Bad Day for the B.O.T. (Bird of Time Sailplane)

balogh wrote:Too bad, Kim, it is always saddening to see a nice airplane damaged..this 2018 footage seems to have been shot in a neighborhood much more densely populated than what the farm your recent videos were shot at look..have you moved to a new location?


BTW we look quite similar, at least  from behind, when flying our RC planes  

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Hey Andras!!!
Yep, we got the same stance AND hair color!!!!

Yeah, the B.O.T.'S had its share of adventures and mishaps, but the only way for me NOT to crash is not to fly.  It's got new wing covering, needs it's stabilator hinge tube reworked, and I want to go ahead an put a Spekrum radio in it for this summer's S.M.A.L.L. Fun-Fly.

The place is my hometown, about an hour from where I live now, and my brother and I still own the lot where our childhood home stood, though the old house is long gone.   He keeps the property nicely mown, and I often take my camper over there (just left of center in the photo) for short stays, riding my bicycle around when I'm not making racket with my planes.



The town, like so many others, used to be a hub of activity, with three grocery stores, train depot, and two garages.  Everything is gradually disappearing now, but I still remember the excitement of Saturday mornings when everybody would come to town for groceries and farm supplies.  I'd be in the middle of it, selling Grit newspapers from the saddle of my Schwinn "Stingray".  A great childhood there.

getback wrote: Got a good laugh out of me, sorry but you know how it is when its someone else ><  And its all in fun , not much damage ! So you lived across from a church *Like our good friend Rusty *  The BOT has been through a lot just from what i have seen . you almost had it though i really thought it would have been on release instead of landing with the falter . Thabnks as Always Kim !!

rsv1cox wrote:I got the biggest kick out of those two pictures Andras and Kim.  Two peas in a pod.  

and..........

I'd be in the middle of it, selling Grit newspapers from the saddle of my Schwinn "Stingray".  A great childhood there.

I sold Grit back in the 1950's @ ten cents a copy, only on a Columbia (Niagara) bicycle.  Gave my son a Schwinn Stingray for Christmas.  

Yeah, GRIT was my very first "employer"...it was 15 cents a copy when I sold it, getting a nickle from each sale.  Along with it boosting my model airplane budget, I was able to save enough nickles to buy my Stingray, and even took a photo of it with my first camera...one of "The Fabulous Prizes" they'd occasionally send me.  I ran the tread off those tires.

As can be seen, I sometimes forgot to advance the film!      

balogh wrote:Kim that small community with brothers and friends sharing the same hobby, all staying in contact for a lifetime  no matter where they  move or settle down  is small town America life that I have been longing for...reminds me of Tom Petty's Going Down South, if you know what I mean...maybe in my next life unless I reincarnate as a snail or something..

GallopingGhostler wrote:

Kim wrote:

Sergeant Saunders - "I'm OK Kirby, it's just a flesh wound." (1960's TV Combat series)

GallopingGhostler wrote:

Speaking of your abbreviation, BOT (Bird of Time) - if one were to downsize it to 1/4-A size, they could call it the BOTfly?

Yes, the last business in town...a restaurant... (basically a large, double-wide trailer) has finally closed.  In the years of the massive locks & dam construction project on the Ohio river---'bout 2 miles away---it did a pretty lively business, and held on 'til the past 4 years as it slowly ground down.

My younger brother still lives there and works for the Corps of Engineers who operate the dam.  He got really ticked off years ago when a Corps spokesman outlined what it could do for the town, but was turned down by the City Fathers...Big Frogs in fear of losing control of their little pond. Welcome to Southern Illinois!

But it's still a great place for me to visit and, as member in good standing of the "Olmsted Historical Society", I will be proudly flipping pancakes or frying bacon on April 1st as part of their "Pancake Breakfast Fund-Raiser".
You ought to come on over Andrew...I'll make sure you get an extra pancake for free!!!!!!

GallopingGhostler wrote:

Kim wrote:And Also:  The BOT has since been repaired from its "incident", but badly needs its stabilator hinge pin area reworked as it it's REALLY wobbly!  Fuel-soaked after 2 decades of castor bathing is gonna make it a challenge!!!

But Kim, you've repaired worse. Challenging? Yes. Impossible? No. Once completed, you'll breath a sigh of relief. Looking forward some time future to see a BOTfly accompanying the Mud Dabber.

Thanks George!  
Yeah, it'll happen...just got to get some MoJo aimed at it.  It actually got quickly repaired and flew quite a bit more before that wobbling stabilator spooked me enough to ground it.  

Considering its age (23+ years in my possession) from the day I spied it with a broken wing at a swap meet in 1999, it's been a pretty good deal.

And...thinking it's time to put a Spektrum receiver in the old dog too (Mud Dabber has already been converted).  Hard to believe, but I'm really taking an affection toward these new (for me) systems.

Super Dog Chelsea and the 2M B.O.T. back in the summer of 2000, packing a Walmart Kodak returnable camera on its nose.



I used copious amounts of strapping tape to make sure I wouldn't lose my little cardboard camera:



One Flight = One Photo.  I usually waited 'till the B.O.T.'s Black Widow had shut down and the B.O.T.'s glide established before clicking the vibration-sensitive film camera.



And while I'm doing all this Ego Puffing Flash-Back Stuff, here it is back in 2012 with "The Traveling Propeller":


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtwPhcQZQGQ