Let's get started!

Well, da plane has been gutted! I forgot about all of the previous work that was done on this plane. Good grief. The poor thing suffered a crash and a repair that was done in haste. I was young and all I wanted was to get the glider back in the air. A very poor fiberglass application was done and needs to be removed. I'm sure the covering is stuck like glue which ought to slow progress some.

Moving along, here's the motor, mount and spinner. The parts were shipped from Germany. Tariffs are way too high to order anything from the U.S.. Besides, most of the good stuff I can buy in Europe anyways. Hyperflight, in the U.K., has been an excellent source for parts. My last order took less than a week to get here. 

Don't let the tiny motor fool you. If I let the motor do what it's designed to do, it will send this plane into orbit. I'll be programming about 60% thrust and using a 14x8 prop. This should tame things down a bit until I learn how this plane handles with the new hardware. I chose a metal mount because I read that the motor can get very hot in a short amount of time. I'll be using a high temp epoxy for the mount. The spinner is carbon fiber, although for my use it's really not required. I wanted something small (30mm), but be compatible with the prop and motor. I'll be painting it white to keep with my original color scheme.

Alrighty then, where is my razor saw?

OMG! What have you done!! Relax, it's just ply and balsa wood. 

I guess I'm supposed to install the mount slightly to the right and down to compensate for thrust. I'm guessing about 3 or 4 degrees should do it. I seriously doubt it's needed since this can be programmed into the radio, but what the heck. I'm from the "old school" and that's how we did it. Shhhh, honestly I'm just eyeballing it. The protractor is there for show.

This will definitely require more reinforcement since the fuselage is a couple of millimeters smaller than the mount. No worries since I'll have to shape a rectangle box into a 30mm circle. You know the nice thing about being retired is that I can spend all day reinforcing and shaping (while listening to music) and be perfectly content. Ahh, one of the great pleasures of modeling.

Before adding reinforcement, I decided to shape the existing plywood to get a better finished contour to match the spinner diameter. Not much room for error here.

See that gap between the fuse and the mount. I'm making that go away. The outside surface of the plywood must be the same thickness as the mount's tiny flange. Heck, I have a whole millimeter to work with. The best tool for this job...patience. 

Today's my 65th birthday. It's gorgeous outside and I'm going for a trike ride in the countryside. See 'ya

 

Getting caught up...sort of

 This is just an update concerning the Sagitta modifications. This post will describe what the plane "did" look like before I tore into it.

Well, this is how it was done 30 years ago. Most of the weight is up front because the fuselage is so long. 

There wasn't any room, but I was able to have spoilers and a tow hook tied into the servo between the wing panels.

The receiver battery still takes a charge. Won't need it though. The system is being "modernized" and receiver battery packs are a thing of the past if going with an electric motor.

She needs a lot of weight in the nose. Speaking of nose, I still remember how long it took to shape it and the canopy.

About all I'll keep are the strings to the spoilers, and the spring keeping the wings to the fuse. I'll probably keep the wing joiner(s) intact and maybe add some carbon fiber reinforcement. The electronics will be gutted to make room for an ESC, battery pack, motor, 4 new servos, and carbon pushrods. Honestly, I'm making this up as I go along. I know of others who have converted Sagitta's to electric, but I have my own ideas on how to make this work. My goal is to keep the plane's design as original as possible. That sleek nose will be a challenge to maintain with a motor and prop taking it's place. 

Where to start? I'll be gutting the plane first. Next, I'll be removing the covering from the fuselage and canopy. After finding a suitable place to chop the nose off (this is where I'll be guessing), off it goes. The suspense continues to build...my inner voice keeps screaming, "DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!"

Sagitta 900...something old and something new

 As I reach the grand old age of 65, I'm finally taking up a hobby I began when I was 11 or 12 years old. Good grief, that was a long time ago. I've been reluctant to get back into radio control as I already have my plate full of other things to do. But hey, I'm running out of time and I need a way to relax when I'm not riding. Model building is a great source of relaxation for me. The second floor of our home has been vacant for the last 10 years and the view from up there is inspiring. Inspiring enough to set up a hobby shop just for airplanes. Being away from the hobby for so long I have come to discover that many "things" have changed. For example, electronic systems are tiny compared to the giant Futaba and Kraft bricks I used. Heck, one of the ancient Futaba servos is the same size as three of these new digital servos. Stronger, faster, lighter (more expensive), reliable (I hope). Let's just say I been learning a bunch of stuff about these new gadgets and I'm impressed. Now, I'm not ready to go full board and buy a new 20 channel system or anything. I found that with a little research and ingenuity I could use an old Spektrum DX6i transmitter and make some programming changes to get an updated receiver to work along with some tiny servos and an ESC: YGE 65LVT and a hot-to-go Powerline Micro 1015/17 motor. I won't get into why I chose these components right now. I'll just say it should work on this project without breaking the bank.

