What's new for Checkmate in the R/C World

What's New

September, 2005
Summer is now waining and its time to start planning for winter projects. I'm going to revamp the web pages since it's been a long time since I've done that. On the Me-262, I have a laundry list of items to finish it off (paint, cockpit, etc.). I'm also toying with the idea of converting my IMP Fw-190 to electric.

August, 2005
Summer is at the high point now and the Me-262 is flying great. I've got 4 flights as of August 10 and I hope to add at least 4 more flights this year. That doesn't sound like much but right now I'm not ready to make the 262 my every day flyer. I'll fly it at our club fun fly and try to go to NEAT if possible. I still have to finish (or re-finish) the 262. Then there's the skylane 62 that will be a trainer for my kids... I'm thinking of going electric with that. That plane is in the finishing stages as well, but not too late to transition to electric. I've got my 1/5 scale P-51 that's ready for radio too. Guess I've got plenty to keep me busy for the fall at least. Then there is the A-20 havoc plans that I've got... Updates will probably come a bit slower now, as I do some flying and start to think about the upcoming building season.

April, 2005
I'll try to post a picture here soon to show the progress that my father is making on the P-51 (framed up below). It's all glassed now and he's starting to prime. He's done a real great job on the glass work, especially considering that it's only his second attempt at glassing. It will be flyable this spring. My Me-262 is coming along well too.

January, 2005
Work is continuing on the Me-262 and the P-38 is on the back burner. Once the Me-262 is ready for primer then I will continue on both aircraft. I really wanted to add a section here on what my Father is building. He's working on an old Sterling P-51 which I picked up off of RCUniverse. This is one of the first planes I remember my father building, back in the late 60s. I don't think he ever flew it much, but he did give me the sticks (probably long before I was mentally ready) and, over time, I got pretty good with it. I have some great memories of flying this plane. Well, now he's got another one. He's going to add retracts (old set of Rhom-Air with Eurokit struts) and we'll glass this one. The original model was covered with silk and automotive lacquer. Here's a picture...

October, 2004
I had the Hitec Eclipse upgraded to Q-PCM, hoping to avoid any noise issues when flying the P-39. We're going to try to get one flight on the P-39 this fall. If we're successful it will give us at least 4 nice warbirds to play with next year (P-39, P-47, Me-109, P-38). Add to that my little electric P-38 and the EDF Me-262 and we'll have quite a stable. The P-38 is starting to move a bit quicker and parts are coming in for the Me-262.

September, 2004
Flying season is slowly coming to an end in the NE. Although I don't relish the colder weather, I look forward to the building season. I closed out this year with a couple of nice flights on my Me-109F. This plane has become everything that I hoped. You bring it to the field, fill it with the proper fluids, and fly it. She's dialed in pretty well now, does the nicest rolls, and looks so nice with the flaps down on final. I also got two flights on our old Royal P-38. My father had removed the old Fox .40s and installed OS .46FX engines. It really made a world of difference. They are much more reliable than the old Foxes. I've forgotten how wonderfully this plane flys (after 10+ years of sitting in the hangar). It's smooth, responsive, and the fowler flaps let this 14 pound monster land like a trainer. Yes, fowler flaps do make a difference. Remember, this plane has a wing area of less than 700 sq. Inches.

August, 2004
I'm going to try to put together an additional build diary for my small electric P-38. Hope to have some images, etc. up later this month. I'll also try to get at least one image of my Century Jet P-51 on line.

July, 2004
Things should start being updated more now. I've got a hot project going on, an Airworld Me-262. Check that one out! Also including a picture of me flying my Aventura III on Keuka Lake.

July, 2003
Been awhile. Things are still going pretty strong in the R/C world. I've built a small electric sea plane called the Aventura III, and I'm flying that at Keuka lake every weekend (weather permitting). It's a fun little plane. For glow flying, I started the summer off flying an old Rimfire (Sterling kit). Nice little plane. I caught a wingtip in the weeds trying to stretch a deadstick glide back to the field which now has it out for repairs (minor). So, I'm putting the receiver in the 109F to get ready for the scale rally in Hamburg NY. My Father is working like heck to get a new Fuji 64 running and into his old Nosen P-47. Fingers crossed.

I've picked up a Hobby Lobby electric P-38 to toy with this fall. Their VHS tape sold me on this one. I'm dying to get a P-38 going. I've also got to paint the CJM P-51 that I "gave" my Father to build. Hope he forgives me for that one. Then ... maybe ... we could work together on a Ziroli P-38. A P-38 needs fowler flaps Ziroli is big enough to play with.

