Tiger Moth With Streamers
Yesterday was great: My in-laws were in town for a visit, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Jacob brought his mini cub, so we took it and a couple of my planes to the park to play around for a while.
There was a lot of crashing -- and one extremely close call.
We had a great time, and shot some video:
How I Mount My Camera For Flight
I’ve been asked how I mount my camera on my planes when I fly – the secret is in Velcro and Styrafoam…
I cut a wedge-shaped piece of foam from the packaging inside a box I received, then stuck a small dot of Velcro on the top and bottom of the wedge, then another piece on the bottom of the plane and one on the camera.
Just stick the wedge to the plane, then stick the camera to the wedge.
Here is a link to the camera I use.
Here are some pictures of it mounted on my cub:
Lost In The Clouds
I nearly lost my Tiger Moth in the clouds one day last week…
Chasing Jeff’s Super Cub
Here’s a clip of me chasing Jeff’s Super Cub with my Tiger Moth.
A Guy Named Jake and His Plane
I was at the park flying a few weeks ago when a novice pilot named Jake came and asked for some advice for his first flight. Oh boy. 
Ted Landau posted a quick story today about his experience dealing with the Apple iTunes App Store Application Approval Process. In brief, he wrote a guide to the iPhone which has already been published in print, and his publisher wanted to extend it to an iPhone version. Apple, however, rejected the app twice without giving much of a good reason about why.
Quoting Landau:
Apple doesn’t even have to provide a rationale for its decision. Apple can basically tell you: “We reject your app. We’re not going to tell you why. We’re not going to tell you what, if anything, you can do to revise the app that would change our decision. It doesn’t even matter if another app already in the Store includes the same material that is the basis for our rejection here. And there’s not a thing you can do about it. So get lost.”
As a developer who has published a few titles on the App store, this attitude from Apple is really scary. I believe that for most developers, spending many (usually unpaid, in the case of 1 man shops like mine) hours developing an application is considered an investment. Hopefully future sales will recoup the cost of the development time, and with any luck you’ll at least break even – maybe even make enough extra to take your wife out for a fancy dinner.
But, with this attitude, it is much more difficult to justify the large amount of up-front time that must be invested if once the app is finished Apple just tells you to take a hike.
I understand that there needs to be an application review process to hopefully ensure that the apps submitted are at least stable, but I think that we should let the court of public opinion dictate whether an app is purchased. Apple’s role should be to that of facilitator – they allow the customer access to the applications that developers produce, and provide developers proceeds from the sales of their apps.
Landau summed it up well:
While Apple’s policies may be legal, I believe they are wrong. I don’t see how Apple’s behavior here (or in similar situations with other apps) benefits the user, despite Apple’s claim that this is the ultimate basis for its decisions. Rather, what Apple is doing amounts to corporate censorship, for its own benefit, in what should be a much more open marketplace for apps.
I’ve been a big fan of Apple’s products for years, but in this case their corporate policies, procedures, and apparent agenda are counter-productive to their supposed end-goal of fantastic end-user experience.
A while back I did a write up about how I fly my HobbyZone SuperCub at night with keychain flashlights on the wingtips. I’ve since been asked a few follow-up questions, and thought I’d answer them all here.
First off, I’ve been asked how long the batteries last in the lights. I don’t know an exact time, but I am guessing they will last between 6 and 8 hours, which means that if you fly for around 15 minutes per flight, you can expect 25-30 flights before the batteries begin to get low. I’m basing my estimate of 6-8 hours on the following: I had several of these lights in my jacket pocket one morning when I went to work. Somehow one of them got turned on in my pocket without me realizing it. It stayed lit in my pocket the entire time I was at work (a little over 8 hours) and I discovered it was lit up when I put my jacket on at the end of the day. It was still lit, but not as bright as one that had not been on all day.
The batteries are very easy to replace. There are 4 screws to remove on the bottom of the light, and each light uses 2 CR2016 3V batteries -- these are very easy to find at a local big box or electronics store, or online.
I’ve also been asked just how bright these lights really are. Earlier I created a video from an on-board camera while flying at night. Here’s a little video of what it looks like from the ground. Forgive the video quality -- my little camera is not sensitive enough to pick up just how bright the plane is… it really is much brighter than it appears in the video. Enjoy!
Lazy SuperCub Flight At The Park
Today I ran across an article on how to change the headlights in a Toyota Prius. The part that caught my eye is this:
Plan to spend 4 hours to complete the job
Seriously?!? FOUR HOURS?
Lessee -- I’ve got four hours to kill this afternoon -- I can do any of the following with my time:
- Watch 11 episodes of The Office
- Fly as far away as Portland -- and back
- Go to the park with my R/C planes and fly several hundred times
- Play 32 games of Uno with my kids
- On my Toyota Camry: Rotate the tires, replace the spark plugs and wires, replace the air and fuel filter, PCV valve, windshield wipers, change the oil, and wash and wax the exterior.
- Completely re-organize my home workshop
- Design and install a new irrigation system for my garden
Or…. I can change the headlights on a Prius.
Apparently this is a job that requires not only 4 hours of time, but that you jack up the front of the car, have no fewer than 6 plastic cups to use to collect all the screws, nuts, and bolts that you have to take out, and you will wind up basically disassembling the entire front end of your car.
What ever happened to designing cars such that routine maintenance was a simple task requiring only basic tools and skill?
This solidifies the believe I’ve had for a long time: the Prius is one of the most over-hyped, ridiculous cars I’ve ever seen.
Quoting Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear: “This is one of my least favorite cars in the world, because so far as I can see, it appeals on no levels - at all! It certainly isn’t pretty -- Honestly, I’d rather look at a baboon. In fact, come to think of it, I’d rather look at the back of a baboon.”
Apple has finally waved their magic wand and accepted Photo Sleuth 1.2 for sale on the iTunes App Store. This app used to be known as inPictures, but I’ve added a bunch more to it and renamed it as well
In case you’ve not heard me spout on about this app before – it’s a great way to kill some time and stimulate your imagination.
You can check it out on iTunes here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-sleuth/id340055298?mt=8
You can learn more at the Incredicode website.
Enjoy!