Okay, what am I trying to accomplish in my old age? I would like to get my Airtronics Sagitta 900 up in the air again. It's been hanging from the garage ceiling since March of 2013. I didn't like the idea of using a high start or slope to get it flying again. So, why not electrify it? I wanted to keep the original lines as close as possible. To do that, I purchased the narrowest motor I could find. It came from Germany. It's designed for 20 second bursts with a 14 x 8 prop. I figure if I program the timer on the radio it should keep me from burning anything up. The smaller prop should keep the Sagitta from zooming up like a rocket and give me a gentle climb. That's about all this old (my) ticker can handle. After 20 seconds, the plane should be at a safe height for thermal hunting. This is what the Sagitta excels at. Unfortunately, I haven't flown in awhile. I'm not so worried about the flying. It's the landing that's the problem. After a few terrifying flights, I should have the hang of things. Kinda like riding a bicycle, eh?

There's something about chopping up a perfectly good airplane that makes me a bit un-at-ease. You know the old saying, "If it aint broke, don't fix it". Well, I'm not fixing it, I'm modifying it! Please stay tuned.

A year of trial, error, failure, and FUN

 Things I've learned over the course of a year of owning and riding a recumbent trike:

Never believe that something is as good as "they" say it is. You have to experience it yourself. That can be a catch 22 if you think too much about it. How do you experience owning a trike if there is no one that has one or even sells one unless you travel 10 hours to get to a shop (which happens to be the only one in Japan)? BTW, the shop didn't have the trike in stock. So, I had a choice, either do nothing or take a risk and do as much research as I could on trikes. I could not find any cons about trike ownership, but I did find lots of biased opinions in favor of them. Hey, ICE had these cool videos and their Facebook page had lots of information (so I thought). I was sold on the fact that the trike was made in Europe (which I later found out it was not) and the company is one of the most experienced in the industry (which it is). Well, at least they have a very good warranty. My advice, try to test ride as many as you can. If you can't, learn to learn from your mistakes. I knew if I rode, like in the good 'ole days, I would feel better and look at my senior years in a different light. Sure enough, I lost 12kg, heart rate/ blood pressure dropped like a rock, my sleep has improved, and I created an escape from everyday life. In other words, triking has been good for my mind, body and soul.

Stuff happens...sure I'm the only one in ICE recumbent history to ever own a defective frame. Yeah, right. I went through a pair of front tires in 3000km. I should have gotten at least 6k to 10k. The alignment was slightly out, but the dealer said it was fine. Learning from my mistakes, I became an expert on alignment and trike maintenance in general. Just recently, my trike was experiencing hesitation while climbing the steep hills around Tsukahara. I expressed my thoughts on the matter to my dealer and he passed that info along to the manufacturer of the motor. Of course, the manufacturer thought it was a fluke occurance and doubtful it would ever happen again since the motor is still relatively new. I had them send me an analyzer so I could see for myself if this problem was in my imagination. Long story short, the motor did have a torque sensor problem and will require a trip back to the manufacturer. I'm waiting for all that to unfold as I had planned ahead of time to have a motor on hand before I sent the defective motor back. The motor is on it's way back to the dealer and the new motor is on the trike ready to be ridden when the weather clears. You already know about the frame. With the new front suspension, all is good. I've learned that disc brake pads have a short life in hill country. I love descending down those hills at 75km+, but it comes at a cost. I purchase brake pads in bulk to take care of that situation. 

Another thing worth mentioning about owning a trike in the middle of nowhere is that maintenance becomes the owners responsibility. I knew this way before purchasing a trike. I've always been mechanically inclined so this wasn't much of an issue for me. I bring this up because of the amount of tools I've had to acquire since becoming a tricyclist. Trike stand, torque wrench, cog removal tool, crank arm remover, headset removal tool, and several more that I don't remember the names for. This is on top of the standard bike tools that I've owned over the years. Working on the trike is fun, but riding is more fun.

Speaking of riding, this year minus two months for maintenance and weather, I've ridden 4000km+ mostly either uphill or down. No flatland around here. If I ever get my act together and have a reliable trike, I'll set my goal to 10000km for a year. It's not anything I lose sleep over. Heck, I'm 65 and not getting any younger. Just getting out of bed is a major achievement for many individuals of my age. If I make this goal, great, if not, well, I'll concentrate on having leisurely fun. I do want to keep riding till at least 75. Why not?

