Minus putting the ball link on the end of the pushrod for the throttle on the AJ Raven and minor adjustments, it is finally done. The biggest problem was figuring how what bend in the pushrod was needed once it was past the firewall. Next up will be the choke connection.

I'm also the owner of a Flex Innovations CAP 232 now. But it's going to have to wait until I finish the Raven and maybe also the Skeeter 40.

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A.K.A. ben_beyer

I didn't have time to post this yesterday evening but I have the choke pushrod and bellcrank just about ready. I need to put another ball link on the servo horn and I'll go ahead and mount the cowling before I do the final engine install along with getting the muffler Honda bonded and cutting the cowl for the muffler.

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A.K.A. ben_beyer

There was a flying club meeting on Saturday but my wife was out of town and I had no way to charge up this computer.

Three flights on the Mamba and I wanted to try my Flex 16x6 wood prop, but the spinner needs to more clearance. I didn't notice this until I had snugged up the screw that holds the spinner on but it's only minor damage. I'll see about getting the cutout in the spinner slightly enlarged this week.

I also went ahead and ordered the batteries for the CAP since SMC is having supply issues. I went with the Graphene 6S 4000's.

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A.K.A. ben_beyer

Tonight I broke out the Hondabond and put the muffler on the VVRC 35. I need to check to see if the blue loctite is still acceptable for muffler bolts!

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A.K.A. ben_beyer

Yesterday was the first RC I was able to commit for some weeks unfortunately. A part of the reason to get the Mamba and change up what I've been flying to be able to fly with others. So yesterday morning I charged up some batteries and headed to the field. There were five other people taking advantage of the relatively cooler morning temperatures to do some flying. It's mostly a retired crowd but people that do some flying so not ones to just come out to complain for a few hours.

I did one flight on the Mamba with the stock prop and then changed over to the wood 16x6. I like the wood a little better and since the Mamba and CAP use the same spinner, I ordered an Extreme Flight 63mm spinner to use with the Mamba and not mess around with trimming the one it came with just yet.

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A.K.A. ben_beyer

So what do you think of the big Mamba? I've got the little one and honestly it's not my favorite. I think a large part of that is the way they set up the Aura, with a metric crap-ton of expo. It just feels so weird, especially on elevator. I've gone in and adjusted some of the settings, but haven't been able to fly it since. While in there I noticed there is a setting to just let the TX handle all the expo, so I may try that so I can tweak without having to take my laptop to the field.

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Chris Boultinghouse

It's different and a lot of that I believe is due to the nature of being a bipe. I could see how a smaller version could be ever more squirrely at times.

I also did adjust some of their settings to be less sensitive and match my flying style.

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A.K.A. ben_beyer

Flights 16, 17, and 18 on the Mamba 60 today and with the Extreme Flight spinner. I really like the way it looks now and the Mambe seemed to be a little tamer in certain attitudes but it's probably just more getting used to how it flies.

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A.K.A. ben_beyer

Since my wife and kids are on vacation, I ran to an auto parts store on my way home from work the other night and got a bottle of Loctite 272. I should have enough to last the rest of my lifetime now...

The muffler bolts on the VVRC 35 are now secured with thread locker.

Today I was able to to do some actual work on the Raven and I got the elevator servo mounting holes drilled and CA'd. I also put the landing gear cuffs back on but secured them with some canopy glue. Lastly I glued in the control horn for the elevator.

As far as 30 minute epoxy goes, I'm saving the last little bit I have for the rudder control horn. My goal for tomorrow is to get the elevator hinges glued and I have "test" using a Robart hinge point to see if my hinge glue is still good.

If I'm able to glue the hinges, I'll just use finishing epoxy to join the elevator halves so I have plenty of working/clean up time.

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A.K.A. ben_beyer

The elevator halves and the joiner are all glued up and I also glued on the rudder control horns. I'll work on setting up the elevator control linkage and then the pull-pull for the rudder after I get back from a work trip.

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A.K.A. ben_beyer