my mind.
I personally have had my eye on such models as HobbyKing's Quanum Nova
and the, ever popular, DJI Phantom. I have not allocated the funds
to buy one, but the DJI Phantom was at the top of my list, until recently.
Enter the blade Chroma. If the hype is true, this one is
going to be a real game changer.This
quad comes a step closer to being a consumer "drone" than its
predecessors.Because of its hands-off
capabilities.
I jokingly refer to it as the Chroma stalker. It goes beyond
the advances that the DJI Phantom folks have made. This little bugger incorporates
a function that will allow it to follow you around. Or if you want to take the
ultimate selfie video it will circle around at a level, and presumably safe, altitude
while you hold the controller, but push no controls. Beginners everywhere can quickly look like AV superstars.
Of course it has similar safe technology that allows it to
return to the pilot with the push of a button. As I said, if the hype is true,
this fancy machine is one that every drone pilot must check out.
In the first video below, Josh Bixler and the guys at
flitetest.com took the Chroma for a spin at a local cornfield maze attraction.
It did a decent job of tracking them through the maze.
However, the real fun came when they launched an RC airplane
in the air with the controller taped to it.This gave the Chroma quad copter a real challenge as its camera tracked
the aircraft through the air. Check out their awesome review and see what you
think of the Blade Chroma's performance
for yourself.