August, 2002
Got 2 real flights on the P-39 now, with mixed results. On the first flight one of the wheel pants rotated and acted as an air brake. Made for a real interesting flight. I only made one circuit of the field. Some pictures showed that on final BOTH wheel pants were rotated. The landing damaged one of the retracts. The second flight is all on tape (thank goodness). Nice stable liftoff and one good circuit of the field. On the second circuit I got a sever "hit", mostly on the elevator (nose down). Lasted less than a second. I called for a landing attempt and when it appeared that I was too high I went around. I got a second "hit" on the go around, in the same location, same symptom (nose down). Lasted less than a second. My assistant suggested I land no matter what on this attempt (I agreed). Well, it looked like I had it made. The approach was about perfect when I got another "hit" about 7 feet off the ground. Same symptom (nose down), lasted less than a second. I was able to recover to "level" flight attitude, but the gear hit hard and it punched them up through the wing on the port side (snapped the starboard side off fairly clean). It's very repairable. In fact, were we at some big contest (like TopGun) I'm sure we would have been back in the air the next day (if not later in the afternoon). The problem is, why the "hit". It seems to happen at the same spot on the field. Actually 2 spots. From where I was standing it was at my 2 o'clock and 10 o'clock. Perhaps the way the transmitter antenna was pointing relative to the plane? Perhaps the metal covered airframe blanked out the signal?? Not sure. As I review the tape, I see indications of a second "hit" at that 10 o'clock position (right about where I landed) while I was taxiing. Additional testing will be needed, and perhaps a radio switch. Last year, during our test hops, we were using my Hitec Eclipse. This past winter my father installed his new Futaba 6DA (or something like that). We may want to look into switching them back. ALSO .... this just crossed my mind. We could install redundant receivers. We have separate servos on the ailerons and flaps. We want to redo the elevators (the connection method called for on the plans could be improved on, and it's the weakest part of the control system). If we install separate servos on the elevator halves we could use two receivers and perhaps have a layer of safety.

September, 2001
Finally we did it. We got my Fathers P-39 flying. It was really more of a "test hop" (literally). We took it to a neighboring club field, which has about 1600 ft. of runway. I did a few fast taxis and then took it up about 5 ft. in the air and landed straight ahead. Just to see how it felt. Well, it felt good enough to do it again only about 10 ft. up. It is a very promising plane. Has a good solid feel and it's size/weight give it fairly good slow speed handling. I'll write a bit more about it later. We just need to break-in the engine a bit more.
SPECS:
Plans : Jim Pepino
Span: 85"
Covering: .005 litho plate
Weight: 22-23 Lbs.
Engine: Moki 1.80
Retracts: Nose-Robart, Mains-Dave Platt retract unit with CJM struts.

August, 2001
So far, it's been an interesting summer. I've spent a little time playing with one of my old standbys ... a Wing Manuf. P-40. It's a fun little plane to fly. I've also spent some time getting my Fathers' P-39 ready to fly. We're still planning for a maiden flight this year. I've also ventured into hand launch gliders, of all things. I spend weekends on Keuka lake, and there is a nice little 15 acre field near by with a west facing slope. I flew my Johnny Bee II there this spring and it was very nice. Even found some lift, so I thought a glider would be super. Well, I purchased an Eros 1500 from NES and I'm happy to say that it flys great. I've been able to fly in both thermals and slope lift (I'll write more about that later) with it. I've also tried it on an "up-start". It launches FAST.

May, 2001
Haven't updated this section in a while. Well, summer is fast approaching, and all the "other" diversions that somehow seem to take time away from R/C are rearing up <G>. I'm hoping to complete the Me109 for flying this summer, and perhaps get started in HGL. Every morning I see these perfect places to so a little soaring, and I've just got to get into that.

October 2, 2000
Continuing work on the 109F . You can read all about it by following the link to the left. The deal I was working on for the Fw190D seems to have fallen through.

September 19, 2000
Here's a picture of my Fathers P-39 It's covered with Lithoplate, and powered by a Moki 1.80. First flights should be in 2001. If you're reading this and have any questions, send me an e-mail.

September 5, 2000
I received the small electric Me109 on Sept. 1. I'll put up a review page for this soon, but don't expect to see much progress on it, short term. I've got to finish the Holman 109F first. I'm also working on the purchase of a "used" Fw190D. I'm hoping that this plane will help re-kindle the flame for flying R/C. I think one reason that I didn't fly much this past summer is because there was nothing in the "stable" that really interested me. The planes I've got are either getting "old" or have issues that I just don't feel like dealing with. This dora, built from a pica kit, has been on my list for a while. I'm hoping the deal will go through without a hitch. If so, I'll give you a complete writeup.

August 23, 2000
Just a boring text page for now. I'll place a few images here in the future. I thought it might be fun to give some more general ramblings here because the "current project" page doesn't get updated often and there are LOTS more things going on. For the past 18 months or so I've dabbled with a Slow Flyer, the Jonney Bee II. It was originally intended for my Daughter, but right now she's not too interested in it. I hope to change that as she grows older. It's a fun little plane that I can fly at the school across the road, or right in my back yard. In fact, I've thermaled it once from my back yard (what a hoot). It's given me something to think about. I like the reliability of electric power. My biggest issue with my Fw190 is reliable power (I haven't flown it in a while, but next year!!!). So, reliable quiet power is appealing. Now all I need is WWII electric planes.
My first entry here will be a small Me109F/G (on order 8/22/00). As I look at the web page for my other 109 I see that I've been working on it for 2 years. That's a long time, but my time is limited. 20 minutes here, half hour there, is about all I can afford. I should have the bigger 109 finished this winter, so I can start on the small electric version. It would be nice to complete that this winter as well. (Humm, what about that 1/5 scale Mustang you've got??). If the small 109 goes well, and it should, I've got and idea about building an Me262 for electric power. Jack Bale has a set of plans for one that has a wing span of 61". That's large enough for retracts and flaps, which I like. He also has a canopy and engine nacelles for it, all at a reasonable price. Think I'll be ordering a set of plans soon, just to keep me interested.