Speaking of leisurely fun...I have a sound system on my trike that would make any music aficionado envious. OMG, you listen to music while riding? Isn't that illegal? Just wait a minute. Sometimes those long hills need a distraction. Music is the perfect cure. I mostly listen to acoustic instrumentals and throw in some classic rock if I want to quicken the pace. Music is provided via Amazon Prime Unlimited. I made a speaker mount that is tucked away behind my head, mounted on what I call an accessory post. The post is made of a carbon fiber tube. Lightweight, but rigid and strong. My iphone is controlled by a remote mounted near the steering tube which then controls the volume and song selection. The iphone rests in a clear top pocket of my Ortlieb bag mounted right next to my side. I use this bag to store snacks, sunglasses, spare tube, toilet paper, and a first aid kit. The sound system is one of the few things I have never had any problems with. It's fantastic to have "Sunday" acoustic guitar in the background while gliding past spectacular scenery or some Springsteen helping me up a steep incline. And to answer that question, nope, nothing illegal about having a speaker as long as I'm not distracted from traffic. Oh, and about that...also mounted on that accessory tube are turn signals, 400Lm blinking lights (front and rear), video camera, and radar with video. The radar is tied into the speaker system so, when a car is anywhere in sight, the radar alerts me both audibly and visually. In other words, the music automatically lowers and the radar alerts me of oncoming vehicles. I don't have to bother looking in my rear view mirrors for traffic. It's a good thing. 

Speaking of good things...another addition are sealed bearing idler wheels from T-cycle. I got tired of those silly chain tubes. Who the heck needs them? They trap dirt and grime. They're ugly and most of all, make noise when pedaling. The new idler wheels are fantastic! Clean, solid, well made and super quiet. So quiet in fact, that I was able to sneak up on a wild boar before he/she even knew I was there. I don't recommend doing this, but the boar was only the size of a large dog and I didn't see any tusks...while I was riding quickly away. Several other mods are installed, but I'd like to do further road tests before disclosing them. Oh, and the dual battery mod is working very nicely.

Okay, enough of that long-winded stuff, let's see some photos. These are in no particular order since Blogger has a mind of its own when it comes to downloading images.

This is the video camera mounted forward on top of the accessory pole. I had to design something that could hold the weight of the camera without bending the extension to the holder because of the rough roads. There's a lot of leverage up there. It took several tries (failures) before I came up with a rock solid solution.

Continuing down the pole are both the forward and rear facing blinking lights. At 400Lm, no problem being seen in daylight. I have a forward one to prevent cars from turning in front of me. The light actually makes cars slow down as they approach.

Continuing down the pole is my most important accessory, a radar/ rear facng camera. I can't ride safely without this jewel. The radar lets me know when cars are approaching both visually and audibly. I highly recommend this for anyone who rides on public roads.

This is part the sound system. I use this to control the volume and song selection on my iphone. 

This is a view of the accessory pole with the turn signal and speaker.

More remotes...mounted on the left is for the turn signals, lights and horn/ security alarm. On the right is a remote for the Garmin computer. The battery switch is mounted lower center.

On this side is the Garmin computer, Motinova (motor) controller, and sound controller.

Here's a view of the accessory pole. Note how little frontal surface is exposed thus creating very little drag on those screaming descents.

This is a view looking forward.

The pole is mounted on the seat rail along with the rear racks. Also visible is the speaker. I used velcro to hold the speaker on a aluminum mount I fabricated. (If your interested in the mount, let me know in the comments). The mount allows just enough flex to keep things from breaking. I also made a protective strap in case the speaker decides to escape. Again, this took several design changes before I was satisfied it was road worthy. 

Here's where the pole mounts to the seat bracket. Very clean and extremely reliable.

Another safety item. A 2200Lm front headlight with plenty of power to be seen by oncoming vehicles.

Great investment! The T-cycle idler wheels take care of several things. No more chain tubes, easy to lube and clean, and no more noise. Pay the extra for ceramic. I haven't seen any wear.

Look at that beautiful clean and unobstructed chainline. I tell ya, get rid of those chain tubes.

Don't forget to change the idler under the seat. Easy one hour job to change those idlers.

Another very important modification, the neck rest. The one that came from ICE was...um...useless. This one from T-cycle is super comfortable, adjustable and supportive. I lean back on the climbs, listen to music, and feel like I'm resting in a La-z-boy recliner.

Well designed, highly adjustable and made for anyone who has neck issues. 

Back to the accessory pole...here's a closeup of the turn signal/ hazard light/ flashing light/ horn/ alarm. What can I say other than it works.

