So tonight I was at the Headingley Sportsplex for some serious indoor fun. This is an indoor soccer arena, with bleachers for spectators - and the nets are helpful at keeping plane parts from flying off into the crowd.
I wonder if they ever found what they were looking for????
I tell you, have 1/2 dozen (or more!) planes in the air at once is very confusing. Flew one battery for over 10 minutes! The second battery lasted at least 5 minutes until I started tracking the wrong plane! By the time I figured out why the plane I was looking at was not responding properly, mine had ran into the net. Unfortunately it did not get stuck - it fell off, straight down and BOUNCED off the artificial turf. This shattered the prop and broke the shaft (again - sigh). That sucked - especially since the plane was so small no one really noticed (or cared).

Daryl's plane was really fast and ended up getting snagged in the net (unlike mine). It took some creative team work to get it down. Daryl is in the middle, I'm on the right and another spectator (pilot? sorry, I forgot his name) on the left. We lifted the ladder up to the tail and then pushed up to free the plane. It came unsnagged from the net, but snagged on the ladder. So the guy on the right and I lowered the ladder over to Daryl with the plane hanging by the rudder. The tail had a small nick from the ladder, but otherwise no damage - he was up in the air a short while later.
There's a video of the plane being lowered on YouTube. Search for my videos, its being uploaded Saturday evening.
What got the crowd oohing and ahhing (and even a few cheers) was when some of the bigger 3D planes met head on in some very spectacular smash ups. Some locked props and spun like a frisbee - which meant little damage as they essentially floated down. Others exploded into many parts and lots of styrofoam bits.
Jim had a beautiful blue tri-plane. After a bit of tape from me to secure a loose cowling, he was up and flying. Without much in the way of protocol or traffic cop, planes were flying in pretty much every direction. Jim decided he liked to do figure eights, and it was really neat watching. It was one of the only planes I taped fairly well - considering I'm using a basic digital still camera with no sound.
Ouch. This is what was left.....


Planes ranged in size from a very tiny little 2 channel RC up to some very large planes that pushed the limits on what was appropriate to fly.
This plane did not fly - being gas powered and a little on the big side. Very nice looking though.

Mark the wonder pilot from Cellar Dwellar amazed us with his skill. Flying a Parkzone Citabria inverted. Screaming around inverted with his heli - hovering 6" above the ground for almost a minute would be impressive enough - now try it inverted!
Picked up a possible repair technique for my Parkzone Citabria. One fellow just shaved back the styrofoam to give him more shaft space and then glued a new prop to the remaining shaft. (Wish I hadn't damaged the shaft of the original motor after removing it.)
Hope they do this again soon! Maybe I'll be a better pilot by then....
I tell you, have 1/2 dozen (or more!) planes in the air at once is very confusing. Flew one battery for over 10 minutes! The second battery lasted at least 5 minutes until I started tracking the wrong plane! By the time I figured out why the plane I was looking at was not responding properly, mine had ran into the net. Unfortunately it did not get stuck - it fell off, straight down and BOUNCED off the artificial turf. This shattered the prop and broke the shaft (again - sigh). That sucked - especially since the plane was so small no one really noticed (or cared).
Daryl's plane was really fast and ended up getting snagged in the net (unlike mine). It took some creative team work to get it down. Daryl is in the middle, I'm on the right and another spectator (pilot? sorry, I forgot his name) on the left. We lifted the ladder up to the tail and then pushed up to free the plane. It came unsnagged from the net, but snagged on the ladder. So the guy on the right and I lowered the ladder over to Daryl with the plane hanging by the rudder. The tail had a small nick from the ladder, but otherwise no damage - he was up in the air a short while later.
There's a video of the plane being lowered on YouTube. Search for my videos, its being uploaded Saturday evening.
What got the crowd oohing and ahhing (and even a few cheers) was when some of the bigger 3D planes met head on in some very spectacular smash ups. Some locked props and spun like a frisbee - which meant little damage as they essentially floated down. Others exploded into many parts and lots of styrofoam bits.
Jim had a beautiful blue tri-plane. After a bit of tape from me to secure a loose cowling, he was up and flying. Without much in the way of protocol or traffic cop, planes were flying in pretty much every direction. Jim decided he liked to do figure eights, and it was really neat watching. It was one of the only planes I taped fairly well - considering I'm using a basic digital still camera with no sound.
Ouch. This is what was left.....


Planes ranged in size from a very tiny little 2 channel RC up to some very large planes that pushed the limits on what was appropriate to fly.
Mark the wonder pilot from Cellar Dwellar amazed us with his skill. Flying a Parkzone Citabria inverted. Screaming around inverted with his heli - hovering 6" above the ground for almost a minute would be impressive enough - now try it inverted!
Picked up a possible repair technique for my Parkzone Citabria. One fellow just shaved back the styrofoam to give him more shaft space and then glued a new prop to the remaining shaft. (Wish I hadn't damaged the shaft of the original motor after removing it.)
Hope they do this again soon! Maybe I'll be a better pilot by then....