Let'sgoflying!
Touchdown! Greaser!
I went up with a friend to see the HOTMAC RC (Heart of Texas Miniature A/C
Remote Control) model-jet fun-fly just outside of Waco today. Nice ride up there, on top for most of it at 9k, got cleared through several moas and at one point a clearance they gave me had us bearing down on P49(small) although above it - but we talked our way out of any possible trouble before it could happen. Near McGregor I was instructed to cancel by radio now and squawk 1200 or use a phone # waco approach read to me - field in sight so we cancelled in the air. No problems.
The R/C display was very cool, those things go 200mph, 3 ft off the deck.
The club has their own paved rwy, miles from town or the airport.
Many of the jets would depart and go vertical like a few airshow jets we've all seen. Some had smoke, one had a roll-out parachute. No big crashes, a few minor landing mishaps. The engines are to me a tech breakthrough, I had seen Fanjets (ducted fan driven by a piston engine) and thought that was the latest thing but these are tiny ($2500plus) single shaft turbojets with compressor, turbine stages, igniters, fuel control units (fadec-like!). They start by spinning up so fast with an electric motor, then they push some propane through them which spins them up to 35,000 rpm at which time they are hot enough to burn the jet A or kerosine. No accessory section; no oil system - more like a 2 cycle with oil in the fuel 95:5 one guy said.
TBO? Twenty-five hours!! (2 yrs one pro told me)
They get sent to a specialty shop in Ca for an HSI, etc.
We watched, enthralled for a couple of hours in the warm humid Texas afternoon then left as an airmet for TS's impinged within 30nm. The trip out was fine in hot bumpy wet clouds then on top at 12 then 14k. Nice shortcuts; I like weekends, the military rests! Soon, entering the home base area we were faced with huge dark cu probably to 40K and all across the route. I tried mea but still weren't going to be beneath them so I cancelled and picked our way around the iso rw. It was much better below than I ever thought from the looks of the tops - I had fully planned to have to sit it out 80mi short of destination.
All in all, a 9/10 day!
Remote Control) model-jet fun-fly just outside of Waco today. Nice ride up there, on top for most of it at 9k, got cleared through several moas and at one point a clearance they gave me had us bearing down on P49(small) although above it - but we talked our way out of any possible trouble before it could happen. Near McGregor I was instructed to cancel by radio now and squawk 1200 or use a phone # waco approach read to me - field in sight so we cancelled in the air. No problems.
The R/C display was very cool, those things go 200mph, 3 ft off the deck.
The club has their own paved rwy, miles from town or the airport.
Many of the jets would depart and go vertical like a few airshow jets we've all seen. Some had smoke, one had a roll-out parachute. No big crashes, a few minor landing mishaps. The engines are to me a tech breakthrough, I had seen Fanjets (ducted fan driven by a piston engine) and thought that was the latest thing but these are tiny ($2500plus) single shaft turbojets with compressor, turbine stages, igniters, fuel control units (fadec-like!). They start by spinning up so fast with an electric motor, then they push some propane through them which spins them up to 35,000 rpm at which time they are hot enough to burn the jet A or kerosine. No accessory section; no oil system - more like a 2 cycle with oil in the fuel 95:5 one guy said.
TBO? Twenty-five hours!! (2 yrs one pro told me)
They get sent to a specialty shop in Ca for an HSI, etc.
We watched, enthralled for a couple of hours in the warm humid Texas afternoon then left as an airmet for TS's impinged within 30nm. The trip out was fine in hot bumpy wet clouds then on top at 12 then 14k. Nice shortcuts; I like weekends, the military rests! Soon, entering the home base area we were faced with huge dark cu probably to 40K and all across the route. I tried mea but still weren't going to be beneath them so I cancelled and picked our way around the iso rw. It was much better below than I ever thought from the looks of the tops - I had fully planned to have to sit it out 80mi short of destination.
All in all, a 9/10 day!