These racks are made for suspension trikes by T-cycle, Super simple install. I wouldn't put a lot of weight in the bags, but it's rigid enough to support light touring loads. If needed at a later time, I'll purchase a Radical Design trailer.

An update on the battery modification: I replaced the connectors with higher amperage parts. I noticed that the motor connector showed a slight heating/ carbon build up problem. Rather than risk a serious problem down the road, I made things a little "beefier". Alrighty then, that about sums it up for this years trike mods. If anyone is interested in further details just drop me a line in the comments section. I've had over a thousand views just for the battery mod, so I know you're out there. Cheers!

Quickly Approaching One Year

Okay folks, watch this and tell me this ain't fun! 

https://vimeo.com/757228141?fl=pl&fe=sh 

After figuring out I needed front suspension to ride on these Japanese backroads, the ride has been great...so far. I'll be summing up my year of triking in a future post, soon. I've learned (the hard way) some things that might help make your experience on a trike a bit more enjoyable. Stay tuned...

SH2-170 Little Rosette Nebula

 Captured this one last October over the course of 3 nights. Total integration time is 8 hours. SH2-170 is also known as "The Little Rosette Nebula". Yes, there is a larger Rosette Nebula, but it's too large for my field of view. The resolution of this image is not very good since I had to convert to .jpg, but you can get a general idea. This was taken with my new camera. The funny thing is when I tried to process the image I couldn't get past a fuzzy, barely visible blob with no color...at all. I thought my camera was broken. Turns out my processing skills were broken. After letting the image sit for a few months I decided to try again. Bingo! I think I had trike recumbent on my brain when I tried to process the first time. Since the weather is going to get stupid these next few weeks, I'll have lots of time to hone my skills. Yes, I've been triking 4 to 5 days a week. Thank you for asking. As far as glass, well, I made a frame with no ideas of what to put in it. Kinda sad, but I've been in creative slumps before. Hey, it's too hot to work in the studio anyways. Image processing...no problem. The air-conditioning is right where it needs to be and solar powered to boot!

Quickie (Part 2)

Here's the new home for the suncatcher. The owners are really nice people. If you are ever in Yufuin, please stop by. They make the very best crepes and tasty lemonade.

They did a fine job placing the suncatcher.

Please don't ask me to translate. Kanji is not a skill I have acquired since moving here 15 years ago. I'm afraid I'm liguistically challenged.

I do hope this sparks some interest in making glass projects again. I have a sidelight and door that has been begging for some glass. As long as this weather remains wet and wetter, maybe I can get some glass done. Please stay tuned...

 

Quickie (Part 1)

Been experiencing a creative roadblock. So, to help get past this I decided to do a suncatcher for a friend that owns a lemonade/ crepes shop in Yufuin. The name of the shop is "Limo". The friend was kind enough to give us some crepe tools along with a crepe making lesson. We were also given some excellent lemonade concentrate for future glasses of this wonderful beverage. The lemons are grown/ harvested locally when in season. In return for her kindness, I secretly made this suncatcher for their shop. This isn't my design, but I did make some creative adjustments to make it work.  I copied the cursive writing from Limo's website. https://www.instagram.com/p/CcHQnpRpPhP/?img_index=1 Hopefully, I'll be able to post where the final placement of the suncatcher will be. Please stay tuned.

 

Now, about those blueberries...

Erika decided to make a tart that looks like a pie. The filling is almond paste. She's working on another tart that has custard filling.

 

...and now for some gardening pics

Thought I'd share some photos of the garden before tsuru (rainy season) arrives. So far, it's been an amazing spring. Temps hovering in the low to upper 80's with low humidity. Reminds me of my life in California.

The clematis is welcoming guests. 

This area could use some serious trimming next fall.

The peony mysteriously appeared in our yard a few years back. We really like it!

The maples are staritng to provide some shade to the lawn area. 

This area is dedicated to Erika's mom. She loved flowers.

We have four areas in the garden that have strawberries. This year the crop is crazy. Not sure what we'll do will all the fruit.

Peaches

The five marionberry bushes will provide some really tasty jam this year.

Apricots

Juneberries are another plant producing a crazy amount of fruit. We have 12 plants in the garden.

Gooseberries taste just like grapes

Cassis (forgot the English name)

We have been invaded with blueberries. I mean literally hundreds and hundreds...help!

Another blueberry bush. It's overflowing with fruit.

Not much in the vegetable department. Here's some snap peas and lettuce.

Carrots

...and more lettuce. The main vegetable garden was just planted so not much to show...yet. Stay tuned.