Christchurch and District Model Flying Club
 

ME AND MY Me AND MY YAK

BY BRIAN WISEMAN

What happened to the Me 262.

I bought it second hand and one of the engines would not go well. Sometimes it went and sometimes not. I took it to pieces and found that the motor was alright and the problem was with the Speed controller.   I bought another one and fitted it. This was difficult because the one in the plane was hard wired in and had to be cut out . Plugs had to be  installed on the ends of the wires, and the new one put in place. It meant doing  wire cutting and soldering inside the plane. I managed to cut my finger on the knife and burn myself on the Soldering Iron.

However I did get it all together.  Now comes the sad bit. It would not fit into my car without taking the wing off and twisting it to be parallel to the fuselage. A ridiculous thing to do with all the plugs there were. Also I knew that I will not get much flying in the near future and it would only get flown a few times anyway then I would want to part with it. I was offered a good price and sold it without flying it at all. It now zooms around Beaulieu screaming like a jet but without the after rumble. Ian Hammond who bought it has had many flights. My soldering and plugging seems so far to have stood up to the battering so all’s well that ends well. He is a better pilot than me and I notice that he lands it much faster than I would have done. I guess I would have stalled it.  Still as I tell him he is a lucky lander. All his planes come down so well.

To give me a Challenge I bought a YAK 54. It is fully aerobatic and a bit of a handful to fly.  There is so much movement on the control surfaces that I have had to cut them down by half. Due to the weather and other problems I only get to fly about once a fortnight.  This means that I have to start again each time  exploring the envelope as we say. The planes do not seem to remember what to do ifthere is too much of a gap.

When I restarted flying in summer 2012 I bought the foam version of the Acro Wot. . It looked a frail aeroplane . I said that I thought it would last for 30 flights before falling to pieces, and the undercarriage would collapse after five of my landings. I would point out her that I am not a lucky lander.. So often I find bumps on the runway which others do not  find. Itmeans the planes touch down and then bump into the air. I have to either go round again or land it further on. The Acro Wot first flew in November 2012. So far it has done 92 flights. It is the best plane I have ever flown and the undercart is still intact. When it has done 100 flights I want to hang it up from the ceiling in the lounge. Itwould make a good conversation piece. However I cannot get planning permission.

The Yak has a three bladed Prop which pulls the plane round well. It is not fast but very maneuverable.  Itwill be a challenge and I look forward to flying it. People tell me that it is not  a nice plane we shall see.

Brian Wiseman

[Home] [Chairman's Chatter] [Editorial] [Me and my Me] [Flying Rules changes] [C&F Rules] [Too sexy] [Indoor Masters] [Club Indoor] [Tony Harris] [Diary of a Flier] [Latest models] [Tailpiece]